Cosmic Perspective

Question 1

What is our cosmic address?

Answer 1

Earth, solar system, Milky Way galaxy, local group, local supercluster, observable universe

Question 2

How do we describe distances in astronomy?

Answer 2

au (astronomical unit)

ly (light year)

Question 3

Describe how we learn about the universe when it was younger.

Answer 3

Looking deeper into space is looking back in time

Question 4

What is the age of our universe?

Answer 4

about 13.8 billion years

Question 5

What is the ongoing process that created the elements necessary for life?

Answer 5

Galaxies recycle material from one generation of stars to the next, and without this recycling we could
not exist.
The universe began as just H, He, and a little Li
It has been enriched by generations of stars
Stars use nuclear fusion to shine and in turn create heavier elements such as C, O, Si, Fe
Stars explode spewing the elements into space and producing new elements (from the intense temperatures)
Those elements find their way into clouds of gas which form new stars

Question 6

ly

Answer 6

light year
a unit of astronomical distance equivalent to the distance that light travels in one year, which is 9.4607 × 1012 km (nearly 6 trillion miles).

Question 7

scientific method

Answer 7

observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.

Question 8

Theory

Answer 8

a scientific model explaining a natural phenomena that has is upheld by a vast body of evidence (repeated and varied testing), consistent with observations and experiments

Question 9

Law

Answer 9

statement of repeated observations, but does not explain how