Astrophysics - Physics

Question 1

What is the universe?

Answer 1

A collection of billions of galaxies

Question 2

What is a galaxy?

Answer 2

A collection of billions of stars

Question 3

What galaxy is our solar system in?

Answer 3

The milky way

Question 4

Why does gravitational field strength vary on different planets and the Moon from that on Earth

Answer 4

The larger mass an object has, the greater its gravitational field.

Question 5

What causes moons to orbit planets, comets to orbit stars, satellites to orbit the Earth, etc?

Answer 5

Gravitational force

Question 6

Describe the difference between the orbits of comets and planets

Answer 6

Planets have a circular orbit with their main star at the centre, whilst comets have an elliptical orbit with the star not at the centre

Question 7

Give the relationship between orbital speed, orbital radius and time period.

Answer 7

orbital speed = (2 * π * orbital radius) / Time period

Question 8

As the colour of stars go from red to blue, do they get hotter or cooler?

Answer 8

Hotter