astronomy Flashcards
(20 cards)
Ptolemy
make accurate predictions of planetary positions and solar and lunar eclipses
Copernicus
proposed that the sun was stationary in the center of the universe and the earth revolved around it
Brahe, Tycho
made accurate observations of the stars and planets
Kepler, Johannes
he made the three laws of planetary motion
Galileo
he was the first to report telescopic observations of the mountains on the moon, the moons of Jupiter, the phases of Venus, and the rings of Saturn and said the motion of the Earth causes the tides
Newton, Isaac
proposed that all objects in the Universe pulled on each other through gravity
Hubble, Edwin
Proposed that there was a universe beyond the Milky Way
Ursa major
a constellation that is home to the Big Dipper
Ursa minor
a constellation that is home to the Little Dipper
Orion
a constellation located on the celestial equator and visible throughout the world that looks like a hunter
Cassiopeia
a constellation in the northern sky named after the vain queen Cassiopeia
Red giant
forms after a star has run out of hydrogen fuel for nuclear fusion, and has begun the process of dying
White dwarf
what stars like the Sun become after they have exhausted their nuclear fuel
Main-sequence star
any star that has a hot, dense core which fuses hydrogen into helium to produce energy
Supernova
a powerful and luminous explosion of a star
Black hole
a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing, including light or other electromagnetic waves, has enough energy to escape its event horizon
Parallax
the apparent displacement or the difference in apparent direction of an object as seen from two different points not on a straight line with the object
Light-year
the distance light travels in one year
Polaris
a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor
Canis major
a constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere
