Test 3 Flashcards Preview

Astronomy > Test 3 > Flashcards

Flashcards in Test 3 Deck (149)
Loading flashcards...
0
Q

What happens in ice skater physics?

A

Pulling in then rapid spinning

1
Q

The Nebula Theory is about the origin of…

A

a solar system.

2
Q

What happens in pizza dough physics?

A

Flatten out; start to collapse into a disc

3
Q

Are planets common or rare?

A

Common

4
Q

What was the goal of the Kepler Mission?

A

To find planets around other stars

5
Q

By what process do planets form?

A

Accretion

6
Q

Accretion

A

Rocks and things collide, gravitational forces hold them together; it grows as it accretes more stuff

7
Q

Why does a red nebula appear red?

A

Spectral emission line from hydrogen gas

8
Q

Why does a blue nebula appear blue?

A

Dust grains; light from very hot stars bounces off of dust grains

9
Q

What are the dark areas in the Horsehead Nebula?

A

Dust

10
Q

Where is the Orion Nebula?

A

The center “star” of Orion’s sword in the Orion constellation

11
Q

What is the center star of Orion’s sword really?

A

newly formed Trapezium Star Cluster

12
Q

Giant molecular clouds are sites for…

A

star formation.

13
Q

What is a proplyd?

A

Protoplanetary disk

rotating disk of gas surrounding a newly formed solar system

14
Q

While studying radio waves in the Orion region, we can see…

A

molecules (carbon monoxide) and ionized hydrogen

15
Q

What is HII?

A

Ionized hydrogen

16
Q

How do stars get rid of extra material?

A

emit radio waves

17
Q

How is hydrogen ionized?

A

It loses an electron via UV light

18
Q

Super cool stars emit ___ light rather than red light.

A

infrared

19
Q

Why is it hard for astronomers to know the sequence of star formation?

A

all the stages present in the Orion Nebula are in the same position in the sky (from our point of view), rather than in a line.

20
Q

HII forms around hot (O and B) stars and emits a lot of ___ ___.

A

UV light

21
Q

Who was Macier? What did he do?

A

French astronomer in the 1800s
made a catalogue of things he could see through his telescope; he was looking for comets, so he just numbered everything that wasn’t a comet in the “Catalogue of Objects to be Ignored” (M-1, M-2, M-3, M-4, M-5, etc.)

22
Q

M-16 is also known as the ____ Nebula.

A

Eagle

23
Q

What is in M-16/ Eagle Nebula?

A

fairly massive O and B stars that emit a lot of UV light
“Pillars of Creation”
evaporative gaseous globules (EGG)

24
Q

What are evaporative gaseous globules (EGG)?

A

baby solar systems

25
Q

How do stars like the Sun get rid of excess or leftover material?

A

nearby O and B stars emit UV light to take care of it/ clean it up

26
Q

What is a star’s excess or leftover material?

A

nebula

27
Q

How do T Tauri type stars get rid of excess material?

A

wild solar winds blow it away

28
Q

evolution

A

slow change that takes place over a long period of time

29
Q

stellar revolution

A

changes that take place quickly in one individual star

30
Q

What is hydrostatic (gravitational) equilibrium?

A

In a star, if the forces of gravity and pressure balance exactly, the star is in equilibrium.

31
Q

In a star, ___ pushes in and ___ pushes out.

A

gravity; pressure

32
Q

The Sun and stars like it have __ solar mass.

A

1

33
Q

What is the most important property in determining all the other properties of a star?

A

mass

34
Q

What other property can also be important in determining all the other properties of a star?

A

chemical composition

35
Q

A Red Giant with small mass produces ___ ___, leaving behind a ___ ___.

A

planetary nebula; white dwarf

36
Q

A Red Giant with large mass produces ___ __ ___, leaving behind a ___ ___ or a ___ ___.

A

Type II supernova; neutron star; black hole

37
Q

A white dwarf can slowly cool to become a ___ ___.

A

black dwarf

38
Q

A white dwarf can accrete material to create a ___, leaving behind the ___ ___.

