Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Astronomy 0007 > Units 1-5 Vocab > Flashcards

Units 1-5 Vocab Flashcards

1
Q

Measured Earth’s circumference; used length of shadows cast by sun at noon during the summer solstice at 2 different places.

A

Eratosthenes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

First to suggest that Earth goes around the Sun (heliocentric model)

A

Aristarchus

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Constructed models that could explain retrograde motion. Came up with epicycles to explain retrograde. Assumed the planet rotated about a different point from the earth at a uniform rate. His Earth centered model.

A

Ptolemy

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Created a sun-centered model designed to replace the Ptolemaic models (heliocentric model). He had more quantitative models with actual numbers about the planets’ average distances from the sun. Believed planets orbited in circular motion. Said that if earth was in the center, then we would always see stars rise and set.

A

Copernicus

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

He discovered a supernova after he thought he discovered a star. He challenged the unchanging perfect heavens (proved Aristotle wrong). He dodn’t beeive in the heliocentric model. His model had Earth at center of universe. The Sun, moon, and stars revolve around the Earth, but the 5 naked eye planets revolve around the Sun.

A

Brahe

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Thought earth was at the center of the universe, heavens are perfect and unchanging, Earth is subject to decay. Planets, moon, sun, and stars revolve around the Earth in 55 celestial spheres.

A

Aristotle

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Hired by Brahe to analyze his planetary data. He proposed elliptical orbits; orbit of the planets are ellipses with the sun at one of the focus. He formulated 3 laws that describe planetary motion.

A

Kepler

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

The orbit of each planet around the Sun is an ellipse with the Sun at one focus.

A

Kepler’s First Law

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

As a planet moves around its orbit, it sweeps out equal areas in equal times.

A

Kepler’s Second Law

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

More distant planets orbit the Sun at slower average speeds, obeying a precise mathematical relationship (P^2=a^2)

A

Kepler’s Third Law

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

First man to point a telescope at the sky; saw shadows cast by the mountains on the moon (it was a place, not a perfect, heavenly body). Discovered planets have their own systems, like Jupiters 4 moons. First to conclude that sunspots are on the sun. Suggested stars are at a large range of distances, not in the same crystalline sphere. Discovered balls of different mass dropped at the same height, take the same times to fall, independent of their mass.

A

Galileo

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

Planets usually move eastward through the constellations. Eastward motion is occasionally interrupted by intervals of westward motion. (Apparent Retrograde Motion).

A

Motion of Planets

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Took apparent motions very literally; stars, sun, moon, planets fixed on translucent spheres that rotate around fixed Earth.

A

Geocentric

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Planets revolve around the Sun at the center of the Universe.

A

Heliocentric

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

The apparent shifting of an object against the background, due to viewing it from different positions.

A

Parallax

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Closet point in an ellipse.

A

Perihelion

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Farthest point of ellipse.

A

Aphelion

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

A type of oval that happens to be the shape of bound orbits.

A

Ellipse

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Small circle upon which a planet moves while simultaneously going around a larger circle (the derent) around Earth in the Ptolemaic model of the universe.

A

Epicycle

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

The large circle upon which a planet follows its circle-upon-circle path around Earth in the (Earth-centered) Ptolemaic model of the Universe.

A

Deferent

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Motion that is backward compared to the norm. Ex. Mars during the period of time when it moves westward, rather that the more common eastward, relative to the stars.

A

Retrograde Motion

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

An object moves at constant velocity unless a force acts to change its speed or direction.

A

Newton’s First Law

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Force=mass*acceleration

A

Newton’s Second Law

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

For every force, there is always an equal and opposite reaction force (along the same line).

A

Newton’s Third Law

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

The rate at which an object moves (distance/time) Measured in m/s

A

Speed

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

The combination of speed and direction of motion; it can be stated as a speed in a particular direction. measured in m/s

A

Velocity

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

The rate at which an object’s velocity changes. Measured in m/s^2

A

Acceleration

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

A great island of stars in space, all held together by gravity and orbiting a common center.

A

Galaxy

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

The group of about 40 galaxies to which the Milky Way Galaxy belongs.

