Earth and astronomy flashcards
A solar eclipse can only occur at this phase of the moon
New Moon
Constellation that cannot be seen in the summer sky of the northern hemisphere
Orion
Percent of stars in the sky that appear to be single stars are actually binary stars
about 50%
The apparent speed of the Sun along the ecliptic
is constant
In the Australian winter night sky
the constellation Orion can be seen,in the northern sky
The 29 ? days it takes the Moon to complete an orbit around the Earth is called a
synodic month
What is NOT true about meteorites
on rare occasions, acid-etched iron meteorites display a pattern called the Widmanstatten pattern
According to Kepler’s Third Law
plotting the squares of the periods of the planet against the cubes of the semi- major axes of their orbits will result in what sort of graph,a straight line
The time between two successive meridian transits of the Sun as observed from a stationary spot on the Earth’s surface is called
an apparent solar day
The hydrogen envelope that surrounds the comet’s nucleus derives its hydrogen most directly from
breakdown of water by ultraviolet light
At a location half-way from the Equator to the North Pole
what correctly describes the stars apparent motion,they rise and set at an angle to the horizon
Light from distant galaxies comes mostly from what
high mass stars
What is NOT a superior planet
Venus or Mercury
Which planet has the highest escape velocity
Jupiter
The term for the amount of energy released from each square meter of an object’s surface each second
energy flux
Astronomers usually detect the electromagnetic emissions of a single neutron star in this single form
radio waves
An emission or bright line spectrum consists of
a series of bright lines superimposed on a black or continuous background.
Maria on the moon are
darker and smoother parts of the moon’s surface
Another name for the Pleiades
M45 or The Seven Sisters or The False Dipper
A pulsating variable star whose brightness varies in a very regular time period of about 1-50 days
Cepheid
The part of the Sun that we can see without any instruments
photosphere
All of Saturn’s moons are composed predominantly of this substance
ice
Rounded off to the nearest trillion
how many miles in a light year?,six
Most common type of meterorite to fall to Earth in recorded history
stony
Scientific names for the two regions of a sunspot
umbra and penumbra
The Kappa Cygnids and the Northern Delta Aquarids are names for what phenomena?
meteor showers
Substance responsible for Neptune’s blue-green color
methane gas
Common name for the phenomenon which is the result of sunlight reflecting off the Earth and faintly illuminating the darkened portion of the moon
Earthshine
Author of book titled “Concerning the Revolutions of Celestial Spheres” that marks the birth of modern astronomy
Copernicus
The celestial coordinate analogous to latitude
Declination
The point in the sky that is directly overhead
Zenith
A meteor that reaches the surface of the Earth
meteorite
Planet in our solar system with the most circular orbit
Venus
Mars has a thin atmosphere composed mainly of what gas
Carbon Dioxide
Which moon is the only other body in our solar system besides the Earth that has an atmosphere of mostly nitrogen
Titan
When a superior planet is at quadrature in reference to the Earth what is its elongation in degrees?
90o
Moon of Neptune that orbits in a retrograde direction
Triton
Name for the celestial body of interstellar gas and dust where stars are sometimes born
Nebula
In “best altitude conditions” what month in the northern hemisphere is the best time to observe the full moon
December
The work of this Harvard College Observatory scientist made possible the first accurate determination of extragalactic distances by what is often called Henrietta’s Law
Henrietta Leavitt
Term most commonly used to refer to the actual motion that stars have in relation to each other and over many years will lead to changes in the shapes of constellations
Proper Motion
The constant that is the average flux of the Sun’s energy arriving at the Earth
Solar Constant
Celestial body found after astronomers had searched for an orbital disturbance of the planet Uranus
Pluto
Sam Langley invented this instrument which allows astronomers to measure the energy output of the Sun and other stars
Bolometer
How many half- moons in a lunar cycle
two
The Persied’s Meteor Showers are viewed in the State of Maine during what month?
August
Telescope that weighs about 11 tons
has a primary mirror 7.9 feet in diameter, and orbits about 380 miles above the earth,Hubble
In the Doppler effect the correct term for the change in the color of light when an object that is emitting light is moving toward the observer
Blue-Shift
The thinnest layer of the Sun’s atmosphere
Corona
The only two planets to rotate from East to West
Venus and Uranus
The Magellan clouds are actually this type of celestial body
Galaxies
If the temperature of a star increases from 10
000K to 30,000K, by what factor will the rate of energy radiated per second increase?,81
Celestial bodies at the center of quasars and which are the main reason for their large energy emissions
Black Holes
Doughnut shaped zones of atomic particles consists of electrons and protons captured by the Earth’s magnetic field from the solar winds
Van Allen Belts
The largest circular storm in our solar system is on the surface of which planet?
