GRADE 9 SCIENCE
SPACE EXPLORATION
FINAL EXAM PREPARATION
Name: ____________________________ Homeroom: ______
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STUDY GUIDE
EARLY EXPLORATION OF THE SKY (Textbook pages 370-382)
Ancient Views
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People understand space based on their frame of reference. If the earth was
all you knew as in ancient times, you would assume that it was at the center of
the universe. Observation of things outside of our own planet, and eventually
outside of our solar system and galaxy have allowed us to continually change our
understanding of the universe because we have an ever-expanding frame of
reference.
Cultural viewpoints:
 First Nations thought Stone Ribs slept beneath the ground and held a
pole
with a blanket full of holes on top of it.
 In ancient days, it was very important to be able to predict seasons
based on motions in the sky for planting, harvesting and religious
celebrations. To do this, they would track the solstices (seasons) and
used this as their calendars. Examples of solstice trackers include
Stonehenge, Medicine Circles, Pyramids, Mayan Temples.
Solstices are the longest (first day of summer) and shortest (first day of
winter) days of the year. The equinoxes are when day and night is exactly
equal (first day of fall and spring).
Geocentric – Aristotle said Earth was the centre of the solar system (universe).
Heliocentric – Copernicus challenged Aristotle’s view and said the sun was at the
centre and each planet revolves in an orbit around it. This was proven by Galileo
using his telescope.
Kepler – later discovered through mathematics that orbits were not perfect
circles. They were slightly elliptical.
Sundials -These are ancient devices for telling the time of day (length of
shadow) as well as the time of year (position of shadow).
Sun rises in east
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Sun at noon
Sun sets in west
Space Exploration Leading Up to Modern Science
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Optical telescopes
 Although Galileo is usually credited with inventing the first telescope, he
actually just improved on a design introduced by Lippershey.
 Telescopes became more and more refined. Galileo’s model was a refracting
telescope. Later telescopes favoured reflecting which had a large mirror
instead of a glass lens. This allowed images to be more magnified.
Space travel
 The Chinese invented the first rocket as a weapon.
 The Greeks experimented with rocket engines when they made a clay pigeon
that was propelled forward as hot steam shot out of the back.
 The Space Shuttle program was developed in the late 70’s and early 80’s.
This reusable spacecraft made it more economic to go into space.
 In 2000, the first crew came on board the International Space Station, a
permanent orbiting habitat and research station.
 Next step – settle on the moon and then off to Mars
WHAT IS IN SPACE? (Textbook pages 384-407, 446-454)
Stars and Star Groupings
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Stars are hot, glowing balls of hydrogen and helium gas that produce their own
energy through nuclear fusion reactions in the core.
Charged photon particles called solar winds blast out into space from stars.
Star characteristics can vary greatly – in colour, size, temperature, brightness
and even composition.
A star’s colour is determined by its temperature. It follows the same pattern
as light (red-orange-yellow-green-blue-violet) with red being the coolest and
violet being the hottest. Our sun is a moderate temperature in the
yellow/orange range.
Stars vary in size from small dwarfs to huge supergiants. Our sun is in the
middle – a main sequence star with medium size and medium temperature.
Star Systems - our Solar System is a star system – a group of objects orbiting
onE or more central stars.
Nebula - when a dying main sequence star explodes, it forms or adds to a nebula.
These are collections of gas and dust and, eventually, they will be the birthplace
of a new star or stars. Within a nebula, gravity between particles forms a
rotating ball that acts like a snowball to collect more gas and dust. Core
temperatures increase until the mass starts to glow (protostar stage). As it
gets even bigger, hydrogen starts to fuse into helium producing nuclear energy.
A star has been born.
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Galaxies - very large groupings of stars. There are billions of stars in galaxies
and billions of galaxies in the universe. We live in the spiral Milky Way Galaxy.
