Astronomy Outline
University of Phoenix Material
Basics of Astronomy Outline
Complete the outline following the instructions above. Use the example as a guide, using complete sentences for all subpoints.
1. Our place in the universe
a. The modern view of the universe
1) What is our Sun and what is its role in the solar system?
a) The sun is the closest star to earth and makes up 98% of the solar system mass.
b) The sun is made up of the hydrogen, helium, calcium, sodium, magnesium, and iron elements.
c) The sun provides light, heat, and energy to the Earth.
2) What is our Milky Way galaxy and the sun’s position in it?
a) The Milky Way is an island of hundreds of billions of stars, gas, and dust held together by gravity to form a disk that is surrounded by a halo of globular clusters, which are smaller spherical groups of stars.
b) The sun is about 26,000 light-years from the center of the Milky Way Galaxy.
3) What is the Big Bang and what does it say about the age of the universe?
a) The Big Bang is based off of telescopic observations of distant galaxies that are expanding with time.
b) By considering the rate of expansion, going backward provides an idea of initialization. By observed rate of expansion it is estimated to have occurred about 14 billion years ago.
4) What is meant by the phase “looking out in the universe is looking back in time?”
a) This phrase is meant to describe the time it takes time for light from distant objects to reach the Earth. We see the sun as it looked about 8 minutes ago, other stars as they looked years ago, and distant galaxies as they looked millions or even billions of years ago.
b. Where are we in the universe?
1) What is Earth’s place in the solar system?
a) Earth is the third planet from the Sun.
2) How close are the nearest stars to the Sun as compared to the distance between the Sun and the Earth?
a) The sun is approximately 8 light minutes away from Earth.
b) The second nearest star is Proxima Centauri
Basics of Astronomy Outline
Complete the outline following the instructions above. Use the example as a guide, using complete sentences for all subpoints.
1. Our place in the universe
a. The modern view of the universe
1) What is our Sun and what is its role in the solar system?
a) The sun is the closest star to earth and makes up 98% of the solar system mass.
b) The sun is made up of the hydrogen, helium, calcium, sodium, magnesium, and iron elements.
c) The sun provides light, heat, and energy to the Earth.
2) What is our Milky Way galaxy and the sun’s position in it?
a) The Milky Way is an island of hundreds of billions of stars, gas, and dust held together by gravity to form a disk that is surrounded by a halo of globular clusters, which are smaller spherical groups of stars.
b) The sun is about 26,000 light-years from the center of the Milky Way Galaxy.
3) What is the Big Bang and what does it say about the age of the universe?
a) The Big Bang is based off of telescopic observations of distant galaxies that are expanding with time.
b) By considering the rate of expansion, going backward provides an idea of initialization. By observed rate of expansion it is estimated to have occurred about 14 billion years ago.
4) What is meant by the phase “looking out in the universe is looking back in time?”
a) This phrase is meant to describe the time it takes time for light from distant objects to reach the Earth. We see the sun as it looked about 8 minutes ago, other stars as they looked years ago, and distant galaxies as they looked millions or even billions of years ago.
b. Where are we in the universe?
1) What is Earth’s place in the solar system?
a) Earth is the third planet from the Sun.
2) How close are the nearest stars to the Sun as compared to the distance between the Sun and the Earth?
a) The sun is approximately 8 light minutes away from Earth.
b) The second nearest star is Proxima Centauri
References: Bennett, J. O., Donahue, M., Schneider, N. O., & Voit, M. (2010). The cosmic perspective (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Addison Wesley. Retrieved from University of Phoenix Ebook collection Comets, Meteors, and Asteroids. (2011). Retrieved from http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/comets.php Expansion of the Universe. (2012). Retrieved from http://csep10.phys.utk.edu/astr162/lect/cosmology/expansion.html Saintonge, A. (2005). At what speed does the earth move around the sun?. Retrieved from http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/question.php?number=356 Stars. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.uni.edu/morgans/astro/course/Notes/section2/new6.html Stern, D. P. (2005). Kepler 's Three Laws of Planetary Motion. Retrieved from https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/secure/aapd/cwe/citation_generator/web_01_01.asp The Seasons and the Earth 's Orbit. (2011). Retrieved from http://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/docs/seasons_orbit.php/ Understanding the Moon Phases. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.moonconnection.com/moon_phases.phtml University of Oregon. (2012). Celestial Sphere. Retrieved from http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/ast122/lectures/lec02.html University of Rochester. (2012). Introduction to the Scientific Method. Retrieved from http://teacher.nsrl.rochester.edu:8080/phy_labs/AppendixE/AppendixE.html