science solar system and the universe

1 AU is how many km?

150,000,000 (million)

Inner planets and outer planets are made of/description:

Inner: small, closer to the sun, made of mostly rock and metal. Outer: farther from sun, very large, made of mostly gas and liquid.

how many planets have at least one natural satellite/moon

6 (earth, mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune)

Asteroid, meteoid

small rocky bodies inbetween the orbits of mars and Jupiter. Smaller, chunks of rock or dust (part of a comet).

meteor, meteorite

meteoroids friction with air creates heat that produces a streak of light when entering earth. Meteorites that pass through the atmosphere and hit earths surface.

Comets

loose balls of ice and rock that have long narrow orbits and tails.

Core of sun:

produces enormous amounts of energy through nuclear fusion. It has intense pressures due to the large mass of the sun, causing the core to be very hot. Energy is released through gamma rays.

radiative zone of the sun:

gamma rays from core pass through this zone, Its called the radiative zone bc most heat flows through here as forms of electromagnetic radiation. The high density of plasma in this zone causes energy from the core to take up to 1m years o reach the surface of the sun.

convection zone of the sun:

plasma from radiative zone rises to surface. Cooling plasma at the surface leads to contraction, increasing density and causing it to sink. The heating plasma expands causing it to rise again.

Sunspots prominence solar flares

areas of plasma that are cooler than the plasma around them. Sunspots in pairs, huge polarized loops. Loops connect, releasing large amounts of magnetic energy (explosion).

Optical telescopes and radio telescopes

Optical collects visible light. Radio collects radio waves.

nebula vs star

large cloud of gas and dust containing immense volume of material, star is the same but has a smaller volume.

protostar, low or medium-mass star

red giant, planetary nebula, white dwarf (abt the size of earth)

protostar, high-mass star

(red) supergiant, supernova, neutron star or black hole

apparent vs absolute brightness

apparent: stars brightness as seen from earth (a star looks brighter the closer it is). Absolute: brightness a star would have if the distance from earth was standard (more complex process)

types of galaxies:

elliptical, spiral, lenticular, irregular

light year:

9.46 trillion kilometers (measure of distance, not time)

parallax

apparent motion of an object against distant background stars (most effective for nearby stars)

stars are formed by and can create:

nebulas, star clusters and galaxies

two types of star clusters:

open: young, loosely grouped together stars. Globular: old, tightly packed together (opposite)

spectrum:

gamma rays, X-rays, visible light, microwave, radio