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…
Outline general structure of solar system Order of planets: (including order in mass and radius; smallest to largest.) Mercury; 1, 1 Venus; 3, 3 Earth;4, 4 Mars; 2, 2 Jupiter; 8,8 Saturn; 7,7 Uranus; 5, 6 Neptune; 6, Distinguish between stellar cluster and a constellation CONSTELLATIONS: Stars that look like Read more…
Star A planetary object bound by “self-gravity” and that “radiates energy” that is primarily created by “nuclear fusion within the core” Binary Star “two stars” orbiting a “common” center of mass Planet A object that (1) is in “orbit around the sun”, (2) has “sufficient mass” to “assume a round Read more…
RED GIANTS & WHITE DWARFS Parsec a unit of distance used in astronomy, equal to about 3.26 light years 3.086 × 1013 kilometers Star’s proper motion A proper motion of 1 arcsec per year at a distance of 1 light-year corresponds to a relative transverse speed of 1.45 km/s Apparent Read more…
Outline the likely evolution of the star Khad after it leaves the main sequence Since it has a mass greater than 1.3 Ms, it will go through a super red giant, onto a supernova to a neutron star or black hole. Red supergiant star: • Large luminosity • Red color Read more…
Gravitational Contraction The process in which gravity causes an object to contract, thereby converting gravitational potential energy into thermal energy. This was a hypothesis proposed in the late 1800’s suggesting the Sun generates energy by contracting in size. However, geologists proved this wrong since the Earth was older than the Read more…
What element is the sun most made from? Hydrogen Where do most stars go, when plotted into a graph of colour and brightness? Main sequence What is the final stage for massive stars? A supenova or black hole What is the largest planet? Jupiter What is cosmology? The study of Read more…
milky way galaxy – one out of billions/trillions – named by the greeks; galaxies kuklos, milky circle – Romans; via lactea= milky way – andromeda (closest galaxy to us) 2.3 million LY away – 400 billion solar masses galileo – 1st resolved milky way into stars – telescope william and Read more…
Binary star Two stars orbiting around a common center Black dwarf The remnant of a white dwarf after it has cooled down. It has a low luminosity. Black hole A singularity in space- time; the end result in the evolution of a massive star. Brown dwarf Gas and dust that Read more…
The Universe A large collection of billions of galaxies Galaxy Large collection of billions of stars Our sun A star in the milky way galaxy Planets Orbit a star dwarf planet Small planets Moons orbit planets artificial satellite Orbit earth, built by humans Asteroids Lumps of rock and metal, found Read more…
Kepler’s Third Law Square of the period of any planet is proportional to the cube of the semi major axis of its orbit Stellar Parallax Created by orbital position. Max shift is when the earth is at opposite sides of the sun. Once angle found, distance is calculated via trigonometry. Read more…