A

nova; white dwarf

39
Q

A white dwarf can accrete material to create a ___, leaving behind ____.

A

Type I supernova; nothing

40
Q

If a black hole has a ___ ___, it will accrete material and emit ___ ___.

A

binary companion, x-ray radiation

41
Q

What is the approximate solar mass of a low-mass star?

A

less than 8 solar mass

42
Q

The stellar core remaining in the middle of a low-mass star’s planetary nebula is a ___ ___.

A

white dwarf

43
Q

How does a low-mass star produce a planetary nebula?

A

It ejects its outer layers.

44
Q

What is the approximate solar mass of a high-mass star?

A

more than 8 solar mass

45
Q

The result of a Type II supernova depends on…

A

the original mass of the high-mass star that exploded as a Type II supernova

46
Q

If a high-mass star is extremely massive, its resulting Type II supernova will leave behind a ___ ___. Otherwise, it will leave behind a ___ ___.

A

black hole; neutron star

47
Q

If a white dwarf has a companion star, it can gravitationally attract material from its companion in a process known as ____.

A

accretion

48
Q

Under what circumstances can a black hole be detected?

A

If the black hole has a binary companion star, the black hole’s strong gravitational pull can accrete matter from its companion. The material spirals around the black hole and emits large amounts of X-ray radiation, detectable with X-ray telescopes.

49
Q

Which live longer, high-mass or low-mass stars?

A

low-mass

50
Q

What is a protostar?

A

the object that initially forms when a cloud of dust and gas begins to collapse inward to form a star

51
Q

What is the process of the Sun’s evolution?

A

The Sun collapses onto the Main Sequence. It releases its solar nebula. The Sun is sustained on nuclear fusion reactions (4 H -> 1 He). Eventually, the hydrogen is exhausted, and it must burn helium instead. The Sun is now at the first Red Giant stage. There will be a helium flash. Now, the Sun has reached the second Red Giant stage. It is very unstable. It blows up its outer shell and ejects planetary nebula. Helium burning ceases. The planetary nebula dissipates into space, and the core collapses into a white dwarf. Eventually, it will cool to a black dwarf.

52
Q

When does a star officially become a star?

A

when hydrogen is converted to helium in the core

53
Q

A star expands when ___ runs out.

A

hydrogen

54
Q

___ and ___ overcome the repulsive force between electrons during the Main Sequence stage, causing nuclear fusion reactions.

A

Heat; pressure

55
Q

Hydrogen and helium both have a ___ charge.

A

positive

56
Q

When hydrogen runs out and the star expands, the ___ core will begin to collapse and the ___ shell outside that core will expand and cool.

A

helium; hydrogen

57
Q

Because helium and hydrogen have the same charge (positive) and like charges repel, heat and pressure are needed to force ___ ___ reactions.

A

nuclear fusion

58
Q

When the helium core is contracting or collapsing, gravity wins. The temperature of the helium core ___. A new nuclear fusion reaction occurs: helium -> ____. This is known as the ___ ___.

A

increases; carbon; Triple-alpha Process

59
Q

helium flash

A

all the nuclear fusion reactions start igniting at once

60
Q

Triple-alpha Process

A

set of nuclear fusion reactions by which helium is transformed into carbon

61
Q

Stars with 1 solar mass can’t generate enough heat or inward ____ force to generate carbon fusion reactions, so they collapse into the ___ ___ stage.

A

gravitational; white dwarf

62
Q

variable star

A

stars that change in brightness

63
Q

What evidence do we have to prove the theoretical predictions regarding stellar evolution?

A

variable stars

64
Q

A Cepheid star is a ___ star.

A

variable

65
Q

The universe isn’t old enough for any less-massive __ stars to have evolved off the main sequence yet.

A

M

66
Q

A Cepheid star has a ___ day cycle of bright -> faint -> bright -> faint.

A

5 1/2

67
Q

catalyst

A

expedites reaction

68
Q

Any fission reactions with elements lighter than iron (Fe) ___ energy rather than ___ energy.

A

require; produce

69
Q

List carbon, hydrogen, silicon, and iron in order from most to least massive.

