Astronomy Unit: Physical Science

Convection at the Sun's surface, the rising and sinking of plasma, crates a structure called ____.

granulation

Because sound waves changes as it moves through different material, what are scientists studying to determine what is happening deep inside the sun?

different frequencies

How many frequencies are resonating in the Sun?

10 million

What do crossing magnetic lines cause?

solar flare

When did a CME last affect Earth?

March 1989

Which of the following is needed to make a star magnetic?

spinning and convective motions

What are scientists calling this elusive substance?

dark matter

The galaxies are moving so fast they should fly apart, but

dark matter is holding them in orbit

What did scientists call the unknown force pushing the universe apart?

dark energy

What's the configuration of four evenly spaced multiple images called?

Einstein cross

Scientists recently discovered a new particle, called the Higgs-Boson, which gives normal matter its ____.

mass

What's more, Hubble along with other astronomers, could see these galaxies were on the move, flying ____.

away from us

What forms 380,000 years after the big bang?

atoms

Tidal forces of gravity is the difference between

the gravity at your head and your feet.

What warps space-time?

matter

Simply because you equations show they exist doesn't require that the real universe has them. What is the evidence that suggested black holes could exist?

stars orbiting invisible objects and stars moved faster than expected

Of all the galaxies surveyed by Sloan Digital Sky Survey, how many galaxies have black holes?

all of them

If an object is massive enough, like Earth, it will warp space-time so we can sense it and falls toward the massive object, that's ___.

gravity

Who first described the idea of space being curved?

Albert Einstein

What were the issues in pin pointing the galactic center?

shrouded by cosmic dust and it's opaque

Most black holes are thought to be 10 times more massive than our Sun. But, the object at the center of the Milky Way was ___.

3 million times more massive

How wide are neutron stars?

10 miles wide

When an object, like a star, approaches another more massive object, the pull of gravity will make the object ___.

speed up

Scientists believe the 1859 CME wave that struck Earth occurred when the poles attracted. What is the evidence suggests this?

Aurora borealis in Colorado

What is the best clue to predict solar storms?

sun spots

How many CME waves are being tracked in 2/15/2011

3

What is the difference between radio waves and visible light?

Wavelength

What is the name of the supercontinent Alfred Wagner theorized?

Pangaea

What type of spectra do most stars produce?

absorption

What is spectroscopy dependent on?

Wavelength

As a source of light moves towards Earth, what happens to the wavelengths of the light source?

The wavelengths shorten

In general, if that light source is moving toward Earth, what color does it appear to be?

Blue

Let’s say you observe a distant galaxy that absorbs visible light in the yellow wavelengths; What if that galaxy is moving away from you, slowly, what color wavelength would it appear?

orange

main sequence of a star

Hydrogen fusion occurs in the core of the star. Minimal changes in size and luminosity occur.

molecular cloud (nebula)

Matter clumps together to form a larger cloud of gas and dust composed of hydrogen and helium.

planetary nebula

All available fuel is exhausted. Star collapses under gravity and atmosphere is ejected.

white dwarf stage of a star

Gravity pulls all mass into a dense hot star with low luminosity.

red giant stage of a star

Core of Sun is enriched in helium. Changes to size and luminosity occur.

protostar stage of a star

Gravitational energy is converted to thermal energy. Hydrogen fusion begins

What controls every stage in the evolution of a star?

gravity

What did the universe start out as?

an area of high density

Accelerators revealed a zoo of elementary particles with all sorts of whimsical names. What particle did I ask you to identify?

muon

Keep rewinding time, and everything gets closer and closer together. Eventually, they get so dense that you have a soup of ____.

elementary particles

What are the two properties of this elusive particle scientists are trying to detect?

can't see it and doesn't interact with light

Everything we can see, all that we've come to understand adds up ___ of the universe.

5%

The best approximation for the age of the Universe is _____.

13.7 billion years

Which of the following mechanisms for heat transfer is the most important for systems on Earth?

convection

In the energy lecture handout, several clips were shown from Blue Planet. What was significant about the clips shown in the **first half** of the assignment?

all examples were how the Sun is a source of energy

Light moves as

orbitals and discrete particles called photons.

The apparent change in wavelength due to the relative motion of a source and an observer is known as ____.

doppler effect

Which of the following is **evidence** for the Universe having a definite beginning

Everything in the universe is composed of the same elements

____ are a system of stars, gas, and dust held together by gravity.

galaxies

fill in the missing stage; **molecular cloud -- protostar -- main-sequence star --  ____ --  planetary nebula --  white dwarf

red giant**

Scientists discovered that the surface of the sun is vibrating. What causes those vibrations?

sound

Which of the following describes the white dwarf stage in the evolution of the Sun?

Gravity pulls all mass into a dense hot star with low luminosity.

Which of the following affects the luminosity of a star?

Temperature and size of star (surface area)

A star is

gas, self-luminous, and held together by its own gas pressure.

Why do the outer planets have such low densities for such large planets?

The outer planets are composed mainly of light elements, such as hydrogen and helium

The low densities of Jupiter and Saturn compared to the inner planet’s suggest that ____.

Jupiter and Saturn contain large quantities of light elements, such as hydrogen and helium

What is NOT a small solar system body?

planets

Sunspots are ____.

Dark spots on the surface of the sun.

What planet is also made up of iron rich minerals, like hematite?

mars

Which of the following is called a shooting star, but is a small piece of space debris that interacts with Earth’s atmosphere?

Meteoroid

What process changed Earth's early atmosphere by adding oxygen?

photosynthesis

The solar system originated

from a solar nebula.