AST 235 Midterm 1 Terms Dr. Miroshninchenko

Question	Answer
Absorptions	The process by which matter observes radiative energy
Acceleration	The rate at which an object's velocity changes
Acceleration of gravity	The acceleration of a falling object
Angular Momentum	Momentum attributable to rotation or revolution
Angular Resolution	The smallest separation that two pointlike objects can have and still be seen as distinct points of light instead of a single point of light
Astronomical Units	The average distance of Earth from the Sun
Atomic Mass Numbers	The combined number of protons and neutrons in an atom
Atomic Number	The number of protons in an atom
Atomic structure	the positively charged nucleus and the negatively charged electrons circling around it, within an atom
Continuum	a continuous sequence in which adjacent elements are not perceptibly different from each other, although the extremes are quite distinct.
Declination	Analogous to latitude, but on the celestial sphere; it is the angular north-south distance between the celestial equator and a location on the celestial sphere
The Difference between mass and weight	Weight is mass with the pressure of gravity upon it
Doppler Effect	The effect that shifts the wavelengths of spectral features in objects that are moving toward or away from the observer
Emission	The process by which matter emits energy in the form of light
Frequency	The rate at which peaks of a wave pass by a point , measured in units of 1/s, often called seconds per cycle or hertz
Gravitational Field	the region of space surrounding a body in which another body experiences a force of gravitational attraction.
Hypothesis	A tentative model proposed to explain some set of observed facts, but which has not yet been rigorously tested and confirmed
Isotopes	Forms of an element that have the same number of protons but different numbers of neutrons
Kinetic energy	energy of motion, given by the formula 1/2mv^2
Kepler's first law	Law stating that the orbit of each planet about the Sun is an ellipse with the Sun at the focus
Kepler's Second Law	The principle that, as a planet moves around its orbit, it sweeps out equal areas in equal times. This tells us that a planet moves faster when it is closer to the Sun than when it is farther from the Sun in its orbit.
Kepler's Third Law	The principle that the square of a planet's orbital period is proportional to the cube of its average distance from the Sun, which tells us that more distant planets move more slowly in their orbits; in its original form, written p^2=a^3
Latitude	The angular north-south distance between the Earth's equator and a location on Earth's surface
Law of Energy Conservation	A law of science that states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, but only changed from one form into another or transferred from one object to another.
Law of conservation of angular momentum	When no external torque acts on an object, no change of angular momentum will occur
Light-year	The distance that light can travel in 1 year, which is 9.46 trillion km
Longitude	The angular east-west distance between the prime meridian (which passes through Greenwhich, England) and a location on the Earth's surface
Mass-energy	The potential energy of mass, which has an amount E=mc^2
Momentum	The product of an object's mass and velocity
Observation	the action or process of observing something or someone carefully or in order to gain information
Potential Energy	Energy stored for later conversion into kinetic energy; includes gravitational potential energy, electrical potential energy, and chemical potential energy
Radiative Energy	Energy carried by light; the energy of a photon is Planck's constant times its frequency or h X f.
Reflecting Telescope	A telescope that uses mirrors to focus light
Refracting Telescopes	A telescope that uses lenses to focus light
Rest-energy	The energy equivalent to the mass of a particle at rest in an inertial frame of reference
Retrograde Motion	Motion that is backward compared to the norm
Right Ascension	Analagous to longitude, but on the celestial sphere; the angular east-west distance between the spring equinox and a location on the celestial sphere
Spectral Lines	Bright or dark lines that appear in an object's spectrum, which we can see when we pass the object's light through a prismlike device that spreads out the light like a rainbow
Speed	The rate at which an object moves. Its units are distance divided by time, such as m/s or km/hr
Stellar Parallax	The apparent shift in the position of a nearby star that occurs as e view the star from different positions in Earth's orbit of the Sun each year
Velocity	The combination of speed and direction of motion; it can be states as a seed in a particular direction, such as 100km/hr due north
Wavelength	The distance between adjacent peaks (or troughs) of a wave
Weightlessness	A weight of zero, as occurs during free fall
Newton	Standard unit of force in the metric sustem 1 (blank)= 1 kg X m ---------- s^2
Newton's First Law of Motion	Principle that, in the absence of a net force, an object moves with constant velocity
Newton's Second Law of Motion	states how a net force affects an object's motion, specifically, force = rate of change in momentum or force =mass X acceleration
Newton's Third Law of Motion	Principle that for any force, there is always an equal and opposite reaction force
Summer (Northern Hemisphere)	When the North Pole tilts most toward the sun, the Northern Hemisphere experiences this
Summer Solstice	This is the time when Earth reaches its closest orbital distance to the sun June 21-22
Winter (Southern hemisphere)	the Southern Hemisphere tilts away from the sun, causing the sun’s rays to hit the region more at an angle and with less intensity causing them to experience this
vernal equinox	marks the arrival of Spring in the north and Fall in the south (March)
autumnal equinox	occurs on September 22-23 and marks the arrival of Fall in the north and Spring in the sou

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AST 235 Midterm 1 Terms Dr. Miroshninchenko

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