Questions and Answers: Astronomy - Assignment Example

Q & A Project Questions and Answers Question: How does the Moon affect tides? Answer: The Moon exerts its gravitational force on the Earth, producing a high tide directed towards the Moon. At the same time, on the other side of the Earth, there is another high tide, produced by the centrifugal force resulting from the Earth (eccentric) rotation around the Earth-Moon center of mass. This center of mass is located within the Earth. Source: Waves, Tides and Shallow-Water Processes, p. 52-58. Changing the Sea Levels: Effects of Tides, Weather and Climate, p. 37. 2. Question: Does the Sun influence tides? Answer: The Sun influences tides, although its tide-producing force is less than half the strength of the Moon’s. Solar tides interact with lunar tides. When the Sun, Moon and Earth form a line –which is known as syzygy– at New and Full Moons, the effect causes high tides to become higher than average, which is called spring tides. When the Sun and Moon are in quadrature, that is, at quarter moons, low tides are lower than average, which is known as neap tides. Source: Waves, Tides and Shallow-Water Processes, p. 62-65. Changing the Sea Levels: Effects of Tides, Weather and Climate, p. 31-41. 3. Question: Why do the stars twinkle? Answer: The twinkle, or scintillation, of stars is caused by the turbulence in the atmosphere of the Earth. The atmosphere has many layers of turbulent (moving) air, which are different in temperature and density. When the light from a star passes through the atmosphere, each layer of air bends (or refracts) the light, usually in a random direction. Then, we perceive that the stars are twinkling. Source: Bad Astronomy: Misconceptions and Misuses Revealed, from Astrology to the Moon Landing “Hoax”, p. 89-95. http://www.mira.org/fts0/stars/text/txt001c.htm 4. Question: What is a light-year? Answer: A light-year is a unit of distance used by astronomers in order to describe the distances to stars and galaxies. It represents the distance that light travels in one year. The speed of light in empty space is about 300,000 kilometers each second, which means that one light-year is equal to about 10 trillion km. The distance from Earth to Proxima Centauri, the nearest star beyond the solar system, is about 4.24 light-years, because it takes light about 4.24 years to travel from Earth to Proxima Centauri (and vice versa). Source: http://bcs.whfreeman.com/universe7e/default.asp http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov 5. Question: When does a solar eclipse occur? Answer: A solar eclipse occurs at New Moon, when the Earth passes through the Moon’s shadow. This shadow has an umbra (an inner, uniformly dark cone-shaped region), and a penumbra (an outer, lighter gray fan-shaped area). A solar eclipse can be seen over a small portion of the day side of the Earth. Its appearance depends on the observer’s location relative to the shadow. Observers located within the umbra can see a total solar eclipse, whereas those situated within the penumbra observe a portion of the Sun covered by the Moon (partial eclipse). Outside the penumbra, no eclipse can be seen. Source: Eclipse! The What, Where, When, Why and How Guide to Watching Solar and Lunar Eclipses, p. 37-53. The Cambridge Eclipse Photography Guide: How and Where to Observe and Photography Solar and Lunar Eclipses, p. 29-45. 6. Question: When does a lunar eclipse occur? Answer: A lunar eclipse occurs only at Full Moon, when the Moon passes through the Earth’s shadow. This shadow consists of two parts: umbra and penumbra, like the Moon’s. A lunar eclipse can be seen from anywhere in the night side of the Earth. Its appearance is the same for all observers on the Earth. When the Moon is completely within the Earth’s umbra, a total lunar eclipse takes place. When the Moon grazes the umbra, there is a partial lunar eclipse. A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through some part of the penumbra, without touching the umbra. Source: Eclipse! The What, Where, When, Why and How Guide to Watching Solar and Lunar Eclipses, p. 57-64. The Cambridge Eclipse Photography Guide: How and Where to Observe and Photography Solar and Lunar Eclipses, p. 13-28. 