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Question 1

Solar Nebula Theory

Answer 1

States that the solar system developed out of an interstellar cloud of dust and gas, called a nebula

Question 2

Terrestrial Planet

Answer 2

Planets made of rock

Question 3

Jovian Planet

Answer 3

Planets made of gas

Question 4

Dwarf Planet

Answer 4

A celestial body resembling a small planet but lacking certain technical criteria that are required for it to be classed as such

Question 5

Order of planets from the Sun

Answer 5

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

Question 6

Asteroid

Answer 6

A small rocky body orbiting the sun

Question 7

Comet

Answer 7

A celestial object consisting of a nucleus of ice and dust and, when near the sun, a “tail” of gas and dust particles pointing away from the sun

Question 8

Meteoroid

Answer 8

A small body moving in the solar system that would become a meteor if it entered the earth’s atmosphere

Question 9

Meteor

Answer 9

A small body of matter from outer space that enters the earth’s atmosphere, becoming incandescent as a result of friction and appearing as a streak of light

Question 10

Meteorite

Answer 10

A meteor that survives its passage through the earth’s atmosphere such that part of it strikes the ground

Question 11

Corona

Answer 11

The rarefied gaseous envelope of the sun; normally visible only during a total solar eclipse

Question 12

Chromosphere

Answer 12

A reddish gaseous layer immediately above the photosphere of the sun

Question 13

Photosphere

Answer 13

The luminous envelope of the sun from which its light and heat radiate (layer we can see)

Question 14

Core

Answer 14

The center of the sun; densest layer; fusion occur here

Question 15

Nuclear Fusion

Answer 15

A nuclear reaction in which atomic nuclei of low atomic number fuse to form a heavier nucleus with the release of energy

Question 16

Constellation

Answer 16

A group of stars forming a recognizable pattern that is traditionally named after its apparent form or identified with a mythological figure

Question 17

Binary star

Answer 17

A system of two stars in which one star revolves around the other or both revolve around a common center

Question 18

Absolute Magnitude

Answer 18

The brightness of a celestial object as it would be seen at a standard distance of 10 parsecs (the true brightness)

Question 19

Apparent Magnitude

Answer 19

The brightness of a celestial object as it is actually measured from the earth

Question 20

Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) Diagram

Answer 20

The graph showing the absolute magnitude plotted against the surface temperature for a group of stars

Question 21

Nebula

Answer 21

A cloud of gas and dust in outer space, visible in the night sky either as an indistinct bright patch or as a dark silhouette against other luminous matter (birthplace of stars)

Question 22

Protostar

Answer 22

A contracting mass of gas which represents an early stage in the formation of a star, before nucleosynthesis has begun

Question 23

Main Sequence Star

Answer 23

A series of star types to which most stars belong, represented on a Hertzsprung–Russell diagram as a continuous band extending from the upper left (hot, bright stars) to the lower right (cool, dim stars

Question 24

Red Giant star

Answer 24

A very large star of high luminosity and low surface temperature

Question 25

White dwarf star

Answer 25

A small very dense star that is typically the size of a planet

Question 26

Neutron star

Answer 26

A star of very small radius (typically 18 miles/30 km) and very high density, composed predominantly of closely packed neutrons

Question 27

Supergiant star

Answer 27

A very large star that is even brighter than a giant, often despite being relatively cool.

Question 28

Supernova

Answer 28

A star that suddenly increases greatly in brightness because of a catastrophic explosion that ejects most of its mass.

Question 29

Black Hole

Answer 29

A region of space having a gravitational field so intense that no matter or radiation can escape

Question 30

Parallax

Answer 30

The effect whereby the position or direction of an object appears to differ when viewed from different positions

Question 31

Galaxy

Answer 31

A system of millions or billions of stars, together with gas and dust, held together by gravitational attractions

Question 32

Red Shift

Answer 32

The displacement of spectral lines toward longer wavelengths (the red end of the spectrum) in radiation from distant galaxies and celestial objects (expanding)

Question 33

Hubble’s Law

Answer 33

A law stating that the redshifts in the spectra of distant galaxies (and hence their speeds of recession) are proportional to their distance

Question 34

Big Bang Theory

Answer 34

The universe as we know it started with an infinitely hot and dense single point that inflated and stretched — first at unimaginable speeds, and then at a more measurable rate — over the next 13.8 billion years to the still-expanding cosmos that we know today