What are the two types of eclipses?

Solar and Lunar

What is syzygy?

The alignment of the Sun, Earth, and Moon

What is an eclipse?

When an astronomical object casts a shadow on another

How many days is the Synodic Month?

29.5 days

Our moon is the _________________ largest moon.

Fifth

What is a supermoon?

When the moon is closest to the Earth AND the largest full moon of the year

What does waxing mean?

Growing

In what phase does the Moon appear dark?

New Moon

What causes the Moon to be illuminated?

It reflects light from the Sun

How was the Moon created?

An object crashed into Earth creating debris that became the Moon

Which planet has a rotational axis nearly parallel to its orbital path?

Uranus

What is an equinox?

When there are equal hours of day and night

What causes Earth’s seasons?

Earth’s tilted axis

When is Earth closest to the Sun?

January

How many tails do comets have?

Two

Why does the Moon have more visible craters than Earth?

The Moon lacks an atmosphere to burn up incoming meteors

A “shooting star” is more accurately called what?

Meteor

Where are asteroids mainly found?

Kuiper Belt

What shape is an asteroid?

Irregular

What do terrestrial and gas giants have in common?

They all have a rocky core

Which planet is closest to the Sun?

Mercury

What kind of planets do we have?

Terrestrial and Gas Giants

What is the Oort cloud?

The furthest boundary of our solar system

What is Pluto?

A dwarf planet

What is NOT a requirement for an object to be considered a planet?

Have a moon

How many planets are in the solar system?

8

What is precession?

The change in direction of a planet’s axis

Which constellations can you see if you live on the Equator?

The ecliptic, northern, and southern constellations

What is an asterism?

A grouping of stars that is not an official constellation

What does the term “constellation” mean?

Grouping of stars

Which of the following is NOT a star color?

Green

Which of the following characteristics CANNOT be determined using an H-R diagram?

Distance from Earth

Where on an H-R diagram are most stars located?

The main sequence

What characteristics are plotted on H-R diagrams?

Luminosity versus surface temperature

What is the fourth state of matter?

Plasma

Which layer of the Sun can only be seen during a total solar eclipse?

Corona

Which layer of a star do we see?

Photosphere

What is a binary star system?

A star system with two stars

What is our Sun’s name?

Sol

What is a star?

A sphere of plasma held together by its own gravity undergoing nuclear fusion

What is NOT a galaxy shape?

Spherical

Approximately how wide is our galaxy?

100,000 light years

What are star clusters?

Groups of stars that developed together from the same nebula

What shape is our galaxy?

Spiral

What is our galaxy called?

Milky Way

Currently, the universe is…

expanding

What caused the early materials to clump together?

Gravity

When a star is moving away from an observer, the light is…

red-shifted

As the universe expanded it…

cooled down.

Before the Big Bang, which of these existed?

nothing

About how old is the universe?

14 billion years

Why was the discovery of Jupiter’s moons so important?

It supported the heliocentric model

Where is Earth in the heliocentric model?

Orbiting around the middle of the solar system

Who published the theory of gravity?

Newton

Who was the first astronomer to use a telescope for astronomy?

Galileo

Which astronomer most influentially suggested a heliocentric model?

Copernicus

Which is the correct order of units of measurement from smallest to largest?

Meter, kilometer, AU, ly, parsec

What is a light year (ly)?

The distance that light travels in one Earth year

What is an astronomical unit (AU)?

The average distance between Earth and the Sun