Jupiter
Rapidly moving stream of charged particles that is being driven away from the sun
Solar Wind
The biggest known asteroid
Ceres
The Mercurian year is equal to this many days
88
One of the largest volcanos in our solar system is named Olympus Mons and is on
Mars
One Jupiter day is equal to what
9 hours 50 minutes
Time interval between two successie occurrences of a planet (or the moon) with the sun and the earth
a synodic period
During the period between 1979 and 1998 the farthest planet from the sun
Neptune
Time it takes energy generated in the core of the sun and be radiated
One million years
The sunspot cycle is this many years
11 years
The Hertzsprung-Russel Diagram of stars DIRECTLY compares these TWO of the properties of stars
temperature and luminosity
The Andromeda Galaxy is this type of galaxy
spiral
About how many light years across is the Milky Way?
one hundred thousand
The unlucky Apollo lunar landing that was canceled after an oxygen tank exploded
Apollo 13
Device that first proved that Earth rotates on its axis
Foucault Pendulum
The smallest planet in our solar system
Mercury
The “planet” that has a moon almost as big as the planet itself
Pluto
What Sally K. Ride is known for
first woman in space
The year that Neil Armstrong made his historic walk on the Moon
1969
The only planet in the solar system has a day which lasts longer than its year
Venus
What is the heavenly body Charon?
Plutos moon
Where in space is Cassini’s division?
between two rings of Saturn
The first black American astronaut in space
Guion Bluford
What is the Vostok 1?
the first manned spacecraft
Heliocentric means around what?
the Sun
Triton Neptune’s moon has an ocean made of
Nitrogen
The first man to classify stars according to their brightness
Hipparchus
Reason the Schmidt telescope was specially built
sky camera
The star nearest to the sun
Alpha Centauri or Proxima Centauri
The greatest distance of a planet from the sun
aphelion
The name given to very bright meteors or bolides
fireballs
Atmospheric pressure of Mars compared to the earth is
about 1/200th of Earth
Gas that is the main component of the atmosphere of Mars
Carbon Dioxide
The planet Jupiter has a mass that is greater than all the combined masses of all the other planets
all the other planets put together
The moon feature that is named Copernicus
crater
Day of the year on which the summer solstice usually occurs
21-Jun
When the earth is farthest from the sun it is this season in the Northern Hemisphere
summer
The only two moonless planets
Venus and Mercury
The English nickname for this constellation is “The Chained Maiden” and what isthe astronomer’s name?
Andromeda
In which season is the constellation “Pegasus” normally viewed?
autumn
The constellation in which Vega can be found
Lyra
The constellation in which Aldebaran can be found
Taurus
The two observables in a binary star system that must be measured to make the total mass determination
separation of the two stars and the stars period of revolution
The Orion Nebula is a good example of this kind of nebula
emission nebula
A major component of the interstellar media consists of charged particles which have speeds close to that of light that are called
cosmic rays
A typical galaxy such as our Milky Way galaxy contains how many billion stars
200 billion
The path in the sky that the sun appears to traverse over the course of a year
ecliptic
Light rock rich in silicate
What is the crust made up of?
the core
Which layer of the earth is the hottest, under the most pressure, and the most dense-the crust, the mantle, or the core?
Continental crust
Which is thicker-continental crust or oceanic crust?
Oceanic crust
Which is denser-continental crust or oceanic crust?
Continental crust
Which is older-continental crust or oceanic crust?
Made of heavy rocks that have iron and magnesium
What is the composition of the mantle?
Lithosphere
Which part of the mantle is rigid rock?
Aesthenosphere
Which parts of the mantle have soft moving currents of rock?
current caused by the expansion of a liquid, solid or gas as its temperature rises
convection current
Aesthenosphere
Which layer of the mantle has convection currents?
Magma closer to core heats up, expands, and rises (less dense). Magma closer to crust cools and sinks (denser).
Describe the movement of rock in a convection current?
Heat from the Earth’s interior
What causes convection currents?
lithosphere (crust and upper mantle)
What layers of earth make up the plates?
Plate movement is caused by convection currents of magma in the aesthenosphere.
Why do plates move?
The core is made of heavy metals like iron and nickel.
What is the composition of the core?
4300 degrees Celsius
What is the temperature of the core?
By interpreting seismic waves
How do we learn about Earth’s interior if we cannot observe the Earth’s interior directly?
solid collection of minerals or mineral materials
rock
Formed when magma or lava cools and hardens
Igneous rock
melted rock and gas below the earth’s surface
magma
magma that has reached the earth’s surface
lava
an igneous rock that forms underground from hardened magma
intrusive rock
an igneous rock that forms at Earth’s surface
extrusive rock
fragments of older rock and fossils, or living things, and minerals
sediment
forms when fragments of rock are compacted and cemented together
sedimentary rock
forms from a previous rock that is changed by heat or pressure
metamorphic rock
Weathering/Deposition of Sediments/Cementation
What processes in the rock cycle form sedimentary rocks?
Melting/Cooling and Solidfying
What processes in the rock cycle form igneous rocks?
Heat and Pressure
What processes in the rock cycle form metamorphic rocks?
Continents were once joined together in a super-continent called Pangaea and have since drifted apart.
