Final Review Flashcards
The Milky Way galaxy has a ___ shape.
spiral
What is unusual about the tilt of Uranus?
Uranus is tilted almost 90 degrees, as if it were a barrel rolling around the sun.
The time from new moon to new moon is ___.
29.5 days
List the five planets that can be seen with unaided eyes:
Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn
The Hubble Space Telescope has a mirror ___ in diameter.
8 feet
Identify the constellation Ursa Major.
The diameter of the moon is about __ the diameter of the earth.
¼
A large hurricane has been raging on Jupiter for over 400 years. It can be seen through an Earth-based telescope and is known as ___.
The Great Red Spot
Which is larger, Earth or Mars?
Earth
Identify the constellation Leo
Identify the star Arcturus
Albert Michelson devised a way to measure the size of stars using interference of ___ ___.
light waves
Extrasolar planets are planets that are ___ our solar system.
outside
The average distance from the earth to the moon is ___ miles.
240,000 miles
Name the astronomer who described the shape of a planet’s orbint with his first law.
Kepler
What is the shape of a planet’s orbit?
elliptical
The density of the Jovian planets is less or more than the density of earth.
less
List the first four terrestial planets in order from the sun:
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
The Little Dipper is part of the constellation ___ ___.
Ursa Minor
During Edmund Halley’s time, the most mysterious objects in the solar system were ___.
comets
How does the orbital period of the planets correlate to distance from the sun?
The farther the planet is from the sun, the longer it takes to orbit the sun.
Astronomy photographs are often printed upside-down to match ___.
the inverted image seen in the telescope
List the letters that make the mnemonic (memory aid) to name the planets in order from the sun. You can write the mnemonic if you prefer.
M,V,E,M,J,S,U,N (or My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos)
What scientific instrument can determine chemical composition from light patterns?
spectroscope