Question | Answer |
Name the layers of the sun | corona, chromosphere, photosphere, convective zone, radiative zone, core |
Corona | sun's outer atmosphere |
chromosphere | deep red layer under corona, only visible during a solar eclipse |
photosphere | gases are thick enough to see on visible surface |
convective zone | hot gases rise, cool and sink |
radiative zone | very dense that light may take millions of years to pass through |
core | where energy is produced through nuclear fusion |
sunspots | areas which are a little cooler on the sun |
solar flares | giant storms on the surfaces of the sun creating light shows |
auroras | light shows |
constellations | sections of the sky that contain 1 of 88 imagined pictures made by stars in the night sky |
apparent motion | because of the Earth's rotation stars appear to circle around Polaris |
circumpolar stars | stars that circle around Polaris |
Actual motion | take thousands of years to move- we are moving |
Ursa Minor | contains the Little Dipper, North Star at end of pan handle |
Ursa Major | contains Big Dipper |
pointer stars | two stars farthest from the handles that point to Polaris |
asterism | a picture made by stars within a constellation |
Orion | the hunter |
light years | distance by which we measure stars because they are so far away |
Astrolabe (quadrant) | tool used to find the altitude of a star or celestial object |
Altitude | angle between the star and the horizon |
horizon | light where the sky and the Earth appear to meet |
Zenith | the point directly overhead- 90 degrees |
Change with latitude and time of year | altitude, horizon, and zenith |
celestial sphere | imaginary sphere that surrounds the Earth |
celestial equator | Equator's location on the celestial sphere |
Vernal equinox | where the Sun first passes on the first day of spring |
Right Ascension | hours East of the vernal equinox |
Declination | degrees North or South of the celestial equator |
Ecliptic | Apparent path the Sun takes across the celestial sphere |