7. Question: What are the phases of the Moon? Answer: The Moon has eight different phases defined by the shape of the illuminated portion of the Moon, as viewed from Earth. When the Moon orbits Earth, its illuminated side changes, from not visibly illuminated to fully illuminated, and then back again. The eight phases of the Moon are, in sequence: New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Last Quarter, and Waning Crescent. New Moon, First Quarter, Full Moon and Last Quarter are the primary phases. The two crescent and two gibbous phases are considered intermediate phases. Source: The Moon Watcher’s Companion: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about the Moon and More, p. 36-47. http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/moon_phases.html 8. Question: What is New Moon? Answer: When the Moon is between Earth and Sun, we cannot see it, because its illuminated half is facing the Sun. Hence, the Moon non-luminous side faces the Earth. This is known as New Moon. Source: Learning about Phases of the Moon and Eclipses: A Guide for Teachers and Curriculum Developers, p. 19-52. 9. Question: What is Waxing Crescent? Answer: As the Moon moves eastward from the sun, the illuminated side of the Moon begins to grow larger. This means that the Moon is waxing. During the Waxing Crescent phase, the Moon is partly, but less than one-half illuminated. Source: A Field Guide to Stars and Planets, p. 49. http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/moon_phases.html 10. Question: What is First Quarter? Answer: The first half of the Moon’s disk that appears to be illuminated is known as First Quarter. The name refers to the fact that the Moon is one-quarter of the way through the lunar month. At this point, the Moon is 90 degrees east of the Sun. Source: http://www.astrosociety.org/education/publications/tnl/12/12.html http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/moon_phases.html 11. Question: What is Waxing Gibbous? Answer: The Moon is considered to be in Waxing Gibbous, when more than half of the disc is illuminated and increasing, in a shape called gibbous. It occurs after the First Quarter and before the Full Moon. The term “gibbous” comes from the Latin gibbus, which means protuberant. Source: Astronomy: A Self-Teaching Guide, p. 196. Natural philosophy: Volume 3. Astronomy, p. 6. 12. Question: What is Full Moon? Answer: The phase when the full illuminated side of the Moon faces the Earth is known as Full Moon. By this moment, the Moon has completed one half of the lunar month. It lies 180 degrees from the sun. Source: http://www.astrosociety.org/education/publications/tnl/12/12.html http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/moon_phases.html 13. Question: What is Waning Gibbous? Answer: After the Full Moon, the illuminated face of the Moon begins to grow thinner. This means that the Moon is waning. In this phase, the moon is more than one-half illuminated, with a gibbous shape, and it continues growing thinner each night. Source: Turn Left at Orion: A Hundred Night Sky Objects to See in a Small Telescope, p. 24. http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/moon_phases.html 14. Question: What is Last Quarter? Answer: The second half of the Moon is illuminated and decreasing in the Last Quarter. The Moon has reached the three-quarter point in its month. It lies 90 degrees west of the Sun. Source: http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/moon_phases.html 15. Question: What is Waning Crescent? Answer: The Moon is partly but less than one-half illuminated during the Waning Crescent. It is approaching New Moon. This phase occurs after the Last Quarter and before the New Moon. Source: http://www.astrosociety.org/education/publications/tnl/12/12.html http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/moon_phases.html 16. Question: What is Earthshine? Answer: Earthshine is sunlight reflected by the Earth onto the Moon. Sunlight shines on the Earth, which reflects light to the regions of the Moon that are not directly illuminated, resulting on a glow on the side of the Moon that does not receive direct sunlight. Earthshine can be observed during the crescent phase or First Quarter Moon. Due to Earthshine, the Moon appears dimly lit. Source: A Field guide to Stars and Planets, p. 49. Earthshine measurements to automated telescopes, p. 168. 17. Question: Does the Sun move? Answer: Yes. The sun rotates east to west on its axis, like the Earth. This can be noticed by the observation of sunspots. Near the Equator, the Sun completes one rotation every 27 days. Also, the Sun orbits around the Milky Way, along with the entire solar system. It takes the Sun about 230 million years to make one complete orbit or revolution around the galaxy. Source: Observing the Sun, p. 44. The Sun from Space, p. 83. 18. Question: What is the Sun made of? Answer: The Sun is mostly composed by hydrogen and helium, which are mostly ionized due to the high temperature in this star. The gases are held together and compressed because its own gravitational attraction. The Sun also contains carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and other elements. Source: Introduction to Space Physics, p. 58. Fundamentals of Solar Astronomy, p. 73. 