He was an early astronomer who believed that the Earth was at the center of the solar system, and that the sun and other objects in the sky revolved around it.
Who was Ptolemy?
100
The unit that scientists use to measure distances to stars and galaxies.
What is a light year?
100
The bouncing of light off a shiny surface.
What is reflection?
100
An instrument that uses mirrors and lenses to bend and focus light to produce an image with more detail.
What is a telescope?
200
Large rocky objects that revolve around the sun...they may be found in "belts".
What are asteroids?
200
A group of stars that appear to be near each other.
What is a constellation?
200
The bending of light as it passes from one substance to another.
What is refraction?
200
A streak of light that passes through the atmosphere...it may appear in a "shower".
What is a meteor?
300
A ball of ice, dust and gases that revolves around the sun in a long, thin, elliptical orbit.
What is a comet?
300
Gas, dust, and hundreds of billions of stars that are fairly close together in space.
What is a galaxy?
300
An instrument that separates light into patterns of lines and colors. Scientists use this instrument to find out what elements a star contains.
What is a spectroscope?
300
A piece of rock from space that passes through the atmosphere and lands on Earth.
What is a meteorite?
400
A small piece of rock or metal that travels in space around the sun.
What is a meteoriod?
400
The 3 properties by which scientists group stars.
What are size, brightness, and color?
400
Two different parts of a telescope that gather and focus light. They work by either reflection or refraction.
What are mirrors and lenses?
400
An orbit that is shaped like a flattened circle. This is the type of orbit in which a comet travels around the sun.