Misc. > Chapter 1 Astronomy > Flashcards

Chapter 1 Astronomy Flashcards

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1
Q

How big is a nanometer?

A

One billionth of a meter (10 to the power of negative 9)

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2
Q

How big is a megameter?

A

One million meters or 1,000 kilometers

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3
Q

What is an astronomical unit? AU

A

Average distance from the Earth to the Sun

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4
Q

What is a light year and how big is it

A

Speed of light in an empty space, 6 trillion miles

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5
Q

Scientific method

A

rigorous testing of ideas

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6
Q

Theory

A

acceptance through successful testing

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7
Q

scientific method steps

A

make observations, make a hypothesis, make then test predictions

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8
Q

scientific method/theory falsifier

A

if some of it is false, the entire theory is false

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9
Q

What are the constellations?

A

A grouping of stars in the night sky

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10
Q

General motions (direction) of everything in the sky

A

rises in the east, sets in the west

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11
Q

Actual time for Sun to go around the sky

A

23 hours and 56 minutes

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12
Q

Zodiac

A

band of constellations running around the celestial sphere in which planets move

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13
Q

Solstices

A

the days the Sun is directly over Earth’s equator. winter and summer. June 21 and December 21

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14
Q

Time it takes for Sun to go from one constellation to another?

A

One month

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15
Q

Where is Polaris?

A

Directly above the North Pole

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16
Q

What is latitude?

A

Measuring distance north or south of the equator

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17
Q

What is longitude

A

Measuring distance east or west of the Prime Meridian

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18
Q

our coordinates

A

33 N 111 W

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19
Q

What is the Celestial Sphere?

A

Imaginary sphere surrounding Earth, representing sky

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20
Q

Horizon

A

all points 90 degrees from zenith

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21
Q

Angular measurement

A

A measure of how large an object looks to you. defined as the angle between lines drawn from the observer to opposite sides of an object

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22
Q

zenith

A

the point in the sky or celestial sphere directly above the observer

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23
Q

nadir

A

the point in the sky or celestial sphere directly below the observer

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24
Q

Circumpolar star

A

A star that never sets below the horizon, appears to rotate around a celestial pole

