Science of the Heavens
the study of God's creation beyond our atmosphere
What is astronomy
A planet's closest approach to the sun
What is perihelion
During what phase of the moon is the entire sunlit side visible?
What is full moon
The visible portion of the sun
What is the photosphere
Frozen chunks of ice and dust that orbit the sun are called ____________?
What are comets
Who developed the Law of universal gravitation
Who is Sir Isaac Newton
An object that orbits another
What is a satellite
Planet with the most moons (67)
What is Jupiter
A small group of stars that is used to form a picture or represent an object
What is an asterism
What is at the cloud of gas and dust that surround the center of a comet
What is the coma
Distance between the sun and the earth; 150,000,000 km
What is an astronomical unit
Describes Venus' backward rotation on its axis from West to East
What is retrograde rotation
The phenomenon in which the moon passes between the sun and the earth is a
What is a solar ecplise
Describes a star that is always above the horizon to an observer at a particular location
What is circumpolar
A small rock from space that is burning up as it passes through Earth's atmosphere; also called a shooting star
What is a meteor
The orbits of the planets described by Kepler are symmetrical ovals called
What is an ellipses
Name for the period of time that the moon takes to orbit the earth
What is a period
What is the largest moon in the solar system
What is Ganymede
The observed brightness that a star would have to an observer located 10 parsecs away is the _____________ magnitude.
What is absolute magnitude
What is an object so massive and dense that not even light can escape its gravity?
What is a black hole
The idea that the earth is at the center of the universe and that the sun, planets and starts all revolve around the earth is
What is the geocentric view
What scientific law states the relationship between a planet's period and average distance from the sun?
Kepler's Third Law of Planetary Motion
The most volcanic celestial body
What is Io (one of Jupiter's Moons)
The explosion of a star
What is a supernova
A large close of gas and dust in space
What is a nebula