Chapter 31.1 & 31.2 Flashcards
Constellations
Groups of stars that form a picture
Radio Telescope
Collects and amplifies radio waves
Light-year
The distance light travels in one year
Spectroscope
Uses a prism or diffraction grating to separate light into it’s component wavelengths
Nebula
Large cloud of gas, ice and dust
Main Sequence Stars
Includes the broad band of stars from the hot, bright stars, to the dim, cool stars
Giant Star
Created when a stars core contracts, the temp increases
White Dwarf
Forms as the core of a giant star no longer supports fusion and the star’s outer layers escape into space, leaving a hot and dense core
Supernova
Gigantic explosion in which the temperature within the collapsing star is 10 billion K and the atomic nuclei in the core split into neutrons and protons
Neutron
The ball that is left behind after a supernova (full of neutrons
Black Hole
An area in space that is so dense that nothing can escape it’s pull of gravity
Photosphere
The layer of the Sun that emits light into space
Sunspots
Dark, cool areas in the photosphere where the Sun’s magnetic field has weakened
How do people name constellations?
Characters in stories, animals, tools
What constellation represents the great hunter?
Orion
What are the two hunting dog constellations?
Canis Major, Canis Minor
What does Canis Major mean?
Big dog
What does Canis Minor mean?
Little dog
How many optical telescopes are there?
Two
What kind of lens does a refracting telescope use?
Convex lenses
What kind of lens does a reflecting telescope use?
A mirror, and concave lens
Why are space telescopes better than ground based telescopes?
Not many distortions, obstacles, disruptions in images
What are the two names of the telescopes?
Chandra X-Ray, Spritzer Space Telescope
Stars that are closer to Earth appear what color, as well as what are it’s wavelengths like?
Blue, close together
