Mid-Term Exam Overview
(Material is Covered in Chapters 1-8)
The Big Picture
Earth is a planet that rotates on its axis once per day
Earth orbits the Sun and completes one revolution per year
There are 8 planets in the solar system
The Sun is one of hundreds of billions of stars in the Milky Way Galaxy
There are hundreds of billions of galaxies in the universe
The universe is about 14 billion years old
Constellations (what are they, really)
88 total
13 Zodiac (what do the constellations of the Zodiac have in common)
Angles (Degrees, Arcminutes, Arcseconds)
The Celestial Sphere
North Celestial Pole
South Celestial Pole
Celestial Equator
Ecliptic
Equinoxes (Vernal and Autumnal)
Solstices (Winter and Summer)
Two Coordinate Systems
Equatorial (on the celestial sphere)
Right Ascension (0 to 24)
Declination (-90 to 90)
Local Horizon (also called alt-azimuth)
Altitude (0 to 90)
Direction (N, S, E, W) or Azimuth (0 to 360)
Daily Motion
Earth’s Rotation
Apparent Rotation of the Celestial Sphere
Monthly Motion
Moon Phases
Causes
Half of the Moon is illuminated by the Sun at all times
At any given time, we see a portion of the illuminated half
Configuration of Earth, Moon and Sun
Identify All Phases
New
Waxing Crescent
First Quarter
Waxing Gibbous
Full
Waning Gibbous
Third or Last Quarter
Waning Crescent
Sidereal Month vs. Lunar Month
Predict Rise/Set times for full and new Moon
Eclipses
Lunar Eclipses
Cause
Types
Penumbral
Partial
Total
Solar Eclipses
Cause
Types
Partial
Total
Annular
Annual Motion
Sun on the Ecliptic / Earth’s revolution around the Sun
Seasons
Causes
Tilt of Earth’s Axis
Sun Angle
Hours of Sunlight
Warm vs. Cold
Earth/Sun Configuration on Four Key Days of the Year
Summer Solstice
Fall or Autumnal Equinox
Winter Solstice
Spring or Vernal Equinox
Astronomers
Ptolemy
Geocentric Model
Copernicus
Heliocentric Model
Tycho Brahe
Accurate Measurements
Kepler
Three Laws of Planetary Motion
Galileo
First to USE the astronomical Telescope
Discoveries / Support of Heliocentric Model
Newton
Gravity
The Scientific Process
Physics
Gravity
Mass vs. Weight
Orbits
Extra-Solar Planets
Search Methods
Doppler
Astrometric
Transit/Eclipsing
Current Status of Exo-planet Search
Formation of the Solar System
Nebular Theory
Contracting, Spinning Nebula, Increased Central Heating
Composition of Nebula
Importance of Temperature/Location for Planet Formation and Type
Rock-Metal Condensation Line
Frost Line
Accretion Process
Overall Structure of the Solar System
Sun (at the center)
8 Major Planets
Two Major Planet Types - Characteristics, Compare and Contrast
Terrestrials (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars)
Solid Surfaces
Small
Rock/Metals, etc.
Cause and Consequences of Plate Tectonics and Volcanism
Impact Craters
Mars and Evidence of Water
Venus and the Greenhouse Effect
Earth’s Moon Composition and Origin
Jovians (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune)
Large
Gaseous
Rings, etc.
Many Natural Satellites
Important Satellites of Jupiter
Io (Volcanically Active)
Europa (Oceans Beneath Ice)
Important Satellite of Saturn
Titan (thick atmosphere, methane)
Dwarf Planets
Pluto
Ceres (Formerly the Largest Asteroid)
Eris (Large Kuiper Belt Object Beyond Pluto)
Asteroids
Composition
Location - Asteroid Belt
Comets
Structure / Composition
‘Dirty Snowball’
Nucleus, Coma, Dust Tail, Ion (Plasma) Tail
Origin
Kuiper Belt and Kuiper Belt Objects
Oort Cloud
Meteoroid, Meteor, Meteorite