A

Local Group

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

The sky as viewed from a particular location on Earth (or another solid object). Objects in the local sky are pinpointed by the coordinates of altitude and direction (or azimuth).

A

local sky

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

The supercluster of galaxies to which the Local Group belongs.

A

Local Supercluster

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

The largest known structures in the universe, consisting of many clusters of galaxies, groups of galaxies, and individual galaxies.

A

Superclusters

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

the sum total of all matter and energy

A

Universe

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

distance that light can travel in 1 year, which is about 10 trillion kilometers (6 trillion miles).

A

Light-year (ly)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

Earth’s average distance from the Sun, which is about 150 million kilometers (93 million miles)

A

Astronomical Unit (AU)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
36
Q

The portion of the entire universe that can be seen from Earth, at least in principle.

A

Observable Universe

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
37
Q

The spinning of an object around its axis.

A

Rotation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
38
Q

The orbital motion of one object around another due to gravity.

A

Orbit

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
39
Q

The increase in the average distance between galaxies as time progresses.

A

Expansion

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
40
Q

Matter that we infer to exist from its gravitational effects but from which we have not detected any light; it apparently dominates the total mass of the universe.

A

Dark Matter

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
41
Q

Name sometimes given to energy that could be causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate.

A

Dark Energy

42
Q

a region of the sky with well-defined borders

A

Constellation

43
Q

the point directly over Earth’s North Pole.

A

North celestial pole

44
Q

the point directly over Earth’s South Pole.

A

South celestial pole

45
Q

is a projection of Earth’s equator into space, makes a complete circle around the celestial sphere.

A

Celestial equator

46
Q

The path the Sun follows as it appears to circle around the celestial sphere once each year. It crosses the celestial equator at a 23 12 ° angle, because that is the tilt of Earth’s axis.

A

Ecliptic

47
Q

The boundary between Earth and sky

A

Horizon

48
Q

The point directly overhead

A

Zenith

49
Q

An imaginary half circle stretching from the horizon due south, through the zenith, to the horizon due north.

A

Meridian

50
Q

an object is the angle it appears to span in your field of view.

A

Angular size

51
Q

between a pair of objects in the sky is the angle that appears to separate them

A

Angular Distance

52
Q

why do the seasons occur?

A

the tilt of Earth’s axis causes sunlight to fall differently on Earth at different times of year.

53
Q

the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, occurs around June 21 and is the moment when the Northern Hemisphere is tipped most directly toward the Sun and receives the most direct sunlight.

A

June Solstice

54
Q

called the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, occurs around December 21 and is the moment when the Northern Hemisphere receives the least direct sunlight.

A

December Solstice

55
Q

called the spring (or vernal) equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, occurs around March 21 and is the moment when the Northern Hemisphere goes from being tipped slightly away from the Sun to being tipped slightly toward the Sun.

A

March Equinox

56
Q

called the fall (or autumnal) equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, occurs around September 22 and is the moment when the Northern Hemisphere first starts to be tipped away from the Sun.

A

September Equinox

57
Q

a gradual wobble that alters the orientation of Earth’s axis in space.

A

Precession

58
Q

the Moon’s appearance in our sky changes as its position relative to the Sun changes (lasts 29 1/2 days)

A

Lunar phases

59
Q

Moon rotates on its axis in the same amount of time it takes to orbit Earth

A

synchronous rotation

60
Q

If the Sun, Earth, and Moon are nearly perfectly aligned, the Moon passes through Earth’s full shadow

A

Total Lunar Eclipse

61
Q

alignment is somewhat less perfect, only part of the full moon passes through the full shadow

A

Partial Lunar Eclipse

62
Q

Moon passes only through Earth’s partial shadow (penumbra)

A

Penumbral Lunar Eclipse

63
Q

occurs when the Moon is in a part of its orbit where it is relatively close to Earth, the Moon’s full shadow can cover a small area of Earth’s surface

A

Total solar eclipse

64
Q

If the eclipse occurs when the Moon is in a part of its orbit that puts it farther from Earth, the full shadow may not reach Earth’s surface

A

Annular Solar Eclipse

65
Q

only part of the Sun is blocked from view

A

Partial Solar Eclipse

66
Q

the apparent shift of position (parallax) of any nearby star (or other object) against the background of distant stars.

