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Space Science > Lectures 1-15 > Flashcards

Lectures 1-15 Flashcards

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1
Q

“Pale Blue Dot” was taken by what spacecraft?

A

Voyager 1

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2
Q

Earth’s first artificial satellite

A

Sputnik

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3
Q

Define “bootstrapping”

A

taking a known, measures quantity, and using it to infer the value of another quantity

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4
Q

How have we known the size and distance of the moon for 2200 years?

A

Aristarchus of Samos measured the time it took for the moon to pass through Earth’s shadow during an eclipse and compared it to the time it took for the moon to move its own diameter in the sky

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5
Q

What assumptions did Aristarchus of Samos make when measuring the size and distance of the moon?

A

1) Earth was a sphere

2) the sun is very far away- Earth’s shadow is straight

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6
Q

A star’s parallax is defined by

A

one-half of the angular shift of the star over the course of a year

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7
Q

One parsec is

A

the distance equivalent to one arcsecond (1/3600 degrees)

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8
Q

Equation for distance in parsecs is

A

d=1/p(in arcseconds)

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9
Q

1 parsec= ___ light years

A

3

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10
Q

What is Gaia?

A

ESA spacecraft to measure space

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11
Q

What was the Vanguard Project?

A

American rocket program. Was reinvigorated after the Russian success of Sputnik

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12
Q

What is Newton’s First Law?

A

A body in motion stays in motion

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13
Q

What is Newton’s Second Law?

A

F=ma

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14
Q

What is Newton’s Third Law?

A

For every action, equal and opposite reaction

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15
Q

Newton’s Law of Gravity

A

F=(Gm1m2)/d^2

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16
Q

Equation for uniform circular motion

A

F=(m1 v^2)/d

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17
Q

Equation for orbital velocity

A

sqrt(G M_earth/d)

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18
Q

Energy, or work, is equal to

A

Force x distance

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19
Q

KE=

A

.5mv^2

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20
Q

PE=

A

(GmM_earth)/R_earth

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21
Q

Escape Velocity=

A

sqrt((2GM_earth)/R_earth)

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22
Q

What was Luna 1

A

Launched by the USSR in 1959 with the goal of impacting the moon- missed but first spacecraft in heliocentric orbit

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23
Q

What is the Kessler effect

A

a scenario where the density of objects in LEO is high enough to be the catalyst for generating more collisions, which would create more space debris, which would cause more collisions…

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24
Q

Pros of elliptical orbit

A

Allows operation further from Earth with close approach for data downlink

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25
Q

Pros of polar orbit

A

Good orbit for mapping and surveillance

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26
Q

Geostationary orbit is

A

Orbit that has same rotation speed as Earth

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27
Q

Equations to find geostationary orbit

A

d^3=(P^2GM_earth)/(4*pi^2)

d includes radius of earth=6400 km

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28
Q

The mass of a typical rocket is about ___ to ___ fuel

A

80 to 90

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29
Q

Reasons against space elevator:

A

1) materials too heavy- will snap
2) materials too weak- snap under their own weight (carbon nanotubes?)
3) power supply issue- conventional means will snap under weight (lasers?)

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30
Q

Period of orbit=

A

2piR(r_earth+altitude)/V_orbit

V_orbit= sqrt(GM/d(altitude+6400 km))

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31
Q

The first paper on Special Relativity involved

A

Length contraction and time dilation

32
Q

The second paper on Special Relativity involved

A

E=mc^2

33
Q

What did Einstein win the 1921 Nobel Prize for

A

The light-quantum hypothesis (light hits like a particle)

34
Q

Einstein’s assumptions

A

1) laws of physics take the same form in all uniformly moving reference frames
2) in any uniformly moving reference frame, the velocity of light is the same

35
Q

Time dilation equation

A

t=t_rest/sqrt(1-v^2/c^2)

36
Q

Distance traveled by light equation

A

=2*d

where d is vertical distance, =2*sqrt(x^2+d^2)

37
Q

what is the equivalence principle

A

gravity and acceleration are equivalent

38
Q

Theory of general relativity states

A

gravity=curved space

39
Q

general relativity predicts

A

1) starlight will bend around sun

2) Mercury’s orbit will precess at a different rate than predicted by Newton

40
Q

Testing relativity with 2 predictions:

A

1) light around star should bend- measurable during solar eclipse
2) solar spectral lines should redshift

41
Q

Why gps would fail without relativistic physics

A

clocks tick faster because less gravitational field further out. Less gravity = time moves faster, canceling out speed difference

42
Q

All large telescopes (D>1 m) are reflective. Why?

