Space Physics

Question 1

What are galaxies made up of?

Answer 1

Huge collection of dust, gas, stars and their solar systems

Question 2

What is the Sun?

Answer 2

The Sun is a star of medium size in the Milky Way galaxy, consisting mostly of hydrogen and helium.

Question 3

What type of energy does the Sun radiate?

Answer 3

The Sun radiates most of its energy in the infrared, visible, and UV regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Question 4

Name all gas giants

Answer 4

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

Question 5

What is an exoplanet?

Answer 5

a planet that orbits a star outside the solar system.

Question 6

What is the diameter of the Milky Way?

Answer 6

The diameter of the Milky Way is approximately 100,000 light years.

Question 7

How are astronomical distances measured?

Answer 7

Astronomical distances can be measured in light-years.

Question 8

What is one light-year in meters?

Answer 8

One light-year is equal to 9.5 x 10^15 m.

Question 9

What is the solar system

Answer 9

a star (sun) and the planets and other bodies in orbit around it

Question 10

What are the four planets nearest the Sun like?

Answer 10

The four planets nearest the Sun are rocky and small.

Question 11

What are the four planets furthest from the Sun like?

Answer 11

The four planets furthest from the Sun are gaseous and large.

Question 12

What can be analyzed from planets?

Answer 12

Planetary data can be analyzed for orbital distance, orbital duration, and surface temperature.

Question 13

how to calculate speed of light

Answer 13

3x10^8 m/s (300,000,000 m/s)

Question 14

How long does it take for the Earth to rotate on its axis?

Answer 14

The Earth rotates on its axis approximately once every 24 hours.

Question 15

What is the Earth’s orbit around the Sun?

Answer 15

The Earth orbits the Sun once in approximately 365 days.

Question 16

How long does it take for the Moon to orbit the Earth?

Answer 16

It takes approximately one month for the Moon to orbit the Earth. (27 days)

Question 17

What is the order of entities from smallest to largest?

Answer 17

Dwarf Planet, Planet, Star, Solar System, Galaxy, Universe.

Question 18

What is the Universe?

Answer 18

The Universe is all the space, matter, energy, and even time within it.

Question 19

What is a galaxy?

Answer 19

A galaxy is a number of stars and the solar systems around them grouped together.

Question 20

What is the Milky Way?

Answer 20

The Milky Way is the galaxy containing the Sun and Solar System.

Question 21

What is a star?

Answer 21

A star is a body in space made of gas that gives out its own light.

Question 22

What is a solar system?

Answer 22

A solar system is a star and the planets and other bodies in orbit around it.

Question 23

What is a planet?

Answer 23

A planet is a large body made of rock or gas that does not give out light and orbits a star.

Question 24

What is a dwarf planet?

Answer 24

A dwarf planet is a lump of rock smaller than a planet, in orbit around the Sun.

Question 25

What is a moon?

Answer 25

A moon is a rocky body orbiting a planet, also known as a natural satellite.

Question 26

What is a comet?

Answer 26

A comet is a body in space made of dust particles frozen in ice, which orbit the Sun.

Question 27

What is an asteroid?

Answer 27

An asteroid is a lump of rock that is a part of a planet or moon, or left over from when the Solar System was formed.

Question 28

What is a meteor?

Answer 28

A meteor is a piece of rock or dust that makes a streak of light in the night sky as it enters the Earth’s atmosphere.

Question 29

What is a meteorite?

Answer 29

A meteorite is a stony or metallic object that has fallen to Earth from outer space without burning up.

Question 30

What is a constellation?

Answer 30

A constellation is a collection of stars that makes a pattern in the sky.

Question 31

What is an orbit?

Answer 31

An orbit is a regular, repeating path that one object in space takes around another.

Question 32

What is the Big Bang Theory?

Answer 32

The Big Bang Theory states that around 13.8 billion years ago, all the matter in the Universe emerged from a tiny, single point in a violent explosion.

Question 33

What is the composition of the Sun?

Answer 33

The Sun is made up of 91% hydrogen and 9% helium atoms.

Question 34

How long does it take for the Sun to complete one revolution around the Milky Way?

Answer 34

The Sun takes about 250 million years to complete one revolution around the center of the Milky Way.

Question 35

What is the asteroid belt?

Answer 35

The asteroid belt is a large number of asteroids between Mars and Jupiter.

Question 36

Why can we see planets and other objects in the sky?

Answer 36

Light is reflected off these objects into our eyes.

Question 37

What causes day and night on Earth?

Answer 37

Day occurs on the side facing the Sun, and night occurs on the side away from the Sun due to Earth's rotation.

Question 38

What is a lunar eclipse?

Answer 38

A lunar eclipse happens when the Sun, Earth, and Moon are aligned, causing the Moon to be in the Earth's shadow.