Astronomy- study of the Universe
93,000,000 miles or the average
Stars are glowing balls of gas that
undergo nuclear fusion; the Sun is a
star.
Planets are moderately large objects
orbiting a star. We see planets because
they reflect the light of their central star,
or in some cases, stars. Planets are
generally rocky or gaseous in nature
and spherical-shaped.
Dwarf Planets or Plutoids. These are
objects that orbit the Sun, but have not
cleared their orbits. Pluto is an example
of a Dwarf Planet.
A satellite orbits a planet; these objects
are also called moons. For example, the
Earth’s satellite is the Moon – a proper
name.
asteroid is a relatively small,
rocky/metallic object usually orbiting a
star.
A comet is a relatively small, icy object
usually orbiting a star. Asteroids,
comets, and miscellaneous
small/irregular objects and “dust” are
often categorized as Minor Bodies.
The Solar System is the Sun and all the
objects that orbit the Sun, including the
planets and their moons.
A Stellar System is a star and other
objects such as planets and/or other
stars and other materials that orbit it.
A galaxy is a large island of stars, a few
hundred million to over a trillion stars.
A Galactic Cluster is a collection of
galaxies gravitationally bound.
A Supercluster is a region where
galaxies and galactic clusters are tightly
packed
The Universe is all matter and energy,
and is also called the Cosmos.
Astronomical Unit (1 AU), which equals
distance from Earth to the Sun.
Earth and Moon is about 230,000 miles.
The closest distance between Earth and
Mars is about 32,000,000 miles. The
distance between the Earth and Sun is
about 93,000,000 miles. The distance
between Mercury – the closest planet to
the Sun – and the Sun is about
36,000,000 miles. The distance between
Neptune – the farthest planet from the
Sun – and the Sun is about
2,797,770,000 miles
Early peoples told stories about the
shapes and patterns they saw in the
stars, like connect-the-dots. These
shapes are called Constellations (88
official) examples: China: Shen, the
supreme warrior
Egypt: Orion or Osiris in Ancient
Egyptian traditions
India/Hindus: Skanda, a celestial
General riding a peacock
An Asterism is a star pattern within a
Constellation, but not an official
Constellation
The study of science
involves observation , logic ,
and skepticism , which lead to
investigating phenomena using
the Scientific Method .
Two steps of the scientific method
involve constructing a hypothesis and
proposing a theory
Mayan observatory at Chichén Itzá had
windows placed for observations of
Venus.
Polynesians were some of the best
observers for their island-to-island
sailing navigation.
Chinese made incredibly detailed
observations of the skies. This was done
for their Emperor, the “son of the
heavens.”
The word planet is from the
Greek planete , meaning “wanderer”
But occasionally the planets were
observed to move backwards against
the stars. This phenomenon is
called retrograde .At the time, the
thinking was that the Earth was the
center of the Solar System and even the
Universe. So the Sun, Moon, and known
planets revolved around Earth – called
the Geocentric Solar System ; Geo
means Earth.
Claudius Ptolemy (100-170 AD),
developed a Geocentric Solar System
which placed the “stellar” universe on a
crystal sphere Ptolemy’s
“Almagest” (1515)
The Copernican Revolution was based
on the works of four men — Copernicus,
Brahe, Kepler, and Galileo.
Nicolaus (or Nicolas) Copernicus was a
Polish astronomer who believed there
were too many errors in the Ptolemaic
Geocentric Universe. Copernicus noted,
as did some others, that Ptolemy’s
“retrograde” was too complicated. So
Copernicus developed a Sun-Centered
Solar System, that is, a Heliocentric
Solar System .
Kepler’s First Law
The planets travel around the Sun in
elliptical orbits. Copernicus thought the
planets moved in perfect circles,
whereas Kepler defined these as
ellipses, based on Brahe’s data.
Kepler’s Second Law
As a planet orbits the Sun, it sweeps out
equal areas of its ellipse in equal
periods of time. The closer the planet to
the Sun (or its star), the faster it moves
Kepler’s Third law
A relationship exists between the
planet’s period and its distance from the
Sun.
Italian astronomer and physicist Galileo
Galilei first used the telescope
astronomically in
1609. He was the first to see such
wonders as sunspots, which he
described as blemishes on the Sun, and
features on the Moon like Mare —seas
or bodies of water.
Newton’s First Law of Motion
An object remains at rest or in motion at
a constant velocity unless acted upon by
an outside force. A force is any influence
that can change the speed or direction
of motion of an object.
Newton’s Second Law of Motion
The relationship between acceleration of
an object, force placed on the object,
and the object’s mass.
Newton’s Third Law of Motion
When one object exerts a force on a
second object, the second object exerts
an equal force in the opposite direction
on the first object. This is sometimes
called the Action–Reaction Law .
Newton is credited with developing
the Laws of Motion, Law of Universal
Gravitation , building the
first Reflecting Telescope (still called
the Newtonian Reflector), and
developing a Theory of Color