Vocab
Across
- 1. stars are formed when a massive star runs out of fuel and collapses
- 3. The continuous, generally diagonal line or band in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram ranging from the upper left to the lower right and representing stars of average size
- 5. the process by which two light atomic nuclei combine to form a single heavier one while releasing massive amounts of energy
- 7. a tubular instrument for viewing distant objects (as objects in outer space) by focusing light rays with mirrors or lenses
- 10. a star that suddenly increases greatly in brightness because of a catastrophic explosion that ejects most of its mass.
- 11. the science of the origin and development of the universe. Modern astronomy is dominated by the Big Bang theory, which brings together observational astronomy and particle physics.
- 12. a condition in which gravity is predicted to be so intense that spacetime itself would break down catastrophically
- 15. how astronomers explain the way the universe began
- 17. a system of millions or billions of stars, together with gas and dust, held together by gravitational attraction.
- 18. the increase (or decrease) in the frequency of sound, light, or other waves as the source and observer move towards (or away from) each other.
Down
- 2. the wavelength of the light is stretched, so the light is seen as 'shifted' towards the red part of the spectrum
- 4. spectrum the range of wavelengths or frequencies over which electromagnetic radiation extends.
- 6. the study of everything in the universe beyond Earth's atmosphere
- 8. the distance light travels in one year
- 9. Weak radio-frequency radiation traveling through outer space with equal intensity in every direction
- 13. any particle of matter in the universe attracts any other with a force varying directly as the product of the masses and inversely as the square of the distance between them
- 14. a small very dense star that is typically the size of a planet. A white dwarf is formed when a low-mass star has exhausted all its central nuclear fuel and lost its outer layers as a planetary nebula.
- 16. a cloud of gas and dust in outer space, visible in the night sky either as an indistinct bright patch or as a dark silhouette against other luminous matter.