A

Stellar Parallax

67
Q

the apparent surface of the heavens, on which the stars seem to be fixed

A

Celestial Sphere

68
Q

A star whose complete circle lies above our horizon

A

Circumpolar star

69
Q

The angular north-south distance between Earth’s equator and a location on Earth’s surface.

A

Latitude

70
Q

The angular east-west distance between the prime meridian (which passes through Greenwich, England) and a location on Earth’s surface.

A

Longitude

71
Q

depends on its position relative to the Sun as it orbits Earth

A

Phase of the moon

72
Q

when Earth’s shadow falls on the Moon

A

Lunar eclipse

73
Q

when the Moon blocks our view of the Sun

A

Solar eclipse

74
Q

planetary orbits are not circles but instead are a special type of oval

A

Ellipse

75
Q

The long axis of the ellipse

A

major axis

76
Q

each half of the major axis

A

Semimajor axis

77
Q

a quantity that describes how much an ellipse is stretched out compared to a perfect circle

A

eccentricity

78
Q

explaining a thing no more assumptions should be made than are necessary.

A

Occam’s razor

79
Q

When a powerful yet simple model makes predictions that survive repeated and varied testing

A

Theory

80
Q

The circle on Earth with latitude 23.5°N, which marks the northernmost latitude at which the Sun ever passes directly overhead

A

Tropic of Cancer

81
Q

The circle on Earth with latitude 23.5°S, which marks the southernmost latitude at which the Sun ever passes directly overhead

A

Tropic of Capricorn

82
Q

mass x velocity

A

momentum

83
Q

amount of matter in your body.

A

mass

84
Q

the force that a scale measures when you stand on it; that is, weight depends both on your mass and on the forces (including gravity) acting on your mass.

A

weight

85
Q

Energy carried by light

A

radiative energy

86
Q

Stored energy

A

potential energy

87
Q

Energy of motion

A

kinetic energy

88
Q

depends on its mass and how far it can fall as a result of gravity

A

An object’s gravitational potential energy

89
Q

Orbits on which an object travels repeatedly around another object; bound orbits are elliptical in shape.

A

Bound orbits

90
Q

the distance from one peak to the next (or one trough to the next)

A

wavelength

91
Q

the number of peaks passing by any point each second.

A

frequency

92
Q

Light with very long wavelengths (and hence low frequencies)—longer than those of infrared light.

A

Radio waves

93
Q

The spectrum of a traditional, or incandescent, light bulb (which contains a heated wire filament) is a rainbow of color.

A

Continuous Spectrum

94
Q

The light that our eyes can see

A

visible light

95
Q

A thin or low-density cloud of gas emits light only at specific wavelengths that depend on its composition and temperature. The spectrum therefore consists of bright emission lines against a black background

A

Emission line spectrum

96
Q

If the cloud of gas lies between us and a light bulb (and the cloud is cooler than the light bulb or other light source), we still see most of the continuous spectrum of the light bulb. However, the cloud absorbs light of specific wavelengths, so the spectrum shows dark absorption lines over the background rainbow

A

Absorption line spectrum

97
Q

summer solstice in the northern hemisphere, occurs around June 21 and is the moment when the NH is tipped most directly toward the sun and receives the most direct sunlight.

A

June Solstice

98
Q

Winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, occurs around December 21st and is the moment when the NH receives the least direct sunlight.

A

December Solstice

99
Q

Spring equinox in the North Hemisphere, occurs around March 21st and is the moment when the NH goes from being tipped slightly away from the sun to being tipped slightly toward the sun.

A

March Equinox

100
Q

Autumn equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, occurs around September 21st/22nd and is the moment when the NH first starts to be tipped away from the sun.

A

September Equinox

101
Q

Phases of the moon starting a New Moon

A

New moon, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, third quarter moon, waning crescent.

Astronomy 0007 (2 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions