GenSci Astro Flashcard 3

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Define: the distance that light travels in a year; used to express distances between stars and other space objects.

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Light year: A unit of distance used in astronomy to measure how far light travels in one year, approximately 5.88 trillion miles.

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What is the name for the system created to measure the brightness of stars?

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Magnitude: A system used to measure the brightness of stars, where lower numbers indicate brighter stars.

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Define: how bright a star would be if it were at the standard distance of 10 parsecs.

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Absolute magnitude: The measure of a star's brightness as it would appear from a standard distance of 10 parsecs.

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Define: groups of stars spaced much closer together than surrounding stars and held together by their gravity.

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Star clusters: Groups of stars that are gravitationally bound and are located close to each other in space.

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What is the nearest galaxy cluster to earth?

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Virgo Cluster: The nearest galaxy cluster to Earth, located about 50 million light-years away.

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What is a parsec?

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Parsec: A unit of distance used in astronomy, equal to about 3.26 light years.

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Define: the apparent brightness of a star as seen from Earth.

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Apparent magnitude: The brightness of a star as observed from Earth, which can be affected by distance and interstellar material.

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What is the difference between absolute magnitude and apparent magnitude?

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Absolute magnitude measures a star's brightness at a standard distance, while apparent magnitude measures brightness as seen from Earth.

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Define: the process by which stars form from clouds of gas and dust in space.

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Stellar formation: The process in which stars are born from the gravitational collapse of gas and dust in molecular clouds.

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What is a white dwarf star?

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White dwarf: A small, dense star that is the remnant of a larger star after it has exhausted its nuclear fuel and shed its outer layers.