Name: ______
Astronomy Study Guide
1. Explain Ptolemy’s geocentric view of the solar system.
In astronomy, the geocentric model is where the Earth is at the center of all the solar system
GEO= earth, CENTRIC= center.
2. Explain Copernicus’s heliocentric view of the solar system.
In astronomy, the heliocentric model is where the Sun is at the center of all the solar system
HELIO= sun, CENTRIC= center.
3. How did Galileo prove the heliocentric view of the solar system?
He discovered that Venus had phases similar to our moons and discovered four of moons that orbited Jupiter.
4. List the following in order from the smallest to the largest: universe, planet, galaxy, solar system.
Planet, solar system, galaxy, local group, and universe
5. What’s the age of our solar system?
4.6 billion years
6. Where is our solar system located in the universe?
Earth is located in one of the spiral arms of the Milky Way (called the Orion Arm)
7. Draw a picture to show where Orion’s arm is located.
8. What are the three different types of galaxies?
Spiral, elliptical, irregular
9. Explain the Big Bang theory.
One theory that explains the formation of our universe, stating that a single point where all matter and energy was concentrated
10. List the planets in order from the closest to the sun to the farthest away from it.
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune
11. What’s the biggest difference between the inner and outer planets?
The inner planets are all small and rocky, and the outer planets are all large and gaseous.
12. Compare the sizes of the other planets to that of Earth.
13. Which planet can support life?
ONLY Earth
14. Why is Venus so hot?
a thick atmosphere causing a greenhouse affect
15. Which planet is now a dwarf planet?
Pluto
16. What is a comet?
A celestial object consisting of a nucleus of ice and dust and, when near the sun, a “tail” of gas and dust particles pointing away from the sun.
17. Draw and label the parts of a comet.
18. Where are comets found in the universe?
Comets can be found in Oort clouds and or the Kipper Belt.
19. What is an asteroid?
a rocky body orbiting the sun. Large numbers of these, ranging in size from nearly 600 miles (1,000 km)
20. Where are asteroids found in the universe?
Asteroid Belt
21. What is a meteor?
A meteor is the flash of light that we see in the night sky when a small chunk of interplanetary debris burns up as it passes through our atmosphere.
22. What is a meteorite?
When a broken piece of an asteroid, planet, moon, or comet break through the earth’s atmosphere and hits the ground, it is called a meteorite.
23. What is a meteoroid?
a small body moving in the solar system that would become a meteor if it entered the earth's atmosphere.
24. What is often mistaken for a shooting star?
Meteor