Term
| What makes the north star, polaris, special? |
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Definition
| It appears very near the north celestial pole. |
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Term
| Which of the following statements about constellations is false? |
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Definition
| Most constellations will be unrecognizable hundreds of years from now. |
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Term
| What is 6.10167 in degrees, minutes, seconds, notation? |
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Definition
| 6 degrees, 3 minutes, 10 seconds |
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Term
| You are standing on Earth's equator. Which way is Polaris, the North star? |
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Definition
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Term
| By locating the north celestial pole (NCP) in the sky, how can you determine your latitude? |
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Definition
| The altitude of the NCP is your angular distance from the North Pole, |
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Term
| Which of the following statements about the celestial equator is true at all latitudes? |
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Definition
| It represents an extension of Earth's equator onto the celestial sphere. |
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Term
| What is a circumpolar star? |
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Definition
| A star that always remains above your horizon. |
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Term
| How many arcseconds are in 1(degree)? |
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Definition
3,600
(60 minutes in a degree x 60 seconds in a minute) |
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Term
| On a cosmic calender, in which the history of the universe is compressed into 1 year, when did Kepler and Galileo first discover that we live on a planet in a solar system? |
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Definition
1 second ago
(1 month = 1 billion years) |
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Term
| The constellations which lie along the path that the Sun travels are called |
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Definition
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Term
| The ancient goal of astrology was to |
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Definition
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Term
| What is the Hawaiian name for Mercury (Hint: it follows the sun) |
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Definition
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Term
| At Kukaniloko on Oahu, the shadow surrounds the center of the concentric circles in a petroglyph |
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Definition
| at sunset on the summer solstice |
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Term
| He discovered that Jupiter has moons. |
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Definition
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Term
| When we see Venus in its full phase, what phase would Earth be in as seen by a hypothetical Venetian? |
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Definition
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Term
| He developed a system for predicting planetary positions that remained in use for some 1,500 years |
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Definition
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Term
| How did Eratosthenes estimate the size of Earth in 240 B.C.? |
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Definition
| by comparing the maximum altitude of the Sun in two cities at different latitudes |
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Term
| during the Dark Ages in Europe, the scientific work of the ancient Greeks was preserved and further developed primarily by scholars in |
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Definition
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Term
| Why did Ptolemy have the planets orbiting Earth on "circles upon circles" in his model of the universe? |
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Definition
| to explain the fact that planets sometimes appear to move westward, rather than eastward, relative to the stars in our sky |
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Term
| The contreversial book of this famous person, published in 1543 (the year of his death), suggested that Earth and other planets orbit the Sun |
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Definition
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Term
| What is the Heat contained in a gas? |
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Definition
| The total kinetic energy of the particles in the gas |
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Term
| How much energy is needed to ionize Hydrogen? |
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Definition
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Term
| Suppose an object is moving in a straight line at 50 mi/hr. According to Newton's first law of motion the object will |
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Definition
| continue to move in the same way until it is acted upon by a force |
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Term
| Which of the following statements correctly describes the law of conversion of energy? |
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Definition
| The total quantity of energy in the universe never changes |
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Term
| Kepler's second law, which states that as a planet moves around its orbit it sweeps out equal areas in equal times, means that |
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Definition
| a planet travels faster when it is nearer to the sun and slower when it is farther from the sun |
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Term
| What is the acceleration of gravity of Earth? |
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Definition
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Term
| As long as an object is not gaining or losing mass. a net force on the object will cause a change in |
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Definition
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Term
| From Kepler's third law, an asteroid with an orbital period of 8 years lies at an average distance from the Sun equal to |
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Definition
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Term
| Speed and velocity are the same thing. True or false? |
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Definition
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Term
| If you double the mass of fusion material in a hydrogen bomb, you quadruple the amount of energy generated. True or false? |
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Definition
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Term
| The frequency of a wave is |
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Definition
|
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Term
| At which lunar phase(s) are the tides least pronounced (e.g. lowest high tides)? |
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Definition
| both the first and third quarters |
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Term
| We can see each other in a classroom right now because we |
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Definition
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Term
| The allowed shapes for orbits under the force of gravity are |
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Definition
| ellipses, parabolas, and hyperbolas |
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Term
| How can an electron in an atom lose energy to go from a higher energy level to a lower energy level? |
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Definition
| It releases a photon equal in energy to its own energy drop |
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Term
| If a material is transparent, then it |
