astronomy chapt 7

constellation

a group of stars that form a recognizable pattern that is traditionally named after its apparent form/identified with a mythological figure

why do diff. stars appear in the sky at different times of the year

the revolution of Earth orbiting the sun

Hubble Space telescope

an observatory launched in 1990 that orbits Earth and provides high-resolution images of astronomical objects.

Most significant advance in astronomy since Galileo’s telescope. One of the most productive scientific instruments.

how does the hubble space telescope change angles in space

Uses newton’s third law by spinning its wheel in the opposite direction since it doesn’t have thrusters

primary mirror of hubble space telescope

main component of the telescope, which uses the mirror to collect light and focus it into its scientific instruments.

what is a nebula

large cloud of gas and dust that can form stars and galaxies

diff between bright and dark nebulae

bright ones are close to stars, dark ones are far away (only visible when a bright nebulae is behind it)

what is a pulsar

rapidly spinning neutron star that emits radiation, usually radio waves, in narrow beams.

what is a neutron star

what is left over when a star collapses, very small and dense, made almost entirely out of neutrons

what is a galaxy

a large group of stars, gas, and dust that constitute the universe.

what are the main features of galaxies

thin disk composed of stars, gas and dust, a central bulge of older stars, and a spherical halo of the oldest stars and massive star clusters.

what is the milky way

a spiral galaxy. Earth is on the spiral arm of it.

what are the diff. types of galaxies

spiral, barred, elliptical, irregular

what is a spiral galaxy

rotating, disc-shaped galaxy named for its curved arms that spiral outward

barred galaxy

type of spiral galaxy named for its bar of stars across the center

elliptical galaxy

contains little gas and dust and shows very little organization and structure, it is believed that these form during galaxy collision

irregular galaxy

does not have distinct regular shape

James Webb Space Telescope

space telescope conducting infared astronomy. It can see objects too old, distant, or faint for the Hubble Space Telescope

how fast is the milky way traveling

1.3 milion mph

Hubble Deep Field Photograph

a photo resulted from pointing the Hubble telescope at an “empty” patch of sky. The sky seemingly looked empty, but the telescope was able to capture images that proved that there were actually thousands of galaxies there, some of the most distant and youngest objects in the universe

what is a quasar

extremely bright masses of energy and light. Emits enormous energy, very distant and old

what is a lenticular galaxy

disc galaxy that has used up/lost most of its interstellar matter and therefore have little ongoing star formation