Constellations and Asterisms - small groups of stars are called
constellations (or asterisms, locally). Ursa Major is a
constellation known all over the world but we know part of it as
the Big Dipper (asterism).
Big Dipper
asterism
The entire bear is the constellation Ursa Major
Star Life Cycles
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Life cycle of stars differ depending on whether they are main sequence or
massive stars. The diagram below shows how either star can be born from a
nebula. The massive star simply collects more gas and dust than the main
sequence star.
MAIN SEQUENCE:
nebula  star (sun)  red giant
fusion begins
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outer layers expand
and star cools
white dwarf
 black dwarf
compresses and
heats up
turns cold
MASSIVE SEQUENCE:
nebula  massive star  red supergiant  supernova
fusion begins
outer layers expand
and star cools
 The Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) Diagram
compares brightness (luminosity) and
temperature in an effort to group stars
within distinct categories (spectral classes).
The Red Giants and Supergiants are bright
because they are so big, but they are cool
(note temperature scale is backwards, going
from hot at the left to cool at the right).
White dwarfs are very hot but, because they
are so small, they are not very bright. Our
sun is a main-sequence star.
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explodes
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neutron star or black hole
implodes into extremely dense object
Spectral Analysis
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Isaac Newton first observed visible light’s spectra using a glass prism. As
knowledge increased, scientists realized that the lines seen in the spectra
represented elements in the periodic table. Each element has a unique “bar
code” based on lines in the spectrum. Thus, astronomers can identify what kinds
of elements are in stars from the lines they find in the star's spectrum. This
tool is called spectroscopy or spectral analysis.
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Determining what elements make up a star:
Hydrogen
Helium
Sodium
Iron
Unknown
This illustration represents spectral lines from different known elements.
Scientists can compare known spectra to an unknown pattern and determine
what elements are in the mystery star. For example, the unknown star in this
illustration would contain hydrogen and sodium.
Determining star motion:
Stars emit light energy waves in much the same way ambulances emit sound
waves.
The energy waves travel out in all directions from the source. When an object
comes toward you, energy becomes higher (blue light, higher pitch) and when it
goes away, energy becomes lower (red light, low pitch). This is the Doppler
Effect.
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ORIGINAL STAR SPECTRUM
(higher energy blue)
red)
(lower energy
SHIFTED SPECTRUM OF STAR MOVING AWAY FROM EARTH (RED SHIFT)
(higher energy blue)
red)
(lower energy
SHIFTED SPECTRUM OF A STAR MOVING TOWARD EARTH (BLUE SHIFT)
(higher energy blue)
red)
(lower energy
The greater the shift over time, the faster the star is either moving. The star moving away would be
moving faster than the one moving toward us since the red shift is greater than the blue shift.
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Our Solar System
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Protoplanet Hypothesis proposes how a solar system comes into being. The Sun
(star) is created from swirling gas and dust in a nebula. Dust and gas left
around after the star forms gathers together into smaller clumps. They get
caught in the gravitational field of the larger Sun, forming the “solar” system.
 There are eight planets in
our solar system: (and a
few dwarf planetoids like
Pluto).
 Planets are divided into
inner and outer. The inner
planets are small, rocky
(terrestrial), dense, few or
no moons. The outer
planets are large, gaseous
(gas giants or Jovian), low
density, numerous moons, most have rings.
 Planetary data tables like the one on the next page compare planet criteria
such as period of rotation (day), distance from the sun (AU), revolution
period (year), etc. Generally, data tables compare other planets to Earth so
Earth is often given the value of “1” for such things as distance from the sun
(1 AU), period of rotation (1 day), mass (1) and gravity (1). For example, if a
planet’s mass is “4”, it is 4 times greater than Earth whose mass is “1”. In
general, the closer to the sun, the hotter the planet (Venus is the exception
because of its very dense atmosphere leading to a horrendous greenhouse
effect). The further away from the Sun, the longer the revolution period
(time to travel around the sun or 1 year).
