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Astronomy > Orbits And Gravity > Flashcards

Orbits And Gravity Flashcards

1
Q

Why was Brahe limited in his research/discoveries

A

Brahe didn’t have the ability to analyze his data for the sun moon and planets and develop a better model than what Ptolemy had published. He was further inhibited because he was an extravagant and cantankerous fellow, and he accumulated enemies among government officials.

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2
Q

What did Brahe make continuous records of?

A

Brahe made a continuous record of the positions of the Sun, Moon, and planets for almost 20 years. His extensive and precise observations enabled him to note that the positions of the planets varied from those given in published tables, which were based on the work of Ptolemy.

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3
Q

Who discovered the laws of planetary motion?

A

Kepler

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4
Q

orbit

A

The path of an object through space is called its orbit

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5
Q

ellipse

A

oval (path the objects in space follow)

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6
Q

conic sections

A

A conic section, conic or a quadratic curve is a curve obtained from a cone’s surface intersecting a plane

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7
Q

major axis

A

The widest diameter of the ellipse

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8
Q

semimajor axis

A

is, the distance from the center of the ellipse to one end

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9
Q

eccentricity

A

how flat the ellipse is

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10
Q

In an ellipse, the sum of the distance from two special points inside the ellipse to any point on the ellipse is always the same. These two points inside the ellipse are called its ____

A

foci (singular: focus)

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11
Q

Kepler’s first law

A

the orbits of all the planets are ellipses.

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12
Q

orbital speed

A

the speed with which each planet moves along its ellipse,

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13
Q

Is the orbital speed consistent through 1 orbit?

A

No, Kepler discovered that the planet speeds up as it comes closer to the Sun and slows down as it pulls away from the Sun.

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14
Q

Why wasn’t Kepler satisfied after discovering his first 2 laws?

A

He wanted to know why the orbits of the planets were spaced as they are and to find a mathematical pattern in their movements—a “harmony of the spheres” as he called it.

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15
Q

How do we define a planet’s orbital period?

A

the time it takes a planet to travel once around the Sun.

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16
Q

Kepler’s third law

A

says that a planet’s orbital period squared is proportional to the semimajor axis of its orbit cubed,

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17
Q

Kepler’s second law

A

: The straight line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas in space in equal intervals of time.

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18
Q

accelerate

A

to change velocity; to speed up, slow down, or change direction.

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19
Q

apparent magnitude

A

a measure of how bright a star looks in the sky; the larger the number, the dimmer the star appears to us

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20
Q

astrology

A

the pseudoscience that deals with the supposed influences on human destiny of the configurations and locations in the sky of the Sun, Moon, and planets

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21
Q

celestial equator

A

a great circle on the celestial sphere 90° from the celestial poles; where the celestial sphere intersects the plane of Earth’s equator

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22
Q

celestial poles

A

points about which the celestial sphere appears to rotate; intersections of the celestial sphere with Earth’s polar axis

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23
Q

celestial sphere

A

the apparent sphere of the sky; a sphere of large radius centered on the observer; directions of objects in the sky can be denoted by their position on the celestial sphere

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24
Q

circumpolar zone

A

those portions of the celestial sphere near the celestial poles that are either always above or always below the horizon

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25
Q

cosmology

A

the study of the organization and evolution of the universe

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26
Q

ecliptic

A

the apparent annual path of the Sun on the celestial sphere

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27
Q

epicycle

A

the circular orbit of a body in the Ptolemaic system, the center of which revolves about another circle (the deferent)

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28
Q

geocentric

A

centered on Earth

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29
Q

heliocentric

A

centered on the Sun

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30
Q

horizon (astronomical)

A

a great circle on the celestial sphere 90° from the zenith; more popularly, the circle around us where the dome of the sky meets Earth

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31
Q

Who found a conceptual framework that completely explained the observations and rules assembled by Galileo,

A

Isaac Newton

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32
Q

Newton’s first law:

A

Every object will continue to be in a state of rest or move at a constant speed in a straight line unless it is compelled to change by an outside force.

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33
Q

Newton’s second law:

A

The change of motion of a body is proportional to and in the direction of the force acting on it.

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34
Q

Newton’s third law:

A

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction (or: the mutual actions of two bodies upon each other are always equal and act in opposite directions).

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35
Q

Newton’s first law is a restatement of one of Galileo’s discoveries, called the ________________________

A

conservation of momentum

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36
Q

What is Newton’s first law sometimes called?

A

law of inertia

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37
Q

What 3 factors does momentum depend on?

A

(1) speed—how fast a body moves (zero if it is stationary), (2) the direction of its motion, and (3) its mass—a measure of the amount of matter in a body,

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38
Q

velocity

A

describe the speed and direction of motion.

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39
Q

The momentum of a body can change only _____________________________

A

under the action of an outside influence.

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40
Q

acceleration

A

, the rate of change in an object’s velocity

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41
Q

The most profound of the rules newton discovered?

A

his 3rd

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42
Q

How does newton’s 3rd law relate to his other laws, while also introducing something diff?

A

it is a generalization of the first law, but it also gives us a way to define mass.

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43
Q

mass,

A

which is a measure of the amount of material within an object.

