vocab unit 2 Flashcards
the apparent magnitude of a star if placed 32.6 light years from the sun
absolute magnitude
how bright a star appears to an observer on earth
apparent magnitude
the average distance between the earth and the sun 150 km
astronomical unit
hydrogen explodes creating universe
big bang theory
brightness of a star
luminosity
the dense core that remains after a large star explodes
neutron star
a star that flared into intense brightness
nova
a pulsating star whose distance can be determined from its period of pulsation
cepheid variables
stars of an absolute magnitude of +1 or less
dwarf stars
two stars of unequal brightness that revolve around and pass in front of each other at regular intervals
eclipsing binary
a group of millions or even billions of stars held together by gravity
galaxies
the distance a ray of light travels in one year about 9.5 trillion im
light year
a large glowing dust cloud that eventually becomes a star
protostars
a distant heavenly object that emits rapid pulses of light and radio waves
pulsars
very distant radio sources that resemble stars but are larger more bright big
quasars
large low density star that is hundreds of times more luminous than a red giant
supergiants
large red stars that are cooler and more luminous than blue white stars
red giants
intensely bright object caused by the explosion of a massive red giant star
supernova
