Astronomy Final

precession

wobble in spinning of earth

13th zodiac sign

added because of precession

jupiter

rotates once every 10 hours

ursa major

big dipper

polaris

star fixed on the handle of the little dipper, north star

refraction

ex: light dispersed into components of color through a spectrum

keck telescope

largest optical telescope in hawaii

9900 degrees F

sun’s surface temperature

jupiter’s latitude bands

move at different speeds and some in different directions

kuiper belt

ring of asteroids found past the orbit of Pluto and surronds our solar system

comet

characterized by dust and gas tails when in proximity to the sun, relatively small, sometimes active object composed of dirt and ice

sun composition

70% hydrogen, 28% helium

Very Large Array

27 concave discs found in New Mexico set up to gather radio waves from space

photosphere

layer of the sun responsible for the sun’s granulated appearance

jupiter has

79 moons

saturn has

63 moons

corona

layer of the sun that makes up its outer atmosphere, can only be seen during an eclipse

chromosphere

layer of the sun that’s responsible for solar flares and the build up and release of radiation

mercury

87 day orbit

zodiac

ring of constellations that the sun passes through

cosmological principle

on a large scale the universe is homogeneous and isotropic, what happens in one part of the universe happens in another

mars

planet is very dense, composed of iron, no atmosphere, very cratered surface

synchronous rotation

moon’s ability to turn with the earth so that the same side is always exposed

saturn’s most popular moon

titan

3rd-dimension

volume

venus

brightest nighttime planet

earth

1 AU, 93 million miles, from sun

earth’s sister planet

venus, 5% difference in size

uranus

least surface features of any planet

meteor

observed as it burns through the earth’s atmosphere, shooting star

jupiter’s moons

io, europa, ganymede, callisto

mars moons

orbit 3000 miles off the surface of the planet 3 times a day, deimos and phobos

convection

heat from the core of the sun reaches the surface in swirling patterns

earth is the only planet

not named after greek or roman mythology

mars surface

composed of iron oxide

meteorite

object that survives passage through earth’s atmosphere and impacts the surface

average distance between earth and moon

240,000 miles

apogee

moon 250,000 miles from earth

perigee

moon 230,000 miles from earth

neptune

8th planet

neptune’s dark spot

thought to be a hole in the atmosphere

clouds on venus

made up of sulfuric acid

pluto

20 year period where it crosses into neptune’s orbit and becomes the 8th planet

meteoroid

small particle from an asteroid or comet orbiting the sun

refracting telescope

reflection telescope

first three men to visit the moon

neil armstrong, buzz aldrin, michael collins

apollo 11

1969, about 200 hours long

subdunction

2 plates collide one plate slides under the other and releases magma, forms volcanoes

2 plates crash and no subdunction

forms mountains

inner core

solid iron

outer core

molten nickel and iron

mantel

molten material and silicates

crust

continents, ocean, silicates

most to least harmful

gamma rays, x-rays, ultraviolet radiation, visible light, infrared, microwaves, radio waves

sun’s strong electromagnetic current

sun made of electrically charged particles/ plasma, rotates at varying speeds

sun’s death

expand to red giant, outer layers of sun drift into space=planetary nebula, collapse and cool to white dwarf,

spectroscopy

analysis of spectra or the color composition of matter under different physical conditions

redshift, waves spread out

light from other galaxies moving away from us

phases of the moon

waxing

areas of light grow, shadow on left

waning

light areas shrink, shadow on right

impact of sunspots on earth

cme/solar flares disrupts the electromagnetic field

geographic locations on the moon

altitude

longitude of night sky

azimuth

latitude of night sky

860,000 miles

sun’s diameter

circumpolar constellations

cassiopeia, cepheus, draco, ursa major, ursa minor

summer triangle

deneb (cygnus), altair (aquila), vega (lyra)

magnitude

measures brightness of stars, small #=brighter, larger #=fainter

23 degrees latitude above equator

tropic of cancer

23 degrees latitude below equator

tropic of capricorn

mercury has

no moons

venus has

no moons

uranus has

27 moons

neptune has

13 moons

pluto has

5 moons

sagittarius

canis major

leo

cassiopeia

w shape

scorpio

orion

three star belt

gemini

two stick figures

draco

ophiuchus

cygnus

aquila

lyra

cepheus

house shape

aries

pegasus

taurus

ursa major

ursa minor

spiral galaxy

old red and yellow stars at center, arms young, short-lived stars, middle-aged galaxy

barred spiral galaxy

bulge/center elongated like a bar, middle aged galaxy

elliptical/lenticular galaxy

old galaxies, contain old stars, no new star formation or gas and dust

irregular galaxy

no real shape, site of intense star activity, young galaxy

saturn V rocket

rocket that went to the moon