Ch 30

Question 1

Photosphere

Answer 1

The lowest layer of the sun’s atmosphere, about 400km in thickness. The visible surface of the sun. Avg temp is 5800 kelvins

Question 2

Chromosphere

Answer 2

The layer of the Suns atmosphere above the photosphere. About 2500 km thick and has a temperature of nearly 30,000 kelvin at its top. Normally visible only during a solar eclipse

Question 3

Corona

Answer 3

The top layer of the Sun’s atmosphere. Extends several million kilometers from the top of the chromosphere. Temp ranges from 1mil to 2mil kelvins. Density of gas here is very low

Question 4

Solar wind

Answer 4

Formed from gas flowing outward from the corona

Question 5

Sunspots

Answer 5

Dark spots on the surface of the photosphere. Actually very bright but appear darker. Located in regions where the Suns magnetic field pokes through the photosphere

Question 6

Solar flare

Answer 6

Violent eruption of particles and radiation from the surface of the sun. Associated with sunspots

Question 7

Prominence

Answer 7

Sometimes associated with flares, this is an arc of gas that is ejected from the chromosphere. Can get hotter than 50 000 kelvin

Question 8

Fusion

Answer 8

The combining of light nuclei into heavier nuclei

Question 9

Fission

Answer 9

The splitting of heavy atomic nuclei into smaller nuclei

Question 10

Spectrum

Answer 10

Visible light arranged according to wavelengths

Question 11

Constellation

Answer 11

A group of stars named by ancient people as mythical creatures or heroes or objects or stuff

Question 12

Binary star

Answer 12

When two stars are gravitationally bound together and orbit a center of mass

Question 13

Parallax

Answer 13

Apparent shift in position of stars by the motion of the observer

Question 14

Apparent magnitude

Answer 14

How bright a star appears to be

Question 15

Absolute magnitude

Answer 15

The brightness an object would have if it were placed at a distance of 10 pc

Question 16

Luminosity

Answer 16

Energy output of a star per second

Question 17

Hertzsprung-Russell diagram

Answer 17

Also called the h-r diagram. Has absolute magnitude plotted on the vertical axis and temperature/spectral type on the horizontal axis

Question 18

Main sequence

Answer 18

About 90 percent of stars fall along this broad strip of the h-r diagram

Question 19

Nebula

Answer 19

A cloud of interstellar gas and dust

Question 20

Protostar

Answer 20

When a nebula collapses in on itself its rotation forces it into a disk shape with a hot condensed object at the center. The object is this

Question 21

Neutron star

Answer 21

When a massive star collapses in on itself it eventually becomes this, a very dense object that is quite small, about 10 km in diameter

Question 22

Supernova

Answer 22

When a massive star forms into a neutron star, some material can’t get into the neutron star so it rebounds in this massive explosion

Question 23

Black hole

Answer 23

Some stars are so big they just keep collapsing and form this tiny, but ridiculously dense, object that has a gravity so huge light can’t escape