 Rotation and Revolution are easy to confuse. Use the following graphic to
help you remember.
Revolution: planet revolves around sun once each year.
Rotation: planet rotates on axis once each day.
Ro
Rev
ation
Orbit
Period
Temp
Distance from Sun
Distance from Sun
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lution
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Asteroids – small, rocky or metallic bodies mostly concentrated in the asteroid
belt between Mars and Jupiter (inner and outer planets). Our Moon and
atmosphere help to protect us.
Comets are “dirty snowballs” made of ice and dust that have a regular, very
elliptical orbit around our Sun that can be predicted. Comet tails only appear
when they are near a sun. The hot, solar winds vapourize the
ice and blow the tail in a direction that faces away from the
sun (not trailing behind the comet as some people think).
Comets have elliptical orbits with two focal points while
circular orbits would have one central point. The further the
focal points are apart, the more elliptical the orbit.
Drawing an ellipse
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The Sun’s path seems to change depending on the time of
the year. It isn’t changing, but because out axis is tilted,
our view changes. In winter, we need to look more toward
the south to see it, and in summer we look more overhead.
The solstices and equinoxes are based on these positions.
The track of the sun across the sky is called the ecliptic.
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Winter
ecliptic
Summer
ecliptic
Constellations seem to move around in a circle in our night
sky (precession), pivoting on Polaris (the North Star). It is
not the constellations that are moving. It is the Earth
rotating on its axis that gives the illusion of star motion.
If you watch the Big Dipper for three hours, it will rotate
about 45. It is probably also time for you to get a life.
Meteors, meteorites and meteoroids: Meteoroids are small pieces of rock that
randomly float through space. Meteors are meteoroids that have been pulled
into our atmosphere and are burning up. A meteorite is a meteor that didn’t
completely burn up and lands on Earth. There are regular meteor showers that
can be predicted because as our planet orbits the sun, it brings us into certain
high areas of debris. While passing though these areas we can expect more of
the debris to end up burning as it falls through our atmosphere. For example,
the Leonid meteor shower every August.
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Eclipses
An eclipse of the Sun (or solar eclipse) can only occur at new Moon
when the Moon passes between Earth and Sun. If the Moon's
shadow happens to fall upon Earth's surface at that time, we see
some portion of the Sun's disk covered or “eclipsed” by the Moon.
At least twice a year, there is a solar eclipse somewhere on earth.
An eclipse of the Moon (or lunar eclipse) can only occur at full
Moon, and only if the Moon passes through some portion of the
Earth's shadow. This only happens 2-4 times per year. During a
lunar eclipse, anyone on the night side of the planet can see at
least a partial eclipse, and a full eclipse if you are in just the right
place.
FINDING OBJECTS IN SPACE
(Textbook pages 379, 401-402, 450)
Measuring Distances in space
 Astronomical Unit (AU) – distance between the centre of the Earth and the
centre of the Sun (AU = 1). Used to measure distances within our solar system
(i.e. Neptune is AU = 30 so it is 30 times as far from the Sun as Earth according
to the planetary data tables).
 Light Year (LY) – distance light travels in one year. Used to measure distances
outside of our solar system. Because light takes so long to reach us, we literally
look into the past (sometimes billions of years) when we look at distant objects
in space.
Parallax
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Parallax is the apparent shift in position
relative to background stars. Background
stars (stars seen in the distance behind
the star of interest) are compared six
months apart. If a star is closer, the
apparent shift between background stars
six months apart will be very noticeable.
When looking at more distant stars, the
shift is hardly noticeable. This technique
can only be used for stars that are
relatively close to us (within the Milky
Way Galaxy). The apparent shift of more
distant stars would be too small to
detect.
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Cellestial Sphere
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Imagine that the Earth is the center of the universe
and that around the Earth there is a larger sphere,
centered in the same point, in which the stars are
fixed, as if they were painted in its internal surface.
