Flashcards About Chapter 22
Unlock all answers in this set
Unlock answersquestion
Astronomy
answer
the science that studies the Universe
question
Geocentric
answer
Earth was a sphere that stayed motionless at the center
question
Orbit
answer
an object as it goes around another object in space
question
Heliocentric
answer
sun-centered universe
question
Retrograde Motion
answer
the apparent westward drift
question
Elipse
answer
the oval shaped path Mars goes around the sun
question
Astronomical Unit (AU)
answer
average distance between Earth and the Sun
question
Rotation
answer
turning, or spinning of a body on an axis
question
Revolution
answer
the motion of a body along it's orbit
question
Precession
answer
slight movement over a period of 26,000 years of Earth's axis
question
Perihelion
answer
the point in the orbit of a planet is closest to the sun
question
Aphelion
answer
the point in the orbit of a planet is farthest from the sun
question
Perigee
answer
moon is closest to Earth
question
Apogee
answer
moon is farthest from Earth
question
Phases of the Moon
answer
a change in the amount of the moon that appears lit
question
Solar Eclipse
answer
when the moon moves directly in front of the sun, it casts a dark shadow on Earth
question
Lunar Eclipse
answer
when it moves within Earth's shadow
question
Crater
answer
round depressions in the surface of the moon
question
Ray
answer
splash mark that radiate outward for hundreds of kilometers
question
Mare
answer
smooth areas of the moon
question
Rilles
answer
look like valleys or trenches, long channel associated with lunar maria
question
Lunar Regolith
answer
a thin, grey layer on the surface of the moon, consisting of loosely compacted fragmented material
question
What planet was unknown to the ancient Greeks?
answer
Uranus
question
Why did Aristotle concluded that the Earth was round?
answer
it always casts a curved shadow during a lunar eclipse
question
What was the Ptolemaic model of the universe?
answer
Earth was the center of the universe
question
One AU averages out to what number?
answer
150 million kilometers
question
What is the force that gravity exerts on an object?
answer
weight
question
How old are the lunar highlands?
answer
4.5 billion years old
question
What was not discovered by Galileo?
answer
the 2 moons of Mars
question
What movement of Earth is responsible for night & day?
answer
rotation
question
What is Earth's orbital speed?
answer
107,000 kilometers per hour
question
The number of eclipses each year does not go above what?
answer
7
question
What is the moon doing when it is changing from new to full?
answer
waxing
question
How long does it take the moon to go from a full moon to a new moon?
answer
2 weeks
question
What formed the Maria?
answer
basaltic lava
question
How did the maria on the moon's surface form?
answer
asteroids punctured the surface letting magma bleed out
question
How does crater density relate to the moon's geologic history?
answer
high crater density is associated with older surfaces
question
A discovery that led to the modern view of the solar system was that the orbit of the planets are?
answer
ellipses
question
Axial Precession
answer
A very slow motion of the Earth's axis that requires 26,000 years to complete
question
Synodic month
answer
period of time required for the moon to complete one cycle of phases
question
What type of eclipse can only occur during a new-moon phase?
answer
solar eclipse
question
What is the giant-impact hypothesis?
answer
Collision between a body the size of Mars and Earth created the moon
question
List the 3 phases in which the moon evolved from oldest to youngest?
answer
-Highlands -Maria -Regolith
question
Why have old craters in the moon not been erased as similar craters on Earth have been?
answer
there is no atmosphere on the moon
question
What must happen in order for an eclipse to take place?
answer
the moons orbit must cross the plane of the ecliptic
question
Who can see a total eclipse of the moon when it occurs?
answer
anyone observing in the region
question
What are the 3 laws of Planetary Motion?
answer
1. All planets move about the Sun in elliptical orbits 2. A radius vector joining any planet to the Sun sweeps out equal areas in equal lengths of time 3. the sidereal periods of the planets are directly proportional to the cubes of their mean distances from the Sun
