Earth Science Test III (SPRING2025)

Geocentric view of the universe

A model that depicts the Earth being the center of the universe and all the other planets like the sun, moon, and stars orbiting it

Heliocentric view of the universe (current model we use today)

The model that places the sun in the center of the universe and planets orbiting it

Copernicus

Devised a universe model with the Sun at the center, and not the earth.

Galileo

Italian astronomer and mathematician who was the first to use a telescope to study the stars

Kepler

This astronomer stated that the orbits of planets around the sun were elliptical, the planets do not orbit at a constant speed, and that an orbit is related to its distance from the sun.

Newton

law of universal gravitation

Brahe

stellar parallax, precise observer, and apparent shift in a stars position due to revolution of Earth

solar day vs. sidereal day

Solar Day-Day defined relative to the sun

-Defined to be 24 hours

Sidereal Day- Day Defined relative to the stars

- Sidereal day is 23 hours 56 minuets

Side of the Moon seen from Earth

near side

solar eclipse

Occurs when the Moon passes directly between the Sun and Earth and casts a shadow over part of Earth

lunar eclipse

the blocking of sunlight to the moon that occurs when Earth is directly between the sun and the moon

constellation

A group of stars that form a pattern in the sky (88 total)

Earth's rotation

elliptical orbit around sun, (Earth closest to sun: January: Perihelion) (Earth furthest from sun: July: Aphelion)

Perihelion

the point in the orbit of a planet, asteroid, or comet at which it is closest to the sun.

Nebular Theory

theory that the sun and the planets condensed out of a spinning cloud of gas and dust

Majority of mass of solar system

(99.5%) the sun

Jovian planets

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune (small, dense, rocky, large cores of iron/nickel, low escape velocities, thin atmosphere (CO2 + Nitrogen)

terrestrial planets

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars (Massive, low-density, gaseous, thick atmospheres, high escape velocities, hydrogen, helium, methane, ammonia)

Maria

dark-colored, relatively flat regions of the Moon formed when ancient lava reached the surface and filled craters on the moon's surface

mars characteristics

seasons similar to Earth, volcanic activity, very thin atmosphere, small magnetic field, no tectonic plates

atmosphere of Venus/Jupiter/Saturn/Uranus/Neptune

VENUS: 97% CO2 pressure (90x of earth's)

JUPITER: hydrogen + helium

SATURN: 75% hydrogen, 25% helium (methane + water ice)

NEPTUNE: hydrogen 80%, helium 19%, methan 1.5%

Spots on Jupiter

Great Red Spot: in a planet's southern hemisphere, counterclockwise, rotating cyclonic storm

Meteoroid

swarm of asteroids

Called this when entering Earth's surface

meteoroids = meteorites when found on Earth

Asteroid

between the Mars/Jupiter Asteroid Belt

small bodies

irregular shapes

uncertain origin

Comet

"dirty snowballs"

keeper built (origin)

small rocky, metallic

frozen gases

types of electromagnetic radiation

gamma, x-rays, ultraviolet light, microwaves, infrared light, radio waves

Comparison of wavelengths/energy of visible light/ other electromagnetic radiatiosn

visible: longer wavelengths than gamma, UV radiation, shorter than infared, microwaves, and radio waves

Dark-line Absorption Spectrum

an electromagnetic spectrum in which a decrease in intensity of radiation at specific wavelengths or ranges of wavelengths characteristic of an absorbing substance (as chlorophyll) is manifested especially as a pattern of dark lines or bands—compare emission spectrum.

Doppler effect

An observed change in the frequency of a wave when the source or observer is moving

red shift

the change in the wavelength of light due to an object moving away from the observer.

radio telescopes

Devices used to detect radio waves from objects in space

how to avoid atmospheric disturbance in telescopes

adaptive optics

nuclear fusion

a nuclear reaction in which atomic nuclei of low atomic number fuse to form a heavier nucleus with the release of energy.

Sun (type of star)

main sequence, yellow dwarf, actually white

Photon

A particle of electromagnetic radiation with no mass that carries a quantum of energy

light year

a unit of astronomical distance equivalent to the distance that light travels in one year, which is 9.4607 × 1012 km (nearly 6 trillion miles).

absolute magnitude

The actual brightness of a star

apparent magnitude

the brightness of a star as seen from Earth

neutron star

a star that has collapsed under gravity to the point that the electrons and protons have smashed together to form neutrons

Supernova

A gigantic explosion in which a massive star collapses and throws its outer layers into space

Color of hot stars

blue and white

color of cold stars

red

Hertzsprung-Russell diagram axis

A graph plots stars' luminosity (brightness) on a vertical axis against their surface temperature.

Big Bang Theory

The theory that the universe originated in a huge explosion that released all matter and energy.

galaxy

a system of millions or billions of stars, together with gas and dust, held together by gravitational attraction.

types of galaxies

elliptical, spiral, irregular

Milky Way

A large spiral galaxy that is home to Earth and the rest of our solar system, and about a trillion stars.