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Chapter 2
Chapter 2
16
Astronomy
Undergraduate 1
12/06/2008

Additional Astronomy Flashcards

 


 

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Term
conservation of angular momentum
Definition
The law of physics stating that the total amount of angular momentum in an isolated system remains constant.
Term
cosmology
Definition
The study of the formation, organization, and evolution of the universe
Term
direct motion
Definition
The gradual, eastward apparent motion of a planet against the background stars as seen from Earth.
Term
ellipse
Definition
A closed curve obtained by cutting completely through a circular cone with a plane; the shape of planetary orbits
Term
heliocentric cosmology
Definition
A theory of the formation and evolution of the solar system with the Sun at the center
Term
Kepler's law, on page 47
Definition

First Law: The orbit of a planet about the Sun is an ellipse with the Sun at one focus.

 

Second law: A line joining a planet and the sun sweeps out equal areas in equal intervals of time. 

 

Third law: The square of a planet's sidereal period around the sun is directly proportional to the cube of the length of its orbit's semimajor axis

Term
kinetic energy
Definition
The energy an object has as a result of its motion
Term
law of equal areas, on page 47
Definition

Also known as Kepler's second law...

A line joining a planet and the sun sweeps out an equal area in equal intervals of time. 

 

Planets speed decreases as it moves from perihelion to aphelion but its speed will increase when moving from the aphelion towards the perihelion

Term
law of inertia, 52
Definition

Also known as Newton's first law

 

A body remains at rest or moves in a straight line at a constant speed unless acted upon by a net outside force. 

Term
law of universal gravitation 56
Definition

Newtons' law of universal gravitation

 

Two bodies attract each other with a force that is directly proportional to the product of their  masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them. 

Term
Newton's laws of motion, 51
Definition

Consists of 3 laws...

 

First Law: Inertia law

A body remains at rest or moves in a straight line at a constant speed unless acted upon by a net outside force

 

Second Law: the force law

 The acceleeration of an object is proportional to the foce acting on it

 

Third Law: the law of action and reaction

 Whenever one body exerts a force on a second body, the second body exerts an equal and opposite force on the first body.

Term
parallax
Definition
the apparent displacement of an object relative to more distant objects caused by viewing it from different locations
Term
retrograde motion
Definition
the occasional backward (that is, westward)apparent motion of a planet against the background stars as seen from Earth. Retrograde motion is an optical illusion
Term
velocity
Definition
A quantity that specifies both direction and speed of an object
Term
weight
Definition
the force with which a body presses down on the surface of the Earth
Term
mass
Definition
a measure of the total amount of material in an object
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