Earth and astronomy flashcards
(200 cards)
1
Q
A solar eclipse can only occur at this phase of the moon
A
New Moon
2
Q
Constellation that cannot be seen in the summer sky of the northern hemisphere
A
Orion
3
Q
Percent of stars in the sky that appear to be single stars are actually binary stars
A
about 50%
4
Q
The apparent speed of the Sun along the ecliptic
A
is constant
5
Q
In the Australian winter night sky
A
the constellation Orion can be seen,in the northern sky
6
Q
The 29 ? days it takes the Moon to complete an orbit around the Earth is called a
A
synodic month
7
Q
What is NOT true about meteorites
A
on rare occasions, acid-etched iron meteorites display a pattern called the Widmanstatten pattern
8
Q
According to Kepler’s Third Law
A
plotting the squares of the periods of the planet against the cubes of the semi- major axes of their orbits will result in what sort of graph,a straight line
9
Q
The time between two successive meridian transits of the Sun as observed from a stationary spot on the Earth’s surface is called
A
an apparent solar day
10
Q
The hydrogen envelope that surrounds the comet’s nucleus derives its hydrogen most directly from
A
breakdown of water by ultraviolet light
11
Q
At a location half-way from the Equator to the North Pole
A
what correctly describes the stars apparent motion,they rise and set at an angle to the horizon
12
Q
Light from distant galaxies comes mostly from what
A
high mass stars
13
Q
What is NOT a superior planet
A
Venus or Mercury
14
Q
Which planet has the highest escape velocity
A
Jupiter
15
Q
The term for the amount of energy released from each square meter of an object’s surface each second
A
energy flux
16
Q
Astronomers usually detect the electromagnetic emissions of a single neutron star in this single form
A
radio waves
17
Q
An emission or bright line spectrum consists of
A
a series of bright lines superimposed on a black or continuous background.
18
Q
Maria on the moon are
A
darker and smoother parts of the moon’s surface
19
Q
Another name for the Pleiades
A
M45 or The Seven Sisters or The False Dipper
20
Q
A pulsating variable star whose brightness varies in a very regular time period of about 1-50 days
A
Cepheid
21
Q
The part of the Sun that we can see without any instruments
A
photosphere
22
Q
All of Saturn’s moons are composed predominantly of this substance
A
ice
23
Q
Rounded off to the nearest trillion
A
how many miles in a light year?,six
24
Q
Most common type of meterorite to fall to Earth in recorded history
A
stony
25
Scientific names for the two regions of a sunspot
umbra and penumbra
26
The Kappa Cygnids and the Northern Delta Aquarids are names for what phenomena?
meteor showers
27
Substance responsible for Neptune's blue-green color
methane gas
28
Common name for the phenomenon which is the result of sunlight reflecting off the Earth and faintly illuminating the darkened portion of the moon
Earthshine
29
Author of book titled "Concerning the Revolutions of Celestial Spheres" that marks the birth of modern astronomy
Copernicus
30
The celestial coordinate analogous to latitude
Declination
31
The point in the sky that is directly overhead
Zenith
32
A meteor that reaches the surface of the Earth
meteorite
33
Planet in our solar system with the most circular orbit
Venus
34
Mars has a thin atmosphere composed mainly of what gas
Carbon Dioxide
35
Which moon is the only other body in our solar system besides the Earth that has an atmosphere of mostly nitrogen
Titan
36
When a superior planet is at quadrature in reference to the Earth what is its elongation in degrees?
90o
37
Moon of Neptune that orbits in a retrograde direction
Triton
38
Name for the celestial body of interstellar gas and dust where stars are sometimes born
Nebula
39
In "best altitude conditions" what month in the northern hemisphere is the best time to observe the full moon
December
40
The work of this Harvard College Observatory scientist made possible the first accurate determination of extragalactic distances by what is often called Henrietta's Law
Henrietta Leavitt
41
Term most commonly used to refer to the actual motion that stars have in relation to each other and over many years will lead to changes in the shapes of constellations
Proper Motion
42
The constant that is the average flux of the Sun's energy arriving at the Earth
Solar Constant
43
Celestial body found after astronomers had searched for an orbital disturbance of the planet Uranus
Pluto
44
Sam Langley invented this instrument which allows astronomers to measure the energy output of the Sun and other stars
Bolometer
45
How many half- moons in a lunar cycle
two
46
The Persied's Meteor Showers are viewed in the State of Maine during what month?
