Science 9 - Space

Front 1

________________ are people who study objects in space.

Back 1

astronomers

Front 2

___________________ is a general term for all the objects in space, including the Sun, other stars, planets, and the Moon

Back 2

celestial bodies

Front 3

__________________ is energy transmitted in the form of waves

Back 3

radiation (including radio waves and light)

Front 4

Most galaxies appear ________ in colour, which tells us that the universe is ________________.

Back 4

red; expanding.

Front 5

Two types of instrument that can separate white light into its wavelengths of colour are the ________________ and __________________________.

Back 5

spectroscope; diffraction grating.

Front 6

The term ___________________________ is used when wavelengths of a star become longer as it moves away from you.

Back 6

red shift

Front 7

If a star is moving toward you, its wavelengths become _________________.

Back 7

compressed

Front 8

The theory that suggest that 13.7 billion years ago a tiny volume of space suddenly and rapidly expanded to an immense size is the _______________________.

Back 8

Big Bang theory

Front 9

What are examples of celestial bodies?

Back 9

The Sun, other stars, the Moon, planets, nebulae, asteroids, comets, galaxies, etc.

(Anything outside Earth's atmosphere that isn't man-made.)

Front 10

What does the Big Bang theory state?

Back 10

The universe formed approximately 13.7 billion years ago.

Front 11

What is a red shift?

Back 11

A red shift occurs as an object moves away from Earth. It makes the object appear more red in colour.

Front 12

What does a spectroscope do?

Back 12

It separates light into its basic component colours.

Front 13

What do astronomers do?

Back 13

They study objects in space.

Front 14

If a star is moving towards you, its wavelengths ___________________

Back 14

become compressed/blue shift

Front 15

If a star is moving away from you, its wavelengths ________________________.

Back 15

get longer/red shift

Front 16

A galaxy is a huge group of _______________, __________, and ________________ that is held together by _______________.

Back 16

stars, gas, dust
gravity

Front 17

There might be as many as several ___________________ galaxies in the universe and each galaxy might contain more than a _______________ stars.

Back 17

billion
billion

Front 18

A ________________ is a dense cloud-like collection of gas and dust in space.

Back 18

nebula

Front 19

_______________ and __________________ are the building blocks of stars

Back 19

gas
dust

Front 20

Groups of stars within galaxies are called __________________.

Back 20

star systems / star clusters

Front 21

What is a galaxy?

Back 21

A huge group of stars, gas and dust that is held together by gravity.

Front 22

What is a nebula?

Back 22

A dense cloud-like collection of gas and dust in space.

Front 23

What are star systems / star clusters?

Back 23

Groups of stars that are found within galaxies.

Front 24

When the wavelengths of a star's light changes due to its motion, the change is called the _________________.

Back 24

Doppler effect

Front 25

What is a star?

Back 25

A massive, gaseous, spherical object in space that gives off light and other forms of energy due to nuclear reactions in the core.

Front 26

What is the Doppler effect?

Back 26

When an object moves, and the wavelength of its light changes. (Also: pitch of sound)

Front 27

List all 8 planets, in order.

Back 27

M.V.E.M.J.S.U.N.

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune

Front 28

The Sun is a huge sphere of mostly _____________ gas.

Back 28

hydrogen

Front 29

Planets travel around the Sun in a motion called _________________.

Back 29

revolution

Front 30

In our solar system, the 4 terrestrial planets are:

Back 30

Mercury, Venus, Earth, & Mars

Front 31

In our solar system, the 4 gas planets are:

Back 31

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, & Neptune

Front 32

A celestial body that orbits a planet is a _______.

Back 32

moon

Front 33

Small objects that orbit the Sun and are mainly found between Mars and Jupiter are called ____________.

Back 33

asteroids

Front 34

Objects made of rock and ice that orbit the Sun and come from the Oort cloud are called ____________.

Back 34

comets

Front 35

What is a solar system?

Back 35

A group of planets circling a star.

Front 36

What is a planet?

Back 36

A spherical object circling a star.

Front 37

What is rotation?

Back 37

When planets spin on an axis

Front 38

What is revolution?

Back 38

When planets travel around the Sun

Front 39

What are asteroids?

Back 39

Small rocky objects that orbit the Sun.

Front 40

What are comets?

Back 40

Objects made of rock and ice from the Oort cloud.

Front 41

The unit that is commonly used to describe large distances in space is _____________________

Back 41

light-years

Front 42

The unit that is commonly used to describe small distances in space is _____________________.

Back 42

Astronomical units

Front 43

What is a light-year?

Back 43

The distance that light travels in one year. (About 60,000 AU).

Front 44

What is an astronomical unit?

Back 44

The average distance between the Earth and the Sun. (About 150,000,000 km)

Front 45

____________________ involves creating an imaginary triangle between an observer and the object

Back 45

Triangulation

Front 46

______________ is the apparent change in position of a nearby object when it is viewed from two different points

Back 46

parallax

Front 47

An ____________ is the total or partial blocking of sunlight that occurs when one object in space passes in front of another.

Back 47

eclipse

Front 48

In a _________ eclipse, the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, briefly blocking our view of the Sun.

