23 Test Notes Flashcards
(38 cards)
Who started view of heliocentric theory?
Copernicus
Who observed Jupiter and its four moons and Venus and its phases using a telescope?
Galileo
Who was Tycho Brahe’s assistant was a christian, who formulated three laws to describe planetary motion?
Kepler
Who studied motions of moon around earth and developed a mathematical law that describes gravitational force?
Newton
Who was a Greek philosopher in the 2nd century AD tried to solve the problem of retrograde motion, the geocentric theory?
Ptolemy
Who Noted a regular pattern in appearance of one comet and it was named after him?
Halley
Explain retrograde motion:
When a planet appears to stop and back up viewed against the background stars
Describe terrestrial planets:
planets the same size and density as earth
Explain periodic comets:
bright comets that appear at regular intervals
What 2 astronomical observations was the earliest geocentric theory unable to explain:
1.) Sometimes planets appear to be bright and close or small and far away.
2.) Also why certain planets appear to slow down stop and back up
Name 3 conditions that are used to classify a planet. What happened to Pluto?
1.) Planets orbit the sun 2.) have a spherical shape 3.) do not share orbit with any objects, besides the moon.
Pluto shares a path with other bodies which makes it a dwarf planet
List and describe the group of small solar system bodies (there are 3):
asteroids: smaller than planets that have a weak gravity that has no atmosphere. Very odd shapes like lumpy potatoes, irregular composition, not solid rock, a loose collection of boulders and gravel dust, have natural satellites.
Comets: orbit the sun, are made of different ices, covered by a layer of gravel and dust, get brighter than planets, can fade when away from the sun when towards the sun releases gas, and have irregular patterns in appearance.
Meteoroids, meteors, and meteorites: chunks of rock, when it enters earth’s atmosphere the air heats it up turns into meteor or a shooting star meteors survive through the atmosphere, and meteorites that form impact craters when hit solid ground.
What are the two key terms to describe Mars?
superior and terrestrial
What are the reasons of the high surface temperature on Mercury?
- Slow rotation
- Distance from the sun
What emits more energy than it absorbs from the sun, has the most prominent ring system,and has the only moon with a dense atmosphere?
Saturn
What is the theory that originally thought everything revolved around the earth?
Geocentric theory
Which is a optical illusion?
Superior plants with retrograde motion
Which is NOT a characteristic of all known planets?
Has one or more moons
What is the smallest planet in the solar system?
Mercury
Which planet has the largest volcano?
Mars
Which is the largest planet?
Jupiter
What is the most distant planet?
Neptune
What are epicycles?
smaller circles
What is a model of solar system that places the sun at its center with the earth and other planets orbiting around it?
Heliocentric theory
