Astronomy Homework Assignment 2

4. A day measured by the Sun differs from a day measured by the stars because
certain constellations and star clusters are visible to us only at certain times during
the year.

6. We see different stars at different times during the year because we are at a
different point in our orbit around the Sun.

10. A lunar eclipse is caused by the sun casting the Earths shadow onto the moon,
a solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes in front of the sun at a certain angle.

4. All of the light spectra share the common feature that they all travel at the speed
of light; they differ in their wavelength, frequency and your ability to see them with
the naked eye.

5. We are able to perceive all of the electromagnetic spectrum with the exception of
gamma rays from the ground.

6. A blackbody is an idealized concept that absorbs all radiation. The energy it

reemits is equivalent to the temperature of the object being examined in relation to
the blackbody curve.

7. If Earth were completely blocked out by clouds we would still be able to examine
all the other forms of radiation with the exception of visible light, because the rest
of the forms of radiation could still pierce the cloud coverage.

12. Atoms absorb and reemit radiation at characteristic frequencies because each
atom has a pre-determined excited state which is limited by the amount of
electrons it has. As the atom absorbs energy its electrons jump to higher energy
levels, and each atom has its own unique energy levels.

15. Astronomers use the Doppler Effect to study astronomical objects velocities by
observing the color that those objects emit. The more red-shifted the color, the
slower its apparent velocity, which can mean that it, is moving away from the
observer. Likewise, if an object is blue shifted, it is traveling faster, and may mean
that it is moving toward the observer.

2. The largest optical telescopes in use today are reflecting telescopes. Astronomers
want their telescopes to be as large as possible because they take in more light,
and therefore yield better images.

4. The Hubble telescope does not have to pierce the Earths atmosphere to observe
the universe, and it can see constellations much further away than ground
telescopes. However, any service missions that it needs are very costly and can
take weeks to fix it.

5. Ccd's register more light than traditional photographs and their digital image is
able to be manipulated.

11. To make observations in infrared, the opacity between the observer and the
object must be very low, and no heat can be around the infrared telescope,
otherwise the image will be warped.

14. The advantage of studying object at many different wavelengths of operation

are that we get a better picture of what they look like, what theyre made of, and
what kinds of energy they are emitting.

15. They theory of the moons formation that is widely accepted is impact theory,
which states that a mars sized object struck the early molten earth, and the debris
from the collision eventually bound together to form the moon.