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45 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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If a star is 100 light years away, how long will it take for its light to reach us?
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100 years
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What unit is used to describe the actual distances between starts in the same constellation?
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light years
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What unit is used to measure the angular distance between stars in the sky?
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Degrees, arc minutes, arc seconds
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An arbitrary formation of stars perceived as a figure or design that offically represents a region in the sky is referred to as a(n)
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Constellation
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The apparent path the sun takes throughout the year is called the:
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Ecliptic
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The reference marker in the sky referring to the point directly overhead is?
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Zenith
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Describe the path of stars throughout the night.
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east to west, counterclockwise, circling Polaris
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Why do we have seasons?
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Earth's tilt
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How do you find the altitude of Polaris from the horizon from any location in the Northern Hemisphere?
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Equal to your latitude - look that many degrees up from the north horizon.
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What does it mean for a star to be circumpolar? Where would you have to go to see many circumpolar stars?
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Never sets, circles Polaris (NCP). Go north, closer you are to the pole, the more you will see.
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Whose book coined the term "revolution" because his heliocentric theory went against the authority of the time, the church.
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Copernicus.
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Which ancient Greek astronomer had a geocentric model of the solar system with uniform circular motion and complicated epicycles.
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Ptolomy.
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Who avoided torture and death by the inquisition when he denounced his beliefs in Copernicus" theory that the sun was the center of the universe.
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Galileo
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According to Kepler's 3rd Law, the farther out a planet's orbit is from the sun, the
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The longer its period of revolution. (Goes slower around the sun)
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Using Kepler's 1st law, describe a planet's orbit. Describe its shape and the location of the sun.
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Elliptical - the sun is at a focal point
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What do you call the point in Earth's orbit when Earth is farthest from the sun?
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aphelion.
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The closer a planet's eccentricity is to zero the more _______ it is. Which planet has the lowest eccentricity, which has the highest?
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circular. Lowest - Venus, Highest - Mercury and Pluto
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List the colors of the spectrum of light from least energy to most.
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R O Y G B I V.
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Which color has the longest wavelength?
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Red.
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Why is the sky blue during the day, and red at sunset?
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Our eyes are most sensitive to blue. Blue light is scattered more than the colors of longer wavelength.
Because the sun has set, the light is traveling through more atmospheric layers. The blue gets scattered away and only the longer wavelengths can reach our eyes. |
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List the main types of radiation on the electromagnetic radiation chart in order from longest wavelength to shortest wavelength?
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Radio, microwave, Infrared, visible, Ultraviolet, X-ray, gamma ray.
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Which type of EM radiation has the most energy?
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gamma.
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What does it mean if a telescope has good resolving power? Good light gathering power?
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Ability to see fine detail.
Can collect more light |
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List 3 advancements in modern telescopes.
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Computer driven, mirrors are thinner and lighter, adaptive optics, multiple mirrors can be combined, resulting in segmented mirrors.
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Where is the best place to put a telescope? What is the advantage of a satellite-based telescope to a ground-based telescope?
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Mountain - air is less dense, dry and less turbulent and it is away from light pollution.
Satellite based telescopes don't have to worry about weather or look through atmospheric layers. All types of ER radiation can be studied, including x-ray and gamma. |
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An instrument used to create a spectrum and measure the wavelength of the is called a:
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Spectrascope.
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What do absorption lines in a spectrum represent?
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Photon that can't escape the gas - they are absorbed.
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The Doppler effect causes appraching waves to be ________, while passing eaves will be _____?
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compressed (shorter), longer.
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What does a red shift mean? A blue shift?
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red - light wave is being stretched out, it is moving away.
blue - wave is being compressed and moving towards the viewer. |
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The path and time a star takes through its evolution depends mostly on what?
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Mass.
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In the process of stellar evolution, what event recycles star material by forming new nebulae?
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Supernova.
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List the spectral classes for the stars.
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Oh Be A Fine Girl Kiss Me.
Only Bad Astronomers Forget Generally Known Mneumonics Oh Boy An F Grade Kills Me |
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Where on an HR diagram would red giants be located?
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Top right - low temp, high luminosity
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Where on an HR diagram would main sequence stars be located?
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Along the diagonal from top left to bottom right.
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Where on an HR diagram would white dwarf stars be located?
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bottom left - high temp, low luminosity.
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What are the two most abundant elements in the universe?
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Hydrogen and helium.
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What type of galaxy do we live in?
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Barred spiral.
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How is energy being generated on the sun?
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Nuclear fusion.
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Why are sunspots cooler than the surrounding area?
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Circulation (hot convection currents from below) is being inhibited by the strong magnetic field at that site.
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Describe the sunspot cycle.
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Every 11 years the number of sunspots increases.
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How do solar flares affect earth?
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They can shut down our technology.
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List the 8 major planets of our solar system in order.
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Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune.
My Very Energetic Mother Just Served Us Nachos |
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Which planets are never visible to the naked eye?
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Uranus, Neptune.
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Who is the best teacher?
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Mrs. Clippard!
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Describe the length of the day on the summer solstice, winter solstice and the equinoxes.
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Summer solstice - longest day of the year.
Winter solstice - shortest day of the year. Equinox - equal day and night. |
