astronomy test 2
determine what statement is NOT an observed pattern of motion in our solar system
most planets orbit at the same speed
why would the weather become more severe as the greenhouse effect increased
warming would increase the evaporation of the oceans, leading to more water in the atmosphere and more frequent and severe storms
if earth's axis were tilted by 35 degrees instead of its actual tilt, how would the seasons be different than they are currently
winters would be colder
what is the difference in meaning between the terms weather and climate?
weather refers to short term atmospheric conditions while climate is the weather of a specific region averaged over a long period of time
Suppose we look at a photograph of many galaxies. Assuming that all of these galaxies formed at the same time after the Big Bang, which galaxies, as seen in the photo, would appear to be the youngest?
the galaxy that is furthest away from us
If the freezing point of all ices was at a much lower temperature, what change would that imply for the formation of our solar system with respect to the location and existence of the gas giants?
the gas giants would have to form at a larger distance from the sun
why do we see essentially the same face of the moon at all times
the moon is rotating at the same rate that it revolves around earth (synchronous rotation)
what is the ecliptic
the orbital plane of earth around the sun
what did tycho, kepler and newton accomplish
tycho's observation's were accurate enough for kepler to discover that the planets moved in elliptic orbits, and his other laws, which gave newton the clues he needed to establish universal inverse-square gravitation
the planet closest in size to earth is
venus
In what part of the solar system is Pluto found?
Kuiper Belt
determine what statement about the celestial sphere is NOT true
'celestial sphere' is another name for our universe
at approximately what time would a first quater moon be on your eastern horizon
12 noon
Approximately how far away on average is earth from the sun? earth from the moon?
93 million miles & 226,000 miles
who discovered that Jupiter has moons
Galileo
what is not a characteristic of outer planets
They have very few, if any, satellites.
how does the green house effect work?
a process that occurs when gases in earth's atmosphere trap the sun's heat --- warms earth's surface
spring tides occur when the lunar and solar tides ________, resulting in _________ tides
add; above average
suppose the sun is in the middle of the constellation virgo at noon today. what constellation will it be in tomorrow at 3pm?
aquarius
The astrology practiced by those who cast predictive horoscopes can be tested by
comparing how often the predictions come true to what would be expected by pure chance
what are the main constituents of the jovian planets
composed primarily of hydrogen and helium
when is the moon visible in the day time
crescent through quarter phases can be seen during the day
the 13 constellations that cross the ecliptic are called zodiacal constellations?
false
a planet is most likely to have tectonic activity if it has
high internal tempature
the solid form of a volatile material is generally referred to as a(n)
ice
32) The principle of Occam's Razor states that___
if you have two competing ideas to explain the same phenomenon, you should prefer the simpler one
what happens during the apparent retrograde motion of a planet
it appears as though it's moving in the opposite direction, from east to west across the sky, often looping or zig-zagging as it goes
what makes the North Star, Polaris, special?
it can bused to determine your longitude on earth, it is the star directly on your northern horizon
why does venus have such a large difference in temperature between its "no atmosphere" temperature and its actual temperature
it has a runaway greenhouse effect> its atmosphere is mainly carbon dioxide, a highly effective greenhouse gas and very thick so it heats the surface of venus to a much higher temperature than it would have without an atmosphere
what are two factors critical to the existence of the carbon dioxide (CO2) cycle on earth?
plate tectonics and liquid water oceans
Orion is visible on winter evenings but not summer evenings because of
the position of the earth around the sun
what is differentiation in planetary geology
the process by which gravity separates materials according to density
if you go out at exactly 11 pm each evening over the course of 3 months, the position of a given star will move westward by tens of degrees what causes this motion
the revolution of the earth around the sun
what is bigger 100 light years or the size of a typical galaxy?
the size of a typical galaxy
what is stellar parallax
the slight back-and-forth shifting od star position that occurs as we view the stars from different positions in earths orbit of the sun (the stars apparent motion)
why does atmospheric pressure decrease as you go higher in altitude on earth
there is "thin air" as the altitude increases the amount of gas molecules in the air decreases -- the air becomes less dense than air nearer to sea level
astronauts orbiting earth in the space shuttle experience so-called weightless in space because
there is no ground or normal force to counteract the force of gravity
what best describes the origin of ocean tides on earth
tides are caused by the difference in the force of gravity exerted by the moon across the sphere of the earth
