Astronomy and Light

What is Astronomy? The study of celestial objects, space and the physical universe.

Celestial Bodies Definition: Any natural body outside of Earth’s atmosphere. (no satellites or space stations) Examples: Moon, Sun, Asteroids, other Planets and Galaxies.

VOCAB! Rotation- Spinning of a planet on its axis (single day) Revolution- Movement of an object around another object (year) Ellipse- Oval shape Astronomical Unit- average distance between Earth and the sun (150,000,000 km) Lunar- refers to moon Solar- refers to sun

What revolves around what? Geocentric Model Early Astronomers believed that everything revolved around Earth, including the sun. Heliocentric Later astronomers discovered that Earth revolves around the sun. (Early on these astronomers were arrested for this belief even with evidence).

Heliocentric Astronomers Copernicus- gave us the Heliocentric theory (the earth and planets revolve around sun) Galileo- increased our study with the invention of telescope Kepler- planets move in elliptical orbits, distance and speed of planets

Other Planets Inner Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars – Small – Dense – Rocky surface Outer Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune – Large – Not solid surface (gas giants)

The Sun Our sun is a star. It is what provides warmth to our planet and controls global weather.

The Sun Layers of the Sun Core Radioactive Zone Convection Zone Photosphere Chromosphere Corona Layers of the Sun

Features and Solar Events Sun Spots- dark, reduced temperature areas on the sun. Flares- large explosion of magnetic energy. Prominences- a bright feature that extends from the sun’s surface. Solar Winds- continuous flow of charged particles that go through the solar system (plasma).

Light

Light from the Sun See and Feel Visible Light – The Rainbow Colors Infrared Light – Radiation heat Can’t Detect Gamma Ray X-Ray Ultraviolet Light Microwave Radio Wave

Eclipses

Space Exploration and NASA Our space program is known as NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration. It started as a race between the U.S. and Soviet Union Soviet Union put up the first satellite (Sputnik) and the first man (Yuri Gagarin) U.S. put the first man on the moon (Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin)and invented the space shuttle. Today several countries work together on the ISS: International Space Station and we are sending probes to Mars and Venus.

NASA History Missions to land on the moon were called the Apollo program and these ships could only be used once. (Fred Haise from Biloxi, MS was on the Apollo 13 mission) NASA then started making space shuttles which could be used again. They have been used to go up and fix satellites and carry astronauts to ISS. International Space Station is a long-term station to study space, the earth, weather and possibilities for living in space. It is funded and manned by 16 countries. Most of its energy is from solar panels.

Space Tools Telescope – Curved mirrors used to make object appear closer, limited by weather and conditions Radio Telescope – Dishes used to collect radio waves which are stronger. Cheaper to make, limited by resolution of picture. X-ray Telescope – Can detect x-rays, limited by needing to be outside of Earth’s atmosphere. Cameras – Used to get high resolution images, first thought up by NASA scientists, but Kodak beat them to it. Many advances in cameras are credited to NASA including your phone camera.

Space Tools Rover – Small robotic probes that can move about planets Satellite – Object that revolves around another object in space – Geostationary orbit is when a satellite orbits at the same rate as Earth and stays over the same place on Earth all the time. Space Probes – Used to gather data of other celestial bodies with photographs or taking soil and rock samples. Spectro-meters – Item used to graph wavelength, frequency, energy, momentum and mass.

Mississippi’s Contribution Stennis Space Center- NASA – We build and test engines for space craft (including all Apollo engines and Shuttle engines)

NASA Spinoffs Disposable Diapers Velcro Cell Phones Digital Cameras Nerf Gliders Joystick MRI & CAT Scan Sunglasses Land Mine Removal Cochlear Implants Cordless Tools Insulin Pump Pacemaker Ear Thermometer Smoke Detector Water Purifier Workout Machines Invisible Braces Solar Energy Artificial Limbs

Videos The Moon – ISS – Star Trek –