Astronomy Final Answers – Flashcards
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Age of Universe
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13.7 billion years old
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Alan Guth
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An American theoretical physicist and cosmologist. He has researched elementary particle theory (and how particle theory is applicable to the early universe).
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Big Bang Theory
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(cosmology) the theory that the universe originated 20 billion years ago from the cataclysmic explosion of a small mass of matter at extremely high density and temperature
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Big Crunch
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The theory that the universe will eventually collapse back in on itself when it is done expanding as a result of the Big Bang.
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Blazars
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relativistic jets, appear to move faster than the speed of light, two peaks in spectrum--low energy and high energy
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Open Clusters
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clusters of stars that contain few stars(maybe tens to thousands of stars), individual stars can seen in the cluster, formed with new, hot stars, have a tendency to be in spiral galaxy arms, and also usually disperse
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Embedded Clusters
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are stellar clusters that are partially or fully encased in an interstellar dust or gas.
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Super Star Clusters
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is a very large region of star formation thought to be precursor of a global cluster.
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Superclusters
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Collection of galaxy clusters held together by gravity
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Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation
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the cooled remnant of the hot big bang that fills the entire universe and can be observed today with an average temperature of about 2.725 kelvin
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Cosmological Constant
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a number sometimes inserted in the equations of general relativity that represents a pressure that opposes gravity throughout the universe
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Cosmological Redshift
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as space expands, light waves are stretched. they appear redder (cooler) as time goes on and the universe expands.
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Cosmology
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The understanding of the nature of the universe
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Dark Energy
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A mysterious force that appears to be causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate
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Dark Matter
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(cosmology) a hypothetical form of matter that is believed to make up 90 percent of the matter in the universe, and gives off no electromagnetic energy.
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Doppler Redshift
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In physics, especially the physics of astronomical objects, redshift happens when light seen coming from an object is proportionally shifted to appear more red.
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Edwin Hubble
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American astronomer who determined that the distance from earth to the Andromeda nebula was 2.5 million light years. He thought the universe was like a balloon that kept expanding as galaxies moved further away from one another.
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Electromagnetic Force
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A force associated with charged particles, which has two aspects, electric force and magnetic force
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Electroweak Theory
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theories that explain an indistinguishable link between electromagnetism and the weak nuclear force
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Steven Weinberg
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An American nuclear physicist who helped develop the theory of the electroweak force, explaining the relationship between two of the four fundamental forces of nature, the electromagnetic force and the weak force.
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Four Fundamental Forces
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Gravity, electromagnetism, strong nuclear, weak nuclear
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Galactic Collisions
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galaxies changed later due to interaction with other galaxies (ie 2 spiral galaxies can merge to create an elliptical)
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Gamma-Ray Bursts
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a sudden burst of gamma rays from deep space; such bursts apparently come from distant galaxies, but their precise mechanism is unknown
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General Relativity Theory
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the shape of space-time determines the behavior of matter/energy
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Gravity Force
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Basically known as weight an object has - Fgrav = mg
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High Energy Physics
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search for the fundamental building blocks of nature - starts with the forces in nature and is the realm of the very small
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Length Scales
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molecular, micro, resolution, macro, mega
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Hubble Flow
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the recession of the galaxies caused by the expansion of the universe
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Hubble's Constant and Law
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Deceleration rate of expansion
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Inflation
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is the expansion of space in the early universe at rate much faster than the speed of light.
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Lawrence Krauss
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This person believes that a one-way Mars landing trip would be more successful than a round-trip
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Local Group
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A small group of about two dozen galaxies of which our own Milky Way galaxy is a member.
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Matter-Dominated Universe
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A universe in which the average density of matter exceeds both the mass density of radiation and the mass density of dark energy.
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Radiation-dominated Universe
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A universe in which the mass density of radiation exceeds both the average density of matter and the mass density of dark energy.
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Multiverse
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The set of parallel universes that may exist, with our observable universe as only one part.
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Parallel Universes
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repeatability of patterns must also apply to our own Hubble volume; in the cookie example cookies are the same as planets, stars, solar systems etc., the plates equal the hubble volume, and the floor of conseco equals the universe "multiverse"
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Quasars
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Giant black holes, gas around black hole
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Recessional Velocity
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the speed of recession needed to produce the observed red shift.
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Richard Feynman
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United States physicist who contributed to the theory of the interaction of photons and electrons (1918-1988)
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Feynman Diagrams
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Developed to describe the interactions of charged particles in quatum physics.
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Strong Force
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(physics) the interaction that binds protons and neutrons together in the nuclei of atoms
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Superstrings
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Quarks are made of this.
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Brane Theory
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refers to several theories in particle physics and cosmology related to string theory, superstring theory and M-theory.
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Vacuum Energy
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the combined energy of virtual particle pairs popping in and out of existence inside a vacuum
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Weak Force
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(physics) an interaction between elementary particles involving neutrinos or antineutrinos that is responsible for certain kinds of radioactive decay
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Quintessence
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The purest essence or form of something; the most typical example
