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27 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
- 3rd side (hint)
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Solar System |
A star (can have more than one star) and any planets and other materials that orbit it |
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Milky Way Galaxy |
The Galaxy our solar system resides in |
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Cluster/Group of Galaxies |
A collection of galaxies bound together by gravity. Small collections are groups while large collections are clusters. |
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Supercluster |
A gigantic region of space where many individual galaxies and many groups and clusters of galaxies are packed more closely together than elsewhere in the universe |
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Universe |
The sum total of all matter and energy |
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Big Bang |
Theory that states that our observable universe came into being at a single moment in time as an extremely hot, dense mixture of subatomic particles and radiation |
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Nuclear fusion |
The process in which two or more smaller nuclei slam together and make one larger nucleus |
A star can live as long as it can generate energy from this fusion |
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Star |
A large, glowing ball of gas that generates heat and light through nuclear fusion in its core |
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Requirements of a Planet |
1) Orbits a star 2) Large enough for its own gravity to make it round 3) Has cleared most other objects from its orbital path |
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Moon/Satellite |
An object that orbits a planet |
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Asteriod |
A relatively small and rocky object that orbits a star |
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Moon/Satellite |
An object that orbits a planet |
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Comet |
A relatively small and ice-rich object that orbits a star |
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Rotation |
The spinning of an object around its axis |
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Rotation |
The spinning of an object around its axis |
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Orbit |
The motion of one object around another |
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Expansion of the universe |
The increase in the average distance between galaxies as time progresses |
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Because light takes time to travel through space.... |
.....the farther away we look in distance, the further back we look in time |
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What is the temperature of the sun? |
The Sun is 5,500 degrees Celsius or 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit |
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What is the closest star to our solar system? Include distance. |
Proxima Centauri, which is 4.2 light years away |
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What is the Orion Nebula? |
A cloud of interstellar gas which is condensing into stars |
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Supernova |
The explosion of a star |
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Describe the Crab Nebula |
A cloud of dust and gas produced by a supernova in 1054 AD. It moves towards the Andromeda Galaxy |
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What are the two important facts about galaxies discovered by Edward Hubble? |
1) Virtually every Galaxy outside the Local Group is moving away from us 2) The more distant the Galaxy, the faster it appears to be racing away |
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How big is the universe? |
The observable universe contains roughy 100 billion galaxies, and the total number of stars is comparable to the number of grains of dry sand on all the beaches of Earth |
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How does our lifetimes compare to the age of the universe? |
On a cosmic calendar of one year, humans have been here only a few seconds. |
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How do galaxies move within the universe? |
Galaxies move essentially at random within the Local Group, but all galaxies beyond the Local Group are moving away from us, telling us that the universe is expanding |
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