[ASTR 152] - Final Exam Guide - Ultimate 43 pages long Study Guide!
Document Summary
Astronomy is not physical; data is collected from telescopes, and analyzed. Astronomy uses tested and accepted laws of physics to interpret observations and to explain and understand celestial objects and processes that occur in our universe. Speed of light desig(cid:374)ated (cid:271)(cid:455) (cid:862)(cid:272)(cid:863) ~3(cid:1004)(cid:1004),(cid:1004)(cid:1004)(cid:1004) k(cid:373)/se(cid:272), ~ (cid:1005)86,(cid:1004)(cid:1004)(cid:1004) (cid:373)iles/se(cid:272). (cid:373)easured (cid:373)a(cid:374)(cid:455) ti(cid:373)es and always finite and constant. With such speed the light would circle the earth seven times in 1 sec, reaches the moon in 1. 3 sec, and reaches the earth (from the sun) in ~8 minutes. Scientific notation of speed of light: c = 300,000 km/sec = 186,000 mi/sec, c = 3x10^5 km/sec = 1. 86x10^5 mi/sec. Angles used often to express: the positions of objects in the sky (must have a coordinate system for that, angular sizes of celestial objects, angular distances or separation between celestial objects. An angle is an opening between two lines that meet at a single point.