This imaginary outer ball is the Celestial Sphere and
we use it to describe the locations of objects in
space.
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Knowing angular coordinates of objects in the sky on the celestial sphere makes
it so everyone has a common language with which to share information about
location. The sphere can be described using azimuth (compass directions) and
altitude (angle above the horizon).
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To measure azimuth: You need a compass. Azimuth
is from 0(N) to 360 (back to north). East is 90,
south 180 and west 270.
compass
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To measure altitude, use an astrolabe and measure the
angle between the horizon and the star you are looking at.
Altitude can range from 0 (horizon) to 90 (zenith
directly overhead).
astrolabe
The “star” on this celestial sphere would be at
approximately 260º azimuth and approximately
50º altitude.
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Triangulation measures distance to an object that cannot be reached. It does this
by measuring angles between a baseline and drawing a scaled triangle.
Steps:
1. Lay out the baseline and determine its exact length. For the example below,
say it was 100 m long.
2. Locate the object you want to find the distance to – in this case, a tree.
3. From one end of the baseline, use a protractor to determine the angle
between
the point and the target (45 in the example below).
4. From the opposite end of the baseline, repeat the same procedure (40).
5. Make a scale drawing of the baseline (i.e., 1 m = 1 mm)
6. Complete the other two sides of the triangle by using a protractor to
accurately measure the angles.
7. Mark a perpendicular line from the baseline to the point of intersection of
the two lines (the location of the object).
8. Measure the perpendicular line with a ruler (39 mm).
9. Using the same scale as the baseline, convert the distance measured on the
drawing to the actual distance of the object by using a ratio.
o
Outside baseline = Unknown distance
Scaled baseline
Scaled perpendicular
Cross Multiply:
100 m
100 mm
x
__X__
39 mm
X = 39 metres
39 mm
45
40
100 mm baseline
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SPACE EXPLORATION TECHNOLOGY
(Textbook pages 418-432)
Problems to Overcome
PROBLEM
Microgravity
Temperature
Clean Water
Air Pressure
Breathable
Air (oxygen)
Solar
Radiation
NEGATIVE EFFECT
Almost no gravity in space. Bones
become brittle due to lack of
resistance, heart and other muscles
weaken, decrease in red blood cells
Extreme ranges of hot and cold.
No water in space. Living things
need water to survive.
No air pressure in space. Our
bodies need to be under the right
pressure in order to regulate our
heartbeat.
No oxygen to breath in space. Most
living things need oxygen to survive.
Can damage electrical circuits and
kills living tissue. Can cause cancer.
The longer the exposure (i.e. trip to
Mars), the higher the risk.
SOLUTION
Artificial gravity but it is too
expensive to keep on all of the time.
Spacesuit, environmental control.
Recycling – 100% of water in space
station is recycled through filters
and water purification systems.
Artificial pressure in space station
and in space suits. Air pressure will
be constantly monitored.
Use recycled water to produce air
through electrolysis (splitting H2O)
into H2 and O2. Spacesuits have
oxygen supply. Permanent habitats
will grow plants for oxygen.
Lead shielding, some protection built
into visors and space suits.
Space Transportation
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Multistage rockets: Used to transport things into space such as equipment and
probes (the payload). They are all based on the principle of “for every action,
there is an equal and opposite reaction. Exhaust shoots out the back, the
rocket moves forward.
Space Shuttles transport personnel and equipment to and from space. They are
a big advantage over rockets since they are reusable and, therefore, cheaper.
Space Station is an international project to set up the first permanent
experimental station in orbit. It provides an orbital laboratory for research.
Space Probes are used to explore places too distant or dangerous for human
exploration. Probes have already landed on Venus and Mars and have flown past
every other planet in the solar system.
Solar Sails: A solar sail is a spacecraft without an engine, sped along its way by
the direct pressure of light particles from the Sun being caught in a giant “sail”.
