Space: Sun, Moon and Stars

Question 1

Why does a star shine?

Answer 1

Stars shine because they are extremely hot (which is why fire gives off light — because it is hot).

Question 2

What is an astronomical unit (definition)?

Answer 2

The distance between the Earth and the sun

Question 3

What is an astronomical unit (in value)?

Answer 3

150 million kms

Question 4

What is a light-year?

Answer 4

9.46 trillion kms

Question 5

Where are stars born?

Answer 5

Nebulas: huge cold clouds of gas and dust

Question 6

Low-mass stars’ life cycle

Answer 6

Protostars 
Mass stars
Red giants 
Planetary Nebula
White Dwarf
Black Dwarf

Question 7

High mass stars’ life cycle

Answer 7

Protostar 
Mass stars
Super Giant 
Supernova 
Black Hole

Question 8

What 3 stellar properties are classified in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram?

Answer 8

Supergiants & giants
Main sequence
White Dwarfs

Question 9

What is on the Y-axis in the Hertzsprung-Russel diagram?

Answer 9

Luminosity

Question 10

What is on the X-axis in the Hertzsprung-Russel diagram?

Answer 10

Surface temperature

Question 11

What do you call the radiant solar energy that warms the atmosphere?

Answer 11

heat energy

Question 12

Where is the earth in proportion to the sun?

Answer 12

The perfect distance to support life

Question 13

What do you call the “bubble” that protects us from solar winds?

Answer 13

Magnetosphere

Question 14

When the solar winds enter at the poles, physically we see what?

Answer 14

Aurora Borealis

Question 15

What are sunspots?

Answer 15

Parts of the sun that are cooler than other parts

Question 16

What are solar prominences?

Answer 16

Large, bright features extending outwards from the sun’s surface

Question 17

What are solar flares?

Answer 17

A sudden explosion of energy caused by the tangling of magnetic field lines near sunspots.

Question 18

What happens at the core of the sun?

Answer 18

Nuclear reactions where hydrogen forms into helium

Question 19

What are the layers of the sun?

Answer 19

C.R.C.P.C.C. =
Core 
Radiation zone 
Convection zone 
Photosphere 
Chromosphere
Corona

Question 20

How was the solar system formed?

Answer 20

4.5 billion years ago formed a cloud of dust and gas caused by the explosions of a nearby star called: Supernova. That is what formed the sun.

Question 21

Why does the sun rise in the East and set in the West?

Answer 21

The Earth rotates towards the East.

Question 22

What is the order of the planets?

Answer 22

Mercury 
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune

Question 23

What causes seasons?

Answer 23

The axis tilt of the Earth

Question 24

What is that called when the Earth turns on its own axis?

Answer 24

Rotation

Question 25

What is that called when the Earth turns around the sun?

Answer 25

Revolution

Question 26

What is the order of a Full Moon?

Answer 26

Sun - Earth - Moon

Question 27

What is the order of a New Moon?

Answer 27

Sun - Moon - Earth

Question 28

What is a retrograde motion?

Answer 28

When planets shift in their orbital direction and for a few months, will head in the wrong direction before returning to their natural orbit.

Question 29

What affects the tides?

Answer 29

The gravitational pull of the moon

Question 30

Match:
Meteoroid, meteor, meteorite
Atmosphere, earth, space

Answer 30

Meteoroid - space
Meteor - atmosphere
Meteorite - Earth

Question 31

What is the difference between a heliocentric model and a geocentric model?

Answer 31

Heliocentric: everything orbits around the sun
Geocentric: everything orbits around the Earth