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Definition
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Term
| The esc velocity from Earth is |
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Definition
|
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Term
| The amount of gravitation potential energy released as an object falls depends on |
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Definition
|
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Term
| The force of gravity is an inverse square law. That means that, if you double the distance between two large masses, the gravitational force between them |
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Definition
|
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Term
| The tides on Earth are an example of |
|
Definition
| the universal law of gavitation |
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Term
| Without telescopes or other aid, we can look up and see the Moon in the night sky because it |
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Definition
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Term
| Captain Cook came to the South pacific to |
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Definition
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Term
| A hot dense, glowing object -solid or gas- emits what type(s) of radiation? |
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Definition
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Term
| Why do astronomers need different telescopes designs to observe across the electromagnetic spectrum? |
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Definition
| Photons of different energy behave differently and require different collection strategies |
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Term
| What are the two most important properties of a telescope? |
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Definition
| Its light collecting area and angular resolution |
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Term
| When the thirty meter telescope is built, it will be three times bigger than any other optical telescope and will operate at wavelengths 3 times smaller than current telescopes. Its max resolution will be (remember that 1.22 wavelength/diameter) |
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Definition
| nine times the max resolution of current telescopes |
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Term
| In what wavelength range was interferometry first routinely used? |
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Definition
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Term
| Which of the following is not a good reason to place observatories on remote mountain tops? |
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Definition
| to reduce light pollution |
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Term
| Where was the first permanent European astronomy telescope located? |
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Definition
|
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Term
| King kalakaua was a modern man in every sense of the word, he |
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Definition
|
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Term
| Rank the five terrestrial worlds in order of size from smallest to largest: |
|
Definition
| Moon, mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth |
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Term
| How does the sun's mass compare with that of the planets? |
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Definition
| It is a thousand times more massive than all the planets combined |
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Term
| Which optical telescope on Maunakea has the largest single piece of glass (reflecting mirror)? |
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Definition
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Term
| According to our theory of solar system formation, why do all the planets orbit the Sun in the same direction and in nearly the same plane? |
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Definition
| The laws of conservation of energy and conservation of angular momentum ensure that any rotating, collapsing cloud will end up as a spinning disk |
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Term
| Which planet has the highest average surface temperature, and why? |
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Definition
| Venus, because of its dense carbon dioxide atmosphere |
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Term
| Which of the following in not an exception to the general patterns of motion in the solar system? |
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Definition
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|
Term
| Which optical telescope on Maunakea has the largest reflecting mirror |
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Definition
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Term
| Which of the following is not a characteristic of the inner planets? |
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Definition
| The all have substantial atmospheres |
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Term
| Which planet could an astronaut visit without the need for a spacesuit (and survive)? |
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Definition
| None; an astronaut would need a spacesuit to survive a visit to any other planet in the solar system |
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Term
What is the esc velocity below?
v(esc)= [(2x10^*23)(8x10^13) over 1x10^-16]^1/2 m/s |
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Definition
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Term
| Which of the jovian planets have rings? |
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Definition
|
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Term
| How do asteroids differ from comets? |
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Definition
| Asteroids are made of rocky material. comets are made of icy material. |
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Term
| What parts of a comet points most directly away from the sun? |
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Definition
|
|
Term
| where are the Trojan asteroids located? |
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Definition
|
|
Term
| Which of the following is furthest from the sun? |
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Definition
| a comet in the Oort cloud |
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Term
| Which is the closest to the temp of the core of the sun? |
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Definition
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Term
| Based on its surface temp of 5,800 K, what color are most of the photons that leave the Sun's surface? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a fragment of an asteroid from the solar system that has fallen to the earth's surface |
|
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Term
| how far is mars from the sun? |
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Definition
|
|
Term
| which is the closest to the average distance between asteroid in the asteroid belt? |
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Definition
|
|
Term
| what is a possible solution to the solar neutrino problem? |
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Definition
| the electron neutrinos created in the sun change into another type of neutrino that we do not detect |
|
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Term
| the light radiated from the sun's surface reaches Earth in about 8 minutes, but the energy of that light was released by fusion in the solar core about |
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Definition
|
|
Term
| which is closest to the temp of the core of the sun? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| suppose you put two protons near each other. because of the electromagnetic force, the two protons will |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| how much mass does the sun lose through nuclear fusion per second? |
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Definition
|
|
Term
