Ast 220 Study Guide for Chapter 1
1. Understand the following terms: star, planet, dwarf planet, moon, asteroid, comet, star
system, solar system, astronomical unit, light-year, galaxy, Milky Way, galactic cluster,
local galactic cluster, galactic super-cluster, local galactic super-cluster, and universe.
2. Understand and be able to describe our place in the universe and what is meant when
we refer to our cosmic address.
3. Understand and describe the basic structure of our solar system.
4. Understand and be able to describe the number stars in our galaxy and in the known
universe.
5. Understand how the different elements came to be and how this is relevant to our
existence.
6. Understand the different ways that we are moving through the universe.
7. Understand what we mean when we say that the universe is expanding.
8. Understand how we can know what the universe was like in the past.
9. Understand the age of the observable universe and how that limits the distance that we
are theoretically able to see.
10. Be able to describe our solar system if it were reduced in size by a factor of 10
billion so that the sun is about the size of a grapefruit.
11. Be able to describe the position our solar system and its nearest neighbor star system
if the entire Milky Way were reduced size of a football field.
12. Be able to identify the approximate times of key events in cosmic and human history
if the entire life of the universe were reduced to a year.