A

Lenses are heavy and glass flows over time.

43
Q

What is the value of a bigger telescope?

A

Better light collection

44
Q

Why put a telescope in space?

A

No light pollution
No weather
No atmospheric turbulence
No day night cycle

45
Q

How does Hubble make colored pictures?

A

Uses CCDs- filters in camera to select range of wavelengths that will be observed

46
Q

What is the photoelectric effect?

A

The property of light hitting electrons like a particle would

47
Q

Planks law equations

A

E=hf
Or
E= (hc)/λ

48
Q

Spectroscopy is a technique for

A

Sorting light into component colors

49
Q

In terms of light, why put telescopes in space?

A

Certain wavelengths can’t penetrate Earth’s atmosphere

50
Q

The Chandra observatory studied what kind of light

A

X-rays

51
Q

The spritzer space telescope used what kind of light and is in what kind of orbit

A

Infrared

Heliocentric

52
Q

If we want to see deeper into a cloud of gas, use longer or shorter wavelengths?

A

Longer

53
Q

Kepler’s laws state that

A

More distant planets orbit more slowly

54
Q

Terrestrial planet key properties

A

Close to sun
Short orbital periods
High densities
Few if any moons

55
Q

Differentiation in planets:

A

Heavy metallic elements sunk to core, lighter minerals rose to outer layers

56
Q

Star formation takes place in

A

Molecular clouds

57
Q

Molecular clouds contain

A

Helium
Hydrogen
Volatile compounds
Refractory materials

58
Q

How do cosmic dust particles grow?

A

They stick together naturally in low gravity

59
Q

How do we classify cosmic dust as planetesimal

A

When the clump reaches 1 km in size and exerts it’s own gravity

60
Q

What was the pioneer program

A

Missions from the 50s to 70s that were designed to reach escape velocity and launch lunar orbiters

61
Q

What was the mariner program

A

Missions to explore mercury, Venus, and Mars

62
Q

Why did mariner 1 have to abort

A

Rocket veered off course due to missing hyphen in flight code

63
Q

What is the Oort Cloud

A

Spherical distribution of comets and other debris at the outer bounds of the solar system

64
Q

The Galileo missions were a joint effort between the US and ____ with the goal of _____

A

Germany

Study Jupiter

65
Q

Why is Io so volcanically active

A

Interior heating from tidal forces from Jupiter

66
Q

Europa’s smooth surface implies

A

Surface is relatively new

67
Q

Largest moon in the solar system

A

Ganymede

68
Q

Callisto is as large as

A

Mercury

69
Q

2nd largest moon in the solar system

A

Titan

70
Q

The only landing on another moon besides our own

A

The Huygens probe on Titan

71
Q

Cassini discovered what on Enceladus

A

Water geysers

72
Q

At the Roche limit, the tidal forces on the moon are so strong that it begins to

A

Break up

73
Q

Inside the Roche limit, material in a ring or disk can’t clump together to form a single satellite, because

A

The tidal forces are too strong

74
Q

why haven’t Saturn’s rings dissipated?

A

One theory is that the big rings were formed by a collision between moons, and they will eventually dissipate.

Rings are also fed by material ejected from moons

75
Q

In 2006, the International Astronomical Union convened in Prague to set the definition of a planet and settle the question
A planet within the solar system is a celestial body that

A
  1. Orbits the Sun
  2. Is massive enough for its self- gravity to give it a nearly round shape
  3. Has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit
76
Q

Why was Pluto downgraded?

A

It’s very small, its moon is very large, it has a highly elliptical and inclined orbit

Space Science (3 decks)

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