Study of Universe and its parts – Stars & Planets unit 1
This Astronomy, unit 1 lesson includes the study of universe and its parts including planets, stars and the solar system.
Astronomy
The study of the origin, nature, and evolution of the universe and its parts.
Even though astronomy deals with large objects…
Our understanding of them is rooted in atomic and subatomic physics.
The Astronomical Unit
(AU) ~93,000,000 miles. The distance from the Earth to the Sun.
Pluto is _______ AU from the sun.
39 AU.
Speed of Light
186,000 mi/sec. 3 x 10^8 m/sec
The Light Year
A measure of distance, not speed. The distance light travels in one year. ~63,000 AU.
Next nearest star to earth is ________
Proxima Centauri; 4.3 ly from earth.
The galaxy is ___________ ly across.
120,000 ly.
The Universe is ~ _____________ly across.
~10-15 BILLION.
Planets
Relatively small, compared to stars, nonluminous bodies that orbit stars.
Stars
Big balls of hot gas.
Star Cluster
A grouping of hundreds of thousands of stars that stretches many light years across.
The Solar System
The sun, its planets, asteroids, comets, etc.
Galaxy
A large system of stars, star clusters, gas, dust orbiting a common center of gas.
60000000000000000000000000 in scientific notation =
6.0 x 10^24
Constellation
Fixed patterns of stars used to indicate the positions of objects in the sky.
How many established constellations?
88.
Number of brightness that is not visible to the human eye.
6
Celestial Sphere
Imaginary shell that surrounds the earth on which astronomers paste apparent locations.
Zenith
Marks the top of the sky above your head.
Nadir
Marks the bottom of the sky directly below your feet.
Scientific Model
A carefully devised mental conception of how things work.
Angular Distance
The distance measured between two point on the celestial sphere.
Angular Diameter
The measurement of a single object from edge to edge.
Precession
The slow change in direction of Earth’s axis of rotation. Picture a spinning top. Takes 26,000 years for one cycle.
Seasons
Caused by the 23.5 degree tilt of our earth and the fact that the sun hits different points of earth at different angles.
Lunar Eclipse
Occurs when the moon is full and passes through Earth’s shadow.
Solar Eclipse
Occurs when the moon passes directly between Earth and the sun.
Milankovitch Hypothesis
Small changes in Earth’s orbit, precession, and inclination (tilt) affect Earth’s climate and can cause ice ages.
Retrograde Motion
The apparent E-W, then W-E, then back to E-W motion.
Only ________ exhibit retrograde motion.
Planets.
Geocentric Models
Puts the Earth and the center of the universe and insists that the Earth is motionless. Aristotle, Ptolemy
Heliocentric Models
Put the sun at the center of the solar system. Copernicus.
Stellar Parallax
The apparent motion of a body due to the motion of the observer.
Kepler’s First Law of Planetary Motion
The law of ellipses. The orbit of planets around the sun is elliptical.
Kepler’s Second Law of Planetary Motion
The law of equal areas. An imaginary line connecting the sun to the planets will sweep out and equal area in equal times.
Kepler’s Third Law of Planetary Motion
The Harmonic Law. The square of a planets period is equal to the cube of its orbit’s semi-major axis. p^2 = a^3.
Galileo’s Observations
1) Mountains on the moon. 2) Spots on the sun. 3) Too many stars. 4) Moons of Jupiter. 5) Phases of Venus.
Which of Galileo’s observations refute Aristotle’s observations?
Mountains on the moon (perfect heavenly objects.) Spots on the sun, LOTS of stars, Moons of Jupiter (Jupiter had the ability to keep its moon)
Which of Galileo’s observations supported Copernicus’s observations?
Phases of Venus b/c it proved that the sun was the center of the solar system.
Paradigm
A commonly accepted set of scientific ideas and assumptions.
Model
Scientific modelling is the process of generating abstract, conceptual models for study.
Newton’s First Law
Law of Inertia. A body at motion will stay at motion until acted upon by a net outside force.
Newton’s Second Law
Law of force. a=F/m or F= ma.
Newton’s Third Law
Action-Reaction Law. Each action has an equal but opposite reaction.
Name the regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Visible light, infared light, microwaves, radio waves, ultraviolet, x-rays, and gamma rays.
Visible Light
Allow us to see color.
Infared Light
Allows us to sense waves as heat.
Microwaves
Used for cooking.
Radio Waves
Used for cell phones.
Ultraviolet
Can cause skin cancer
X-Rays
Project transparent imagery.
Gamma rays
Can kill living cells.
Advantages to Reflector Telescopes
Can be built bigger, cheaper, and without chromatic aberration.
How to increase “seeing” ability
Go somewhere high and dry, use interferometers (linked telescopes), and use atmospheric compensation technique (away from light pollution)
Radio Telescope
A reflecting telescope made of metal with a detector.
Advantages of space-based telescopes
Resolution is ideal and all wavelengths can be observed.