19. Question: What is the space made of? Answer: The space, understood as everything beyond the atmosphere of Earth, is mainly made of vacuum. Also, there are lots of charged particles from the Sun and other stars, such as electrons, protons and alpha particles, interplanetary gas and dust, comets, cosmic rays, among others. Other space bodies can be considered to be part of space, like stars, planets, moon, asteroids, meteorites and galaxies. Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/faq/index.cfm?Category=Beyond#q1 http://observe.arc.nasa.gov/nasa/faq/FAQ_space_science.html 20. Question: What types of galaxies can be found in the universe? Answer: The American astronomer Edwin Hubble classified galaxies in three main types: elliptical, lenticular, and spirals. He considered a fourth class (the irregular galaxies), which refers to those galaxies that do not fit into any of the other categories. Hubble introduced this classification of galaxies in his book The Realm of the Nebulae, published in 1936. This system, with subsequent additions and modifications, is still in use. Source: Galaxies in the Universe: An Introduction, p. 37. Galactic Astronomy, p. 149. 21. Question: What are the characteristics of elliptical galaxies? Answer: Elliptical galaxies are usually smooth and round, with no arms. Generally, they lack cool gas and, hence, they have few young blue stars. They are common in dense clusters of galaxies. The stars of bright giant elliptical galaxies have little rotation and random orbits, whereas the stars in less luminous elliptical galaxies have more rotation and less random motion. Source: Galaxies in the Universe: An Introduction, p. 37-38. 22. Question: What are the characteristics of lenticular galaxies? Answer: Lenticular galaxies have a prominent disk, which lacks any spiral arms, extensive dust lanes, bright young stars, or gases. They are considered to be a transition class between elliptical and spiral galaxies. The lenticulars share with ellipticals the lack of extensive gas and dust, and the fact that they are common in high-density regions of space. Also, they have the flattened and fast rotating stellar disk resembling spiral galaxies. Source: Galactic Dynamics, p. 22. 23. Question: What are the characteristics of spiral galaxies? Answer: Spiral galaxies contain a prominent disk composed of Population I stars, gas and dust. The disk has spiral arms, gas, and dust. Large numbers of stars are forming within this disk. The spiral arms can show many variations in length and prominence. Spiral galaxies predominate in low-density regions of the universe. The Milky Way is an example of a spiral galaxy. Source: Galactic Dynamics, p. 22. 24. Question: What are irregular galaxies? Answer: Irregular galaxies are those galaxies which do not show a particular pattern, according to Hubble’s classification. Most of irregular galaxies are low-luminosity gas-rich systems. Some of them are spiral or elliptical galaxies which have suffered a distortion, due to a gravitational interaction or a violent encounter with a neighbor galaxy. Source: Galaxies: Structure and Evolution, p. 57-59. Galactic Dynamics, p. 24. 25. Question: How does a telescope work? Answer: A telescope captures light being reflected from a distant object, and brings that light to a focal point where the object can be viewed, aided with an eyepiece. In a refractor telescope, the image of the distant object is viewed by means of an objective lens, placed at the front of the tube. The reflector telescope employs a concave objective mirror at the back of its tube. Source: A Simple Guide to Telescopes, Smoothing Scopes, and Binoculars, p. 7-9. 26. Question: How does a radio telescope work? Answer: A radio telescope works in a similar way to reflector telescopes. It concentrates and focuses long-wavelength radio signals coming from deep space. It has a dish antenna which receives the radio waves and concentrates them in a receiver. The antenna resembles a mirror, which directs the waves to the receiver. Source: Introduction to Radio Astronomy, p. 8-14. 27. Question: Where is the largest telescope? Answer: The largest optical and infrared telescopes in the world are the W.M. Keck telescopes. The twin Keck telescopes are located on the summit of the volcano Mauna Kea in Hawaii, the largest Island-mountain on Earth. They are at 13,796 feet high, and have a diameter of 33 feet (10 m). Keck I began observations in May 1993 and Keck II, in October 1996. Source: http://www.keckobservatory.org 28. Question: Where is the largest radio telescope? Answer: The largest single-dish radio telescope in the world is the one located in the Arecibo Radio Observatory in Puerto Rico. It is a spherical reflector about 1,000 feet (305 meters) in diameter, and 167 feet deep. The radio telescope covers an area of about twenty acres. Source: www.naic.edu/public/the_telescope 29. Question: What color are the stars? Answer: The color of stars goes between red and blue, passing yellow and white. The various colors of stars correspond to different temperatures. The coolest stars are red and the hottest ones are blue. Source: From Dust to Stars: Studies of the Formation and Early Evolution of Stars, p. 13. 