Continental Drift
an ancient supercontinent formed about 300 million years ago which later gave rise to today’s continents
Pangaea
Theory that the earth is made up of rigid slabs of rock (the lithosphere) that move
Plate Tectonics
underwater mountain chain
Mid-ocean ridge
process by which new oceanic crust is created at mid-ocean ridges as older crust moves away
sea-floor spreading
process by which oceanic crust sinks into the mantle
subduction
a long deep depression where old oceanic crusts sinks into the mantle
trench
boundary in which tectonic plates move away from each other
divergent boundary
boundary in which tectonic plates collide
convergent boundary
boundary in which tectonic plates slide past each other
transform boundary
- Continents seem to fit together like puzzle pieces. 2. Fossil records show similar plant and animal fossils on continents separated by oceans suggesting that continents were once one land mass. 3. Evidence of glaciers suggest that some continents must have been closer to the poles at one time. 4. Similarities in geological formations, like mountain chains, on different continents.
What evidence supports the theory of continental drift?
It couldn’t explain the mechanism of how the continents moved.
Why wasn’t the theory of Continental Drift accepted at the time?
study of the planet Earth’s composition and structure
Geology
rocky, outer layer of earth
crust
thick layer of hot but solid rock beneath Earth’s crust
mantle
layer of relatively cool, rigid rock that includes the uppermost part of the mantle as well as Earth’s crust
lithosphere
layer of softer, weaker rock beneath Earth’s lithosphere which can flow slowly
aesthenosphere
lower portion of Earth’s mantle
mesosphere
dense sphere at Earth’s center made mostly of iron and nickel
core
Mid-ocean ridges, trenches, seamounts
What are features of the sea floor?
New ocean floor is created through sea-floor spreading at mid-ocean ridges. Old ocean crust moves away and gets destroyed through subduction at a plate boundary.
How is the sea floor recycled?
divergent
What plate motion makes new ocean floor?
convergent (subduction)
What plate motion destroys old ocean floor?
Sea floor rocks become older as you move away from the Mid-ocean ridge.
How does the age of sea floor rocks change as you move away from the Mid-ocean ridge?
Seafloor spreading and rifting
What types of geological events occur at divergent plate boundaries?
New ocean crust forms at a fissure and old crust pushed away.
What are the results of seafloor spreading?
Crust thins>Land plates pull apart> Rift valley forms>Sea develops.
What are the results of rifting?
subduction and mountain building
What types of geological events occur at convergent plate boundaries?
Dense ocean plate sinks under land back into mantle.
What are the results of subduction?
earthquakes
What occurs at a transform boundary?
Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Where does seafloor spreading occur?
Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, East African Rift
Where in the world does rifting occur?
ocean trenches
Where does subduction occur?
Himalayas
Where in the world does mountain building occur at a convergent plate boundary?
San Andreas fault
Where in the world is a transform fault boundary located?
Movement of Earth’s lithosphere that occurs when rocks in the lithosphere suddenly shift, releasing stored energy
Earthquake
location beneath Earth’s surface where an earthquake begins
Focus
location on Earth’s surface directly above the focus
Epicenter
force that squeezes rocks together, stretches or pulls them apart, or pushes them in different directions
stress
a break in a mass of rock along which movement occurs
Fault
bend in layers of rock
Fold
device that can detect and record seismic waves
seismograph
longitudinal waves similar to sound waves
P waves
transverse waves
S waves
waves that develop when seismic waves reach Earth’s surface
Surface waves
Earthquakes are caused when stress builds when rocks along 2 sides of a fault snag and lock
What causes earthquakes?
Earthquakes occur because stress forces have exceeded the strength of a rock.
Why do earthquakes happen?
faults and folds
What does stress on rocks cause?
along plate boundaries
Where do most earthquakes occur?
- accordion-like motion (up and down) 2. fastest moving waves 3. travel through solids and liquids 4. cause least amount of damage
Characteristics of P waves
- snakelike motion (back and forth) 2. moderate speed 3. travel through solids 4. cause moderate amount of damage
Characteristics of S waves
- snakelike motion (back and forth) 2. moderate speed 3. travel through solids 4. cause moderate amount of damage
Characteristics of S waves
- uses seismogram 2. measures earthquake by the size of the waves
Richter scale
- uses seismogram 2. measures earthquakes in terms of energy released
Moment Magnitude scale
- does NOT use seismogram 2. rates earthquakes based on damage to structures
Mercalli scale
mountain that forms when magma reaches the surface
volcano
a pocket where magma collects
magma chamber
vertical channel
pipe
an opening on the surface through which magma escapes
vent
depression formed from collapsed volcanoes
caldera
region of active magma under a plate
hot spot
wide, flat volcano
shield volcano
bowl-shaped pit
crater
simple, small, steep-sided volcano
cinder cone
volcano that forms from explosive eruptions that produce a combination of lava and ash
composite volcano
large type of intrusive igneous rock mass that can form the core of a mountain range
batholith
structure formed when magma hardens in a crack parallel to existing rock layers
sill
structure formed when magma hardens in a crack that cuts across rock layers
dike
mountain that forms when magma reaches the surface
volcanic neck
Rock inside the earth melts forming liquid magma. Magma rises through the crust erupting at the surface. Magma rises because it is less dense than the surrounding rock.
Why do volcanoes erupt?