Ion Drives: Ion drives are not particularly fast but they are very efficient.
They use xenon as a fuel source.
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Spinoff Technology
 We enjoy many inventions that would not have been possible without all of the
extra research needed to get into space.
 Examples include motion sickness medicine, water purifying systems,
microelectronics, internet, GPS, lightweight runners and helmets, etc.
Satellites
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Artificial satellites are built and sent into orbit by man (as opposed to natural
satellites like our moon). There are over 2000 satellites currently in orbit.
Wireless communication – long distance phone calls, T.V. – Satellite signals mean
you don’t need cables to transmit data. These are in geosynchronous orbit
which means they stay in one location high above the earth.
GPS (Global Positioning System) – personal or auto tracking devices. 24
geosynchronous orbiting satellites mean that three are always above the horizon
wherever you are. The three use triangulation to zero in on your GPS signal.
Weather observation – stay in geosynchronous orbit to track storms 24 hours a
day for an area.
Remote sensing – LANDSAT and RADARSAT monitor ship movement, forest
fires, environmental changes (ozone), and search for natural resources. This
information is then sent back to Earth. These satellites move across the sky in a
low orbit to monitor different locations.
High orbit geosynchronous
satellites stay above the
same area of the globe and
provide information such as
weather, communication and
GPS data.
Low orbit satellites
cover different
areas of the globe.
Used for remote
sensing.
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TELESCOPES
(Textbook pages 436-443)
Optical telescopes
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pick up energy from the visible light range of the electromagnetic spectrum.
They may be refracting or reflecting. They are present on the earth, but there
is also an orbiting optical telescope Hubble).
Optical telescopes have been around for hundreds of years and have been
improved tremendously. However, the earth-bound telescopes have problems
seeing through the atmosphere with its moisture, clouds, light pollution and
smog.
Refracting telescopes use two lenses
to gather and focus light. The largest
the objective lens can be as big as 1 m
across. After that, the glass becomes
too heavy and warps under its own
weight. Light enters the aperture
(opening at the end) and as it passes
through the convex lens, the light
rays converge. The image would come
into focus where the rays converge.
A magnifying lens is then used to
bring the clear image to our eyes.
Aperture
Refracting telescopes give very clear images.
Reflecting telescopes use mirrors to gather and
focus light. Mirrors can be one large one or several
smaller ones. Light enters through the aperture,
Aperture
bounces off the concave mirror at the far end and
converges at a secondary mirror. Light is then
reflected toward a magnifying lens in the eyepiece.
Although the image is not as clear as refracting, it
can gather a lot more light so can see more distant
objects.
Hubble Space Telescope is an orbiting reflecting
telescope. Because it does not have to contend with atmospheric interference, it
can see much further and much more clearly than Earth-based telescopes.
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Main
or
Radio Telescopes
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Pick up energy from the radio wave (lowest energy or longest wavelength) part
of the electromagnetic spectrum. Radio waves are received from stars,
galaxies, nebula, some planets and even parts of space that
appear empty. Their advantage is that they are not affected
by atmosphere, light, weather and pollution that plague Earthbased optical telescopes. Radio telescopes pick up signals
using a satellite dish which focuses the signal toward a central
antenna.
The input of several telescopes (radio or optical) can be added
together to increase overall resolution (clarity of image). This
is called interferometry. With radio telescopes, the larger
the field of dishes, the higher the resolution.
Canadian Contributions to Space Exploration
Canadarm I and Canadarm II help repair and move things around on space
stations.
Astronauts:
 Marc Garneau – first Canadian in space 1984
 Roberta Bondar -first Canadian female in space 1992
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Space Exploration Issues
Costs versus benefits
 Ethical viewpoint - should we be spending so much when there are starving
people?
 Environmental viewpoint- we could better use the money for cleaning up our own
planet but satellites do allow us to better monitor sensitive areas.
