AST 101 Final @ Syracuse

10^3

Kilo (k) 1,000 (One Thousand)

10^6

Mega (M) 1,000,000 (One Million)

10^9

Giga (G) 1,000,000,000 (One Billion)

10^12

Tera (T) 1,000,000,000,000 (One Trillion)

10^-3

Milli (m) 0.001 (One Thousandth)

10^-6

Micro (Mu) 0.000001 (One Millionth)

10^-9

Nano (n) (One Billionth)

Parsec

A unit of distance. d (parsec) = 1/p(arc seconds)

planets orbit the sun in a _____ motion, along the same orbital plane.

ecliptical

All planets orbit the sun in a ____ motion

counterclockwise

almost all planets and the sun rotate in a _____ motion

counterclockwise

Terrestrial Planets

Small planets made of rock and metal with no rings and few moons. Terrestrial Planets in our solar system are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars)

The formation of our Solar System

As the galaxy was forming, elements within the frost line such as rock and metal formed together to make Terrestrial Planets.
Elements outside the frostline such as Hydrogen and Helium were able to form to create the Jovian planets.
The rocks that didn't mesh with the forming planets formed a belt right next along the frostline.

The Kuiper Belt

The comet belt past pluto. A belt of frozen ice balls "hydrogen". Where comets come from.

The Nebular Theory (forming of the milky Way)

Spinning cloud of gas. The inward force exceeded the outward force, causing an implosion. It was so dense that repelling charges formed together, creating nuclear fusion, which caused a huge explosion in all directions. The explosion spread in a circle forming the Milky way. This is why all the planets are on the same plane.

Accretion

Small bits colliding to form planets (sort of like a snowball effect)

The formation of Earth's atmosphere

Outgassing, the eruption of volcanoes release gases such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen, which formed Earth's atmosphere.

Tectonic Plates

Sections of the Earth's crust on top of the mantle that move due to convection currents.

Earth's Magnetic Field

Earth has a magnetic due to its metal core. This field protects us from Solarwinds. It also protects the atmosphere from being stripped away.

Earth's Atmosphere

It protects us from Solar Radiation. It captures solar energy.

Craters

The result of an asteroid or comet hitting a planet's surface. If a planet has an active core, the impact will fade away over time.

Saturn's Rings

They are made of small water-ice particles that orbit Saturn like a moon.

The Frost line

Within the frost line, metals and rocks can condense. This is where terrestrial planets formed.
Beyond the frost line, hydrogen compounds can condense and form planets. These are where the hydrogen-rich planets (jovian) were formed.

Wavelength

The distance between crests (measured in meters)

Frequency

The number of crests that pass through a point each second. Measured in Hertz. Hertz = 1/second

Speed (Wave)

How fast a crest moves forward. (Measured in meters/second).
Speed of Wave= Wavelength x Frequency

Photons

A beam of light particles

Red vs. Blue

Red has a lower frequency than blue. All light has the same speed

What defines Color?

Frequency

Ionized

An atom that has lost its electrons

Continuous Spectrum

All colors produced by a hot light source. The wavelength can help distinguish the temperature of the lightsource. The higher the temperature, the shorter the wavelength.

Emission Spectrum

Produced by a hot and dilute gas. From the emission lines (colors), we can infer the composition of the gas.

Absorption Spectrum

Colors produced by a hot light source through a cloud of gas. The dark spots allows us to infer the composition of the gas. You can also find the temperature from wavelength.

Facts About the Sun

The sun is composed of gas, mainly Hydrogen and Helium. The surface temperature is about 10,000 F. Sunspots appear darker because they are cooler than surroundings. The sun is around 5 billion years old and its life expectancy is 10 billion years.

Structure of the Sun

The sun's energy source is at its core.

Photosphere

The visible surface of the Sun. Convection happens below the Photosphere.

Balancing the Sun

The sun must produce an outward force to counter its own gravity. This is done by nuclear fusion in the core. Hydrogen is being turned into helium.

Charge Conservation

When a proton is converted into a neutron, it releases a positron and a neutrino.

