ASTR161

AST 261

This document was last revised on 10-24-2013 at 15:25

Test No.1 Review,

SUBJECT MATTER: Class notes through 10/18, and all assigned readings

This review does not necessarily list every term or concept that will be on the test,
but the subject matter is limited to the readings, class notes, and homework assignments.l

Important topics

Recognized Hierarchical Structure of Universe
Solar System, solar neighborhood, Milky Way Galaxy, Local Group
Distribution of galaxies throughout the universe.
Distance Units
Angular rate of rotation of the Earth or celestial sphere
Four Fundamental Forces
Law of gravity, inverse-square law ,
Motions of Earth: Rotation, revolution, precession, and the Earth-Moon barycentric motion.
Celestial coordinates
Eloingation of the planets and Moon.
Changing diurnal circles of the Sun and the seasons.
Properties of light: wavelength, speed,
Surface brightness and the Stefan-Boltzmann Law.
Diurnal motion and time
Astronomical triangle
Kepler's Laws of planetary motion
Computing orbits using Kepler's Method
Rotation of coordinates
Kirchhoff's Laws of spectroscopy
The Lyman, Balmer, Pashen and Pfund series of spectral lines fo hydrogen
Spectral line paramters
The Doppler effect.

Terms to Memorize:

Force, gravity, barycenter, mass, weight, satellite, astronomical unit,
light year, parsec, surface brightness, bandpass, monochromatic radiation, Angstroms, nanometers..

Know who did what and when, e.g.: Newton,Wien, Planck, etc.

Know distances and sizes given for various quantities

Arcmeasure: Sexagesimal system: degrees, arcminutes, and arcseconds

Decimal system for arcmeasure and time.

Know what diurnal circles are and how they are related to the declination of and object.

For each angle we have learned, know from where the angle is measured (zero location),
in what direction it is measured, and in what units it is expressed.

Be able to:

Convert arcmeasure or time from sexagesimal to decimal or vice versa.

Locate objects on a rectangular chart using RA and DEC.

Apply, recognize, and use , hour angle circle, RA, and DEC

Know definitions, visualize, and use of all the following terms: Celestial Sphere

Celestial Equator (CE)

Celestial Poles (NCP & SCP)

Declination (Dec. or Greek delta)

Equinoctial colure (EC)

Hour circles (HC)

Right Ascension (RA or Greek alpha)

Zenith and nadir

Celestial horizon (CH)

Circumpolar stars (perpetual apparition or occultation)

Diurnal Circle

Diurnal Motion

Hour angle (HA)

Local celestial meridian (LCM)

Obliquity of the ecliptic

The equinoxes and solatices

Sample Questions ( Don't ask me for the answers, find them):

1. Plot the position of a star on a star chart given the RA and Dec.
2. Define astronomical unit.
3.   What is the approximate radius of the solar system in AU.
4.   How many stars are there in the Milky Way Galaxy?
5.   What factors determine the strength of the gravitational interaction?
6.
7.
8.    In general, what are the Laws of Physics?
9.    What is the radius of the solar neighborhood in parsecs?
10. What force determines the structure of the atom?
11. How many stars are there in the Solar System?
12.
13. What causes every object in the sky to rise in the east and set in the west once a day?
14.
15. How long does it take for a star to move 55 degrees along its daily path in the sky as
      a result of the Earth's rotation?
16. What are circumpolar stars?
17. What is a force?
18.
19. Compute the radius vector and true anomaly of a planet for a definte time after perihelion,
        given the period, the semi-major axis and eccentricity of the orbiit.
20. What is stellar diurnal motion and what causes it.
21. What causes the Earth's axis of rotation to precess.
22. What is the length of the precession period for the Earth.
23.
24.
25
26. Describe the distribution of galaxies throughout the universe.
27.   List the 4 fundamental forces at work in the universe.
28.   Give a statement for each of Newton's laws of motion.
29.   What time does the planet Mars rise if it has an elongation of 145^o E?
30.
31    what are Kirchhoff's Laws of spectroscopy?
32.   What is the principle of spectrochemical analysis
33.   What has been found to be the chemical composition of stars?
34.   Approximately how many stars are there in the solar neighborhood?
35.   Compute the number of atoms that have a speed v over an interval dv for a given temperature.

40. Explain the difference between the Wien Law and Planck's Law of
      thermal radiation?
41. Compute the monochromatic flux emitted by an incandescent body for a given
        temperature and wavelength.
42.   Use the inverse square law to compute the distanc of a star when given the measured
        flux, radius and temperature of the star.
43.   What are the factors the determine the strength of a spectral line?
44. How are the absorption lines formed that are in the spectra of stars?

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