ASTRO 104 (Jason Boyles WKU) Final
What are the requirements of a good location for a optical telescope?
Arid area, calm air, Dark, and high elevation
Which internal energy source is the most important in continuing to heat the terrestrial planets today?
radioactivity
What are Adaptive optics?
A technique in which telescope mirrors flex rapidly to compensate for the bending of starlight caused by atmospheric turbulence. (why we can get sharp and clear images from Earth)
What is a thermal emitter?
An object that emits heat
Why is an apple red?
Because it reflects red light and absorbs all other colors
Which planet has the highest density?
Earth
what fundamental force is between the electron and nucleus in an atom?
Electromagnetic
What can change an object's momentum?
Force
What are all the external factors that shape the surface of a planet?
Impact Cratering
What planet is the largest?
Jupiter
Does it physically make sense to have negative temperatures?
No
How much of the solar system is filled with matter?
Our solar system is almost empty space
What is true about all images that are captured by infrared telescopes?
They are always displayed in false color
What happens when a neutral atom loses and electron?
It becomes ionized
What types of telescopes look like radar dishes?
Radio
When is an electron free in a quantized energy diagram?
When it goes above all the other lines
What is spectroscopy?
an analysis of the way in which atoms absorb and emit light
What is radiative energy?
energy carried by light
What are Newton's Three Laws of Motion?
1. Every object in a state of uniform motion will remain in that state of motion unless an external force acts on it. 2. Force equals mass times acceleration [ $ f(t)=m\,a(t)$ ]. 3. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
What are conserved quantities?
1. Mass-Energy 2. Momentum 3. Angular Momentum
What are Kepler's Laws?
1. The law of Ellipses- the path of each body around the sun is an ellipse, with the sun at one focus 2. Law of Equal Areas- closer to sun- faster moving, farther away- slower moving 3. Harmonics Law- the body's orbital path period squared is equal to its mean solar distance cubed. (As a planet orbits, it sweeps out equal areas in equal times.)
Light from a distant galaxy took 3.7 billion years to reach the Earth, how far away is the galaxy?
3.7 billion light years
On the universe calendar, about how long has the Earth been around?
4 months
What is 0.00536 in scientific notation?
5.36 x 10^-3
What could cause a comet to change its path when its near a more massive object?
A Gravitational Encounter
What is true about scientific models?
A model can be used to explain and predict real phenomena.
What does circumpolar mean?
A star that is always above your horizon
In a celestial sphere model, why does the Sun's position along the eastern horizon change every sunrise?
Because the position of the Sun along the ecliptic is constantly changing
Why can we not see other galaxies while in the Milky Way?
Because the stars, gas, and dust of the Milky Way block us from seeing them.
What are the different types of orbit?
Circular, Elliptical, Parabolic, and Hyperbolic.
What is a group of stars defining a region called?
Constellation
What is our cosmic address?
Earth, Solar System, Cygnus-Orion Arm, Milky Way, Local Group, Virgo Supercluster, Universe
What direction does the star Sirius rise?
East
What is the Sun's daily path across the sky called?
Ecliptic
Who established the heliocentric model of the solar system?
Galileo
During, a full Moon, how much of the total Moon's surface is being illuminated by sunlight?
Half
What is thermal energy?
Heat energy
What is weightlessness?
It is the apparent loss of weight on object that is falling freely in a gravitational field.
What is absorption?
Light that is absorbed by matter
What unit of measurement uses the speed of light in its definition?
Lightyear
What state of matter has a defined volume, but not shape?
Liquid
What has virtually no effect on the structure of the planet?
Magnetic field
Which wavelength regions can be studied with telescopes on the ground?
Radio
What are the different types of electromagnetic waves?
Radio, Microwave, Infrared, Visible, Ultraviolet, X-ray, and Gamma ray (longest to shortest)
Elements heavier than iron are made in what event?
