P8 - Space Physics

Define galaxy

A swirl of hundreds of billions of stars

Define stars

A massive ball of exploding hydrogen

Define planet

A round body that orbits a star

Define comet

A lump of ice and air

Define asteroid

A lump of rock too small to be a planet

Define black hole

A star that has swallowed itself due to its gravity

Define natural satellites

eg. Moons

Define solar system

A star and its planets

Define artificial satellites

Man made objects that orbit the Earth

Name the steps of a life cycle of a star similarly sized to the sun

Nebula,

Protostar,

Main Sequence Star,

Red Giant Star,

White Dwarf,

Black dwarf

Name the steps of a life cycle of a star larger than the sun

Nebula,

Protostar,

Main sequence star,

Red Super Giant,

Supernova,

Black hole OR Neutron Star

At what element will fusion in the sun stop past?

Iron-26

When does a nebula become a protostar?

When some of the dust/gas molecules begin to pull together due to gravity

Define supernova

An explosion of a star much more massive than the sun due to the end of nuclear fusion and elements heavier than Fe-26 are formed

Define spaghettification

When an object enters a black hole and becomes stretched out

How could you describe the orbit of comets?

Elliptical orbit

What is a comet mostly made of?

ice and dust

What are asteroids mostly made of?

rock and metal

What are the three steps of a life cycle of a star that all stars of any size go through?

1. Nebula

2. Protostar

3. Main Sequence Star

What is the earliest phase in a star's life cycle?

Nebula

What is occurring in a main sequence star?

outward pressure of fusion is equal to the inward pressure of gravitational force

What step in the life cycle of a star has enough energy to form elements heavier than iron?

Supernova

Which side of the absorption spectra above has the longer wavelength?

Red

After the main sequence, what could a star become?

Red giant or red super giant