UPCAT Sun and Stars

Terrestrial/Inner Planets

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars; smaller, rocky planets

Jovian/Outer Planets

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune; larger gas planets

Mercury

Very hot day, very cold night

Venus

One of the brightest celestial bodies seen from Earth

Mars

The red planet

Jupiter

Largest planet; has the Great Red Spot storm

Saturn

Has a complex planetary ring system

Neptune

Blue in color; has the Great Dark Spot

Natural Satellites

Smaller bodies orbiting around a planet

Asteroids

Astronomical bodies revolving around a star; not massive enough to become spherical

Comets

Chunks of ice revolving around a star

Galaxy

Very large collection of astronomical bodies revolving around a center

Milky Way

Galaxy that contains our Solar System

Types of Galaxies

Spiral, Barred Spiral, Elliptical, Irregular

Stars

Massive body of gas that produces energy through nuclear fusion

Star Colors (coolest to hottest)

Red, Orange, Yellow, White, Blue

Small Star Life Cycle

Hydrogen Cloud → T Tauri Star → Yellow Dwarf → Red Giant → Planetary Nebula → White Dwarf

Large Star Life Cycle

Hydrogen Cloud → Herbig Ae/Be Star → Blue Dwarf → Red Supergiant → Supernova → Neutron Star (or Black Hole if very large)

Nebula

Immense gas cloud where stars are born

Main Sequence

Phase from star's birth to near death; stage of rapid growth; most stars belong here

White Dwarf

Dying star; end stage of small stars

Black Hole

End result of a supernova from a very large star; extremely dense; strong gravitational force

H-R Diagram

Plots temperature vs luminosity; 4 regions: Main Sequence, Giants, Super Giants, White Dwarfs

Big Bang Theory

Most recognized theory of universe's origin; huge explosion from a singularity created matter still spreading outward

Big Crunch

Theory that gravity will eventually stop universal expansion and compress everything back into a singularity

Light-year

Distance traveled by light in 1 year; astronomical unit of length