Astronomer's Toolkit
This graph of brightness for a range of wavelengths contains information about what elements and molecules are present in an astronomical source.
What is a spectrum?
There are this many confirmed exoplanets as of July 24, 2024.
What is 5690?
What is a supernova?
This astronomical event occurs when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun.
What is a solar eclipse?
This event started the Universe and was followed by a period of rapid inflation.
What is the Big Bang?
This type of telescope uses a lens to focus light.
What is a refractor/refracting telescope?
This method of detecting exoplanets measures the dimming of a star’s light as the planet passes between the observer and the star.
What is the transit method?
This process fuels stars and makes them glow.
What is nuclear fusion?
This is a name for an astrophysical object that changes over time.
What is a transient?
This mysterious force powers the expansion of the Universe.
What is Dark Energy?
Astronomers use this to take images in only one color.
What is a filter?
Planets in this area around a star are the right temperature to have liquid water, and therefore might host alien life.
What is the Habitable Zone?
This graph of brightness/light over a period of time helps astronomers distinguish between different types of transients.
What is a light curve?
This scientist invented the modern stellar classification system during her time as a Harvard Computer.
Who is Annie Jump Cannon?
This material only interacts via gravity, and never with light.
What is Dark Matter?
This Python package helps astronomers make graphs.
What is Matplotlib?
Astronomers study this aspect of exoplanets using spectra.
What are exoplanet atmospheres?
This object, found at the center of a galaxy, emits light that varies randomly.
What is an active black hole?
These stars are the most massive, hottest, and shortest-lived of the seven stellar types.
What are O stars?
This visual effect is caused by the bending of light around a massive object.
What is gravitational lensing?
NASA plans to unfold one of these in space to block the light from stars and take pictures of exoplanets.
What is a starshade?
This system has seven exoplanets, some of which may be in the Habitable Zone.
What is TRAPPIST-1?
These stellar remains make Newtonian gravity break down.
What are neutron stars (or what are black holes)?
This type of star changes in brightness with a regular period.
What is a Cepheid variable?
This effect stretches light as objects move away from us. It is often used to measure the rate of the Universe's expansion.
What is redshifting?