The Copernican Revolution Flashcards
(25 cards)
What was the main reason why ancient civilizations built structures such as Stonehenge, the spokes of the Big Horn Medicine Wheel, or the temple at Caracol in Mexico?
It could have been a way to track time or be used as a calendar
What was the key word that ancient civilizations did that helped them understand the skies?
Observed
What were the key objects in the sky that ancient astronomers were able to observe?
Stars, Moon, Sun, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn
What is meant by the Geocentric Universe
A universe in which the earth is the center
Name two ways that ancient astronomers were able to identify planets in the night sky.
They varied in brightness and did not have a fixed position in the sky
What is meant be Retrograde?
An apparent backwards loop that planets travel
Name the Inferior planets.
Mercury and Venus
Name the Superior planets.
Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter
What is meant as the Heliocentric Model of the Solar System?
The Sun is in the center of the Solar System.
Which great scientist is responsible for the heliocentric model?
Copernicus
In the Heliocentric Model, what was the explanation for everything goon around Earth?
Earth’s rotation
Who invented the telescope?
Galileo
Which planet, with the use of the telescope, was the key to explanation of the Heliocentric model?
Venus
How did this planet explain the heliocentric model?
Galileo saw that Venus went through phases
Which star would you use to find your latitude on Earth?
Polaris
Using Kepler’s laws, the planets took what type of orbits?
Elliptical
What is the main focal point that Kepler used to explain planetary orbits?
The Sun
What happens to the speed of objects as the travel away from a focal point and also as they travel towards a focal point?
They move faster
What is perhelion?
The point in which the planet is the closest to the Sun
What is aphelion?
The point in which a planet is furthest from the Sun
What is an astronomical unit?
The average distance between the sun and the earth
What is Newton’s first law of motion?
An object in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon by an outside force in a straight and constant speed
What is Newton’s second law of motion?
Acceleration = force/mass
If you were in space, give an example of Newton’s third law.
If you were to push against something, both you and the object would go is opposite directions of each other
