Earth And Space Science Quarter 1

rotation

gives us day and night as the Earth spins on its axis.

revolution

gives us years (1 per rotation)

celestial line (north and south poles)

gives us seasons

Keplers First Law

states that planets move in elliptical orbits around the sun, with the sun at one of the foci - An ellipse is a flattened circle. How flattened it is depends on its eccentricity (e), which ranges from 0 (a perfect circle) to just under 1 (a straight line)

Keplers Second Law

A line segment joining a planet and the Sun sweeps out equal areas during equal intervals of time - Planets do not move at a constant speed. They move faster when they are closer to the Sun (perihelion) and slower when they are farther away (aphelion)

Keplers Third Law

The square of a planet's orbital period (T) is directly proportional to the cube of the semi-major axis (a) of its orbit - This means planets that are farther away from the Sun take much longer to complete a full revolution than planets that are closer, following a precise mathematical ratio

Perihelion

closest to the sun, highest velocity (speed)

Aphelion

farthest from the sun, lowest velocity (speed)

Two bodies in space _________

pull on each other with force proportional to their masses and the distance between them

_____ effects gravity

mass and distance

* What are terrestrial planets made of?

Rock

* What are Jovian planets made of?

Gas

* What is Venus?

A terrestrial planet and the hottest planet - only planet that rotates clockwise

* What type of planet is Earth?

Terrestrial

* How many moons does Earth have?

One moon

* What type of planet is Mercury?

Terrestrial

* What type of planet is Mars?

Terrestrial

* What is special about Mars’s volcanoes?

It has the largest volcano in the solar system

* What is Mars mostly made of?

Sand and rock; no organic material

* How many asteroids are in the asteroid belt?

About 1.5 million asteroids

* What type of planet is Jupiter?

Jovian

* What is special about Jupiter’s rotation?

It has the fastest rotation

* What type of planet is Saturn?

Jovian

* What type of planet is Uranus?

Jovian

* What type of planet is Neptune?

Jovian

* What is Pluto?

The largest dwarf planet, and it has 5 moons

* What are comets made of?

Rock and ice

* How long does Earth take to rotate?

23 hours, 56 minutes, 4 second

* What is the magnetosphere?

A bubble of magnetic fields around Earth

* What are the two poles of the magnetosphere?

North and South

* What can the magnetosphere help cause?

Northern lights

* What is the alternate nuclear fusion process?

Deuterium + Helium-3 → Helium-4 + energy + neutron

* What are solar flares?

An intense burst of radiation or light on the Sun

* How many “hydrogen bombs” does the Sun make per second?

About 1 billion

* What is a coronal mass ejection (CME)?

A large cloud of electrically charged gas called plasma that erupts from the Sun

* What is plasma?

Electrically charged gas

* What can CMEs damage on Earth?

Transformers, relays, and circuit breakers

* What can damaged transformers, relays, and circuit breakers cause?

Power outages

* What are sunspots?

Areas on the Sun associated with space weather

* What are stellar clusters?

Multiple clusters of stars

* How are small and large stars different?

Lower-mass stars burn longer, are dimmer, and cooler

* How do massive stars use fuel?

They burn fuel at a higher rate to generate energy

* How long do small stars live?

Longer lives

* What are small stars like?

Cooler, with a quieter death

* How long do larger stars live?

Shorter lifespans

* What are larger stars like?

Hotter, with a more intense death

* What happens at the end of a star’s life?

The core collapses

* How quickly does the core collapse in a star

About ¼ of a second

* What stage of its life is the Sun currently in?

Main sequence

* What happens to the Sun after the main sequence?

It begins expanding after its main-sequence stage

What is seeing the elements in a star like?

A fingerprint or barcode

* What happens if the barcode shifts toward the red side?

It is called redshift

* What does redshift mean?

Objects are moving away from us

* What happens if the barcode shifts toward the blue side?

It is called blueshift

* What does blueshift mean?

Objects are moving closer to us

* What causes a change in wavelength?

The movement of objects

* What is the Doppler Effect?

A change in wavelength caused by an object’s movement

* What are the two types of shifts?

Redshift and blueshift

* What does a short wavelength indicate?

Blueshift — the object is moving closer to us

* What does a long wavelength indicate?

Redshift — the object is moving away from us

* What is Evidence #1 for the Big Bang Theory?

Cosmic background radiation

* What is cosmic background radiation?

The “echo” or leftover energy from the Big Bang detected throughout the universe

* What is Evidence #2 for the Big Bang Theory?

Redshift — the receding of objects in space

* What does redshift show?

Objects in space are moving away from us

* How does sound travel?

Sound travels as waves

* What are the two pieces of evidence for the Big Bang in these notes?

Cosmic background radiation and redshift