A

Fe, Si, C, H

70
Q

___ is the line between fission and fusion.

A

Iron (Fe)

71
Q

A supernova emits as much energy in a few years as the Sun does in ____ years.

A

10 billion

72
Q

A supernova recycles stardust and…

A

seeds a new age of stars.

73
Q

Sirius is a ___ ___ star.

A

white dwarf

74
Q

Sirius doesn’t move in a straight line across the sky, because it is…

A

orbiting something in a binary system.

75
Q

Sirius A is ___ than Sirius B. They are in a ___ orbit.

A

brighter; binary

76
Q

A white dwarf is about the size of ___.

A

Earth; about 10,000 miles diameter

77
Q

large mass in small volume equals

A

high density

78
Q

Degenerate Electron Gas

A

electrons are packed as tight as possible

79
Q

White dwarfs have different laws, because they are made of ___ ___ ___.

A

degenerate electron gas

80
Q

Typical ___ laws do not apply to degenerate electron gases.

A

gas

81
Q

degenerate electron gas: The proportions of ___, ___, and ___ are not constrained. Changing one does not affect the others.

A

pressure, volume, temperature

82
Q

Adding more mass to white dwarfs decreases their ___, because no ___ is pushing out.

A

size; pressure

83
Q

There are no nuclear reactions going on in a white dwarf star whatsoever. How do we know?

A

It there were, it would constantly be exploding. As pressure increases in a white dwarf, size does not increase.

84
Q

As pressure increases in a white dwarf, ___ does not increase.

A

size

85
Q

Chandrasekhar Limit

A

upper mass limit for white dwarfs

If a white dwarf is more than 1.4 solar mass, it is unstable and will collapse into a neutron star.

86
Q

If a white dwarf is more than ___ solar mass, it is unstable and will collapse into a neutron star.

A

1.4

87
Q

neutron star

A

big ball of neutrons condensed into the nucleus of an atom
a ball of neutrons (neutral charge) can be squeezed tighter than a ball of protons (positive charge) or electrons (negative charge)

88
Q

When it comes to protons and electrons, opposites ___.

A

attract

89
Q

Who discovered neutron stars? When?

A

Jocelyn Bell-Burnell

1967

90
Q

How did Jocelyn Bell-Burnell discover neutron stars?

A

by accident while studying twinkling stars and interplanetary medium
She found a “bit of scruff” in her data (radio waves chart) accurate to a billionth of a second. It was bright then faint, etc.

91
Q

Crab Nebula Pulsar

A

bright and faint every .033 seconds (the star is “turning on and off” 33 times per second)

92
Q

pulsars

A

neutron stars

93
Q

What happened in space on July 4, 1054 AD?

A

Type II supernova explosion

It was so bright, it was visible during the day for a month.

94
Q

rapidly rotating neutron star

A

When magnetic poles (north and south) point toward us, the star is “on.” Otherwise, it’s “off.”

95
Q

Synchrotron Radiation

A

the radio waves emitted along the direction of an electron’s motion; electromagnetic radiation emitted when charged particles are accelerated radially

96
Q

neutron star mass limit

A

between 2-3 solar mass

97
Q

What happens if a neutron star exceeds the mass limit?

A

it’s unstable and becomes a black hole

98
Q

Adding mass does not ____ size.

A

increase

99
Q

nova

A

exploding; relatively small explosion

100
Q

A nova only involves the ___ ___ of a white dwarf.

A

surface layers

101
Q

What shape is the binary system orbit of a red giant and white dwarf?

A

figure 8

102
Q

Type II supernovas are the result of…

A

massive red giants with iron cores.

103
Q

Type I supernovas come from…

A

white dwarfs the exceed the Chandrasekhar limit.

104
Q

Supernovas are ____.

A

explosions

105
Q

Both types of supernovas blow ___ into space and make heavy ___.

A

atoms; elements

106
Q

What do the atoms blown out by supernovas do?

A

combine with other stuff to make Earth and other things

107
Q

What is a static black hole?

