Question | Answer |
What is a solstice? | Happens in the summer and winter. They are marked the shortest and longest days of the year |
What is an equinox? | Happens twice a year. Once in the spring and once in the fall. They mark when then night and day are of equal length |
What is a constellation | A group of stars forming a recognizable pattern that is traditionally named after its apparent form or identified with a mythological figure |
What is an azimuth? | It is the angular distance along the horizon to the location of the object ... N=0 degrees |
What is altitude? | the distance an object appears to be above the horizon (zenith is the highest point overhead) |
What is an eclipse? | When a solar body moves into the shadow of another body |
What types of eclipses are there ? | Lunar and Solar. Lunar is when the earth blocks the suns light from reflection off the moon (SUN - EARTH - MOON) Solar is when the moon blocks the light from the sun from reaching the earth (SUN - MOON - EARTH) |
What is retrograde motion? | It looks like a planet is going in a backwards direction within its orbit. This is not the case it just appears to due to how other planets are rotating around the sun.. |
What is the Doppler Effect? | It refers to a moving sound source. The closer you are, small wavelengths, high frequency, louder sound. Whereas the further away you are, bigger wavelengths, low frequency, softer sound. (ambulance pic) |
The Blue vs Red shift?? | Can refer to brightness of stars. closer together, higher frequency, the more blue the light is. The further apart, lower frequency, the more red the light is |
What is the celestial sphere? | Celestial means outside of the earth. Imaginary lines outlining equinoxes, and solstice. South = winter solstice |
What is spectroscopy? | The act of dividing light into individual colors |
What are the components of a star? | They are hot dense balls of gas. They give off a continuous spectrum. They have an atmosphere |
How were stars first classified? | Strongest were called A stars then B stars etc. They are classified by their strengths of their hydrogen lines |
How did Annie Jump Cannon change the ways stars are classified? | She merged the classifications. Reclassified the stars based on their strengths and appearances of many different absorption lines in their spectra. Around 1901 |
Hotter stars put out more light in what end of the spectrum? Cooler stars? | Hotter stars put out more light in the blue end of the spectrum. Cooler stars peak in the red |
What are stars made of? | Mainly of hydrogen, but also some helium |
What is the scale of star temperature | The hottest stars were O then slightly cooler B, followed by AFGKM
Oh Be A Fine Guy Kiss Me |
What is the surface area of the sun? | It is around 5500 Celsius and is a G2 star |
What is luminosity | the intrinsic brightness of a celestial object (as distinct from its apparent brightness diminished by distance). It depends on the mass and size of the star |
What is the best way to handle mass amounts of data? | Look for trends |
What is the most important graph in all of astronomy? | The HR graph. Invented by Ejnar Hertzsprun and Henry Norris Russell, it describes the relationship between the luminosity and temperature of a star |
How do stars make energy? | By fusing hydrogen into helium in their cores, like the sun |
Why are larger stars generally hotter? | Due to the fact that they can squeeze their cores faster (pressure in the stars core) |
On the stars diagram- what are the stars on the lower left? | They are hot, blue, white, and very faint. They are generally small. They are white dwarfs and eventually run out of hydrogen fuel |
On the stars diagram - what are the stars on the upper right? | They are large, red giants, luminous. (above them are the super giants) |
What is the definition of a telescope? | An instrument that aids in the observation of distant/remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation (EMR) |
How many main categories of telescopes are there and what are they? | There are three main categories. Optical telescopes, radio telescopes, and space telescopes |
Who is credited for inventing the first category of telescope (optical telescope?) | Hans Lippeshey invented the telescope |
Who made the first documentation/ observations using this device? | Galileo Galilei |
What did Galileo Galilei observe using the telescope? | The rough, uneven surface of the moon |
What is the definition of Heliocentric? Who supported it? | Having the sun as the center. Galileo Galilei supported this model of the solar system |
The difference between a refracting telescope and a reflecting telescope | A refracting telescope bends the light rays whereas a reflecting telescope bounces the light rays |
Describe the basic structure of a refracting telescope. | It has a primary lens where all the light rays go, it then an optical lens that magnifies the result of the rays |
Describe the basic structure of a reflecting telescope | It has a primary lens where all the light rays go, it then has a primary mirror (concave shaped) which reflects the rays to a secondary mirror, which then reflect the rays to the magnifying lens |
What do radio telescopes gather outside the range of the visible spectrum? | Electromagnetic radiation |
Are the radio telescopes large or small in comparison? | large |
Describe interferometry | It is a technique of combining the observation of two or more telescopes to produce images with better resolution |
What is the definition of a space telescope? | They are telescopes mounted on satellites or travelling probes beyond our atmosphere |
What are some examples of space telescopes? | Hubble space telescope, Kepler space telescope |
What type of telescope collects the most forms of radiation? | Space telescopes. They collect UV, x-rays, and gamma rays |
What are sundials? (ancient) | They are ancient tools used to measure the passage of time |
What is a Quadrant? (ancient) | It is a simple instrument of medieval origin. It is used to determine the altitude of a heavenly body. |
What is an astrolabe? (ancient) | it is similar to a quadrant. It is used to map out star positions in the sky. |
What is a cross - staff? (ancient) | It was a 14th century tool that was used to measure the angle from the moon to another celestial object |
what is the other name for a reflecting telescope? | a segmented mirror telescope |
What is rocketry? | The science of launching propelling object through the atmosphere |
Who first practiced rocketry? | The Chinese through rocket arrows? |
What speed does it take for an object to get out of the gravitational pull of earth? | 28,000km/h |
What is the fundamental law of physics? | An action causes an equal and opposite reaction |
Describe the average shape/structure of a rocket | It has a long narrow body, with a cone at the top that helps with aerodynamics. It has a combustion chamber towards the bottom of the body with an opening for the combustion chamber at the very bottom |
What are the three main parts of a modern rocket? | The structural/mechanical part, the payload, and the fuel (which has most mass) |
What is the main danger of a rocket? | The explosive nature of the fuel. |
What are some of the most common effects of micro gravity on the human body? | Bones expand because they have much less pressure on them. Heart does not have to pump as hard. Muscles do not get used as much and are therefor weakened. |
What are some options for water supplies in space? | Go somewhere that has water - hard to do. Bring a lot of water with you. Bring a little water with you and recycle it. |