List one of the ways in which stars are described.
Color, brightness, motion through space.
100
Clouds of gas and dust that can be seen in space are called:
Nebulae
100
This is a large rock that orbits the sun.
Asteroid
100
How are comets different than asteroids?
They are made mostly of ice with dust and bits of rock
100
What is a meteor?
A rock or other object in space that has gotten close enough to the earth to be pulled down by gravity.
200
What is the unit of distance used to measure how far away something is in space?
Light-Year
200
What is the name of our galaxy?
Milky-Way
200
Where is the asteroid belt located?
Between Mars and Jupiter
200
What are the two main parts of a comet?
The tail and the head
200
Where do many meteors come from?
They are the remains of comets that have broken apart.
300
This is the term for a distinctive group of stars.
Asterism
300
A star becomes this when it experiences an explosion.
Nova or Supernova
300
This is the name of the first and largest asteroid discovered.
Ceres
300
What is located in the head of a comet?
The nucleus and the coma
300
What is a meteoroid?
Particle in space that is too small to be an asteroid or a comet
400
This Greek man created a scale to determine a star's brightness.
Hipparchus
400
This unusual object found in space is relatively small but is as bright as an entire galaxy.
Quasar
400
Asteroids orbit around what?
The Sun
400
Who was the first scientist to apply the laws of astronomy to comets?
Edmond Halley
400
What is a meteorite?
A meteor that survives the hot trip through the atmosphere and hits the surface of the earth.
500
Ursa Major contains the group of stars commonly referred to as what?
the Big Dipper
500
A supernova may become as much as ________ times brighter.
Twenty
500
What Italian astronomer first discovered an asteroid in the asteroid belt?
Giuseppe Piazzi
500
What is the difference between Type 1 tails and Type II tails?
Type I tail forms quickly and is made mostly of gases that are forced back by the solar winds; type II tails are comprised mostly of dust that is pushed by the radiation pressure from the sun.
500
Where was the largest meteorite ever discovered found?