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44
Q

The volume

A

The volume of an object is the measure of the physical space it occupies.

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45
Q

How is volume measured?

A

in cubic units

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46
Q

density

A

is the mass divided by the volume.

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47
Q

angular momentum

A

a measure of the rotation of a body as it revolves around some fixed point

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48
Q

How is the angular momentum of an object defined?

A

The angular momentum of an object is defined as the product of its mass, its velocity, and its distance from the fixed point around which it revolves.

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49
Q

Why do the planets move in ellipses, not straight lines?

A

Because of gravity

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50
Q

Why do we know that gravity is what makes planets move in ellipses?

A

Everything must move in a straight line unless enacted by some other force, therefore, some force must be bending their paths.

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51
Q

Did Newton discover gravity?

A

No, but he did suggest that gravity wasn’t just something that existed on earth, and that it may might extend as far as the Moon and produce the force required to curve the Moon’s path from a straight line and keep it in its orbit. He further hypothesized that gravity is not limited to Earth, but that there is a general force of attraction between all material bodies. If so, the attractive force between the Sun and each of the planets could keep them in their orbits.

52
Q

Who invented calculus and to explain what prob?

A

Isaac Newton, invented what we today call calculus to deal with the fact that force of gravity depends on distance in order for it’s conditions to be met

53
Q

What causes acceleration?

A

forces

54
Q

What does it mean “that gravity is a built in property of mass?”

A

Whenever there are masses in the universe, they will interact via the force of gravitational attraction.

55
Q

Does gravity ever become 0?

A

No, It quickly gets weaker with distance, but it continues to act to some degree no matter how far away you get.

56
Q

What does adding the mass term to Kepler’s equation allow us to use it in a new way?

A

It quickly gets weaker with distance, but it continues to act to some degree no matter how far away you get.

57
Q

What do Newton’s universal law of gravitation and Kepler’s laws describe?

A

the motions of Earth satellites and interplanetary spacecraft as well as the planets.

58
Q

the first artificial Earth satellite,

A

Sputnik,

59
Q

Who’s laws describe the motions of Earth satellites and interplanetary spacecraft as well as the planets.

A

Newton’s universal law of gravitation and Kepler’s laws

60
Q

What are some uses for satelites?

A

weather tracking, ecology, global positioning systems, communications, and military purposes, to name a few uses.

61
Q

Why are the things low in earth’s orbit not indefinetely stable

A

because, as Earth’s atmosphere swells from time to time, a frictional drag is generated by the atmosphere on these satellites, eventually leading to a loss of energy and “decay” of the orbit.

62
Q

The exploration of the solar system has been carried out largely by what?

A

robot spacecraft sent to the other planets.

63
Q

What must craft do to achieve craft speed

A

, the speed needed to move away from Earth forever,

64
Q

What does a spacecraft do as it comes close to it’s target?

A

As it comes close to its target, a spacecraft is deflected by the planet’s gravitational force into a modified orbit, either gaining or losing energy in the process.

65
Q

What have actually been able to use a planet’s gravity to redirect a flyby spacecraft to a second target.

A

Spacecraft controller

66
Q

How do we orbit a planet?

A

we must slow the spacecraft with a rocket when the spacecraft is near its destination, allowing it to be captured into an elliptical orbit.

67
Q

all the planets exert gravitational forces upon one another. What does this cause?

A

These interplanetary attractions cause slight variations from the orbits than would be expected if the gravitational forces between planets were neglected.

68
Q

star cluster

A

many stars all orbiting a common center

69
Q

Why is it hard to calculate the motion of a star:

A

the other stars are also moving and thus changing the effect they will have on our star.

70
Q

Do Kepler’s laws take into account gravitational effects of the other planets on the orbit?

A

no

71
Q

Why is the effect of other bodies miniscule to affect the planet in our solar system’s orbit?

A

This is because these additional influences are very small in comparison with the dominant gravitational attraction of the Sun.

72
Q

perturbations

A

disturbances).

73
Q

What were scientists trying to discover when they discovered Neptune?

A

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, mathematicians developed many elegant techniques for calculating perturbations, permitting them to predict very precisely the positions of the planets.

74
Q

What was Uranus thought to be when it was initially discovered?

A
  • When uncovered initially, it was thought to be a star
75
Q

Who discovered Uranus to be a planet?

A
  • Discovered to be a planet by William Herchell
76
Q

Why did John Couch Adams hypothesize that Uranus was moving unpredictably?

A

The pull of a planet farther from the sun

77
Q

The honor for the discovery of neptune is properly shared by who?

