Our Solar System
What are the names of the planets in our solar system beginning with the one closest to the sun.
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
What is unique about Earth's moon compared to the moons of the other planets in the solar system?
The Earth's moon is very large compared to it's planet. 1/4 the size of Earth.
Does Earth's moon have an atmosphere?
No
The visible evidence that the universe is expanding in all directions everywhere.
Right ascension is measured in...
Hours. There are 24 hours of right ascension.
The region of space comprised of rock, ice, comets and dwarf planets, beginning around Neptune (30 astronomical units from the sun), and extending thousands of astronomical units into the outer reaches of the solar system.
The Kuiper Belt
Craters on the moon are the result of
Asteroid and meteor impacts
What two gases make up 99% of Earth's atmosphere?
Nitrogen (78%) and Oxygen (21%)
The German scientist that created the theory of relativity.
Who is Albert Einstein?
The path of the sun across the sky as seen from Earth. It is an imaginary plane that extends from Earth's orbit to meet the celestial sphere.
What is the ecliptic?
If the sun was the size of a basketball or globe, this is how large Earth and Jupiter and Pluto would be.
What is a peppercorn sized Earth, a cherry tomato sized Jupiter and a, poppyseed sized Pluto.
*other examples are acceptable as long as they are the same relative size.
The name of the missions that first brought humans from the USA to the moon.
This planet's thick atmosphere is 96.5% carbon dioxide The intense heat and pressure of this planet's atmosphere have destroyed most spacecraft within minute of landing.
What is Venus?
The name for the study of the birth of the Universe.
What is Cosmology?
The declination of the celestial North Pole.
What is +90 degrees?
Through the naked eye, this planet looks like the brightest star in sky. It has four moons that are visible through a telescope.
What is Jupiter?
The Maria, which appear as the darker parts of the moon were formed by....
Volcanoes that erupted basaltic lava which flowed into the lowlands.
Which gases in Earth's atmosphere are considered the primary Greenhouse Gasses? (you must get at least three of them correct with no incorrect answers)
CO2, Methane (CH4), Nitrous Oxide (N20), Water Vapor H20
The increase (or decrease) in the frequency of sound, light, or other waves as the source and observer move towards (or away from) each other.
What is the Doppler Effect?
The name of the star that is positioned at approximately +90 declination
What is Polaris?
Name three of the dwarf planets in our solar system. Which one is closest to the sun?
Pluto, Ceres, Makemake, Eris, Haumea
Ceres
The reason we always see the same side of the moon from Earth.
Because the moon is phase locked with the Earth, it's orbital and rotational periods are the the same so we can never see the back side unless we leave the Earth or send out a space probe.
Name the layers of the atmosphere from the closest to Earth's surface to the furthest away.
Troposphere, Stratosphere, Mesosphere, Thermosphere, Exosphere
The force that holds things together and the force that pushes things apart.
What is gravity and what is dark energy?
This is the point where the ecliptic crosses the 0 degree mark for right ascension.
The vernal equinox