Supernova
What event created the elements heavier than Helium that were used to create the solar system?
Supernova
Which of the following never goes in retrograde motion?
The Sun?
What does the bottom number in standard nuclear notation indicate?
The atomic number, or the number of protons in the element
How did the first galaxies form in our universe?
The gravitational force pulled together clumps of matter to form the first galaxies
What is the amplitude of a wave?
The maximum displacement of a point on the wave from its undisturbed position
What is Transmission?
The passing of light through matter
What are the names of the 7 days of the week based on?
The seven naked-eye objects that appear to move among the constellations
What is peak wavelength?
The wavelength with the highest intensity
What phenomenon is causing the moon to drift away from the Earth?
Tidal friction
Tycho Brahe
Took 30 years of data and this data was used by his apprentice to establish laws of motion for planets
What is the name for the part of the shadow where the Sun is completely blocked?
Umbra
What planet has vertical rings as viewed from the Earth?
Uranus
What physical property does momentum depend on?
Velocity
The stars rise in the west on the surface of what planet?
Venus
What is the second brightest object in the sky?
Venus
What planet has the highest temperature?
Venus
When is a planet moving fastest in its elliptical orbit around the Sun?
When it is the closest to the Sun
When is a planet moving slowest in its elliptical orbit around the Sun?
When it is the farthest away from the Sun
When does a pair of stars have the greatest gravitational force between them?
When they are closest together
When does a pair of stars have the least POTENTIAL gravitational force between them?
When they are closest together
What is subduction?
Where one plate slides under another plate
What type of telescope uses glazing incidence mirrors?
X-ray telescopes
What is a leap year?
a year, that is divisible by 4, e.g. 20400
When white light passes through a cool cloud of gas, we see
an absorption line spectrum
What is refraction?
bending of light rays
What causes stars to twinkle?
bending of light rays by turbulent layers in the atmosphere
If Earth were tilted more (i.e. 50 degrees instead of 23.5), then winter in Kentucky would be
cooler
What affects the time it takes for an satellite to orbit an object?
distance
What is a light year a measurement of?
distance
What is the universal law of gravitation?
every object in the universe is attracted to every other object by a force called gravity
When a star is moving closer to the Earth then the wavelength of the light from the star
is blueshifted
When a star is moving away from the Earth the wavelength of the light from the star
is redshifted
Compared to an atom as a whole, an atomic nucleus:
is very tiny but has most of the mass.
What are the different types of erosion?
liquid(water), gas(air), and solid(glacial)
What does not have an effect in shaping planetary surfaces?
magnetism
Phases of the Moon
new, waxing crescent, first quarter, waxing gibbous, full, waning gibbous, third quarter, waning crescent
What is the frequency of a wave?
number of waves per second
Why does the moon go through phases?
once a month the Moon orbits the Earth, changing how much of the side we see is lit by the Sun
What heating/cooling process allows thermal energy to reach the Earth from the Sun?
radiation
What are the primary colors of light?
red, green, blue
What is scattering?
reflection of light in all directions
What are the three ways that acceleration occurs?
speeding up, slowing down, or changing direction at a constant speed.
What is potential energy?
stored energy
Which location on the Earth experiences the least amount of change in sunlight over a year?
the Equator
What device allowed us to first know that the Earth was rotating
the Foucault Pendulum
What is mass?
the amount of matter in an object
What is wavelength?
the distance between corresponding points on adjacent waves
What is kinetic energy?
the energy an object has due to its motion
What is weight?
the force of gravity on an object
Zenith
the highest point of the Sun within the celestrial sphere
What is the trough of a wave?
the lowest part of a wave
What does the top number in standard nuclear notation indicate?
the mass of the element
Which of the following could not be determined by an observation that uses only spectroscopy?
the size of a distant galaxy.
what is reflection?
when light bounces off an object
What is synchronous rotation?
when the orbital period and rotational period of an object is the same (e.g. the Moon)