A

Adams and Le Verrier

78
Q

Reasons for Uranus’s “disobeideint” movement

A

Neptune’s gravitational pull

79
Q

angular momentum

A

the measure of the motion of a rotating object in terms of its speed and how widely the object’s mass is distributed around its axis

80
Q

aphelion

A

the point in its orbit where a planet (or other orbiting object) is farthest from the Sun

81
Q

apogee

A

the point in its orbit where an Earth satellite is farthest from Earth

82
Q

asteroid belt

A

the region of the solar system between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter in which most asteroids are located; the main belt, where the orbits are generally the most stable, extends from 2.2 to 3.3 AU from the Sun

83
Q

astronomical unit (AU)

A

the unit of length defined as the average distance between Earth and the Sun; this distance is about 1.5 × 108 kilometers

84
Q

density

A

the ratio of the mass of an object to its volume

85
Q

eccentricity

A

in an ellipse, the ratio of the distance between the foci to the major axis

86
Q

ellipse

A

a closed curve for which the sum of the distances from any point on the ellipse to two points inside (called the foci) is always the same

87
Q

escape speed

A

the speed a body must achieve to break away from the gravity of another body

88
Q

focus

A

(plural: foci) one of two fixed points inside an ellipse from which the sum of the distances to any point on the ellipse is constant

89
Q

gravity

A

the mutual attraction of material bodies or particles

90
Q

Kepler’s first law

A

each planet moves around the Sun in an orbit that is an ellipse, with the Sun at one focus of the ellipse

91
Q

Kepler’s second law

A

the straight line joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas in space in equal intervals of time

92
Q

Kepler’s third law

A

the square of a planet’s orbital period is directly proportional to the cube of the semimajor axis of its orbit

93
Q

major axis

A

the maximum diameter of an ellipse

94
Q

mass

A

a measure of the amount of material within an object

95
Q

momentum

A

the measure of the amount of motion of a body; the momentum of a body is the product of its mass and velocity; in the absence of an unbalanced force, momentum is conserved

96
Q

Newton’s first law

A

every object will continue to be in a state of rest or move at a constant speed in a straight line unless it is compelled to change by an outside force

97
Q

orbit

A

the path of an object that is in revolution about another object or point

98
Q

orbital period (P)

A

the time it takes an object to travel once around the Sun

99
Q

orbital speed

A

the speed at which an object (usually a planet) orbits around the mass of another object; in the case of a planet, the speed at which each planet moves along its ellipse

100
Q

perigee

A

the point in its orbit where an Earth satellite is closest to Earth

101
Q

perihelion

A

the point in its orbit where a planet (or other orbiting object) is nearest to the Sun

102
Q

perturbation

A

a small disturbing effect on the motion or orbit of a body produced by a third body

103
Q

satellite

A

an object that revolves around a planet

104
Q

semimajor axis

A

half of the major axis of a conic section, such as an ellipse

105
Q

velocity

A

the speed and direction a body is moving—for example, 44 kilometers per second toward the north galactic pole

106
Q

Why do the patterns of the stars in our sky look the same from year to year?

A

The stars in our sky actually move rapidly relative to us—thousands of kilometers per hour—but are so far away that it takes a long time for this motion to make a noticeable change in the patterns in the sky

107
Q

Can two stars in a constelation be very far away from each other?

A

yes

108
Q

Constellation Sagittarius is best seen during the evenings of August and September, but not January evenings because of

A

the location of earth in it’s orbit

109
Q

The line that divides the sky into the east and west parts is called the

A

meridian

110
Q

Under what circumstances can you find the sun above or below the ecliptic?

A

never

111
Q

Beijing and Philadelphia have about the same latitude but very different longitudes. Therefore, tonight’s night sky in these two places

A

will look the same

112
Q

What makes the North Star, Polaris, special?

A

It appears very near the north celestial pole.

113
Q

What is a circumpolar star?

A

a star that always remains above your horizon

114
Q

You are standing on Earth’s North Pole. Which way is Polaris, the North star?

A

on the northern horizon

115
Q

When traveling North from the United States into Canada, you’ll see the North Star (Polaris) getting ________.

A

higher in the sky

116
Q

He discovered that Jupiter has moons.

A

Galileo

117
Q

Kepler’s third law, P2 = a3, means that:

A

-a planet’s period does not depend on the eccentricity of its orbit
-all orbits with the same semimajor axis have the same period
-planets that are farther from the Sun move at slower average speeds than nearer planets
-the period of a planet does not depend on its mass

118
Q

Venus orbits the Sun at a slower average speed than Mercury. Which of Kepler’s law can one derive this statement from?

A

3rd

119
Q

Kepler’s second law, which states that as a planet moves around its orbit it sweeps out equal areas in equal times, means that:

A

a planet travels faster when it is nearer to the Sun and slower when it is farther from the Sun.

120
Q

Suppose a comet orbits the Sun on a highly eccentric orbit with an average (semimajor axis) distance of 1 AU. How long does it take to complete each orbit, and how do we know?

A

One year, which we know from Kepler’s third law.

121
Q

According to Kepler’s second law, as a planet moves closer to the sun in its orbit,

A

it speeds up

122
Q

From the fact that virtually every galaxy is moving away from us and more distant galaxies are moving away from us at a faster rate than closer ones, we conclude that

A

the universe is expanding

123
Q

The term observable universe refers to

A

that portion of the universe that we can see in principle, given the current age of the universe

124
Q

Suppose we look at two distant galaxies: Galaxy 1 is twice as far away as Galaxy 2. In that case, ________.

A

we are seeing Galaxy 1 as it looked at an earlier time in the history of the universe than Galaxy 2

125
Q
A

Astronomy (9 decks)

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