These are a cooler, dark areas on the sun’s surface. Every 11 years, the sun seems to have a major breakout.
What is a sunspot
100
What is the name and shape of the galaxy that contains Earth?
What is the Milky Way Galaxy (Spiral)
100
Planets that are rocky and dense and found within the inner solar system are referred to as this term?
What is terrestrial
100
Name the 4 Galilean Moons of Jupiter and one characteristic of each.
What is Io (Volcanic), Europa (Icy world under surface), Callisto (Heavily Cratered), Ganymede (largest in Solar System)
100
Why is Mars known as the “Red Planet?”
Mars has a chemical called iron oxide (rust) in its soil
that causes the surface to take on a reddish appearance.
200
All stars are made-up of these two gases. They are used to create energy through the process of nuclear fusion.
What is hydrogen and helium
200
Identify the three major types of galaxies.
What is spiral, elliptical, and irregular.
200
Large chuck of ice, dust, gasses, and rock that orbit the sun. They are sometimes referred to as "dirty snowballs"
What are comets.
200
This is known as the birth place of a comet.
What is the Oort Cloud (Beyond Pluto) and Kuiper Belt (Between Neptune and Pluto)
200
This is the second largest and lightest planet in the solar system. It's so light that its density would allow it to float on water.
What is Saturn.
300
Fusion (the changing of hydrogen into helium) occurs in what part of the sun?
What is the core
300
What will happen to our sun in the next stage of its life?
Red Giant - The star's outer layers will expand and become 100X larger than our sun. At this point it will engulf Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars and probably tear apart the gas giants and evaporate Saturn's rings. Doesn't that sound like a lovely time in our Solar System.
300
A chunk of rock from outer space that burns up in the atmosphere.
What is a meteor.
300
Why do comets develop tails?
Tails develop as the comet approaches the sun and the frozen gases begin to melt. The tail always
points away from the sun due to the solar winds.
300
What is Jupiter’s “Great Red Spot" and Neptune's "Great Dark Spot"?
Both are huge storms (Hurricane) that have been circulating around the planet for hundreds of years.
400
Identify the stages of our star's life from beginning to end.
What is a nubula, protostar, red giant, white dwarf, and black dwarf.
400
What is the closest galaxy to the Milky Way?
What is Andromeda.
400
Name the eight planets in order from the sun starting with the closest to the sun.
What is Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
400
What do the terms waxing and waning mean in relation to the moon phases?
When the phases are said to be waxing, the visible
portion of the moon seems to be getting larger. When
they are waning, the visible part seems to be getting
smaller. The moon waxes and wanes from right to left.
400
Why is Venus considered the hottest planet in the Solar System?
Venus has a tremendous Greenhouse Effect – Due to a large amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (98%) -the CO2 traps the heat and causes the surface temperature to reach around 700 Fahrenheit.
500
What impact does the sun have on our planet Earth? Think about the effect solar flares have as well.
The sun provides heat/light energy but can damage plant and animal life with its ultraviolet rays (UV). The solar flares of the sun can interrupt radio communications but in a positive sense create the Northern and Southern lights.
500
Stars 10 times larger than our sun can take an alternative path in life. What could be the end result after the star explodes (supernova)?
It could become a nebula, black hole, or neutron star.
500
Distances within the Solar System can be measured in what two ways?
What is astronomical units and by the speed of light (light minutes, light years, etc)
500
Identify three things you know about Solar Eclipses.
1) Only last a few minutes (maximum 8)
2) Occurs when the moon blocks out sunlight from reaching the Earth. Only the corona (outer rim) of the sun is still visible.
3) Only 1-2 occur per year due to the moon's orbital tilt.
4) People in the umbra (dark shadow) see a total eclipse.
500
This planet is blue because of the methane gas in its atmosphere and is tipped on its side.