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Astronomy: explore STEM content (page 2 of 26) · openstem

All fields Software Mathematics Physics Chemistry Biology Engineering Astronomy Environmental Other Astronomy Astronomy groups

Explore STEM Content

Search the community's STEM library — free to study, yours to make your own.

Astronomy

Stars, orbits, cosmology and observation on openstem — flashcards, notes, quizzes and plots shared by the community. Study free, or clone anything into your library.

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Collection4 items

01Astronomy · L1 · Black Holes

02Astronomy · L1 · Black Holes

03Astronomy · L1 · How a Black Hole Forms

+1 more

Astronomy

Astronomy · L1 · Black Holes

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Astronomy · L1 · Black Holes

Collection4 items

01Astronomy · L4 · General Relativity Basics

02Astronomy · L4 · General relativity: the equivalence principle and classic tests

03Astronomy · L4 · From the equivalence principle to observational tests of GR

+1 more

Astronomy

Astronomy · L4 · General Relativity Basics

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Astronomy · L4 · General Relativity Basics

Note~383 words · 2 min

The Baryon Asymmetry Big bang nucleosynthesis and the CMB independently constrain the baryon-to-photon ratio to a small, positive value: A hot, symmetric early universe should have produced equal numbers of baryons and antibaryons, which wo

Astronomy

Astronomy · L5 · Baryogenesis and the Sakharov Conditions

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Astronomy · L5 · Baryogenesis and the Sakharov Conditions

Flowchart7 objects

Astronomy

Astronomy · L4 · The cosmic distance ladder: parallax, Cepheids, and Type Ia supernovae · flowchart

@openstem

Astronomy · L4 · The cosmic distance ladder: parallax, Cepheids, and Type Ia supernovae · flowchart

Note~292 words · 1 min

Sorting Stars by Their Light Every star's spectrum — the pattern of colours and dark absorption lines in its light — encodes its surface temperature. Astronomers use that spectrum to sort stars into seven main classes, from hottest to coole

Astronomy

Astronomy · L3 · Stellar Classification

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Astronomy · L3 · Stellar Classification

Flowchart7 objects

Astronomy

Astronomy · L2 · Mars in Depth · flowchart

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Astronomy · L2 · Mars in Depth · flowchart

Flowchart10 objects

Astronomy

Astronomy · L2 · Two Belts, Two Kinds of Leftover Material

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Astronomy · L2 · Two Belts, Two Kinds of Leftover Material

Quiz4 questions

The kappa mechanism drives Cepheid pulsation because, in the partial-ionisation zone, compressing the gas:

ADecreases opacity, as in most stellar layers, damping oscillationBIncreases opacity, trapping radiation and driving further expansionCHas no effect on opacity at allDInstantly extinguishes nuclear fusion in the core

Astronomy

Astronomy · L4 · Variable Stars: Cepheids & RR Lyrae — 4 Q

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Astronomy · L4 · Variable Stars: Cepheids & RR Lyrae — 4 Q

Flashcards8 cards

Who was Johannes Kepler?1 / 8

A German astronomer in the early 1600s who used incredibly precise position data recorded by Tycho Brahe to work out the actual mathematical rules planets follow as they orbit the Sun.

Astronomy

Astronomy · L2 · Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion

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Astronomy · L2 · Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion

Quiz5 questions

How did Ptolemy's geocentric model account for planets appearing to move backward (retrograde motion)?

ABy assuming Earth also orbits the planetsBBy adding small circular loops called epicycles on top of the main orbitsCBy ignoring retrograde motion entirelyDBy placing the Sun at the centre

Astronomy

Astronomy · L3 · History of Astronomy: Paradigm Shifts

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Astronomy · L3 · History of Astronomy: Paradigm Shifts

Flowchart7 objects

Astronomy

Astronomy · L1 · Gravity · flowchart

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Astronomy · L1 · Gravity · flowchart

Note~281 words · 1 min

Listening, Not Just Looking Visible light — the colors our eyes can see — is only a small slice of the electromagnetic spectrum. Many astronomical objects give off huge amounts of energy at other wavelengths, including radio waves, the long

Astronomy

Astronomy · L2 · Radio Astronomy Basics

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Astronomy · L2 · Radio Astronomy Basics

Collection4 items

01Astronomy · L2 · Satellite Orbits and GPS

02Astronomy · L2 · Satellite Orbits and GPS

03Astronomy · L2 · How GPS Trilateration Works

+1 more

Astronomy

Astronomy · L2 · Satellite Orbits and GPS

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Astronomy · L2 · Satellite Orbits and GPS

