Planets & Models
Measuring Space
Telescopes & Technology
Stars & EMR
Space Travel
100
Aristotle proposed that the Earth was the center of the Solar System. This model is the:
Geocentric Model
100
The method of measuring distance indirectly by creating an imaginary triangle between an observer and an object whose distance is to be estimated.
Triangulation
100
What is a key difference between reflecting and refracting telescopes?
Reflecting - uses MIRRORS
Refracting - uses LENSES
100
What are the lowest level of energy waves on the electromagnetic spectrum?
Radio waves
100
a modular space station in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies.
What is the International Space Station?
200
What separates the inner planets and the outer planets?
The asteroid belt
200
Can tell us what a star is made of, and if it is moving toward us or away from us.
Spectral analysis
200
What is a radio telescope?
A telescope designed to observe radio waves from distant objects in space.
200
What is red-shifted?
A star that is moving away from you.
200
Name two major purposes satellites serve (give two examples).
Remote sensing (info about environment, natural resources, urbanization), communications (satellite phones), navigation (GPS), weather monitoring, scientific research (Hubble Space Telescope), military surveillance
300
Planets revolving around the sun is the ______ system.
Heliocentric System.
300
Why are measurements for star distances taken 6 months apart?
Scientists want the largest baseline possible
300
The ability of a telescope to distinguish details.
Resolving power or resolution
300
What is the final stage(s) of a star that is a supergiant?
Black hole or neutron star depending on the mass
300
What is the difference between a LEO (low Earth orbit) satellite and a geostationary (GEO) satellite in altitude and observed motion from Earth?
Geosynchronous satellites move with the Earth and appears stationary to those on Earth's surface. Used for radio, TV, weather satellites.
Low Earth Orbit satellites revolve around the earth and are close to the surface. It appears to move across the sky. They are used for satellite phones and other communication systems + remote sensing.
400
How many planets could ancient civilizations see
Five planets — Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn were known to the ancients.
400
What is parallax?
The apparent shift of the position of an object based on the observer point of view. Closer objects = greater shift
400
Why might scientists want to use a telescope in space?
There is no atmosphere to distort images
400
The phenomenon that the observed frequency of a wave changes if the source of the wave and the observer are moving toward or away from one another.
The Doppler effect
400
Describe 3 hazards of space travel.
Space junk, radiation, isolation, limited resources, effects of microgravity
500
Describe the difference between a solar and lunar eclipse.
Solar - Sun, Moon, Earth. Moon is in line with the Sun and casts a shadow on Earth
Lunar - Sun, Earth, Moon. Earth is in line with the Sun and casts a shadow on the moon. Some light passes through Earth's atmosphere to make it appear red
500
Explain these: azimuth and altitude (include degrees).
And, what does an Astrolabe measure?
Azimuth is similar to a compass (0-360 degrees)
Altitude is the distance above the horizon (0-90 degrees)
An astrolabe measures altitude.
500
Describe interferometry and state why it is used by scientists.
Interferometry = combining two telescopes with a computer to increase the telescopes resolving power. It is used by scientists to see deep space objects and increase the power of a telescope
500
The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram graphs the relationship between ________ and ________ of stars.
brightness and temperature
500
Describe two parts of a simple rocket.
Payload, Oxidizer, Liquid Fuel, Combustion Chamber, Fins, Nozzle