Key Concepts Flashcards
First to use a telescope for astronomical observations; discovered moons of Jupiter and phases of Venus
Galileo Galilei
Formulated the laws of planetary motion, including the elliptical orbits of planets.
Johannes Kepler
Developed the laws of motion and universal gravitation, which explain planetary orbits.
Isaac Newton
The first manned mission to land on the Moon.
Apollo 11 (1969)
Found through mathematical predictions based on the orbit of Uranus.
the discovery of Neptune (1846))
The first artificial satellite, marking the start of the space age.
Launch of Sputnik (1957)
Proposed by Copernicus, stating that the Sun is at the center of the solar system, with planets orbiting around it
Heliocentric Theory
The prevailing cosmological model explaining the early development of the universe from a singularity
Big Bang Theory
An optical instrument that gathers and magnifies light to observe distant objects
Telescope
The largest circular storm in our solar system is found on what planet?
Jupiter
An instrument used to measure properties of light over a specific portion of the electromagnetic spectrum
Spectrometer
1 astronomical unit is how many kilometers?
150 million kilometers
On average, how far is the sun from earth? (AU)
1 AU (150 MILLION KILOMETERS)
The gravity on the moon is (BLANK) of that of Earth
1/6
The main component of Mars’ atmosphere is (BLANK)
95% CARBON DIOXIDE
The sun’s core is roughly approximately (BLANK) degrees
15 million degrees (celcius)/ 27 million degrees (Fahrenheit)
The milky way galaxy is is approximately (BLANK) light years across
100,000
The Andromeda Galaxy is approximately (BLANK)- Million light years away from earth
2 million
The average temperature of cosmic background radiation is (BLANK) Kelvin
2.7 (kelvin)
What system is used to estimate the age of the universe?
Hubble constant
What are the names of regions of charges particles trapped in earth’s magnetic field?
Van Allen Belts
What is the path the sun appears to take through the sky over the course of a year?
The ecliptic (represents the plane of earths orbit)
A system that compares the temperature and luminosity of stars
The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram
How do you calculate the distance to a star using parallax? Measure the angle of what?
Measure the angle of parallax (the apparent shift of a star against distant background stars) from two different positions of earth on its orbit.
what is the formula to calculate the distance to a star using parallax?
Distance (in parsecs)= 1 parallax angle (in arcseconds)
To accurately calculate the distance to a star using parallax, ensure measurements are taken how long apart?
6 months
To accurately calculate the distance to a star using parallax, be sure to account for…
Common Pitfalls- not accounting for the Earth’s orbital radius.
A stream of charges particles released from the released from the upper atmosphere of the sun:
SOLAR WIND
A point in the orbit of a planet where it is farthest from the sun
aphelion
A point in the orbit of a planet where it is closest from the sun
perihelion
The apparent motion of a planet in the opposite in the direction to that of other bodies within its system
Retrogade motion
what is parallax
the apparent shift in an object’s position when viewed from different points of view
