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Astronomy Practical
Types of astronomy, why AN is a good place to get data, various projects
44
Astronomy
Undergraduate 1
05/17/2015

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Cards

Term
two types of astronomers divided by approach
Definition

The two types of astronomer approaches:

1. observational astronomers- gather data 

2. theoretical astronomers -use data to anaylze systems/model how they evolved

Term
five types of astronomers divided by what they study:
Definition

five types of astronomers divided by what they study: 

1. planetary

2. Solar

3. Stellar

4. Galactic

5. Extragalactic

Term
what is astrometry, and how does it relate to what scientists are trying to do now?
Definition

astronmetry is the study of the sun, moon, and planets. 

currently it relates to scientists who are trying to model the creation and change of distant plants and stars, as well as predict the occurance of meteor showers, eclipses, and the apperance of comets

Term
what did ptolemy do?
Definition
ptolemy made a mathematical model of the geocentric model using circular orbits
Term
what did Tycho Brahe do?
Definition
Tycho Brahe made really good measurements/observations that allowed other to expand on astronomical theories
Term

what did Kepler do?

 

Definition
Kepler created some laws of planetary motion that were the one of the foundations of Newton's theory of universal gravitation
Term
What does the Hertzsprung-Russel plot?
Definition
the Hertzsprung-Rusel diagram plots star luminosity  versus magnitude
Term
what is the study of cosmology?
Definition
cosmology is the study of the large-scale structures of the universe and the dynamics of the universe.
Term
what five concepts did we learn about that fall under cosmology?
Definition

four concepts that cosmology encompasses:

1. string theory

2. dark matter

3. dark energy

4. # of universes

5. cosmic rays

Term
what are cosmic rays?
Definition
cosmic rays are very high energy particles that originate outside the solar system
Term
what two categories of electro-magnetic radiation do easily pass through the eath's atmosphere?
Definition

the elctromagnetic radiation that passes through the earth's atmosphere is 

1. visible light which comes in which some distortion

2. radio waves which have no distortion

Term
what type of astronomy deals with visible light?
Definition
the type of astronomy that deal with visible light is optical astronomy
Term
four different ways to approach optical astronomy data collection
Definition

optical astronomy data can come in four forms: 

1. imaging

2. photometry, which measures the amount of light coming from an object

3. spectroscopy

4. polarimetry, where the polarization state is measured

Term
what is radio astronomy?
Definition
radio astronomy measures celestial bodies by looking at radio wave emr
Term
what are the two ways to approach collecting radio wave data?
Definition

the two ways to collect radio wave data:

1. one singular radio wave antennas, called radio telescopes

2. a network of linked radio telescopes

Term
radio telescopes are really _____
Definition
radio telescopes are really antennae
Term
what is SPIREX
Definition
the South Pole InfraRed EXplorer, or SPIREX, is an IR telescope built to test the feasability of IR telescopes operating from earth's surface 
Term
project we learned about that had to do with IR astronomy
Definition
the SPIREX project was an IR astronomy project
Term
result of the SPIREX project
Definition
The result of the SPIREX project was that suprisingly good data led to scientists being able to observe star-forming complexes, the environment these compelxes were in, and protostars lying within them
Term
the reason the SPIREX project got observations from AN is that _____ is reduced in the atmosphere above the AN plateau by a factor of 10 to 20.
Definition
the reason the SPIREX telescope was set up in AN is that background IR radiation from the atmosphere is 10 to 20 times lower there
Term
wavefronts from a distant star can be distorted by the a layer of _____ in the atmosphere. how does this relate to AN?
Definition
waves from a distant star can be changed when they hit a layer of turbulent air in the atmosphere. the AN atmosphere has a relatively thin layer of turbulent air
Term
realationship between elevation and astronomy data collection
Definition
the way elevation affects the signal from celestial bodies is that the more atmosphere the singal goes through, the more it gets distorted. thus, the higher up you are, the less atmosphere the wave has to go through, the less distortion
Term
the ice in AN relates to astronomy data collection in what way?
Definition
the ice in AN serves to absorb particles that make it to the surface
Term
nine major advantages of collecting astronomy data in AN
Definition