30. Question: How can we measure the distance to the stars? Answer: We can measure the distance to the stars by parallax. Parallax is the angle between two observations of an object at two fixed positions. The two fixed positions form a baseline. The parallax angle, using the diameter of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, is very small, since the stars are so far away. When an object is farther away, the perceived parallax shift is smaller. Source: Parallax: The race to measure the cosmos, p. xii. 31. Question: What are constellations? Answer: Constellations are imaginary figures formed in the sky by stars. There are 88 official constellations according to the International Astronomical Union. The position of constellations is indicated in star charts, or maps of the stars, one of which represents Northern Hemisphere and the other one, the Southern Hemisphere. Source: Navigating the Night Sky: How to Identify the Stars and Constellations, p. 1-8. The New Atlas of the Stars, p. 6-7. 32. Question: Where do the names of constellations come from? Answer: In ancient times, constellations were named because people found resemblances to figures that were part of their lives. Some constellations have names of animals, e.g. Taurus (the bull), Lupus (the wolf), Ursa Major (the great bear), and Pisces (the fishes). Others have the name of famous hunters (Orion), heroes and mythical characters (Hercules, Cepheus, Perseus), musical instruments (Lyra), and objects from the daily life (Sagitta, which means arrow). From the 17th century, new constellations adopted designations of technical nature, e.g. seafaring names, such as Pyxis (the compass); instruments, such as Telescopium (the telescope), or birds, such as Pavo (the peacock). Source: Navigating the Night Sky: How to Identify the Stars and Constellations, p. 2-3 33. Question: Are constellations useful? Answer: Constellations are useful in helping astronomers, navigators and stargazers to identify stars in the sky. In ancient times, constellations served story-telling, religious and ritual uses. It was useful for agriculture, since people determined the time to sow or harvest depending on stars. Decisions about the best migration times and routes, navigation, and the making of calendars were also based on constellations. Nowadays, the names of stars depend on their constellation. They are differenced by the Greek alphabet, which designate a letter to stars from brightest to dimmest. For example, alpha Ursae Minoris is the brightest star in the constellation of Ursa Minor, and beta Ursae Minoris is the second brightest one. Source: Navigating the night sky: how to identify the stars and constellations, p. 3. 34. Question: Why does the sun have spots? Answer: Sunspots are regions on the Sun’s photosphere, which have lower temperature than its surroundings, and, hence, they look darker. Sunspots have magnetic fields that inhibit convection (internal movement of currents), causing low surface temperature areas (4000-4500 K). This areas form a contrast with the surroundings at about 5700 K. Source: Solar Activity and Earth’s Climate, p. 50-53. Sunspots: Theory and Observations, p. 1-2. 35. Question: Are there planets orbiting around other stars? Answer: Astronomers have looked for other planets beyond our solar system, that is, planets orbiting around other stars, also called extrasolar planets. Recently, more than 100 planets that orbit nearby stars have been discovered. It has been determined that most of these planets have masses like Jupiter’s, although they have not been observed directly. Source: Extrasolar Planets, p. 1-4. http://www.iau.org/PLANETS_AROUND_OTHER_STARS.247.0.html 36. Question: What is the new definition of planet? Answer: The International Astronomical Union (IAU) adopted a new definition of planet since August 2006. A planet in our solar system is a celestial body fulfilling the following criteria: (1) It orbits around the Sun, (2) it has sufficient mass and its gravity is able to overcome rigid body forces, which means it has a nearly round or hydrostatic equilibrium shape, and (3) it “has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit”. The last criterion implies that the planet does not share its orbit with other