Unit 5 - Astronomy Part 2 (Solar System) Flashcards
Our solar system formed around _____ years ago from a giant cloud of gas and debris.
5 billion
Gravity caused the planets to become layered according to _____.
density
The Terrestrial planets have what characteristics?
small, rocky, dense, located near the Sun
The Jovian planets have what characteristics?.
large, gaseous, low density, located far away from the Sun
The planets that are _____ from the Sun have a longer period of revolution.
farthest (Jovian)
Impact craters can be identified in _____
Earth’s crust
Impact events have been correlated with _____.
mass extinctions and global climate change
People have observed _____ for thousands of years, using them to find direction, note the passage of time, and to express their values and traditions.
the stars
Stars get their energy from _____.
nuclear fusion
Stars form when gravity causes clouds of molecules to contract until _____
light elements combine into heavier elements (this is fusion)
_____ releases great amounts of energy over millions of years.
Fusion
Stars differ from each other in _____
size, temperature, and age (on the ESRT)
Most stars spend a majority of their life as…
average main sequence star
Our Sun is located within a spiral galaxy of stars known as the _____.
Milky Way
Our Sun will eventually swell up to be a _____ then shrink down into a _____
a Red Giant then shrink down into a White Dwarf
The Earth is orbited by _____
one moon and many artificial satellites
The _____ on Earth responds to the gravitational attraction of the moon and the Sun.
thin layer of water
There are ___ high tides and ___ low tides per day.
2 high tides and 2 low tides per day (12.5 hours apart) - a cyclic pattern
The moon has a greater effect on the tides than the Sun because it _____
is closer than the Sun.
_____ tides have higher high tides and lower low tides because the Sun and moon are in a straight line and the combined pull on the water is greater.
Spring
_____ tides have lower high tides and higher low tides because the Sun and the Moon are not lined up and they are pulling the water in opposite directions.
Neap
Spring tides occur only when the moon is at _____ moon and _____ moon phases.
full moon and new moon phases
Neap tides occur only when the moon is at _____ and _____ moon phases.
First Quarter and Last Quarter moon phases
The moon has phases because it _____.
revolves around the Earth
A _____ is when the sunlight is blocked out and we cannot see the Sun from Earth.
solar eclipse
A _____ is when the moon cannot be seen.
lunar eclipse
A solar eclipse can only occur if the moon is at a ______ moon phase.
new moon phase and is lined up perfectly.
A lunar eclipse can only occur if the moon is at a ______ moon phase.
full moon phase and is lined up perfectly.
Earth’s early atmosphere formed as a result of the outgassing of ______, ______, ______, and lesser amounts of other gases from its interior.
water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrogen
Planet Earth is approximately ______ years old.
5 billion
The universe is vast and estimated to be over _____ years old.
10 billion
The current theory is that the universe was created from…
an explosion called the Big Bang
Evidence of the Big Bang…
Cosmic background radiation, the red shift of light from very distant galaxies
Light from distant galaxies show a shift to the red end of the visible spectrum, which is evidence that the universe is…
expanding
Our galaxy contains billions of stars and the universe contains…
billions of galaxies
