space physics Flashcards

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1
Q

objects in the universe ( increasing size)

A

1) interstellar clouds of gas + dust
2) comets
3) meteors
4) moons
5) planets
6) stars
7) planetary systems
8) constelations
9) galaxies
10) clusters of galaxies

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2
Q

how old is the universe

A

13 billion years old

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3
Q

what is 1 light year in meters

A

9.47 x 10 ^15m

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4
Q

the earth spins on its axis once every

A

24 hours

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5
Q

earth tilt and seosons

A

the earth is tilted at a 23 degree angle, so the length of day and night may vary acording to the latitude. this changes through out the year.

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6
Q

why is H hotter in the summer

A
  • there are more hours of sunlight and sun heat energy
  • the sun has a greater elevation and its energy is spread over a smaller area, energy is more intense
  • there is less atmosphere for the energy to pass through as the sun is higher in the sky
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7
Q

how long does it take for the earth to orbit the sun

A

365 days

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8
Q

time T=

A

3.156 x 10 ^ 7

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9
Q

avarage distance of sun to earth

A

1.5 x 10 ^11 m

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10
Q

orbital speed v=

A

2 pie r / T

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11
Q

the earth orbits in what shape

A

eclipse and when its closer to the usn it travels faster because it gains more potential energy which is transfered to kinetic energy. energy is conserved

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12
Q

how long does the moon take to orbit the sun

A

27 days

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13
Q

why does the moon have phases

A

depending on the angle between the sun, the moon and the earth, so different amounts of moon are seen.

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14
Q

what is a solar system

A

consists of a large mass star which planets orbit, asteroids and comets.

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15
Q

how does the sun produce its energy

A

it produces its energy ( light, thermal, infra red, and ultraviolet by nuclear fusion

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16
Q

what happens siince the suns mass is so great

A

planets and other bodies orbit it

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17
Q

what is the dominant force in a solar system

A

gravity- provides the centripetal force that makes the planets orbit the sun

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18
Q

eliptical orbits:

A

most planets orbit the sun in a eclipse. the sun is not at the centre

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19
Q

what is the effect of mass in gravitational force

A

the greater the mass the greater gravutational field strength

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20
Q

what is pluto

A

it is a dwarf planet, small and rocky

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21
Q

relation which orbital speed and distance

A

orbital speed decreases with increasing distance as the suns gravitaciona field strength decreases with increasing distance

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22
Q

why does the average surface temperature decrease as distance from the sun increases.

A

because they recieve less heat energy

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23
Q

what is the asteroid belt

A

rocks in different sizes, orbiting the sun between jupiter and mars

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24
Q

what are moons

A

natural satelites orbiting planets

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25
Q

why do we see moons?

A

because they reflect sun to us

26
Q

what are comets

A

balls of rock and ice in very eliptical orbits around the sun ( comets tail points away from sun)

27
Q

what are meteors

A

pieces of dust to large rocks which orbit around the sun, they burn due to friction when they enter our atmisphere and becomes a meteriorite when reaches earcth

28
Q

how long ago did the solar system form

A

4.7 billion years ago

29
Q

how did the solar system form

A

all the material, gas, dust, that made the sunn and the planets came from a giant star that exploded at the end of its lifetime in a supernova

30
Q

what is a nebula in formation of solar system (formation of sun)

A

giant cloud of interstellar space and gas and dust. the gravitational force between them pulled it together and colapsed the cloud on itself. the cloud began to spin. the hydrogen gas at the centre was pulles together in such a small space that the temp increases so much that nuclear fussion startes. the sun was born

31
Q

formation of planets in our solar system

A

remaining material began to be pulled together by gravity into clumps. the solar wind swept away lighter elements. this left only atoms with greater mass m, forming inner rocky planets
where the solar wind had less force, the lighter elements where pulled together due to gravitational force between them, forming 4 large gas planets

32
Q

what does the sun consist of?

A

medium sized star made of mainly hydrogen and helium

33
Q

why does the sun consist of hydrogen and helium?

A

because the centre of the sun is at the hugh temp of 15 million degrees celcius which gives a hydrogen nuclei enough kinetic energy to fuse together and release energy

34
Q

how is energy from the sun radiated

A

infared, visibe light, and ultra violet regions- but all electromagnetic waves are emitted

35
Q

what does it mean for stars to have luminosity

A

produce light

36
Q

what is a light year

A

the distance travelled by light in the vacum of space in the time of 1 year ( 365 X 24 X 60 X 60)

37
Q

what is 1 light year

A

9.5 x 10^15

38
Q

what are galaxies

A

billions of stars sperated by vast distances

39
Q

what is between stars and galacies

A

interstellar matter

40
Q

length of milky way

A

10^5 light years

41
Q

what does gravity do for stars

A

provides the centripetal force that allows the rotation of stars about the centre of the galaxy

42
Q

star formation

A

intersellar cloud of gas-> hot-> protostar( hotter -> main sequence star( stabble) (hottest)

43
Q

what is a protostar

A

the interstellar cloud is collapsing and temp is increasing due to internal gavitational attraction

44
Q

stable star

A

the protostar becomes stable, because the inward gravitational force is balanced with the outward force dure to nuclear fusion in the high temperature core

45
Q

what are red giants

A

large cool stard that are made when main sequence stars run out if hydrgen

46
Q

low mass star lifecycle eg(sun)

A

main sequence star-> red gian ( fusion of helium)-> nebula+white dawrf

47
Q

white dwarf

A

very dense, very hot, carbon or oxygen core, no fusion, cooling, size of earth, very small, cannot be seen by naked eye,

48
Q

what does a white dwarf cool into

A

invisible black dwarf

49
Q

high mass star

A

star bigger than sun will form a red super giant star when hydrogen runs out. it wil have fussion of higher elements but when they run out will be a massive supernova explosion. very dense neutron star is left behind and a nebulla

50
Q

very high mass star

A

for a star much more massive than the sun, form a red super giant star when fusion stops, the even bigger supernova will resukt in a black hole and a nebula cloud.

51
Q

what is a black hole

A

has so much density that it bends space time and not even light can escape from it.

52
Q

what is a nebula from a supernova

A

contains hydrogen and heavier elements made in explosion. new stars can e formed in it

53
Q

the universe is

A

expanding, galaxies are moving away from each other

54
Q

big bang therory

A

the past universe was very small and very hot. all matter in the universe was in a sigle point of singularity- a point of infinate density and gravitational force.

55
Q

red shift

A

observed light and other electromagnetic radiation emitted from most stars and galaxies that is detected on earth has a longer wavelength compared to a stationary point- this is because of redhsift

56
Q

distance relation to recession speed

A

the further away from earth a galaxy ism the greater its recession speed
V= (2.2x10^18) x d

57
Q

age of universe formula

A

T= 1/Ho

58
Q

what is the universe beig cold evidence for

A

that it was very small and very hot before

59
Q

how do cosmic microwave background radiation waves reach earth?

A

from all direction with equal intensity.

60
Q

how did the wavlength change as universe expanded

A

wavelength increased, and now radiation is in electromagnetic spectrum.

61
Q

evidence for the big bang

A

redshift from receading stars and gakaxies, the expading universe