August
47
Telescope that weighs about 11 tons
has a primary mirror 7.9 feet in diameter, and orbits about 380 miles above the earth,Hubble
48
In the Doppler effect the correct term for the change in the color of light when an object that is emitting light is moving toward the observer
Blue-Shift
49
The thinnest layer of the Sun's atmosphere
Corona
50
The only two planets to rotate from East to West
Venus and Uranus
51
The Magellan clouds are actually this type of celestial body
Galaxies
52
If the temperature of a star increases from 10
000K to 30,000K, by what factor will the rate of energy radiated per second increase?,81
53
Celestial bodies at the center of quasars and which are the main reason for their large energy emissions
Black Holes
54
Doughnut shaped zones of atomic particles consists of electrons and protons captured by the Earth's magnetic field from the solar winds
Van Allen Belts
55
The largest circular storm in our solar system is on the surface of which planet?
Jupiter
56
Rapidly moving stream of charged particles that is being driven away from the sun
Solar Wind
57
The biggest known asteroid
Ceres
58
The Mercurian year is equal to this many days
88
59
One of the largest volcanos in our solar system is named Olympus Mons and is on
Mars
60
One Jupiter day is equal to what
9 hours 50 minutes
61
Time interval between two successie occurrences of a planet (or the moon) with the sun and the earth
a synodic period
62
During the period between 1979 and 1998 the farthest planet from the sun
Neptune
63
Time it takes energy generated in the core of the sun and be radiated
One million years
64
The sunspot cycle is this many years
11 years
65
The Hertzsprung-Russel Diagram of stars DIRECTLY compares these TWO of the properties of stars
temperature and luminosity
66
The Andromeda Galaxy is this type of galaxy
spiral
67
About how many light years across is the Milky Way?
one hundred thousand
68
The unlucky Apollo lunar landing that was canceled after an oxygen tank exploded
Apollo 13
69
Device that first proved that Earth rotates on its axis
Foucault Pendulum
70
The smallest planet in our solar system
Mercury
71
The "planet" that has a moon almost as big as the planet itself
Pluto
72
What Sally K. Ride is known for
first woman in space
73
The year that Neil Armstrong made his historic walk on the Moon
1969
74
The only planet in the solar system has a day which lasts longer than its year
Venus
75
What is the heavenly body Charon?
Plutos moon
76
Where in space is Cassini's division?
between two rings of Saturn
77
The first black American astronaut in space
Guion Bluford
78
What is the Vostok 1?
the first manned spacecraft
79
Heliocentric means around what?
the Sun
80
Triton Neptune's moon has an ocean made of
Nitrogen
81
The first man to classify stars according to their brightness
Hipparchus
82
Reason the Schmidt telescope was specially built
sky camera
83
The star nearest to the sun
Alpha Centauri or Proxima Centauri
84
The greatest distance of a planet from the sun
aphelion
85
The name given to very bright meteors or bolides
fireballs
86
Atmospheric pressure of Mars compared to the earth is
about 1/200th of Earth
87
Gas that is the main component of the atmosphere of Mars
Carbon Dioxide
88
The planet Jupiter has a mass that is greater than all the combined masses of all the other planets
all the other planets put together
89
The moon feature that is named Copernicus
crater
90
Day of the year on which the summer solstice usually occurs
21-Jun
91
When the earth is farthest from the sun it is this season in the Northern Hemisphere
summer
92
The only two moonless planets
Venus and Mercury
93
The English nickname for this constellation is "The Chained Maiden" and what isthe astronomer's name?