| at the center of the sun, fusion converts hydrogen into |
|
Definition
| helium, energy, and neutrinos |
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Term
| what processes are involved in the sunspot cycle |
|
Definition
| the winding of magnetic field lines due to variations in the sun's rotation |
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|
Term
| a star's luminosity is the |
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Definition
| total amount of energy that the star radiates each second |
|
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Term
| which of the following correctly states the luminosity-distance formula? |
|
Definition
| apparent brightness= luminosity over 4(pi)x(distance)^2 |
|
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Term
| what are the standard units for apparent brightness |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| A star's luminosity is the |
|
Definition
| total amount of luminous energy that the star radiates each second |
|
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Term
| on a hertz-russell diagram, where would we find stars that are cool and dim? |
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Definition
|
|
Term
| on a hertz-russell diagram, where on the main sequence would we find stars that have the greatest mass? |
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Definition
|
|
Term
| on the main sequence, the stars obtain their energy |
|
Definition
| by converting hydrogen to helium |
|
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Term
| since all stars begin their lives with the same basic composition, what characteristic most determines how they will differ? |
|
Definition
| mass they are formed with |
|
|
Term
| what type of star is our sun? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| which of the following correctly states the luminosity-distance formula? |
|
Definition
| apparent brightness=luminosity over 4(pi)x(distance)^2 |
|
|
Term
| what is a planetary nebula? |
|
Definition
| the expanding shell of gass that is no longer gravitationally held to the remnant of a low-mass star |
|
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Term
| why does a star grow larger after it exhausts its core hydrogen? |
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Definition
| hydrogen fusion in a shell outside the core generates enough thermal pressure to push the upper layers outward |
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Term
| In the end, the remaining core of this star (see graph) will be left behind as |
|
Definition
| a white dwarf made primarily of carbon and oxygen |
|
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Term
| Which of the following is closest in mass to a white dwarf? |
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Definition
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|
Term
| Suppose that you measure the parallax angle for a particular star to be 0.5 arcsecond. The distance to this star is |
|
Definition
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|
Term
| Why is there an upper limit to the mass of a white dwarf? |
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Definition
| The more massive the white dwarf, the greater the degeneracy pressure and the faster the speeds of its electrons. Near 1.4 solar masses, the speeds of the electrons approach the speed of light, so more mass cannot be added without breaking the degeneracy pressure. |
|
|
Term
| What is the ultimate fate of an isolated white dwarf? |
|
Definition
| It will cool down and become a cold black dwarf. |
|
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Term
| What types of stars end their lives with supernovae? |
|
Definition
| stars that are at least several times the mass of the Sun |
|
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Term
| Observationally, how can we tell the difference between a white-dwarf supernova and a massive-star supernova |
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Definition
| The spectrum of a massive-star supernova shows prominent hydrogen lines, while the spectrum of a white-dwarf supernova does not |
|
|
Term
| Which element has the lowest per nuclear particle and therefore cannot release energy by either fusion or fission? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| From a theoretical standpoint, what is a pulsar? |
|
Definition
| a rapidly rotating neutron star |
|
|
Term
| How does the gravity of an object affect light? |
|
Definition
| light coming from a compact massive object, such as a neutron star, will be redshifted |
|
|
Term
| How do we know what happens at the event horizon of a black hole? |
|
Definition
| we don't know for sure; we only know what to expect based on the predictions of general relativity |
|
|
Term
| To esc from a planet that is 4 times as massive as the Earth, you will need to travel how many times as fast as the esc velocity from Earth? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| How can we see through the interstellar medium? |
|
Definition
| by observing only the brightest visible source |
|
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Term
| What evidence supports the theory that there is a black hole at the center of our galaxy? |
|
Definition
| The motions of the gas and stars at the center indicate that is contains a million solar masses within a region only about 1 parsecs across |
|
|
Term
| Who discovered of the first quasar? |
|
Definition
| Cyril Hazard, ex rugby player |
|
|
Term
| What is the major difference between an elliptical galaxy and a spiral galaxy? |
|
Definition
| An elliptical galaxy lacks a disk component. |
|
|
Term
| What is a rotation curve? |
|
Definition
| rotational velocity of material in a galaxy plotted against distance from the center of the galaxy |
|
|
Term
| What is the thickness of the disk of the Milky Way? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| What diameter of the disk of the Milky Way? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| What is the main difference between Active Galatic Nuclei? |
|
Definition
| Most are found in spiral galaxies rather than ellipticals and have no jets of relativistic particles streaming from their centers. |
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|
Term
| Which of the following types of galaxies are most spherical in shape? |
|
Definition
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|
Term
| If there is no dark matter in the Milky Way Galaxy, what is one of the alternative explanation for the observations (mentioned in class) ? |
|
Definition
| Another possibility – Perhaps gravity on large scales, such as the size of galaxies, doesn't work the same way as gravity does on the small scales we can measure. |
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|
Term
| What might be causing the universe to accelerate? |
|
Definition
| We don't know (might be dark energy but we don't know what dark energy is) |
|
|
Term
How long after the Big Bang
was the Planck time, before
which our current theories are completely unable to describe conditions in the universe? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| I observe a galaxy that is 100 million light years away and moving toward us: what do I see? |
|
Definition
| 100 million light year old (blueshifted) |
|
|
Term
| Where do the photons in the cosmic background radiation originate? |
|
Definition
| the end of the era of nuclei |
|
|
Term
| Approximately how long did the era of nucleosynthesis last? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Why can't current theories describe what happened during the Planck era? |
|
Definition
| No theory of quantum gravity. However there are two theories gravity and quantum mechanics. |
|
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Term
|
Definition
| Mathematical expression of the idea that more distant galaxies move away from us faster. v=H(0)xd, where v is galaxy's speed away from us, d is its distance, and h(0) is Hubble's constant |
|
|
Term
| How many particles are required to explain the hundreds of particles found today? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Currently, the distribution of galaxies in the universe appears to be? |
|
Definition
Clusters and clumps
Groups and surfaces surrounding vast voids |
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|
