Earth Science 11 - Fall 2000 Assignment 2: Observing the Universe

1. Compare the different kinds of tools and instruments used in astronomy to gather information (page 300).

Refracting telescope -

Reflecting telescope -

X-ray telescope -

Infrared telescope -

Radio telescope -

Spectroscope -

2. Why are observatories built on mountaintops in dry regions?

3. Why can large reflectors be built more easily than large refractors?

4. What advantages do orbiting space telescopes have over telescopes on Earth's surface?

5. Describe a method of estimasting distances to stellar objects.

6. Distinguish between an astronomical unit and a light year (page 316).

7. How long does it take light from the Sun to reach the Earth?

8. Compare the apparent magnitude, absolute magnitude, and luminosity of a star (page 317).

9. Describe the Doppler effect using a diagram (page 310).

10. How can the Doppler effect be used to determine the speed and velocity of stellar bodies? Why is there no shift in the spectral lines of a star moving at right angles to the line of sight?