bodies, excepting its own satellites, or other bodies influenced by its gravitational force. Source: www.astronomy2006.com/press-release-24-8-2006.php www.iau.org 37. Question: According to the new definition of planet, how many planets are there in our solar system? Answer: The new definition of planet by the International Astronomical Union stated that our solar system has eight planets. In order to their proximity to the Sun, these planets are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Pluto, considered a planet before, is no longer one. Source: www.astronomy2006.com/press-release-24-8-2006.php http://www.iau.org/iau0603.414.0.html 38. Question: Why Pluto is not considered a planet anymore? Answer: The International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefined Pluto as a “dwarf planet” in August 2006. Pluto has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit, so it does not fulfill the third condition for a planet. Sedna, the largest asteroid, Ceres and Eris were classified within the dwarf planet class. Since its discovery in 1930, Pluto was considered the ninth planet of our solar system. Now, the IAU recognized Pluto as the prototype of a new category of Trans-Neptunian Objects. Source: Is Pluto a planet?, p. 1-5. http://www.iau.org/iau0603.414.0.html 39. Question: Why does the Moon have craters? Answer: Most of the million craters of the Moon were formed by the impact of meteorites, asteroids, or comets. When these bodies collided with lunar surface, they produced deep impact craters. Other craters were formed after the crater received the impact, because of the ejecta that were blasted out of the crust and impacted the surface again, producing many smaller craters around the first one. The Moon has received so many impacts due to its almost lack of atmosphere. This same fact caused that Moon craters have been preserved. Source: Moon Observer’s Guide, p. 1. 40. Question: Why do not Mercury and Venus have moons? Answer: Mercury and Venus are the only planets of the solar system which have no moons. Their proximity to the Sun probably affects them. It is also possible that they were not able to capture asteroids as moons, and moons could not be created together with these planets. Also, the tidal gravitational forces in both planets would destroy any satellites. Additionally, there could be a relationship between the mass of the planets and the presence of moons. For example, Jupiter, the largest planet, has around 60 satellites. Source: Exploring Mercury: The Iron Planet, p. 3. 41. Question: How is the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter? Answer: The asteroid belt located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter have thousands of asteroids. These asteroids are spread over a huge volume of space, and they are not close together. They can be pulled by tge gravity of other planets, such as Jupiter or Mars. As a matter of fact, Phobos and Deimos, Mars’s moons are believed to have been asteroids from the belt. Some asteroids have orbits that go inside or outside the belt. Spacecrafts can pass safely through the asteroid belt. Source: Asteroids, Comets and Meteors, p. 22. http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/faq/index.cfm?Category=Asteroids 42. Question: Does Jupiter emit the energy absorbed from the Sun? Answer: Jupiter emits about twice as much energy to space as it receives from the Sun, as well as Saturn and Neptune. This is caused by the heat trapped in the interior of the planet from the time it was formed. Although the solar system was formed at the same time, and all bodies have been hotter when they formed, Jupiter has taken a longer time to cool down because of its huge mass. Another cause of this phenomenon is the gravitational contraction of Jupiter, which produces heat. Source: http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/faq/index.cfm?Category=Jupiter http://www.mira.org/fts0/planets/099/text/txt001x.htm 43. Question: What are Saturn’s rings made of? Answer: Saturn’s rings are composed of countless particles, whose sizes go from submicron dust to small moons. They are predominantly made of water ice, which was determined by spectroscopic, occultation and neutron measurements. There are chemical differences in the icy composition of rings, as suggested by hues, color and spectral variations. Source: Planetary Rings, p. 1-3 Saturn and How to Observe It, p. 147. 44. Question: Which are the Jovian planets? Answer: The Jovian planets are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Jovian comes from Jovis, the genitive of the Latin word for Jupiter. The name means that these planets are similar in composition and size to Jupiter. As gas giants, they are low-density planets. The layers of gas that conform their atmospheres are thousand of miles thick. They are mainly composed of hydrogen and helium. They may have a rocky core and they rotate very rapidly. Source: Giant Planets of Our Solar System, p. 20-22. 