SPACE REVIEW
TOPIC 1:
frame of reference (perspective)
celestial bodies (Sun, Moon, Stars, Planets) o constellations o help form calendars o legends
sky coordinates o azimuth – angle measured clockwise from North o altitude – angle measured from horizon o altitude–azimuth coordinates – angles used to give specific location
astrolabe – device used to measure altitude
compass – device used to measure azimuth
Geocentric (Earth –centered) vs. Heliocentric (Sun-centered) views of the universe o Aristotle

Ptolemy

Copernicus

Galileo
TOPIC 2:
telescope – objective lens, ocular lens, eyepiece o first used in Astronomy by Galileo o resolving power (details) – depends on the diameter of the objective lens
refracting telescope – uses objective lens
reflecting telescope – uses objective mirror
combination telescope – combination of the above two types
Kepler – discovered elliptical orbits based on observations made by Tycho Brahe
Newton - discovered universal gravitation – gravitational force between all planets and
the Sun which creates orbits
TOPIC 3:
white light (Sun)  visible spectrum (ROYGBIV)
spectroscope – produces a fine focused spectrum o Von Fraunhofer – looked at the Sun’s spectrum ( solar spectrum ) to see spectral lines (see fig. 5.18) o Kirschoff and Bunsen – heated different elements to see their unique spectrum
The study of these spectra is spectroscopy .
3 types of spectra were discovered (see pg. 377) o emission (bright line) o continuous o absorption (dark line)
diffraction grating – a device made of thousands of closely placed slits o splits light instead of using a prism
spectral analysis – comparing the spectrum of the Sun (and stars) to the spectra of different elements to see the composition of the Sun (dark lines in solar represent light in element spectrum.)

Doppler Effect – change in wavelength (sound, light), that can be used to measure speed
and direction of an object. o blue shift - star going towards you o red shift - star going away from you
TOPIC 4:
Herschel and Kuiper – first to build larger telescopes
combining telescopes – “Keck” in Hawaii
adaptive optics – computers cause the mirrors to distort slightly to compensate for the
distortion caused by the Earth’s atmosphere.
triangulation (parallax technique) - a method of measuring distance indirectly by creating an imaginary triangle between the observer and an object who’s distance is to be estimated. o with stars the baseline is the diameter of the Earth’s orbit
object lines drawn from baseline to point angles a and b need to be measured
baseline
distance to be estimated
astronomical unit – distance between the Earth and the Sun
light year – distance light would travel in a year (63 240 AU)
TOPIC 5:
electromagnetic radiation (radio, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, x-rays, gamma) o radio astronomy – using radio waves to learn about the stars o radio telescope (dish) – Jansky & Reber found radio “noises” given off by radio objects (light static on the radio)
radio waves travel where light stops

gave us more info on the universe
-
“see” radio waves by adding artificial colour to strength of signal
(see fig 5.36 A & B) o Interferometry – using many connected radio (or optic) telescopes to improve the images produced. image of connected telescopes is as good as one from a telescope with a diameter of all the connected telescopes together!
Very Long Baseline Interfometry (VLBI) – connected telescopes without using wires produces images 100X as detailed as the largest optical telescopes!
(*in theory, astronomers could create a telescope as big as the Earth!)

