Science Chapter 4: Astronomy Flashcards
Constellations
a group of stars that forms a pattern resembling a familiar object, character, or animal, and that changes position throughout the year because the earth moves.
Circumpolar constellations vs zodiac
Circumpolar constellations are visible year round because of their unique position. Well zodiac constellations come into view and disappear because of earth’s rotation around the sun.
Facts about the sun
The sun is an average star, it is not very hot and not very cold. It is a main sequence star, and is yellow.
Be able to label the sun’s layers
go to the google doc and do it
Prominence
Huge arching columns of gas.
Sunspot
An area of the Sun that is cooler and not as bright as the surrounding areas and that is caused by the Sun’s intense magnetic field.
Flare
Sudden brightening of gasses shooting outwards.
How to sort stars
You sort stars based off of their color to find their temperature. And based off their brightness.
Absolute vs Apparent magnitude
Absolute magnitude is a measure of the amount of light that a star actually emits. Apparent magnitude is a measure of the amount of light from a star that is received from earth.
Be able to draw the HR diagram
go to the google docs and draw it
What percent of stars are main sequence stars
90%
Compare giants and dwarfs
They both are caused by the core using up all of the stars hydrogen. Dwarfs outer layers escape into space, leaving behind a small dense core. Well giants core contracts, its outer layers expand and cool.
How do stars generate energy
They fuse hydrogen into helium in their core
Nebula
a large cloud of dust and gas that can break apart into smaller pieces and form stars.
Supergiant
life cycle stage of a massive star where the core reaches extremely high temperatures, heavy elements form by fusion, and the star expands
Supernova
a star that suddenly increases greatly in brightness because of a catastrophic explosion that ejects most of its mass.
Neutron star
collapsed core of a supernova that shrinks to about 20 km in diameter and whose dense core has only neutrons
Black hole
remnant of a star that is so dense that nothing, not even light, can escape its gravity field
Know the life cycle of a star
Go to the google doc and draw it
or
nebula –> low mass star –> Red giant –> planetary nebula –> white dwarf
nebula –> high mass star –> red supergiant –> supernova –> neutron star or black hole
Galaxy
a large group of stars, dust, and gas that is held together by gravity and can be elliptical, spiral, or irregular.
The 3 types of galaxies and what they are shaped like
Elliptical- shaped like large 3 dimensional ellipses, most resembling a football.
Spiral- Spiral arms that wind outward from the inner regions.
Irregular- Most of the galaxies that don’t fit into the other classifications.
What galaxy are we found in:
We are found in a spiral galaxy called the Milky Way.
Big bang theory
states that approximately 12 to 15 billion years ago, the formation of the universe began with a fiery explosion.