Andromeda
94
In which season is the constellation "Pegasus" normally viewed?
autumn
95
The constellation in which Vega can be found
Lyra
96
The constellation in which Aldebaran can be found
Taurus
97
The two observables in a binary star system that must be measured to make the total mass determination
separation of the two stars and the stars period of revolution
98
The Orion Nebula is a good example of this kind of nebula
emission nebula
99
A major component of the interstellar media consists of charged particles which have speeds close to that of light that are called
cosmic rays
100
A typical galaxy such as our Milky Way galaxy contains how many billion stars
200 billion
101
The path in the sky that the sun appears to traverse over the course of a year
ecliptic
102
Light rock rich in silicate
What is the crust made up of?
103
the core
Which layer of the earth is the hottest, under the most pressure, and the most dense-the crust, the mantle, or the core?
104
Continental crust
Which is thicker-continental crust or oceanic crust?
105
Oceanic crust
Which is denser-continental crust or oceanic crust?
106
Continental crust
Which is older-continental crust or oceanic crust?
107
Made of heavy rocks that have iron and magnesium
What is the composition of the mantle?
108
Lithosphere
Which part of the mantle is rigid rock?
109
Aesthenosphere
Which parts of the mantle have soft moving currents of rock?
110
current caused by the expansion of a liquid, solid or gas as its temperature rises
convection current
111
Aesthenosphere
Which layer of the mantle has convection currents?
112
Magma closer to core heats up, expands, and rises (less dense). Magma closer to crust cools and sinks (denser).
Describe the movement of rock in a convection current?
113
Heat from the Earth's interior
What causes convection currents?
114
lithosphere (crust and upper mantle)
What layers of earth make up the plates?
115
Plate movement is caused by convection currents of magma in the aesthenosphere.
Why do plates move?
116
The core is made of heavy metals like iron and nickel.
What is the composition of the core?
117
4300 degrees Celsius
What is the temperature of the core?
118
By interpreting seismic waves
How do we learn about Earth's interior if we cannot observe the Earth's interior directly?
119
solid collection of minerals or mineral materials
rock
120
Formed when magma or lava cools and hardens
Igneous rock
121
melted rock and gas below the earth's surface
magma
122
magma that has reached the earth's surface
lava
123
an igneous rock that forms underground from hardened magma
intrusive rock
124
an igneous rock that forms at Earth's surface
extrusive rock
125
fragments of older rock and fossils, or living things, and minerals
sediment
126
forms when fragments of rock are compacted and cemented together
sedimentary rock
127
forms from a previous rock that is changed by heat or pressure
metamorphic rock
128
Weathering/Deposition of Sediments/Cementation
What processes in the rock cycle form sedimentary rocks?
129
Melting/Cooling and Solidfying
What processes in the rock cycle form igneous rocks?
130
Heat and Pressure
What processes in the rock cycle form metamorphic rocks?
131
Continents were once joined together in a super-continent called Pangaea and have since drifted apart.
Continental Drift
132
an ancient supercontinent formed about 300 million years ago which later gave rise to today's continents
Pangaea
133
Theory that the earth is made up of rigid slabs of rock (the lithosphere) that move
Plate Tectonics
134
underwater mountain chain
Mid-ocean ridge
135
process by which new oceanic crust is created at mid-ocean ridges as older crust moves away
sea-floor spreading
136
process by which oceanic crust sinks into the mantle
subduction
137
a long deep depression where old oceanic crusts sinks into the mantle
trench
138
boundary in which tectonic plates move away from each other
divergent boundary
139
boundary in which tectonic plates collide
convergent boundary
140
boundary in which tectonic plates slide past each other
transform boundary
141
1. Continents seem to fit together like puzzle pieces. 2. Fossil records show similar plant and animal fossils on continents separated by oceans suggesting that continents were once one land mass. 3. Evidence of glaciers suggest that some continents must have been closer to the poles at one time. 4. Similarities in geological formations, like mountain chains, on different continents.
What evidence supports the theory of continental drift?
142
It couldn't explain the mechanism of how the continents moved.
Why wasn't the theory of Continental Drift accepted at the time?
143
study of the planet Earth's composition and structure
Geology
144
rocky, outer layer of earth
crust
145
thick layer of hot but solid rock beneath Earth's crust
mantle
146
layer of relatively cool, rigid rock that includes the uppermost part of the mantle as well as Earth's crust
lithosphere
147
layer of softer, weaker rock beneath Earth's lithosphere which can flow slowly
aesthenosphere
148
lower portion of Earth's mantle
mesosphere
149
dense sphere at Earth's center made mostly of iron and nickel
core
150
Mid-ocean ridges, trenches, seamounts
What are features of the sea floor?
