The Universe - Space/Stars/Solar System

Question 1

What causes the seasons?

Answer 1

The tilt of the Earth

Question 2

What are tidal forces?

Answer 2

When gravity pulls one part of an object away from its center of mass

Question 3

What shape is the Earth?

Answer 3

A slightly oblong sphere (oblong spheroid)

Question 4

Why do we only see one face of the Moon?

Answer 4

The Moon only spins once as it goes around us, which always shows us one side.

Question 5

Which is the highest tide: a spring tide or a neap tide?

Answer 5

Spring tide - caused by the Sun and Moon pulling in the same direction.

Question 6

What are the 8 phases of the Moon?

Answer 6

Waxing: New, Crescent, Quarter, Gibbous.
Waning: Full, Gibbous, Quarter, Crescent.

Question 7

What process takes place in the Sun’s Core and turns hydrogen into helium?

Answer 7

Nuclear Fusion

Question 8

What are the sections of the Sun?

Answer 8

The Core, the Radiative Zone, the Convection Zone, the Photosphere, and the Corona.

Question 9

What do we call the incredibly fast rush of particles carrying light and heat energy away from the Sun and into the Solar System?

Answer 9

Solar Wind

Question 10

How hot is the Sun’s core?

Answer 10

around 15,000,000 degrees Celsius

Question 11

What is the Big Bang Theory?

Answer 11

All matter in the Universe exploded out from a infinitely dense point called the singularity.

Question 12

What are the two Eras of the Big Bang Theory called?

Answer 12

The Radiation Era and the Matter Era

Question 13

What were the first two elements that formed during the Matter Era?

Answer 13

Hydrogen and Helium

Question 14

What type of celestial bodies created the rest of the elements?

Answer 14

Stars

Question 15

What are the four terrestrial planets?

Answer 15

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars

Question 16

What are the four gas giants?

Answer 16

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

Question 17

Which planets are over a billion miles away from the Sun?

Answer 17

Uranus and Neptune

Question 18

Which planet has the hottest surface temperature?

Answer 18

Venus

Question 19

Which planet has the most moons?

Answer 19

Saturn (82)

Question 20

Which planets have no moons?

Answer 20

Mercury and Venus

Question 21

What kind of star is our Sun?

Answer 21

a yellow dwarf

Question 22

What will happen to our Sun as it nears the end of its lifespan?

Answer 22

It will become a red giant and be both larger in size and cooler in temperature

Question 23

What are the three shapes of galaxies?

Answer 23

Spiral, elliptical, and irregular

Question 24

What shape is our galaxy?

Answer 24

Spiral

Question 25

What is a nebula?

Answer 25

An incredibly large cloud of gases (mostly hydrogen) that has the potential to collapse inward and form the beginnings of a star

Question 26

What is a dark nebula?

Answer 26

A nebula with a combination of gases that blocks light from passing through it.

Question 27

What is the name of the diagram we use to measure the life and characteristics of stars?

Answer 27

a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram

Question 28

What is a main sequence star?

Answer 28

a star that is currently in its "adult" life; fully developed and able to resist gravity through hydrogen fusion alone

Question 29

What happens to a low mass star when it dies?

Answer 29

It sheds its outermost layers and becomes an Earth sized white dwarf, far less powerful and hot as it eventually burns out.

Question 30

What happens to a high mass star when it dies?

Answer 30

It usually explodes into a supernova, a massive explosion

Question 31

Which color of main sequence star burns hotter: blue or red?

Answer 31

Blue. The blue color indicates a high rate of energy coming from its fusion reaction. Red indicates a downward shift in energy and temperature

Question 32

What is a constellation?

Answer 32

A group of stars that humans have drawn imaginary lines between to form images

Question 33

What are the zodiac signs?

Answer 33

13 constellations that are associated with different times of the year.

Question 34

True or False: You can see all constellations at all times of the year from all locations on the planet.

Answer 34

False: Most constellations are seasonal and most are only visible in one hemisphere of the world (ex. Southern Cross is only seen in the Southern Hemisphere)

Question 35

What is the difference between an asteroid and a meteor?

Answer 35

Asteroids orbit the Sun; meteors orbit the Earth

Question 36

What is the difference between asteriods/meteors and comets?

Answer 36

their composition is different; asteriods/meteors are rocky and metallic; comets are mostly ice and gas with a little rocky material

Question 37

What's the difference between meteors, meteoroids, and meteorites?

Answer 37

Meteoroids= in space/orbit Meteors= falling through Earth's atmosphere Meteorites=crashed into Earth's surface

Question 38

What was the Space Race?

Answer 38

the competition between the US and the Soviet Union to be the first to explore space.

Question 39

Who launched the first successful satellite?

Answer 39

Soviet Union (USSR)

Question 40

Who had the first spacewalk?

Answer 40

Soviet Union (USSR)

Question 41

Who had the first man to walk on the Moon?

Answer 41

USA

Question 42

What are the main health hazards for humans traveling in outer space vs life on Earth?

Answer 42

lack of oxygen, lack of heat, and lack of air pressure

Question 43

What is the main purpose of a space suit?

Answer 43

to keep the astronaut pressurized and to provide breathable oxygen

Question 44

What is the study of the Universe called?

Answer 44

cosmology

Question 45

Why is cosmology (and its smaller sub-category astronomy) so fascinating?

Answer 45

Because it constantly shows us just how much bigger and more complex the Universe is than our own small lives here on Earth. There's always more to learn!

Question 46

What are the two types of eclipse?

Answer 46

lunar and solar

Question 47

What is a lunar eclipse?

Answer 47

When Earth's position blocks light from reaching the moon

Question 48

What is solar eclipse?

Answer 48

When the moon's position blocks our view of the sun

Question 49

What is a annular solar eclipse?

Answer 49

When the moon blocks our view of the sun, but it's in its furthest position from the Earth, so we can still see the outline of the sun's photosphere around the moon.

Question 50

What is the area of direct shadow cast on the Earth during a solar eclipse called?

Answer 50

the umbra

Question 51

What are the more lit/still shadowed areas around the umbra called?

Answer 51

the penumbra