Space physics Flashcards
(21 cards)
Solar System
The collection of planets and their moons, comets, asteroids, and other objects that orbit the Sun.
Orbit
The path an object takes around another object.
Planet
A celestial body that orbits the Sun, is spherical in shape, and has cleared its orbit of other debris.
Satellite
An object that orbits a planet.
Gravity
The force of attraction between two masses
Weightlessness
The sensation of having no weight due to free fall.
Circular Orbits
Orbits with a constant radius around a central mass.
Elliptical Orbits
Orbits with varying distances from the central mass.
Kepler’s First Law
Planets move in elliptical orbits with the Sun at one focus.
Kepler’s Second Law
A line segment joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time.
Kepler’s Third Law
The square of the orbital period of a planet is directly proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis of its orbit.
Lunar Phases
The changing appearance of the Moon as seen from Earth.
Tides
The periodic rise and fall of sea levels caused by the gravitational forces of the Moon and the Sun.
Solar Structure
Core, radiative zone, convective zone, and outer layers.
Solar Wind
A stream of charged particles emitted from the Sun
Star Formation
The process by which stars are born from the gravitational collapse of gas and dust.
Life Cycle of Stars
(small) steller nebula->proto star->main sequence star->red giant->planetary nebula->white dwarf->black dwarf
(large) steller nebula->proto star->main sequence star->red super giant->super nova->black hole (rare) or neutron star
Galaxy
A massive system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, and dark matter bound together by gravity.
Types of Galaxies
Spiral, elliptical, and irregular.
Big Bang Theory
The prevailing cosmological model that explains the origin of the universe.(red shift of the universe moving apart)
Dark Matter and Dark Energy
Unseen components that make up a significant portion of the universe.
