The Universe 1
What is the Big Bang Theory and about how long ago did the Big Bang occur?
The universe formed during a single event in which all matter and energy suddenly expanded from an extremely small point called a singularity
13.7 billion years ago
Name the different phases of the Moon, starting from the new moon
New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First quarter, Waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, 3rd quarter, waning crescent
What is nuclear fusion and where can we find it in space?
combining hydrogen nuclei to form Helium nuclei
only in the cores of stars
Is a shooting star a star? What is it?
What is the name of the shooting stars that survive the impact with the atmosphere?
Meteor
meteorites
What element is used as fuel in main sequence stars?
Hydrogen
What makes 73 percent of the universe?
Dark matter.
Do the majority of stars and galaxies exhibit red shift or blue shift? Why?
The majority of stars and galaxies exhibit red shift, because they are moving away from Earth.
What are remote sensing satellites?
Satellites with instruments for gathering data about Earth
A massive explosion in which the entire outer portion of a star is blown off is called......? what happens to the remaining star?
Supernova
neutron star or black hole
Name the three types of galaxies and what type (shape) of galaxy is the Milky Way?
Spiral, elliptical, irregular
Spiral (disk-like shape)
Name 2 pieces of evidence supporting the Big Bang.
Measurable expansion of the universe (Redshift of galaxies)
Cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation
Explain why we have different seasons
Earth's rotation is on a tilt, meaning that in the summer, Northern hemisphere is closer to the Sun and in the winter, it is farther away.
What property of a star determines whether it ends as a white dwarf, a neutron star or a black hole?
Its initial mass
State the three pieces of evidence to prove that the Earth is not flat.
Disappearing Ships
The changing Sky
Earth's curve shadow during an eclipse
What is a non-optical telescope.
Large receiver to detects radio waves
How can we see very far back into the past?
because of the finite speed of life.
(Light from distant galaxies must travel for millions or billions of years before we are able to detect it. So, when we look at images of galaxies far away, we are actually seeing what these galaxies looked like long ago. )
Explain the difference between a lunar and a solar eclipse
Lunar - the earth is between the sun and the moon, causing the moon to be in the Earth's shadow Solar - the moon is between the earth and the sun, causing the shadow of the moon to fall on the Earth
What are sunspots? What causes them look dark?
Sunspots are darker areas on the sun. They correspond to areas of lower temperatures.
What is the shape of the Earth's orbit around the Sun?
ellipse
What are planets which are small and have solid cores and rocks like Earth called?
Inner planets
What is the mission of the JWST?
Even though Venus is further than Mercury from the Sun, why is it hotter?
It will be to find the first galaxies that formed after the big bang
Venus has an atmosphere, allowing it to trap heat.
Define the Doppler Effect
A change in wave frequency as an object emitting a wave moves toward or away from an observer
What causes auroras (Northern and Southern lights)?
The electromagnetic radiation from coronal mass ejections is bent toward the poles by Earth's magnetic field.
White dwarfs have very high temperatures but very low luminosity (brightness). Why?
They are the collapsed cores of stars. So, they are very hot, but very small, so they have low luminosity (brightness).
Name two main differences between spiral and elliptical galaxies
They have different shapes
Elliptical galaxies are older and contain less gas and dust than spiral galaxies.