45. Question: What is a comet? Answer: A comet is a ball composed by dust and ices, which orbits the Sun. Some comets are periodical, which implies that they have relatively short orbits (less than 200 years long), and they can be seen periodically from Earth, like Halley’s Comet. A comet has an icy nucleus surrounded by a coma, which is a dense cloud composed of water, carbon dioxide and neutral gases. When a comet approaches the Sun, the solar radiation and winds takes the gases of the coma away from the Sun, forming a tail, that can reach a length of million of miles. Source: Comet, Revised, p. 129. 46. Question: When will Halley’s Comet return? Answer: Demon Halley had noticed that a comet had been seen every 75-76 years during centuries. He concluded that it was the same comet, and he predicted that this comet, seen in 1682, would return at the end of 1758. Halley died before knowing that his prediction was correct, and the comet was named after him. Halley’s Comet was seen on Earth in 1986. Therefore, its next appearance is expected for 2061. Source: Comet, Revised, p. 358-361. 47. Question: What is the Big Bang Theory? Answer: The Big Bang model is the dominant theory explaining the origin and evolution of the universe. It postulates that the universe expanded from a hot dense state, and it began its expansion about 13.7 billion years ago. At the same times it expands, the universe is cooling. The Big Bang Theory is based on Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, and the Cosmological Principle, according to which the distribution of matter in the universe is homogeneous and isotropic. The existence of cosmic microwave background radiation has supported the Big Bang Theory, since the temperature of the remnant heat from the Big Bang is highly uniform over the space. Source: http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_uni/uni_101bb1.html 48. Question: How do black holes form? Answer: Black holes are believed to be formed by the death of massive stars, which imploded upon themselves, when they collapsed from their own gravity. As a result, the masses of the stars were compressed into a small area of space, creating a space time curvature at that point (a singularity). Hence, black holes have such strong gravity that nothing, not even light, can escape their grip. Source: Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein’s Outrageous Legacy, p. 23. http://physics.about.com/od/astronomy/f/BlackHole.htm 49. Question: How do white dwarfs form? Answer: When a star, that is less massive than the Chandrasekhar limit (1.44 solar masses), exhausts its nuclear fuel, then it cannot support the inward pull of its own gravity. This forces it to shrink, until the pressure of degenerate electrons in the interior of the star counteracts the inward pull of the star’s gravity. Then, the star establishes in a white-dwarf curve. Gradually, the white dwarf would cool and turn into a black dwarf, that is, a cold, dark and solid body with the mass of the Sun and about the size of the Earth. Source: Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein’s Outrageous Legacy, p. 175. Black Holes, White Dwarfs and Neutron Stars: The Physics of Compact Objects, p. 1. 50. Question: How do neutron stars form? Answer: Neutron stars originate from stars that are more massive than the Chandrasekhar limit and they cannot support the inward pull of their own gravity, because they have exhausted their nuclear fuel. These stars do not become white dwarfs because their mass prevents the electrons to produce enough degeneracy pressure. Instead, they explode in supernovae. The center of the star collapses and the electrons penetrate in the atomic nucleus, producing neutrons. The pressure of these degenerate neutrons supports the inward pull of gravity. Neutron stars are so dense, that a teaspoon full of matter would weight a billion tons. Source: Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein’s Outrageoys Legacy, p. 175. Black Holes, White Dwarfs and Neutron Stars: The Physics of Compact Objects, p. 4. Works Cited Almeida, Guillerme. Navigating the Night Sky: How to Identify the Stars and Constellations. New York: Springer, 2004. Astronomical Distances. The Light-Year. Universe 7th Edition Online. 10 February 2007. Benestad, Rasmus. Solar Activity and Earth’s Climate. New York: Springer, 2006. Benton, Julius. Saturn and How to Observe It. New York: Springer, 2005. Bhatnagar, Arvind & Livingston, William. 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