What is the difference between the Solar System, the Galaxy, and the Universe?
The universe contains all physical matter and energy. Its basic constituents are the
clusters of galaxies. The Solar System contains the sun and objects that orbit it,
including the eight planets, comets, and asteroids, and the Galaxy contains
approximately 100 billion stars, of which the sun is one, as well as large clouds of gas
and dust.
Why are light-years more convenient than miles, kilometers, or astronomical
units (AU) for measuring the distances to stars and galaxies?
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Why is it difficult to detect planets orbiting other stars? (Select all that apply.)
because planets are much smaller than the stars they orbit around. because the bright
light from stars tends to blot out the much dimmer light that reflects off planets. because
planets are much fainter than the stars they orbit since the former do not emit light but
only imperfectly reflect star light.
What does the size of the star image in a photograph tell you?
The larger a star's image is in a photograph, the brighter the star appears in the sky.
What is the difference between the Milky Way and the Milky Way Galaxy?
The Milky Way is a fairly narrow band of faint diffuse light around the celestial sphere.
The Milky Way Galaxy is a spiral galaxy of about 100 billion stars.
What are the largest known structures in the Universe?
filaments
You have learned where Earth is in relation to the sun, other planets and galaxies.
Based on what you learned, select all of the correct statements from the following
list.
The sun is a star. Galaxies are composed of billions of stars. The Milky Way is a spiral
galaxy.Earth and most of the other planets orbit the sun in nearly circular elliptical orbits.
One astronomical unit (AU) is about 150 million kilometers. How many miles is
this?