Who was the first scientist to point a telescope towards the sky?
Galileo
200
What is the force that pulls the cloud of gas and dust together that ultimately forms a star?
Gravity
200
Is Universe expanding or collapsing?
Expanding
200
What happens when you shine white light through a prism?
It is broken into the spectrum of colors from red to violet.
200
Why does the Hubble Telescope has such an advantage over any telescope on the surface of the Earth? Why does it have such spectacular images?
It is outside our atmosphere and avoids atmospheric distortion.
300
What is the Copernican Theory?
The Earth rotates around the sun, the Earth rotates around its own axis or the Earth is not the center of the universe.
300
What is the first step in the life cycle of a star? What does every star begin as?
A dense cloud of gas (hydrogen & helium) and dust.
300
What is the definition of a light year?
The distance light can travel in one year. Approximately 6 trillion miles in one year.
300
How fast does Electromagnetic Radiation travel?
The speed of light.
300
The North Star is a member of a constellation we call the Little Dipper. What is another name for this constellation?
Ursa Minor or Little Bear
400
What branch of mathematics did Isaac Newton create?
Calculus
400
At the end of our Sun's life cycle, what will it turn into?
A White Dwarf
400
Who was the first scientist to observe a galaxy beyond the Milky Way
Edwin Hubble
400
Which carries a higher amount of energy; short or long wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation?
Short wavelength carries more energy.
400
What are the two basic types of telescopes called?
Refracting and reflecting
500
Why was Newton's Theory of Gravity so important for the field of astronomy? What did it state?
The celestial bodies (planets, stars, comets, etc) are subject to the same force of gravity that operates on Earth. It helped us understand how things move through space.
500
Explain how a supernova is connected to life on Earth and the planet we stand on? What is meant by the idea that we are made of stars?
The elements made in stars are ejected into space during a supernova, and these elements eventually form all celestial bodies including Earth (and all the elements found in it).
500
Explain how observing a galaxy 30 million light years away is essentially looking back in time?
The light created by that galaxy is just now reaching our eyes, but it was created 30 million years ago.
500
Draw the Electromagnetic Spectrum starting with the least amount of energy and building towards the highest amount of energy. Include examples of the different kinds of Electromagnetic Radiation.