Space Flashcards
What are comets made of
How big are they
Core of frozen gas and dust
Up to 20km in diameter BIGGER THAN METEORS 🌠
Why do tails of comets always point aways from the sun
The core is evaporating in the sunlight
What orbit to comets have
Elliptical around the sun
How are objects in our galaxy kept in orbit
By the gravitational force of the sun 🌞
Gravity provides the centripetal force so they don’t fly off
Sun exerts an inward pull force due to gravity
What do light years measure
Distance light travels in one year
Positives and negatives of unmanned space travel
Can withstand conditions and needs no food,oxygen
Can measure temp, radiation and gravity etc
Information travels at speed of light
Lower cost
NO ONE TO FIX IT IF IT BREAKS. MUST HAVE ZERO MAINTAINANCE
Positives and negatives of manned space travel
Samples can be taken
Long time to reach places and radio signals take longer to reach earth
Keeping warm is vital at -270’
Space needed for fuel, food, water and oxygen
What are asteroids
Where do they normally orbit
What could they form but why not
Rocks left over from formation of solar system
Normally orbit a belt between mars and jupiter but can get knocked towards earth
They could form a planet but Jupiter’s gravitational pull prevents this
What could be the impacts if an asteroid hit
Craters Heat may cause fires Sunlight blocked from dust Climate change Species may become extinct
What are some evidence of collisions on earth
Craters
Unusual elements in rocks
Sudden change in fossils indicating much death
What are NEOs
Near earth objects
Asteroid or comet with possible collision course
What are solutions to NEOs approaching
Survey for them
Monitor them with satellites
Deflect with explosion if collision deemed imminent
What does the big bang theory suggest
Universe started in one place with explosion 🎆
Microwave radiation is received from all parts of the universe
How does redshift prove the universe is expanding
Wavelengths are longer when focused on further away objects
Light from star/galaxy is shifted towards red end of the spectrum
The faster the galaxy/star is moving away, the greater the redshift
The furthest galaxies move the fastest they have greater redshift
Explain how stars are formed as protostars then later, main sequence stars
PROTOSTARS⭐️are formed when interstellar gas clouds containing mainly hydrogen collapse under gravity
Temperature of Protostar increases
Thermo-nuclear fusion reactions take place releasing lots of enegy
Becomes MAIN SEQUENCE STAR (eg. our sun🌟)
