Astronomy 10: concept list for 1st Exam, Chapters 1-8


Know definitions of units:
AU
pc
light-year
M_sun
L_sun
magnitudes
degrees
'
"
c=3x10^8 m/s
nm
angstrom
OBAFGKM
M_v

Know formulas:
Kepler's 3rd law
Newton's law of gravity
parallax distance
luminosity depending on radius and temperature

Be able to use (no need to memorize but know concepts/proportionality):
magnitude difference <-> ratio of luminosity
small-angle formula
energy of a photon
speed = wavelength * frequency
Wien's law
Stefan-Boltzman law
Doppler effect

constellation (remember it's 2-dimensional)

moon, planet, star, solar system, galaxy, Local Group, cluster of galaxies, universe

twinkling of stars (point sources) and "seeing" of telescopes

celestial sphere (poles, equator, ecliptic, inclination, precession, zenith, horizon)

seasons, equinoxes, solstices

perihelion, aphelion, perigee, apogee

sidereal vs. synodic period of moon and phases of the moon

cause of the tides

lunar and solar eclipses, total vs. partial vs. annular

possible causes of the ice ages

geocentric vs. heliocentric, retrograde motion, epicycles

Kepler's Laws, Newton's Laws, what each of the big guys did

inverse square law for light and gravity

reflecting vs. refracting telescopes

light-gathering vs. resolving vs. magnifying power

active optics vs. adaptive optics

sound waves vs. electromagnetic waves

atom, nucleus, electron, proton, neutron, molecule, isotope

ionization, energy levels, ground state vs. excited state

blackbody radiation (continous spectrum) vs. absorption lines vs. emission lines

differential rotation of Sun

prominences vs. flares vs. sunspots

apparent vs. absolute magnitude

H-R diagram, main sequence, dwarfs vs. giants (luminosity classes I-V)

spectroscopic parallax

visual vs. spectroscopic vs. eclipsing binary


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