Back 48

solar

Front 49

In a __________ eclipse, Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon, briefly plunging the Moon into darkness as Earth's shadow moves across it.

Back 49

lunar

Front 50

What is the geocentric view of the universe?

Back 50

The view that the Earth is the centre of the universe.

Front 51

What is the heliocentric view of the universe?

Back 51

The view that the Sun is the centre of the universe.

Front 52

What is the Newtonian view of the universe?

Back 52

The view that all celestial bodies orbit around each other forever in perfect circular orbits.

Front 53

What is an eclipse?

Back 53

An eclipse is the total or partial blocking of sunlight that occurs when one object passes in front of another.

Front 54

What happens during a solar eclipse?

Back 54

The Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, blocking the view of the Sun from the surface of the earth.

Front 55

What happens during a lunar eclipse?

Back 55

Earth passes between the Sun and the Moon, making the Moon appear to disappear since it is no longer reflecting light from the sun.

Front 56

The heliocentric model is where everything revolves around the ________

Back 56

Sun

Front 57

The geocentric model is where everything revolves around the ________

Back 57

Earth

Front 58

________________ telescopes collect and focus the visible light from distant objects.

Back 58

Optical

Front 59

___________ telescopes collect and focus radio waves from distant objects,

Back 59

Radio

Front 60

____________ are put in orbit around Earth to send and receive data from Earth. If one stays in a fixed spot above Earth, it is in a ________________ orbit

Back 60

satellites
geosynchronous / geostationary

Front 61

______________ are space vehicles that are sent to other planets and space objects to fly past, orbit, or land on them.

Back 61

probes

Front 62

__________ are robotic devices that are designed to move around on the surface of a planet/moon to collect data

Back 62

rovers

Front 63

Space travel is made possible by ________________, which are devices that transport materials and equipment into space.

Back 63

rockets

Front 64

What is a multi-stage rocket / staged rocket?

Why do we use them?

Back 64

A multi-stage rocket / staged rocket is a rocket with multiple sections, and each section is dropped once it runs out of fuel.

They allow rockets to carry heavier payloads to higher altitudes.

Front 65

How does rocket fuel propel rockets?

Back 65

Burning fuel create exhaust, which comes (backwards) out of the end of the rocket.

Exhaust pushes the rocket forward (“for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction”)

Front 66

What is gravitational escape velocity?

Back 66

It is the speed needed to "break free" from the gravitational attraction of a massive body, without further propulsion (i.e. without spending more fuel.

Front 67

Identify and explain the 3 major parts of a rocket.

Back 67

1. Structural and mechanical elements (the "rocket" itself: engines, framing, guidance systems, etc.)

2. Fuel (combustible material)

3. Payload (what the rocket is carrying)

Front 68

What are the four main types of satellites?

Back 68

1. Communication - sending/receiving information (ex. TV satellites)

2. Geosynchronous - stays at exactly same spot above Earth (ex. weather satellites)

3. Remote sensing - collecting data (ex. Hubble telescope)

4. Global Positioning System (GPS) - network of satellites that give accurate position on Earth

Front 69

What is microgravity? How does microgravity hurt astronauts after long periods?

Back 69

Gravity so weak that it can't be felt by humans (like in space)

It reduces bone density and muscle mass.

Front 70

What is space junk? Why is space junk dangerous?

Back 70

Space junk is the name for the field of debris orbiting Earth, from broken rocket parts, satellites, and other "space garbage".

Orbiting objects are moving VERY fast, and even something tiny can cause a lot of damage.

Front 71

What are four major dangers for humans in space?

Back 71

1. Radiation and heat

2. Psychological effects of being stuck in a small space for a long time.

3. Microgravity (-> bones and muscles)

4. Space junk

Front 72

What are the four key systems needed to live safely in space?

Back 72

1. Air cleaning/recycling

2. Radiation protection

3. Heating/cooling

4. Water cleaning/recycling

Front 73

______________________ is the technique when multiple telescopes are used together to create a better/more detailed image.

Back 73

Interferometry

Front 74

The angle between due North and the point on the horizon directly below a star is the __________.

Back 74

azimuth

Front 75

The angle up from the horizon towards a star is the _____________.

Back 75

altitude

Front 76

If a star is 30° above the horizon, and 40° east of due north, then we describe the position of the star as:

Back 76

azimuth = 40°

altitude = 30°

Front 77

What is continuous spectra?

What produces continuous spectra?

Back 77

Continuous spectra is light that contains ALL colours of light.

Continuous spectra is produced by very hot solids or gasses.

Front 78

What is emission spectra? (Also called bright line spectra)

What do the lines tell us?

Back 78

Only specific wavelengths/colours of light.

Lines tell astronomers what type of matter an object is made of, since each type of matter produces different wavelengths/colours of light.

Front 79

What is absorbtion spectra? (Also called dark line spectra)

What do the lines tell us?

Back 79

Almost all wavelengths/colours of light, but with some wavelengths/colours missing.

Since different types of matter absorb different colours, astronomers can determine all the types of matter that make up an object.