151
New ocean floor is created through sea-floor spreading at mid-ocean ridges. Old ocean crust moves away and gets destroyed through subduction at a plate boundary.
How is the sea floor recycled?
152
divergent
What plate motion makes new ocean floor?
153
convergent (subduction)
What plate motion destroys old ocean floor?
154
Sea floor rocks become older as you move away from the Mid-ocean ridge.
How does the age of sea floor rocks change as you move away from the Mid-ocean ridge?
155
Seafloor spreading and rifting
What types of geological events occur at divergent plate boundaries?
156
New ocean crust forms at a fissure and old crust pushed away.
What are the results of seafloor spreading?
157
Crust thins>Land plates pull apart> Rift valley forms>Sea develops.
What are the results of rifting?
158
subduction and mountain building
What types of geological events occur at convergent plate boundaries?
159
Dense ocean plate sinks under land back into mantle.
What are the results of subduction?
160
earthquakes
What occurs at a transform boundary?
161
Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Where does seafloor spreading occur?
162
Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, East African Rift
Where in the world does rifting occur?
163
ocean trenches
Where does subduction occur?
164
Himalayas
Where in the world does mountain building occur at a convergent plate boundary?
165
San Andreas fault
Where in the world is a transform fault boundary located?
166
Movement of Earth's lithosphere that occurs when rocks in the lithosphere suddenly shift, releasing stored energy
Earthquake
167
location beneath Earth's surface where an earthquake begins
Focus
168
location on Earth's surface directly above the focus
Epicenter
169
force that squeezes rocks together, stretches or pulls them apart, or pushes them in different directions
stress
170
a break in a mass of rock along which movement occurs
Fault
171
bend in layers of rock
Fold
172
device that can detect and record seismic waves
seismograph
173
longitudinal waves similar to sound waves
P waves
174
transverse waves
S waves
175
waves that develop when seismic waves reach Earth's surface
Surface waves
176
Earthquakes are caused when stress builds when rocks along 2 sides of a fault snag and lock
What causes earthquakes?
177
Earthquakes occur because stress forces have exceeded the strength of a rock.
Why do earthquakes happen?
178
faults and folds
What does stress on rocks cause?
179
along plate boundaries
Where do most earthquakes occur?
180
1. accordion-like motion (up and down) 2. fastest moving waves 3. travel through solids and liquids 4. cause least amount of damage
Characteristics of P waves
181
1. snakelike motion (back and forth) 2. moderate speed 3. travel through solids 4. cause moderate amount of damage
Characteristics of S waves
182
1. snakelike motion (back and forth) 2. moderate speed 3. travel through solids 4. cause moderate amount of damage
Characteristics of S waves
183
1. uses seismogram 2. measures earthquake by the size of the waves
Richter scale
184
1. uses seismogram 2. measures earthquakes in terms of energy released
Moment Magnitude scale
185
1. does NOT use seismogram 2. rates earthquakes based on damage to structures
Mercalli scale
186
mountain that forms when magma reaches the surface
volcano
187
a pocket where magma collects
magma chamber
188
vertical channel
pipe
189
an opening on the surface through which magma escapes
vent
190
depression formed from collapsed volcanoes
caldera
191
region of active magma under a plate
hot spot
192
wide, flat volcano
shield volcano
193
bowl-shaped pit
crater
194
simple, small, steep-sided volcano
cinder cone
195
volcano that forms from explosive eruptions that produce a combination of lava and ash
composite volcano
196
large type of intrusive igneous rock mass that can form the core of a mountain range
batholith
197
structure formed when magma hardens in a crack parallel to existing rock layers
sill
198
structure formed when magma hardens in a crack that cuts across rock layers
dike
199
mountain that forms when magma reaches the surface
volcanic neck
200
Rock inside the earth melts forming liquid magma. Magma rises through the crust erupting at the surface. Magma rises because it is less dense than the surrounding rock.
Why do volcanoes erupt?
