Stars and Galaxies Unit 1

Astronomy

study of objects that lie beyond earth and how they interact

Mathematical language and geometric figures

What format is the Universe written in? (2)

True

Light travels at a finite speed (T or F)

300,000 km/s

How fast does the speed of light travel

Distance

What do light years measure?

True

T or F: a star that is 100 light years away appears to us as it was 100 years ago

Angular Size

size of the object as seen from Earth, often measured in degrees or arcminutes.

0.5

What is the angular size of the moon in degrees

30, 1800

How many arc minutes and arc seconds is in 0.5 degrees?

Theory

a well-developed set of hypotheses that explains facts/phenomena and makes predictions about future observations.

Newton’s Theory of Universal Gravitation

theory that describes the motion of masses under the influence of their mutual gravity

Diurnal Motion

One solar day from Noon to Noon

Sidereal Day

When stars return to their original positioning in a daily manner

Seasonal Changes

The reason why the night sky are due to the Earth’s motion around the sun

January

What month is the earth closest to the Sun

July

What month is the earth furthest from the Sun

False

T or F: the earth’s axis is NOT tilted

December

What month does the Southern Hemisphere lean into the sun and become more directly illuminated

June

What month does the Northern Hemisphere lean into the sun and become more directly illuminated

March and Semptember

What two months do the hemispheres recieve near equal sunlight?

Eliptic Plane

What kind of plane does the earth follow?

False

T or F: the moon rotates on its own axis

Synodic Month

term referring to the ~29.5 day time period it takes for the moon to go through all its phases

Sidereal Month

time taken for the moon to revolve exactly 360 degrees around the earth, relative to the stars

Lunar Eclipse

When the earth is between the Moon and the Sun

Partial

Type of Lunar Eclipse where only part of the moon is in the shadow

Full

Type of Lunar Eclipse where all of the moon is in the shadow

Solar Eclipse

When the moon is in between the Earth and the Sun

Partial

Type of solar eclipse where only part of the sun is blocked by the moon

Total

type of solar eclipse where all of the sun is blocked by the moon

Annular

type of solar eclipse where the moon is too far from earth, disallowing the opportunity for a TOTAL solar eclipse

True

T or F: Eclipses don’t happen every month because the moon and earth have different orbits

True

T or F: early geocentric models of the universe stated that planets move with respect to fixed stars, can change brightness and speed

Inferior Planets

type of planets that have orbits closer to the Sun than the Earth’s, and are brightest when in line with the earth and sun (inferior conjunction)

Superior Planets

type of planet that are NOT tied to the sun, have orbits further to the sun than the Earth’s and are the brightest at opposition (not in line with Earth and Sun)

Copernicus

who stated that the Sun is at the center of the solar system

True

T or F: the heliocentric model of the universe states that the sun is the center, the moon orbits the earth, and stars are far from the sun