Final Vocab Flashcards
(86 cards)
1
Q
Why was Eris’ discovery so crucial to dwarf plants as a whole?
A
Eris challenged whether Pluto was a dwarf planet
2
Q
T/F There is potential for life on Eris
A
False
3
Q
The core of Ceres is _________as it is composed of __________. Its mantle is made up of ___________.
A
The core of Ceres is rocky as it is composed of rocks and clays. Its mantle is made up of water-ice.
4
Q
T/F Ceres has the shortest day in our solar system
A
False
5
Q
Which of these is NOT one of the moons Galileo discovered? Io, Ersa, Ganymede, Callisto
A
Ersa
6
Q
True or False: Jupiter is less dense than water because it is made of air.
A
False
7
Q
Which of the following was Galileo’s telescope’s magnification that viewed Jupiter and its moons in 1610?
A
3x
8
Q
True or False: Jupiter has zones and bands caused by strong wind.
A
True
9
Q
What are the names of Mars’ moons?
A
Phobos and Deimos
10
Q
Who first viewed Mars through a telescope?
A
Galileo
11
Q
What is Mars’ core primarily made of?
A
Fe, Ni, S
12
Q
Who first observed the Mercury through telescope?
2 people
A
Galileo and Harriot
13
Q
What is the density of Mercury in comparison to the other planets?
A
2nd most dense
14
Q
What’s the name of the most recent exploration to Mercury?
A
BepiColombo
15
Q
T/F Mercury is entirely made up of iron.
A
False
16
Q
T/F Mercury’s surface temperature can vary by as much as 1000 degrees
A
False
17
Q
The “deep blue” color of Neptune is due to the presence of what?
A
Methane in the atmosphere
18
Q
T/F Neptune is the coldest planet
A
False
19
Q
Neptune has the strongest wind of any planet; what is the speed of this wind?
A
1,500 mph
20
Q
Which Roman god is Neptune named after?
A
Sea god- Peisdon
21
Q
What is the name of the spacecraft that flew by Neptune to take pictures?
A
Voyager 2
22
Q
What organization classified Pluto as a dwarf planet?
A
IAU ( International Astronomical Union)
23
Q
What are the fundamental elements that make up the atmosphere of Pluto?
A
Nitrogen, Methane, CO2
24
Q
True or False: Pluto was discovered by Percival Lowell.
A
False, by Tombaugh
25
Based on the IAU principles, why is Pluto considered a dwarf planet and not a full-sized planet?
It didn't move debris and clear a path (rule #3)
26
How many times larger is Saturn than Earth?
9.5 times
27
How long do Saturn’s seasons last?
Every 7 Earth years
28
What is the name of Saturn’s largest moon?
Titan
29
Can we explore Saturn?
No
30
How many moons does Uranus have?
28 moons
31
If Earth was a nickel, Uranus would be a(n)…
a softball
32
Who discovered Uranus?
Herschel
33
What two ancient cultures are credited with accurately studying and plotting the course of Venus?
Mayan and Babylonian
34
What is retrograde rotation?
Spins backwards
35
What is the atmosphere of Venus primarily composed of?
CO2
36
Why is Venus the 2nd brightest object in the night sky?
High reflectivity due to thick atmosphere and proximity to Earth
37
Which two planets are considered ice giants?
Uranus and Neptune
38
Which five planets are observable without the aid of a telescope, and thus were well known to ancient astronomers?
Mercury, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and Saturn
39
Which planet has the shortest orbital period around the Sun?
Mercury
40
Which planet in our solar system is the coldest?
Uranus
41
Which planet in our solar system is the hottest?
Venus
42
What is the order of the planets?
My- Mercury
Very- Venus
Empty- Earth
Monster- Mars
Just- Jupiter
Swallowed- Saturn
Up- Uranus
Nine- Neptune
Planets- Pluto
43
Understand the distribution of mass in our solar system.
Mainly in the sun
44
What are the dwarf planets and where are they found?
- Don't meet IAU criteria: Ceres, Pluto, and Eris
- Ceres is located in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter
45
Planets as terrestrial or jovial.
- Terrestrial planets are small, rocky, and have solid surfaces, while Jovian planets are much larger, gaseous, and lack solid surfaces
- Terrestrial: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
46
Describe the habitable zone and the importance
- our water exists primarily as a liquid
* The atmosphere regulates global temperatures.
* Our rapid spin (24 h) prevents huge temperature swings
*The magnetosphere is generated by the Earth’s Core, protecting the planet from particles from the sun (solar wind).
47
Describe nebular theory
- a collection of matter is gathered and is rotating
- it gets faster as it rotates and condenses
- it flattens out, which makes the planets orbit in the same plane
- makes the sun, the center, contain the most mass
48
What is a solar eclipse?