A

a black hole that doesn’t move and is isolated

108
Q

escape velocity

A

minimum speed needed to escape an object; minimum speed to throw something into orbit from a planet

109
Q

The escape velocity increases if the ___ ___ increases.

A

gravitational force

110
Q

How would the gravitational force increase?

A

compress the body

111
Q

If you compress something so much that the escape velocity exceeds the speed of light, what is produced?

A

a black hole

112
Q

___ can go faster than the speed of light.

A

Nothing

113
Q

Orbit depends on ___ not ___.

A

size; mass

114
Q

If the Sun somehow became a black hole, what would the Earth do?

A

It would stay in orbit, no change

115
Q

If something is in a stable orbit around a star that becomes a black hole, it will…

A

stay in orbit.

116
Q

The event horizon is also known as the ___ ___.

A

Schwarzschild Radius

117
Q

The escape velocity at the event horizon equals…

A

exactly the speed of light.

118
Q

You can cross ___ at the event horizon, but you can’t cross ___.

A

inward; outward

119
Q

How would one escape the event horizon?

A

travel at the speed of light

120
Q

The singularity is a ___ ___.

A

geometric point

121
Q

What is the radius and volume of the singularity?

A

0

122
Q

Approximately, what is the mass of the singularity?

A

a lot

123
Q

What is the density of the singularity?

A

infinity

124
Q

What are the three parts of a black hole?

A

singularity, event horizon/Schwarzschild Radius, photon sphere

125
Q

How can light escape a black hole?

A

if it is emitted from the exitcone axis, it will escape on a straight path

126
Q

What happens to light that unsuccessfully tries to escape a black hole?

A

it orbits the black hole

127
Q

Black holes in ___ orbits can be seen with ___ telescopes.

A

binary; x-ray

128
Q

The spinning speed of a neutron star is measured in ___.

A

milliseconds

129
Q

What are the three characteristics of a rapidly spinning black hole?

A

singularity, ergosphere, stationary limit

130
Q

What will happen if you are in the ergosphere of a rapidly spinning black hole?

A

you will spin along with the black hole

131
Q

It is possible to extract energy from a rapidly spinning black hole, but the black hole will…

A

slow down

132
Q

How do you extract energy from a rapidly spinning black hole?

A

go past the stationary limit, gain energy by spinning along with the black hole, and eject from the ergosphere with more energy than you went in with

133
Q

What is the theory about the center of galaxies?

A

there is a supermassive black hole there emitting energy by spinning

134
Q

Stephen Hawking combined ___ ___ and ___ ___ to study ___ ___.

A

general relativity; quantum mechanics; black holes

135
Q

Stephen Hawking concluded that primordial black holes ___.

A

evaporate

136
Q

primordial black hole

A

hypothetical type of black hole that is less massive and formed by the extreme density of matter present during the universe’s early expansion (rather than by the gravitational collapse of a large star)

137
Q

Quantum mechanics is based on ___.

A

probability

138
Q

The singularity of a black hole is predicted through quantum mechanics. The farther from the black hole’s center, the ___ likely the singularity is to be there.

A

less

139
Q

According to Hawking, what will happen if the singularity is outside the event horizon/Schwarzschild Radius?

A

the black hole will explode/evaporate and emit gamma rays

140
Q

How long would it take for a less massive or primordial black hole to evaporate?

A

longer than the age of the universe

141
Q

What are the four parts involved with a wormhole?

A

black hole (our universe), singularity, Einstein-Rosen Bridge (the actual wormhole), white hole (other universe)

142
Q

white hole

A

things can come out, but they can’t go in (the opposite of a black hole)

143
Q

How fast would you have to go to get through a wormhole? Why?

A

faster than the speed of light; the singularity oscillates

144
Q

Gravitational force depends on ___ and ___.

A

mass; distance

145
Q

An accretion disk gets really ___ and emits ___ radiation.

A

hot; x-ray

146
Q

An x-ray source may be a ____ ____.

A

black hole

147
Q

A neutron star has ___ mass than a black hole.

A

less

148
Q

What does a neutron star have in common with a black hole?

A

both have accretion disks that emit x-ray radiation