The Night Sky
What culture do the names of the constellations come from?
Greco-Roman
What is the difference between the geocentric model of the solar system and the heliocentric model?
Geocentric = Earth is at the center and the sun goes around the Earth
Heliocentric = the Sun is at the center and the Earth goes around the Sun.
The strength of gravity depends on what two factors?
The mass of the objects involved and the distance between them.
The moons gravitational pull creates a bulge in the ocean water, resulting in "high tide"
What is the difference between rotation and revolution?
Rotation - an object spinning on its axis
Revolution - an object going around another object
What is a constellation?
A pattern or group of stars that people imagine represents a figure, animal, or object
What was the contribution of Nicolaus Copernicus?
Asserting that the Sun was the center of the solar system.
What are the solstices and during what months do they occur?
The points in the Earth's revolution where either the north pole (June) or south pole (December) is tilted toward the Sun, resulting in the longest day of the year or the shortest day of the year, depending on the hemisphere.
What is the difference between a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse?
Solar - the moon blocks the sunlight from reaching earth
Lunar - the Earth blocks the sunlight from reaching the moon
What is a star?
a giant ball of superheated plasma composed of largely hydrogen and helium
What is the Zodiac?
The band of 12 constellations that the planets move along
What was Claudius Ptolemy associated with?
Describing the heliocentric model
What degree is the Earth tilted?
23.5 degrees
What are the 8 phases of the moon in order?
New moon, waxing crescent, 1st quarter, waxing gibbous, full moon, waning gibbous, 3rd quarter, waning crescent
What is the difference between a planet and a moon?
A planet is an object that revolves around a star, has enough gravity to become spherical, and has cleared its area of orbit; a moon is an object that revolves around a planet
What is a comet?
What were the contributions of Galileo Galilei?
Using a telescope and discovering that Jupiter had moons orbiting it, providing further evidence that not everything revolves around the Sun
What are the equinoxes and during which months do they occur?
The points in the Earth's revolution where the tilt of the Earth is parallel to the Sun, resulting in days and nights that are each 12 hours in length. The two equinoxes are in March and September
What is the cause of the lunar phases?
The revolution of the Moon around the Earth and the extent to which we see the lit portion of the Sun from our position on Earth.
What is an axis?
The imaginary line that runs through the center of an object around which it rotates
What is the difference between a meteoroid, a meteor, and a meteorite?
What was the contribution of Johannes Kepler?
Discovering that the Earth's orbital path was an ellipse instead of a circle.
What two forces keep the Earth in orbit around the Sun?
Gravity and Inertia
What is the difference between the spring tide and the neap tide?
Spring tide - both the Sun's and the Moon's gravitations pulls are working together to create a higher than normal tide
Neap tide - the Sun and the Moon are perpendicular to each other (at a 90 degree angle), both pulling at the waters, resulting in moderate tides
What is the shape of Earth's orbit?
An ellipse