The Big Bang Theory
A well-supported explanation of how something in nature works.
What is a theory?
These waves do not need matter to travel.
Electromagnetic waves.
The process that powers stars by combining hydrogen into helium.
Nuclear fusion.
The planets closest to the Sun.
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars (inner planets).
The most widely accepted theory of how the Moon formed.
Giant impact hypothesis (collision with Earth and a Mars-sized object).
The event that marks the beginning of the universe.
What is the Big Bang?
The correct order of EM waves from lowest to highest energy.
Radio → Microwave → Infrared → Visible → Ultraviolet → X-ray → Gamma rays
Our Sun is currently in this stage of its life cycle.
Main sequence.
Planets that are large, gaseous, and far from the Sun.
Jovian (outer) planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.
A large dark plain on the Moon formed by ancient lava flows.
Maria.
The approximate age of the universe.
About 13.8 billion years old.
The instrument used to separate light into a spectrum.
A spectroscope (or spectrometer).
The term for how bright a star actually is.
Luminosity.
Why outer planets have longer years than inner planets.
They are farther from the Sun and take longer to orbit.
The force that causes tides on Earth.
Gravity from the Moon (and Sun).
The main components of the universe today.
Dark energy, dark matter, and normal (baryonic) matter.
The type of spectrum that shows a continuous rainbow of light.
Continuous spectrum.
The dramatic explosion that creates heavy elements in the universe.
Supernova.
Small rocky objects that eventually form planets.
Planetesimals.
The type of eclipse where Earth blocks sunlight from reaching the Moon.
Lunar eclipse.
Two key pieces of evidence for the Big Bang include the cosmic microwave background, red shift, and what third observation?
Abundance of light elements (hydrogen and helium).
What does black represent in an absorption spectrum?
Wavelengths where light has been absorbed by elements.
The three galaxy types.
Spiral, elliptical, and irregular.
The process that describes how the solar system formed from a cloud of gas and dust.
Nebular Theory.
The two shadows created during an eclipse.
Umbra and penumbra.