 Economic viewpoint - benefits could be new resources, new jobs, but should we
be using precious resources on objects that will never be recovered?
 Societal viewpoint - new home for the future, people in remote locations need
to have communication so satellites are necessary.
Who owns the resources in space (i.e. mining on asteroids and on the moon)?
 Political viewpoint – whichever country gets there first
 Environmental viewpoint – whoever will protect it and clean it up
 Ethical viewpoint – we don’t have the right to exploit other worlds and if we
do, the benefits should be shared by all people on Earth
 Economic viewpoint – whoever has the money to develop the resources.
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SPACE EXPLORATION VOCABULARY
REVIEW
relative to the stars behind it, to
determine relative distances of stars in
space.
15. Stars like our sun are hot, glowing nuclear
furnaces that produce their own energy.
16. Stars are made primarily of hydrogen and
helium.
17. The surface of the sun has an
“atmosphere” called the chromosphere,
cool storms called sunspots and massive
gas ejections called solar flares.
1.
The summer solstice is the longest day of
the year, when the sun is at its most
northern position (June 21st).
2.
The winter solstice is the shortest day of
the year, when the sun is at its most
southern position (Dec. 21st).
3. The equinoxes are days when the sun is
exactly in the middle of the ecliptic so day
and night are close to being equal. Fall
equinox is Sept. 21st and spring equinox is
March 21st.
4. Stonehenge in England and medicine
circles in southern Alberta are two
examples of monuments that keep track
of solstices and equinoxes for religious
and agricultural purposes.
5. Aristotle’s geocentric model of the solar
system had the Earth in the centre and
everything else orbiting around it.
6. Copernicus’s heliocentric model of the
solar system had the sun in the middle
and everything else orbiting around it in
circles.
7. Kepler used mathematics to prove that
orbits were elliptical rather than
concentric.
8. Unlike circles which have one focal point in
the middle, ellipses have two focal points.
9. Thousands of years ago people kept track
of time by watching the shadow the sun
cast on a sundial.
10. The scientists credited for refining the
telescope is Galileo.
11. The distance from the centre of the sun
to the centre of the Earth is
150 000 000 km or one astronomical unit
(AU).
12. Because distances outside of our solar
system are so great, light years, which
are the distance light travels in one year
going at 300 000 km/sec (9.5 trillion km)
are used.
13. Triangulation is the method for finding
the distance to objects that are
inaccessible by using simple geometry.
14. Astronomers use parallax, which is the
apparent shift of an observed star
18. Charged photon particles (mostly
electrons and neutrons) called the solar
winds travel out in all directions from the
surface of the sun at extremely fast
velocities. Our magnetic poles protect us
from most of these particles as
evidenced by the aurora borealis.
19. The Hertzsprung-Russel diagram is used
to categorize stars by comparing their
temperature and luminosity (brightness).
20. According to the HR diagram, most stars
fall in the middle range of temperature
and luminosity and are called main
sequence stars (like our sun). Much
larger stars are called massive stars.
21. Red giants are cooler, huge stars that are
the dying stage of a main sequence star.
These collapse down into a very hot and
bright white dwarf and will eventually die
as a black dwarf.
22. Red supergiants are cooler, huge stars
that are the dying stage of a massive
star. From this stage, the star will
explode in a supernova and then collapse
into an extremely dense, spinning neutron
star or into a black hole.
23. The birthplace of stars are nebula where
clouds of gas and dust start swirling into
a compacted, glowing protostar before
becoming a full-fledged star.
24. Small groups of “star pictures” that are
recognizable all over the world are called
constellations (i.e. Ursa Major) while
more local names for “star pictures” are
called asterisms (i.e. Big Dipper).
25. Groupings of billions of stars in one
quadrant of space are called galaxies and
they can be spiral (like our Milky Way),
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26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
elliptical (like a football) or irregular (no
real form).
The protoplanet hypothesis suggests that
planets orbiting suns come from left over
dust and gas particles in the vicinity of
the new sun.