the nine major advantages of collecting astronomy data in 
AN

1. coldest place on earth

2. driest place on earth

3. stable atmosphere, thin surface boundary layer

4. little pollution, dust aersols to get in the way of telescopes

5. few clouds

6. easy to conduct long-duration, continous monitoring

7.  magnetic pole brings increased low-energy cosmic ray fluxes

8. few earthquakes

9. ice absorbs particles from celestial bodies

Term
relative humidity in AN
Definition
because the cold air in AN can't hold much water, relative humidity in AN is generally hight
Term
what does the term astronomically dark mean
Definition
if the sun is below the horizon, it can still light the sky enough to disrupt data collection. once the affect of the sun is totally gone, you as astronomical dark. this occurs when the sun is below 18°
Term

the four major disadvantages to AN astronomy data collection

 

Definition

there are four disadvantages to collecting astronomy data in AN

1. humidity: the relative humidity is often high

2. sky coverage: you can only ever see one half of the sky

3. the amount of time it is astronomically dark is lower in AN than in spots nearer the equator. Though darkness can last months, if the sun isn't far enough below the horizon, it gets in the way

4. Auroral activity is frequent

Term
sum up the future of astronomy data collection in AN
Definition

the future of astronomy data collection in AN: we are gonna get more and more data there in the future. A medium/large aperture telescope has potential to do things we thought we could only do from space

 

Term
Meteorite collection gives a lot of insight to ____ and ____
Definition
Meteorite collection tells us a lot about geology of the moon and mars
Term
3 reasons why AN is the best place to look for meteorites
Definition

3 reasons why AN is the best place to look for meteorites

1. no background material to make looking for them hard. just flat ice

2. low/no sediment accretion on top of meteors

3. you can't get meteors confused with earthen rocks because there aren't any. to expand on that, there isn't a bias towards meteors that look different from earthen rocks. there also isn't a bias towards larger meteors

 

Term
explain the study of the Aurora with one setence.
Definition
the Aurora is solar wind interacting with earth's magnetic field
Term
why study the Aurora?
Definition
studying the Aurora gives us insight to solar weather. The affect of solar weather satillites, ground based data collection, and climate/weather aren't well understood
Term
what is solar weather?
Definition
the solar flares, solar wind, and plasma that comes from the sun is collectively known as solar weather 
Term
where is the PILOT program based?
Definition
the PILOT program is based at Dome C
Term
the PILOT program uses a ____ telescope to look at _____
Definition
The PILOT program uses a pathfinder telescope  to look at astrophysical properties 
Term
the PILOT program is paving the way for ____
Definition
the PILOT program is paving the way for permanent observatories in AN that record IR to sub mm wavelengths
Term
the South Pole Telescope is a 10 meter diameter telescope operating at the NSF south pole research station. what it is looking at?
Definition
the South Pole Telescope looks at faint, low contrast emissions to map anisotropies in the cosmic microwave background
Term
The BOOMERANG project consists of what?
Definition
the BOOMERANG project uses three high-altitude ballons
Term
what question is the BOOMERANG project looking to answer?
Definition
the BOOMERANG project is looking to answer the question: what did the early universe look like?
Term
what phenomenom is the BOOMERANG project examining?
Definition
the BOOMERANG project looks at background cosmic microwave radiation
Term
what phenomenom did the IceCube project observe?
Definition
the IceCube project observed high energy nutrinos
Term
what fundamental question is the IceCube project looking to answer?
Definition
the IceCube project is looking to answer the question: where do the highest energy cosmic rays come from?
Term
the two things we want to know about nuetrinos 
Definition

we want to know:

1. The mass of nuetrinos

2. the point source of nuetrinos  

Term
what is the SOFIA project?
Definition
the SOFIA project is a IR telescope mounted on the top of  a modified jet
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