- result from the moon blocking part or all of the sun, casting moon's shadow on Earth
49
A large collection of particles (gases and dust) in the void of space.
Nebula
50
What is the hottest (15 million K) and densest portion of
the Sun, under which conditions H undergoes nuclear fusion to He.
Solar core
51
This zone transmits energy in the form of light
Radiation zone
52
A region of rising and sinking plasma as
the plasma is heated from below and cooled from above
Convection zone
53
It is the coolest region (5800 K) and produces a great deal of light.
photosphere
54
____ (10,000 K) is largely transparent, with a pink
color due to the emission of hydrogen atoms sometimes visible.
chromosphere
55
___flows out from the surface. While very hot (1
million K), it is not very dense. Is the outer ring of the sun.
corona
56
Geocentric vs. heliocentric
Geocentric: Earth as center
heliocentric: Sun center
57
The point at which the Moon is farthest is termed...
apogee
58
The point at which the Moon is closest is termed...
perigee
59
What is a lunar eclipse?
when the Earth’s shadow covers the otherwise full Moon.
60
___orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. The
largest occupant of this region is the dwarf planet Ceres.
Asteroid belt
61
A small rock in interplanetary space
meteoroid
62
A meteoroid that makes it to Earth
meteor
63
Meteor fragments which reach the Earth’s surface
meteroite
64
___houses the remaining dwarf planets so far discovered
Kuiper belt
65
___ is composed of rock and ice in the Kuiper belt
comet
66
What is the significance of Halley’s Comet?
A comet that comes around every 76 years, and is mentioned in historical texts repeatedly
67
What contains the tossed out material that extends in all directions around the solar system
Oort cloud
68
What are the 2 parts of a solar eclipse? Annular eclipse?
| 3 parts
Umbra: dark portion; narrow
Penumbra: lighter portion; broad
Annular eclipse: when the umbra doesn't reach earth
69
How does a comet’s speed and appearance vary throughout it’s orbit?
- moves faster as it gets closer to the sun
- the tail always points away from the sun
70
What is a collection of stars (a man-made grouping)? It's importance?
Constellation
- useful for tracking the positions of stars, which have served as markers season and global position for centuries
71
Three forms of motion of constellations:
Daily (Diurnal): due to rotation of the Earth
Yearly (revolutionary): due to the Earth’s orbit
Intrinsic (apparent motion relative to our position)
72
What is Luminosity?
the total light energy of a star
73
What determines the brightness and color of a star?
- Brightness decreases with distance, in contrast to luminosity that does not change with distance.
- The color of light emitted is proportional to temperature
- hottest: blue
- coolest: red
- medium: yellow
74
How is a star classified?
High L, low temp -> supergiant
Low L, high temp -> white dwarfs
L proportional to temp: main sequence
75
Gas and plasma expanding from the dying remnants of the core of a star
Planetary Nebula
76
The repeating explosion resulting from binary stars
Nova
77
Final collapse of a start as electrons and protons combine to form neutrons
Supernova
78
A large collection of stars (and other stuff)
galaxy
79
What is happening to our cluster?
- the milky way is spiraling and slowly collapsing due to the pull of gravity
80
What are superclusters, and what is the name of “our” supercluster?
- multiple groups of galaxies
- we are a part of the Local Supercluster
81
Does the universe have a center?
Not observable to us; we perceive ourselves to be at the center
82
Relate the “red-shift” of light to the movement of bodies away from each other.
- How would the wavelength of light shift if the objects were moving closer to each other?
- “blue” side of the galaxy are moving closer to earth to shorter wavelengths
- red-shifted stars are moving away from earth to longer wavelengths
- highlights the expansion of the universe
83
What is Hubble's Law? Limitations?
- the further the galaxy is from our own, the faster it appears to be moving away from us
- There is no settled value for this constant
84
Define the Big Bang, and address how it explains several features of the observable universe
- The expansion of the universe.
* Cosmological background radiation.
* The universe is mostly hydrogen and helium (the helium
currently being produced by nuclear fusion of hydrogen).
* Scientists propose that much of the helium was fused from
hydrogen during the initial explosion.
* Interestingly, the Big Bang requires that the universe
have a distinct beginning
85
What is special relativity, and how does it relate to time and the speed of light?
- essentially that the laws of nature are the same assuming a consistent frame of reference.
- the speed of light is a true constant in a vacuum
86
What is general relativity, and how does it relate to time and to the nature of gravity?
- on earth, we experience force (acceleration of masses)
due to the gravitational field.
- in space (no gravitational field), the same experience could be had by maintaining an acceleration = 9.8 m/s2 (g)
- this will result in gravitational fields also altering time
