space Flashcards
is the summer solstice a short period of daytime or a long period of daytime?
the summer solstice happens on the longest period of daytime. june 21
is the winter solstice a short period of daytime or a long period of daytime?
the winter solstice happens on the shortest period of daytime. december 21
what is equinox
equinox is when the earth is receiving the same amount of sunlight/daylight
geocentric method
a theory when the earth is at the center of the universe and the other planets orbit around the earth.
heliocentric method
people believed that the center of the universe is the sun and the other planets like earth, revolve around the sun
what is a sundial
a device that is used to measure the time with the help of the sun
what is a merkhet
a device that is used to tell what time it was at night with the help of the North Pole Star.
what is a astrolabe
a device that is used to make astronomical measurements, typically of objects in the sky
astronomical units
it is used to measure the local distances within our solar system
how fast does light travel
light travels in 300 000 km/s
solar winds
they are beams of electricity charged particles discharged by the sun in every direction
what is a star
a hot, glowing ball of gas (hydrogen) which gives off a lot of light energy
nebulae
a place in space with a huge amount of gas and dust. it contains 75% hydrogen and 23% helium. (1st stage of the star)
sun-like star
a star that is relatively similar to the sun. it will soon turn to a red-giant like star.
massive star
it has more hydrogen than the sun-like star and is much bigger.
white dwarf
as the core of the red giants star isn’t hot enough to keep the reaction going, the star will shrink and slowly become a white dwarf
white dwarf
as the core of the red giants star isn’t hot enough to keep the reaction going, the star will shrink and slowly become a white dwarf
black dwarf
when the white dwarf fades away completely it will turn into a cold, dark black dwarf.
black hole
a black hole forms from a star that is at least 10x as massive as the sun. when the star collapses there is so much gravity in such a small area that nothing can escape the gravitational pull, even light. black holes are also super dense and cannot be seen in space.
supernova
after the red-supergiant, gravity takes over causing the core of the star to collapse quickly on itself which causes a supernova. if by chance the star is not completely destroyed, then a neutron star and a black hole is left behind.
supernova
after the red-supergiant, gravity takes over causing the core of the star to collapse quickly on itself which causes a supernova. if by chance the star is not completely destroyed, then a neutron star and a black hole is left behind.
terrestrial
inner planets, smaller, rockier composition. Few moons
jovian
outer planets, larger, gaseous and contains many moons
asteroids
irregularly shaped chunks of rocks and ice that are mostly small but can be as big as 100km in diameter
comets
they are known as “dirty snowballs” because they are made up of dust and ice travelling through space
constellations
grouping of stars
galaxy
grouping of million/billions of stars, gas, and dust which is held altogether by gravity
meteor
a rock that enters the earth’s atmosphere. also known as “shooting stars”
meteoroids
small pieces of rock flying through space with no particular path
meteorite
if a meteor hits the earth’s surface it is known as a meteorite
azimuth
a measurement of the horizontal angle clock-wise from north.
azimuth
a measurement of the horizontal angle clock-wise from north. (to look AROUND the sky)
altitude
a measure of the vertical angle from the horizontal to an object in the sky (to see how far you need to look UP in the sky)
zenith
an imaginary point directly overhead at 90 degrees altitude. (basically in the middle top of the planet)