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25
How does the sky appear to change as we move north and south?
Polaris appears higher in Northern Hemisphere and drops below the horizon on the Southern Hemisphere
26
North Celestial Pole
the point in the northern sky above the North Pole
27
South Celestial Pole
the point in the southern sky above the South Pole
28
Celestial Equator
imaginary projection of Earth's equator onto the sky
29
Ecliptic
a great circle on the celestial sphere representing the sun's apparent path during the year,
30
Inclination of Earth's Poles to the ecliptic
23.5 degrees titled
31
Equinoxes
sun crosses celestial equator, equal day and night hours. spring and fall, March 20-21 and September 21
32
what causes the seasons?
the Earth tilting on its axis
33
rotation
an object spinning on its own axis
34
revolution
motion of an object moving around another
35
Moon Phases
New, waxing, gibbous, full, waning
36
rotation period of the moon
27.3 days
37
Why does the same side of the Moon face Earth?
Because its rotation period perfectly matches up with that of Earth
38
lunar eclipse
Earth passes directly between sun and moon, few times a year
39
solar eclipse
moon passes between sun and earth casting a shadow, can only happen during full moon, 2-5 times per year
40
annular eclipse
when the moon, farther from Earth in its orbit, aligns with sun and earth creating a ring
41
solar eclipse angular size rule
angular size of sun and moon must be nearly identical
42
Aristotle
during lunar eclipse, shadow is curved. as a traveler moves, they see different stars below the horizon
43
Aristarchus
used geometric methods to estimate relative sizes of moon, earth and sun ad relative distances
44
Eratosthenes
used geometry to calculate circumference of earth
45
parallex
shift in apparent position of an object cause by motion of observer. used to get distances using geometry
46
retrograde motion
drift of a planet westward against background stars, change in position from view
47
Ptolemy model for retrograde
epicycles
48
Copernicus
revived heliocentric model, explanation of retrograde
49
Tycho
made devices, heliocentric model
50
path of mars
elliptical
51
ellipse
geometric figure, oval shape
52
focus
one of two points in ellipse
53
semimajor axis
half the long dimension of an ellipse
54
Kepler's first law
planets move in elliptical orbits with the sun at one focus of ellipse
55
Kepler's second law
orbital speed of a planet varies
56
Kepler's third law
P squared equals a cubed
57
Galileo discoveries
Venus phases, Moon having mountains, sunspots, Jupiter's moons, Saturn's rings
58
newton born
year Galileo died
59
Newton's first law
law of intertia, object at rest will remain at rest, object in motion will stay in motion until a force acts upon it
60
Newton's second law
F=ma
61
Newton's third law
every action has an equal and opposite reaction
62
law of gravity
description of gravitational force exerted by one body onto another. proportional to Bodie's masses and inverse square of separation
63
surface gravity
acceleration caused by gravity at surface of planet or other body
64
escape velocity
speed needed for an object to travel away from another body to overcome gravitational attraction and not be pulled back
65
electromagnetic radiation
general term for electromagnetic wave
66
velocity of light
300 k km per sec
67
photon
a particle of visible light or other electromagnetic radiation
68
wave particle duality
theory that electromagnetic radiation may be treated as a particle or electromagnetic wave
69
difference between red and blue light
blue has shorter wavelengths
70
radio
1 meter
71
microwaves
1-1000 millimeters
72
infrared
700-1000 nm
73
visible
400-700 nm
74
ultraviolet
10-400 nm
75
x rays
0.01 -10 nm
76
gamma rays
0.01 nm
77
frequency
number of times per second that a wave vibrates, measured in hertz
78
atmospheric window
a wavelength band in which our atmosphere absorbs little radiation
79
isotopes
various forms of neutrons, same chemical properties, different masses
80
orbital
description of an electron's possible location in an atom as it orbits the nucleus
81
excited atom
the condition in which the electrons of an atom are not in their lowest energy orbit
82
wien's law
relation between body's temperature and the wavelengths in which it emits most intensity. hotter bodies radiate more intensity at shorter wavelengths
83
doppler shift
change in observed wavelengths of radiation caused by the motion of the emitting body or observer.
84
continuous spectrum
no emission lines, solid or dense gases
85
emission line spectrum
consisting of bright lines at certain wavelengths separated by dark regions hot low density gas
86
absorption line spectrum
spectrum showing dark lines at narrow color regions. hit dense body through cooler gas
87
What are telescopes?
A telescope enables an astronomer to observe things visible to the naked eye.
88
refractor
A refractor is a telescope that uses a lens to collect and focus light
89
reflector
reflector is a telescope that uses mirror to collect and focus light.
90
Fundamental difficulty with refracting telescope
Transparent materials bring lights of different colors to focus at slightly different distances from the lens. This creates images fringed with color, called chromatic aberration.
91
Newtonian
type of reflecting telescope invented by Isaac Newton
92
Cassegrain
a reflecting telescope that uses a primary concave mirror and a secondary convex mirror to create a contact optical system.
93
prime focus
a telescope that places a camera or sensor at the point where the primary mirror of the telescope converges, creating an image directly on the sensor without using an eyepiece or secondary mirrors.
94
large telescope location and why
mountaintop because can gain access to a thinner more stable atmosphere
95
resolving power
The ability of a telescope or instrument to discern fine details larger diameter telescopes have better
96
What are the advantages of a reflector over a refractor telescopes for large astronomical telescopes?
Mirrors are lighter, less expensive, and gather more light than lenses of the same diameter
97
Why are radio telescopes so big?
Because their long wavelength radio waves require a massive collecting area.
98
Dispersion
the spreading of light or other electromagnetic radiation into a spectrum. Ex. Rainbow
99
Diffraction
A bending of the path of light (or other electromagnetic waves) as it passes through an opening or around an obstacle. Diffraction limits the ability to distinguish fine details in images
100
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