Inner planets are small and rocky so are
called terrestrial while outer planets are
large and gaseous so are called gas giants
or Jovian. Inner and outer planets are
separated by an asteroid belt.
Astronomical units compare Earth’s
distance from the sun to the distance of
other planets. Rotation (time to rotate
once on the axis) is compared to one day
on Earth and revolution (time to revolve
around the sun) is compared to one year
on Earth.
Dirty snowballs that have a regular
elliptical orbit around the sun are called
comets.
Asteroids are large metallic bodies that
orbit the sun and are concentrated in the
belt between Mars and Jupiter.
The Kuiper Belt is just beyond our solar
system and scientists think that Pluto
may be a stray asteroid from here.
Meteorioids orbit the Earth while
meteors glow as they fall through the
atmosphere and meteorites hit the
surface of our planet.
37. When an exploration site is too far or too
dangerous for humans, we send space
probes which carry scientific tools for
testing and photographing the alien
surfaces.
38. Right now, space shuttles are the best
method we have for transporting people
into and back from space.
39. One of the most dangerous conditions
that astronauts in space for long periods
of time will have to deal with is
microgravity because of its effect on the
heart, other muscles, and bones.
40. Because there is no oxygen in space, it
may be made by splitting a recycled
water molecule into hydrogen and oxygen
through the process of electrolysis.
41. Satellites that stay in one position above
the surface of the earth by moving at the
exact speed as Earth’s rotation are said
to be in geosynchronous orbit.
42. Remote sensing involves satellites such as
LANDSAT and RADARSAT that move to
different locations in search of natural
resources, pollution, forest fires, ship
movement or global land forms. These
satellites travel far more quickly than the
Earth’s rotation speed.
43. With 24 orbiting satellites, three are
always above the horizon and able to
locate anyone who has a global positioning
system (GPS) device. They do this
through triangulation.
44. The electromagnetic spectrum includes
the range of energy from very low
frequency radio waves to very high
frequency gamma rays.
45. Optical refracting telescopes use two
convex lenses to gather and focus light
from the stars.
46. Optical reflecting telescopes use mirrors
to gather and focus light from the stars.
47. The orbiting Hubble telescope is powered
by solar energy and operated through
remote control from Earth so that it can
be aimed to observe objects from deep
space.
48. Telescopes that pick up low energy radio
waves and convert them to visual data are
called radio telescopes.
33. Altitude and azimuth can be found using
an astrolabe which can be made from a
string attached to a protractor.
34. The Sun’s path across the sky from east
to west traces the ecliptic on the
celestial sphere.
35. The celestial sphere is an imaginary dome
that surrounds the earth as we look at
stars behind it and it gives us a way to
locate object in the sky. The directions
on the horizon of this dome are the
azimuth (0-360˚) and the height above
the horizon is the altitude (0-90˚). The
point directly at the top of the dome is
called the zenuth.
36. Only 6% of a rocket’s load is reserved for
the crew and their supplies. This is
called the payload.
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49. Several telescopes combined together to
increase resolution (clarity) are using a
process called interferometry.
50. Scientists use spectrometers to look at
the colour spectra emitted by stars, each
as unique as a fingerprint.
51. The Doppler effect refers to the
behaviour of energy waves (light in the
case of astronomy) as they move toward
or away from an observer. An object
moving toward Earth will have a blue shift
indicating higher energy compressed
waves while objects moving away will have
a red shift indicating lower energy
stretched waves.
52. Astronauts orbiting Earth are in danger
from space junk which includes old nuts,
bolts, paint chips, and even a camera
traveling at extremely high velocities.
53. The Canadarm I on the space shuttle and
the Canadiarm II on the International
Space Station are an important Canadian
contribution to the space program.
54. The first Canadian astronaut in space was
Marc Garneau.
55. The first female Canadian astronaut in
space was Roberta Bondar.
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