Astronomy

Where do all objects rise?

east

Where do all things set at?

west

Why do objects rise and set like this?

earths rotation

What is AU?

the average distance between the earth and the sun

What is AU used for?

to describe the distance between objects in the solar system

What is Angular Distance?

the farther away something is the smaller it looks

What is the universe made of?

space, matter, energy, and time

What is a constellation?

an arrangement of stars that make a pattern seen on earth

What is the galaxy?

a gravitationally bound cluster of a lot of stars, planets, clouds of dust, gas, and natural satellites

Why can people on Earth see all four seasonal constellation patterns?

earth orbiting the sun

What is a light year used for?

to measure distance between objects in the galaxy

What is a parsec used for?

to describe the distance between galaxies

What is a zenith?

the point on the celestial sphere located directly above the observer

full moon

Does the moon rise the same time each day?

the moon rises 50 minutes and 12 degrees later each night because its eastward orbit around earth

waxing crescent

waxing quarter

waxing gibbous

new moon

waning gibbous

waning quarter

waning crescent

Earth shine

sunlight reflecting back from earth and lights up the dark side of the moon

Blue moon

two full moons in one month

Harvest moon

the full moon closest in time to the autumnal equinox

Hunters moon

the full moon after the harvest

Scintillation

star looks like its dancing and change colors

What causes scintillation?

earths atmosphere

Apogee

moon is farthest from the earth

Pengee

moon is closest from the earth

Why do eclipses happen?

the arrangement of the sun, earth, and moon

Solar Eclipse

the moon moves between the earth and the sun

Lunar eclipse

earth moves between the moon and sun

Why are blood moons red?

because earths atmosphere bends red and oranges light the most so we see all the sunrises and sunsets on the moon

What is the most common type of eclipse?

total lunar eclipse

The planets in order

mercury, venus, earth, mars, jupiter, saturn, uranus, neptune, and pluto

Terrestial planets are…

close to the sun, have a solid rocky surface, few to no moons, little to no atmosphere, slow rotation, and more dense

Jovian planets are…

large and gaseous, far from the sun, have many many moons, fast rotation, less dense, and have rings

Oort cloud

halo of material that surrounds the solar system

Oort cloud distance?

50,000 AU from the sun

Nebular contraction theory

a cold cloud of hydrogen helium and dust condensed to form the sun and planets at the same time

Protosun

central accumulation of materials in the early stage of the solar system formation

Protoplanetary disk

birth sites of planets and usually found around newly formed stars

Planetesimals

objects in the early solar system that are dust and pebbles that have coalesced into larger objects

Protoplanets

clumps of material (planetesimals) that have collided and coalesced into larger objects

Accretion

due to gravitational attraction as seen by two steel balls in class

Mercury kinda looks like?

the moon due to its craters

Does Mercury have a atmosphere?

no

Is Mercury the closest or furthest planets from the sun?

closest

Mercury Au from the sun

.39 au

Mercury’s orbital period?

88 earth days

Mercury’s rotational period?

59 earth days

Mercury’s temp range?

1000f 800f- -300f

Why is Mercury’s temp range like this?

it rotates slowly and has no atmosphere

Does mercury have a magnetic field?

yes and a very weak one

Does mercury have any natural satellites?

no

Why does Mercury have no atmosphere?

its small so theres not enough gravity to trap gases and the sun ejects particles and that creates an outward pressure known as solar winds or coronal mass ejection

Why does earth not have any visible craters?

71 percent of earths surface is covered by water, theres weathering and erosion, due to the atmosphere small objects are burned and don’t enter, and plate tectonics

How many AU is Venus from the Sun?

.72 au

Venus orbital period?

225 earth days

Venus rotational period?

243 earth days

Venus rotates…

in retrograde

What is retrograde?

Clockwise

Which planet is Earth’s “sister”

venus

Which planet is the closest to Earth?

venus

Does Venus have an atmosphere?

yes

What two elements/compounds are heavily in venus’ atmosphere?

co2 and n2

What would Venus’ atmos do to a human?

it would crush a human because the atmospheres air pressure is much denser than earths and it would crush us to death

Venus’s clouds are made of..

sulfuric acid

Is Venus solid or molten rock?

solid rock

What technology was used to create maps in space?

radan

Venus temp?

900f

Why is venus so warm?

global warming from atmosphere

What is the greenhouse effect from global warming?

ultraviolet rays get absorbed and emits infrared and gets trapped and heats up the ocean and surface

Does venus have a magnetic field?

no

Does Venus have natural satellites?

no

Earths rotational period?

23 hours 56 minutes

Does Earth have any natural satellites and what?

yes the moon

Earths orbital period?

365.256 days

What are the two main compounds of Earths atmos?

n2 and 02

What does a planet need in order for their to be h20?

atmospheric pressure

Does Earth have a magnetic field?

yes

What is a magnetic field?

it protects a planet from cosmic radiation and from the charged particles emitted from the sun

The Saturn V rocket happened…

july 20 1969

How many au is mars from the sun?

1.5 au

Mars orbital period?

687 earth days

Mars rotational period?

24.6 hours

Is Mars tilted and if so how much?

yes 25.5 on its axis

Does Mars have an atmos?

yes

Does Mars have craters?

yes a lot of them

Mars has a very similar atmos to…

Venus

Is Mars atmos thin or thick?

thin

What is Mars temp range?

22c - -140c

Why is Mars red?

theres iron oxide in the soil and rock

What is the name and where is the largest canyon in the solar system?

valles marineris in mars

Does Mars have polar ice caps?

yes

What is the name and planet that the largest volcano in the solar system?

olympus mons mars

Did mars have h20 in the past?

yes

Does Mars have h20 right now?

no

Are there dust storms on Mars?

yes