Energy Conservation

As the energy is released during nuclear fusion, so is the mass and it is converted into light.

The two most important processes in heating interiors of terrestrial planets are?

Heat from convection and heat from thermal radiation

According to our theory of solar system formation, why do all the planets orbit the SUn in the same direction and in nearly the same plane?

Any rotating , collapsing cloud will end up as a spinning disk.

How do we know the mass of Neptune?

The periods and sizes of the orbits of the moons around Neptune.

Newton's Version of Kepler's Third Law: Finding the mass of a planet using the distance and orbital period between it and any of its moons.

M= (4π² x a³) / (P² x G)

What causes seasons?

Earth's tilt (Not distance from the Sun)

If the Northern hemisphere were tilted 90 degrees, which location would be warmer in summer?

Arctic Circle

We see a full moon in our sky only when...

The moon and sun are on opposite sides of Earth

What do they mean by Waxing and Waning phases of the moon?

Waxing: phases that we see as the moon approaches Full moon
Waning: Phases that we see after Full Moon.

A solar eclipse occurs when?

The Moon's shadow falls on Earth.

Lunar eclipses can only occur during a..

Full Moon

What conditions must exist for a solar eclipse to occur?

A new moon must cross the ecliptic.

What conditions must exist for a lunar eclipse to occur?

A full moon must pass through Earth's orbital plane

A car is accelerating when it is..

Going around a circular track at a steady 100 miles per hour.

If you lived on the moon..

Your weight would be less than your weight on Earth, but your mass would remain the same.

If Earth was twice as far from the Sun, the force of gravity attracting Earth to the Sun would be..

One-quarter as strong

Will an atom emit light if all of the atom's electrons are in the ground state?

No, if all the electrons are in their ground states, that means they are already in their lowest possible energy states and therefore can't 'drop' into an even lower energy state.

2 arc sec=

1/2 parsec

What do astronomers mean by a constellation?

A constellation is a region in the sky as seen from Earth.

What is the celestial sphere?

The celestial sphere is a representation of how the entire sky looks as seen from Earth.

Meridian

A half-circle extending from your horizon due north, through your zenith, to your horizon due south

If you are located in the Northern Hemisphere, What is the relationship between the sky and your location?

The altitude of the north celestial pole equals your latitude.

Beijing and Philadelphia have about the same latitude but very different longitudes. Therefore, tonight's night sky in these two places:

Will look about the same.

Suppose you are facing north and you see the Big Dipper close to your northern horizon, with Polaris (and the Little Dipper) above it. Where will you see the Big Dipper in six hours?

To the right of Polaris; that is, 90 degrees counterclockwise from its current position

A solar day requires about an extra 1° of rotation, or a total of about 361° of rotation for Earth. Therefore, a solar day is longer than a sidereal day by about __________.

1/360 of 24 hours

What would cause the solar day to be shorter (rather than longer) than the sidereal day?

Reversing the direction of Earth's rotation

Suppose that Earth orbited the Sun 10 times as fast as it actually does but kept the same rotation period it has now. Which of the following would be true?

The sidereal day would still be 23 hours, 56 minutes, but the solar day would be a little over 24 1/2 hours. The sidereal day is unchanged because Earth's rotation period is unchanged. To understand the change in the solar day, recall that a solar day is about 4 minutes longer than the sidereal day because Earth moves around its orbit by about 1∘ per day. Therefore, if Earth orbited 10 times as fast, it would move 10 times as far around its orbit each day, making the solar day longer than the sidereal day by about 10×4minutes=40minutes

If you wanted to document the apparent retrograde motion of Mars, you would need to measure and record Mars's __________ over a period of __________.

1. position among the constellations
2. several months

In any particular place on Earth, certain constellations are visible in the evening only at certain times of the year because ________.

our evening view of space depends on where Earth is located in its orbit around the Sun

The Sun's path, as viewed from the equator, is highest in the sky on ________.

the spring and fall equinoxes

If the Sun rises precisely due east:

it must be the day of either the spring or fall equinox.

Rank the seasons for the Northern Hemisphere based on Earth's distance from the Sun when each season begins, from closest to farthest.

