Space Flashcards
What is a planet?
A planet orbits a star
What is a dwarf planet?
A dwarf planet orbits a star, but is not large enough or roughly spherical enough to be classified as a small planet
What is a moon?
A moon orbits a planet
What is a star?
A star is a ball of hot matter which gives out light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation.
It does not burn- nuclear fusion reactions are taking place
What are asteroids?
Asteroids are lumps of rock orbiting a star which are smaller than dwarf planets
What is a solar system?
A solar system is the planets, moons and asteroids which orbit a star
What is an exoplanet?
An exoplanet is a planet which orbits a star which is not our Sun
What is a galaxy?
A galaxy is an enormous group of stars, some of which may have planets orbiting them
What is the universe?
The universe is everything that exists- many galaxies separate by empty space
How did the universe start?
The Big Bang
What is the Big Bang?
A rapid expansion from a point which was infinitely dense
How old is the universe?
It is approximately 13.8 billion years old
True or False: the universe is not expanding
False- the universe is still expanding
After the Big Bang, how where atoms formed?
As it expanded the universe began to cool down, energy changed into particles of matter. Particles combined to form atoms
What are the basic needs for human life?
Oxygen, water, food, shelter, warmth
What is a satellite?
A satellite is an object which orbits a planet
What is the period of a satellite?
The period of a satellite is the time it takes to make one complete orbit
True or false: the higher the satellite orbit the shorter it takes for one complete orbit
False-The higher the satellite orbit the longer it takes for one complete orbit
What is a geostationary satellite?
A satellite which appears to stay in the same place, relative to earth, is called a geostationary satellite
What is the period of a geostationary satellite?
The period of a geostationary satellite is 24 hours
How do satellites work?
Newton thought that if it where possible to fire an object from a very large cannon with enough velocity it would fall towards earth at the same rate as the earth falls away. The object will orbit earth. This is how satellites work.
What are the uses of satellites?
Global Positioning satellites (GPS)
Weather forecasting
Communications
Space discovery and space exploration
What is Global Positioning Satellites (GPS)?
The signal from three or more satellites is used to find your location accurately
How is GPS useful?
This is useful when Navigating your way around somewhere you are not familiar with (sat-nav in car) or when trying to find a ship in trouble at sea
What is weather forecasting?
Satellites can help predict the weather, providing warnings of extreme conditions. They can also be used to track forest fires and monitor areas where the conditions make it likely that forest fires could break out
What is communications?
Satellites are used to send radio and television signals around the world. This allowed people to keep in touch with what is happening in real time
What are examples of space discovery and space exploration?
E.g. Hubble telescope and International Space Station (ISS)
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