Flowchart7 objects

Astronomy

Astronomy · L1 · Northern Lights (Auroras) · flowchart

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Astronomy · L1 · Northern Lights (Auroras) · flowchart

Note~273 words · 1 min

One Violent Afternoon, 4.5 Billion Years Ago Of the several competing ideas once proposed for how the Moon formed, one now dominates: not long after Earth itself formed, a Mars-sized protoplanet nicknamed Theia struck the young Earth at a g

Astronomy

Astronomy · L3 · Moon Formation & the Giant Impact

@openstem

Astronomy · L3 · Moon Formation & the Giant Impact

Flashcards8 cards

What is a giant molecular cloud, and why is it the raw material for star formation?1 / 8

A giant molecular cloud is a vast, cold (roughly 10-30 K), dense region of interstellar gas and dust, made mostly of molecular hydrogen. It is cold and dense enough that gravity can eventually overcome the gas's internal pressure, making it the only kind of interstellar cloud dense and cold enough to collapse and form stars.

Astronomy

Astronomy · L3 · Star Formation & Molecular Clouds

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Astronomy · L3 · Star Formation & Molecular Clouds

Quiz4 questions

Why is Earth sometimes called the 'Goldilocks planet'?

AIt is the biggest planetBIt is just the right distance from the Sun for liquid waterCIt has the most moonsDIt is the closest planet to the Sun

Astronomy

Astronomy · L1 · Why Earth Is Special Quiz

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Astronomy · L1 · Why Earth Is Special Quiz

Note~494 words · 2 min

Strong-lensing time-delay cosmography and the Hubble tension When a distant quasar's light passes close to an intervening massive galaxy, gravitational lensing can split it into multiple images. Because each image's light travels a differen

Astronomy

Astronomy · L5 · Strong-Lensing Time-Delay Cosmography & the Hubble Tension

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Astronomy · L5 · Strong-Lensing Time-Delay Cosmography & the Hubble Tension

Flashcards8 cards

What is a nebula, in the most general sense?1 / 8

An interstellar cloud of gas and dust. What distinguishes the different types is not the material itself but how — or whether — that material produces visible light.

Astronomy

Astronomy · L3 · Nebula Types

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Astronomy · L3 · Nebula Types

Collection4 items

01Astronomy · L4 · Tidal Forces, the Roche Limit & Tidal Locking

02Astronomy · L4 · Tidal forces: differential gravity, the Roche limit, and tidal locking

03Astronomy · L4 · From differential gravity to tidal locking

+1 more

Astronomy

Astronomy · L4 · Tidal Forces, Roche Limit & Tidal Locking

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Astronomy · L4 · Tidal Forces, Roche Limit & Tidal Locking

Flashcards8 cards

What observational property is used to classify young stellar objects into Class 0, I, II, and III?1 / 8

The shape of the object's spectral energy distribution (SED) — how its brightness is distributed across infrared and longer wavelengths. Progressively more of the total luminosity appearing at shorter wavelengths (and less obscured by cool dust) as the classification moves from Class 0 through III traces the young star gradually clearing away its surrounding envelope and disk.

Astronomy

Astronomy · L4 · Protostellar Evolution: From Collapse to the Main Sequence

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Astronomy · L4 · Protostellar Evolution: From Collapse to the Main Sequence

Collection3 items

01Astronomy · L3 · Star Clusters & Stellar Populations

02Astronomy · L3 · Star Clusters & Stellar Populations

03Astronomy · L3 · Star Clusters & Stellar Populations

Astronomy

Astronomy · L3 · Star Clusters & Stellar Populations

@openstem

Astronomy · L3 · Star Clusters & Stellar Populations

Collection3 items

01Astronomy · L4 · Stellar Structure Equations

02Astronomy · L4 · Stellar structure: hydrostatic equilibrium and mass continuity

03Astronomy · L4 · Stellar Structure Equations — 4 Q

Astronomy

Astronomy · L4 · Stellar Structure Equations

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Astronomy · L4 · Stellar Structure Equations

Flowchart11 objects

Astronomy

Astronomy · L5 · Approaching Jet or Receding Counter-Jet?

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Astronomy · L5 · Approaching Jet or Receding Counter-Jet?

Note~347 words · 2 min

Two Families of Star Clusters Stars rarely form alone. A giant cloud of gas and dust can collapse into hundreds, thousands, or even millions of stars at once, all born together and held in place by their combined gravity. Astronomers sort t

Astronomy

Astronomy · L2 · Star Clusters

@openstem

Astronomy · L2 · