Apparent brightness The amount of energy per second received per unit area Luminosity The total amount of energy emitted by the star per second Asteroid Rocky object ranging in size from dust particle to several 100 kilometers in radius Asteroid belt Asteroids found collectively between Mars and Jupiter Comets Mixtures Read more…
How do you calculate Magnitude? focal length of scope/focal length of eye piece List the electro-magnetic spectrum from longest to short radio, microwaves, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, xray, gamma What are the four colors stars can be and what is their order? red, yellow, white, blue What is the wavelength of Read more…
Critical Density Density for which the curvature of the universe is zero/at which it will expand forever but will reach zero/at which the universe will begin to contract after an infinite amount of time. Stellar cluster Stars that are gravitationally bound forming an arrangement in space. Constellation A collection of Read more…
Luminosity of a star A representation of its power output i.e. its “true brightness” Intensity/Flux of a star How bright it appears to be i.e. its “apparent brightness” How is the intensity/flux of a star measured? By ground based telescopes Distance to a star using luminosity and flux D = Read more…
Newton’s Model of the Universe The universe is infinite in both space and time. It is uniform and static. Meaning there are an infinite number of stars heading out in all directions to infinity (otherwise the universe would collapse under its own gravitational force) Obler’s Paradox Question Why is the Read more…
Comets Comets are irregular objects a few kilometres across comprising of frozen gases, rock and dust. Stars (Single & Binary) All stars initially form when gravity causes gas in a nebula to condense. As the atoms move towards one another, they lose gravitational potential energy that is converted into kinetic Read more…
neuron cells – nerve cells – carry electrical pulses that transfer from 1 neuron to another – over 100 billion in brain – 3 parts: 1. cell body (grey matter) 2. dendrites (grey matter) 3. axons (white coated in myelin) signals picked up by dendrites –> cell body –> action Read more…
singularity point of infinite mass and infinite density in an infinitely small space, usually in a black hole light year 9.46073047 x 10^15 meters planet An astronomical object orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to Read more…
Asteroid Small rocky body that drifts around the solar system Meteoroid Asteroid on a collision course with another planet Comets Mixtures of rocks and ice in very elliptical orbits around the Sun Nebula Cloud of gas and dust where stars begin to form Binary stars Two or more stars orbiting Read more…
Refracting telescopes are so called for which of the following reasons? The light is bent to a focus. Which of the following is the first thing light hits when it enters a telescope? the primary lens or mirror In a telescope, which of the following is the optical element with Read more…
planet Orbits a star and has sufficient mass that its own gravity gives it a round shape. It has no fusion and it has cleared its orbit of most other objects. planetary satellite A body in orbit around a planet (includes moons and artificial satellites). main sequence The main period Read more…
Light year The distance travelled by light in one year. Luminosity The amount of energy radiated by a star per second. Apparent brightness The received energy per second per unit area of a detector (on earth). Parsec The distance to a star whose parallax is one arcsecond. Apparent magnitude A Read more…
Definition of a universe Collection of billions of galaxies Definition of galaxy Large collection of stars Planets Eight planets in our solar system that orbit a star, the sun. Mercury, venus, earth, mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune Moons Orbit planets with circular orbits, they’re natural satellites Artificial satellites Ones humans Read more…
What is the universe? a large collection of billions of galaxies What is a galaxy? A large cluster of stars What is a solar system? a star with orbiting planets What is a planet? A large sphere of matter that orbits the sun What is an exoplanet? A planet orbiting Read more…
Binary Star Two stars orbiting a common centre Black Dwarf The remnant of a white dwarf after it has cooled down. It has very low luminosity. Black Hole A singularity in space-time; the end result in the evolution of a very massive star. Brown Dwarf Gas and dust that did Read more…
Planets orbit the sun The sun is the centre of the solar system The solar system is in the Milky Way Galaxy The Milky Way Galaxy is part of the Universe The Moon has a circular orbit A comet has a more elliptical orbit The velocity of a comet increases Read more…
Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity The presence of matter and energy curves the fabric of space and time around it. Molecules A group of atoms bonded together, representing the smallest fundamental unit of a chemical compound that can take part in a chemical reaction. Atoms A unit of matter; the Read more…
Absolute magnitude The apparent magnitude a star would have if observed from a distance of 10 pc. Apparent brightness The received energy per second per unit area of detector. It equals b = L/4(pi)d^2. Its units are Wm^-2. Apparent magnitude A measure of brightness of a star as seen form Read more…
Describe how the parallax angle is measured – Take image of the star in JANUARY and JULY – Measure distance it appears to have moved State why the method of parallax can only be used for stars at distances less than a few hundred parsecond from Earth Absorption and scattering Read more…
When did Pluto become a dwarf planet? August 2006 How many planets are in our solar system? 8 planets What is our solar system called The Milky Way How long does it take to get to the sun 19 years Who was the first person to land on the moon Read more…