Winter Spring Fall Summer
(Vice Versa for Southern)

Rank the Tilt Degrees in order from Most extreme seasons to least..

1. 90 Degrees would be the most extreme.
2. 45 Degrees
3. 23.5 Degrees
4. 0 Degrees would have no seasons

If we have a new moon today, when will we have the next full moon?

in about 2 weeks

We cannot see a new moon in our sky because _________.

a new moon is quite near the Sun in the sky

New Moon

First phase of the moon. Rises at 6:00 am. Peaks at 12 noon. and sets at 6:00 pm in the evening.

Waxing Crescent

Second phase of the moon. It rises three hours later than the new moon at 9:00am. It peaks at 3:00pm. It sets at 9:00pm at night

First Quarter

Third phase of the moon. It rises three hours later than the waxing crescent at 12 noon. It peaks at 6:00 pm. It finally sets at Midnight

Waxing Gibbous

Fourth phase of the moon. It rises three hours later than the first quarter at 3:00 pm. It peaks at 9:00pm. It sets at 3:00 am

Full Moon

The fifth phase of the moon. It rises three hours later than the waxing gibbous at 6:00 pm. It peaks at midnight. It sets at 6:00am. Moon looks full in this position because the face viewed from Earth is entirely illuminated by sunlight.

Waning Gibbous

The sixth phase of the moon that comes after a full moon and before a last quarter moon where all of the moon is lit up except for a small bit on the right side of the moon that we can see. It rises at 9:00pm which is 3 hours later than the Full Moon. Its peak is at 3:00 am. It sets at 9:00am

Third Quarter

The seventh phase of the moon. It rises 3 hours later than the Waning Gibbous at Midnight. It peaks at 6:00 am. It sets at Noon. The right half of the moon receives no sunlight making it dark.

Waning Crescent

The last phase of the moon before it becomes new again. It rises three hours later than the third quarter at 3:00am. It peaks at 9:00am. It sets at 3:00pm. Nearly the entire moon is covered by darkness other than the left edge.

Nodes

are the points where the Moon's orbit crosses the ecliptic plane.

Umbra

the complete or perfect shadow of an opaque body, as a planet, where the direct light from the source of illumination is completely cut off.

Penumbra

A partial shadow that appears where light from part of the source is blocked and light from another part of the source is not blocked.

What is the cause of stellar parallax?

Earth's orbit around the Sun. (Just like retrograde motion)

Suppose that a star had a parallax angle of exactly 1 arcsecond. Approximately how far away would it be, in light-years?

3.3 light years

If star A is closer to us than star B, then Star A's parallax angle is _________.

larger than that of Star B

How many arc seconds are in a degree?

3,600

How many of the five terrestrial worlds are considered "geologically dead"?

2. Mercury and Earth's Moon

A terrestrial world's lithosphere is ________.

a layer of relatively strong, rigid rock, encompassing the crust and part of the mantle

Which lists the major steps of solar system formation in the correct order?

collapse, condensation, accretion

Which forms of light are lower in energy and frequency than the light that our eyes can see?

infrared and radio

Rank the lights in order from lowest to highest energy..

Radio, infrared, visible light, ultra violet, x-rays, gamma rays.

Suppose you look at a spectrum of visible light by looking through a prism or diffraction grating. How can you decide whether it is an emission line spectrum or an absorption line spectrum?

An emission line spectrum consists of bright lines on a dark background, while an absorption line spectrum consists of dark lines on a rainbow background.

The set of spectral lines that we see in a star's spectrum depends on the star's:

chemical composition.

What type of visible light spectrum does the Sun produce?

an absorption line spectrum

According to the laws of thermal radiation, hotter objects emit photons with _________.

a shorter average wavelength

What two physical processes balance each other to create the condition known as gravitational equilibrium in stars?

gravitational force and outward pressure

Solar energy leaves the core of the Sun in the form of

Photons

If the sun is in front of the constellation, Scorpius at 12pm. What constellation will the sun be in front of at 6pm

Scorpius, the stars move across the sky. Just like the sun.