TOPIC 6:
rocket – a tube that contains combustible material at one end and a payload (what it
carries) at the other. o a rocket works by action/reaction principle. o exhaust velocity – speed at which the exhaust comes out of the rocket. o staged rocket – stages that drop as fuel is used up (Goddard was the first to try this) o V-2 rocket (from von Braun) – fist ballistic missile (bomb with rocket engine)
cosmonaut – Russian term for astronaut.
computers are essential to space exploration.
gravitational assist – spacecraft gains extra speed in orbit by using the Earth’s gravity (or
the gravity of a planet or star – see fig. 5.42)
charge coupled devices (CCD) – used in large telescopes instead of photographic plates
to record images (converts light to digital images)
Hubble telescope – rocketry and computing working together to learn about space. o artificial satellite (device made by humans) vs. natural satellite (eg. Moon) o artificial satellites are used for looking at the Earth, communications, observations and monitoring, navigation and mapping. o artificial satellites carry their own instrumentation and have their own power source.
communication satellites – used for communication o low Earth orbit – 200-800 km high, take about 1.5 hr. to orbit the Earth, appear to
move across the sky
telephone satellites (may have lag time) o geosynchronous orbit – 36,000 km high, takes 24 hrs. to orbit the Earth, appear to
be stationary, as they move with the Earth
usually radio and TV satellites (continuous emission) o observation satellites (weather, research, exact location)
LANDSAT is a series of satellites used to observe land on Earth
remote sensing – taking measurements of Earth and other planets o used for monitoring health of land, pollution, erosion, weather
global positioning system (G.P.S.) o using a small hand-held unit and satellite technology, you can pinpoint your exact location on Earth. o radio waves are send out from satellites (above low orbit, but not quite in gyosynchronous orbit) and travel to the GPS unit. The unit will calculate the time it takes for the signal to travel and therefore the distance from the satellite. o originally used for military, now used for tracking people or objects, marking appropriate sites (eg. good fishing hole, deforested land) etc.
TOPIC 7:
Everything in the solar system is under the influence of the SUN.
the Sun – has an internal temperature of around 15 million o C o made of mostly hydrogen o 1.4 million km in diameter (110X the Earth)

o sun spots – cooler/darker regions on the surface o solar flares – violent outbursts o solar winds – outflow of particles (the extent that these travel defines the solar
system). We are protected from this by the Earth’s atmosphere. o nuclear fusion of H  He releases energy and is constantly occurring
the Moon was first landed on in July of 1969 by Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz”
Aldrin, in the spacecraft Apollo 11.
the planets : o inner planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars – rocky composition o outer planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus and Pluto – gaseous composition o summary of planets on pgs. 412-415
exploring the outer planets was first achieved in the late 1970’s when NASA sent out
Voyager 1 and 2 to reach the edge of the solar system.
Now, for scientists to communicate with these satellites takes a lag time of many hours
(23 hrs. for Voyager 1 and 18 hrs. for Voyager 2 in 2002, increase by 1 hr/year).
TOPIC 8:
to break free of the Earth’s gravity, an object needs to be traveling at about 8 m/s o Sputnik 1 was the first successful satellite in orbit (no humans inside) in 1957. o Vostok 1 was the first successful manned mission into space with Yuri Gagarin inside on April 12, 1961. Both were Russian triumphs. o Then the Americans answered with Project Mercury.
On May 15, 1961, Alan
Shepard Jr.
became the first American astronaut in space. This was a sub-orbital flight (not reaching orbit), while in 1962, John Glenn made a full orbit flight.
Then came the Apollo program, putting the United States in prime target of Moon. o the spacecraft consisted of an orbiter and a lander o Apollo 11 carried the first humans to the moon in 1969 o Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin were the men who stepped onto the Moon, while Michael Collins manned the command module in lunar orbit.
The Apollo/Soyuz test project (a joint effort between the Russians and the Americans) consisted of a universal docking station, with one half being built by each country. o The two countries approached solving the oxygen problem in different ways (see
Table 5.1 on pg. 423). o With bugs worked out, this mission went up in space 5 years later in 1980.
The Space Shuttle: o The first reusable spacecraft o 56 m long and 100 tons o used to do experiments in space, deploy satellites, photograph Earth and carry repair crews for orbiting equipment o Columbia – 1981, the first shuttle launch; then again 7 months later with the
Canadarm attached o Challenger
– 1984, the first Canadian in space (
Marc Garneau ). o Discovery – 1992, first Canadian woman in space
International Space Station (ISS) – involvement from 16 nations for long-term research.