question

the study of the heavens, everything beyond the earth's atmosphere to the most distance reaches of the universe.

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Astronomy

question

Astronomy is a science, based solely on observations and facts. Science is about using facts to form, __________, testing those ideas, and devising accepted explanations for this knowledge.

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Hypothesis

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What is the diameter of the earth in miles?

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8000 miles

question

What is the ratio of the earth's diameter to the moons?

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4 to 1

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If the earth/moon distance is about 237,000 miles and the earth's circumference is 24,725 miles, what is the ratio of earth distance to earth circumference?

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10 to 1

question

How many times bigger is the diameter of the sun than the diameter of the earth?

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100 times

question

The name of these solar system bodies means "wanderer".

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Planets

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We use the earth's distance from the sun as a good unit for measuring the scale of the solar system. What do we call this distance?

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Astronomical Unit

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The_________is the name of the galaxy that our star(sun) and solar system area a part of.

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Milky Way

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Distances in the galaxy are too big to be measured with AU, so we use the distance that light travels during the course of an entire year, which is a _______________.

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Light Year

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Light travels at ____________ miles per second.

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186,000

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Powers of ten notation is used so we don't have to write all the _____ in a number. The decimal goes behind the first digit and then you use "times ten to the nth power."

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Zeros

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In scientific notation, 5.3297 x 10^5 is the number

answer

532,970

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Just as stars are grouped into galaxies, galaxies are grouped into galaxy clusters. The ___________ is the cluster of galaxies the Milky Way belongs to.

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Local Groups

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Galaxy clusters form an even greater assemblage of galaxies called superclusters. These superclusters make up the _________, the largest astronomical structure that we know of.

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Universe

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The_________________ is the process of observing a phenomenon, proposing a hypothesis on the basis of the observations, and then testing the hypothesis.

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Scientific Method

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(before 500BC)- this is a time in which man observed the motions of the sun, moon, and stars and learned to use their cyclical behavior to keep time and determine direction.

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Prehistoric

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(1650 to present)- scientists began to search for the physical laws (the law of gravity, etc.) that govern the universe.

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Modern

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(1400 to 1650)- in this period, scientists took a look at old ideas and found them to be inaccurate, so they devised new models that took into account all observations made over the centuries.

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Renaissance

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(500 BC to 1400 AD)- during this period, scientists began to make measurements of the heavens and used geometry to construct models that account for the motion of heavenly bodies.

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Classical

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______________, brought far away objects into focus.

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Telescope

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in optics, electronics and computers, as well as mathematical advances like calculus, have shaped our view of astronomy today.

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Technological Advances

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Knowledge of the cynical movements of heavenly bodies was crucial to early man because these movements could be used as ____________ and calendars

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Time Keepers

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Celtics peoples built elaborate monuments, such as ___________ to mark the passage of the sun across the sky, indicating the beginning of the seasons.

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Stonehenge

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Native Americans used the presence of ______________ in the sky to indicate tribal activity such as moving to a different hunting ground or planting crops.

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Constellations

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M0st cultures view the stars as being affixed to a sphere surrounding the earth. This representation of the sky is known as the ___________________.

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Celestial Sphere

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Patterns of stars on the celestial sphere are known as_________________.

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Constellations

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If the celestial sphere was said to spin, then there are two areas that do not spin, the _________ __________. (We know these poles to be the axis on which the earth spins)

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Celestial Poles

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There is a star positioned directly over the north pole (Polaris, the north star) that does not appear to move. It was very important to early travelers because it always marked the direction of true _____.

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North

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Above the earth's equator is another useful sky marker, the ______________. It marks the boundary between northern and southern hemisphere constellations as well as giving us a reference for the earth's rotation.

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Celestial Equator

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Annual motion is not cause by the rotation of the earth, but rather by the earth's ________ around the sun and is the reason for the seasons.

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Orbit

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The earth's __________ is the spinning of the earth on its axis which causes day and night.

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Movement

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The _________ is the path traced by the sun as it moves through the constellations . (This is not the same line as the celestial equator )

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Ecliptic

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We call the two days that the sun rises due east the _________. There is one spring (vernal) and fall (autumnal) each year & the hours of sunlight and darkness on the earth at this time are equal.

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Equinoxes

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The day in which the sun appears to move across the most northerly path is the summer __________.

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Solstice

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The day in which the sun appears to move across the most southerly path is the __________ solstice.

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Winter

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Ancient Mayans built large pyramids to allow them a clear view of the planet _______ which they based their complex and accurate calendar on.

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Venus

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The movement of planets can be confusing to those studying the night sky because the planets do not move across the sky in unison with the _________.

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Stars

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The planets are always found in the _______ constellations, which are centered in a narrow band along the ecliptic.

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Zodiac

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Planets normally move toward the ________ through the stars and can be seen night after night in nearly the same place, moving only slightly each night.

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East

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Sometimes, because of a combination of the earth's orbit and other motions, a planet may appear to move from east to wear! We call this movement _____________ motion.

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Retrograde

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The moon, like the stars appears to ______ in the east and set in the west.

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Rise

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The moon also goes through _________ caused by sunlight hitting it as it orbits the earth.

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Phases

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The phases of the moon always progress from __________.

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Right to Left

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It takes the moon about a _______ to orbit the earth.

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Month

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There are two kinds of eclipses. Which occurs when the moon passes through all or part of the earth's shadow?

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Lunar

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Who was the mathematician who taught that the earth was round?

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Phythagoras

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Two hundred years later, Aristotle argued that the earth was round because of the earth'a shadow cast during lunar eclipses and the fact that you see different groups of _________ as you move across the earth.

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Stars

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A shift in a star's apparent position due to a change in position of the earth as it orbits the sun is called _________.

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Parallax

question

Ptolemy described retrograde movement of the planets with the term ______ or mini circle. This description was very complex and fancy, but it was wrong!

answer

Epicycle

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