Show:
Telescopes
Stars and Planets
Inner Planets
Outer Planets
What's Out There?
100
What is electromagnetic radiation? Can we see it? Explain.
Electromagnetic radiation is energy from the sun that can travel in waves through space. We can only see one type of light from the sun - visible light.
100
How is a star different from a planet?
Planets do not usually give off their own light as stars do. Instead the absorb and reflect light and other energy from the star they revolve around.
100
Why are all the inner planets described as terrestrial planets?
Because they all have a solid surface
100
Why are the outer planets called gas giants? What else so they have in common?
None of them has a solid surface, each atmosphere is composed of mainly hydrogen and helium, and all have rings
100

Name 5 dwarf planets in our solar system. 

Ceres, Makemake, Haumea, Eris, Pluto

200
What are three other things besides planets that orbit the sun and are studied by astronomers.
Meteoroids, asteroids, and comets
200

Why are moons NOT considered planets?

Moons might be similar in structure and size to planets, but they orbit planets not stars. 

200
Which planet is most like Earth in size and density but has an extremely harsh environment for life as we know it?
What is Venus
200
Is Pluto classified as a planet? Explain.
Pluto is actually classified as a dwarf planet, because it does not have enough mass to clear the area around the orbit of other objects. There are asteroids from the Kuiper Belt near its path.
200

A pattern or group of stars that people imagined to represent a figure of some kind.

Constellations

300
What is the ideal location of telescopes? Why? If they are located on Earth's surface where should they be placed? Why?
Space telescopes are most ideal because there is no atmosphere to block light or distort views. Telescopes located on Earth's surface should in observatories should be at high altitudes, again to limit the negative effects of the atmosphere.
300

What is the main characteristic that determines the life cycle of a star? Explain

The mass determines the life cycle of a star.

A lower mass star never explodes as a supernova. 

300

Which planet, besides Earth, would be almost ideal for plants? Why?

What is Mars because it has carbon dioxide, water frozen in the polar ice caps, and sunlight for photosynthesis. It also has soil.

300
Which planet has an enormous amount of gravity and how would that impact weight?
Jupiter - something would weight a lot more on Jupiter than it might on other planets.
300

What is the area of our solar system that is furthest from the sun called?

The Oort Cloud

400
Who first used the telescope to observe the sky? What kind of telescope did he use?
Galileo first used the telescope to look at the heavens. His was an optical telescope (gathered visible light) and it used only lenses, so it was a refracting telescope.
400
What are some characteristics of stars? Describe our star.
Stars give off their own light due to nuclear fusion. They can vary in size, temperature, and color. Our star, the sun, is a yellow star of medium size and temperature.
400

Explain why no organism could breathe on Mercury. 

Mercury has trouble retaining an atmosphere so breathing would be difficult; with no atmosphere to trap thermal energy from the sun, Mercury is extremely hot during the day and extremely cold at night.

400

What is true of the temperature of all of the outer planets?

They are all extremely cold in the atmosphere and very hot at the core.

400

Describe what the Goldilocks conditions are. Explain why this is useful when searching for new planets. 

Goldilocks zone = not too far or too close from the star. This allows liquid water can exist and a suitable temperature range for living things to survive.

Finding planets in a Goldilocks zone can help us find life outside of Earth. 

500

What telescope is considered the successor of the Hubble Space Telescope?

James Webb Space Telescope

500
What is a galaxy, how are they identified, what are the three main types, and what is our galaxy?
A galaxy is a collection of billions of stars, and they are identified by their shape: spiral, spherical or elliptical, or irregular. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is a spiral galaxy.
500

Why is Venus hotter than Mercury even though Mercury is closer to the sun? What other characteristic does this cause?

Venus has an atmosphere of mostly carbon dioxide so the heat from the sun gets trapped - the greenhouse effect. Because of this Venus also has very high air pressure.

500

Why did the outer planets have the potential to become stars?

They are all made of hydrogen and helium, the two main gases in stars (nuclear fusion is hydrogen into helium). With a little more mass, the gravity might have been strong enough for fusion.

500

Explain how a star similar in size to our sun will die. 

The star will expand during its red giant phase, then explode as a planetary nebula. 

A white dwarf and then a black dwarf will be left behind.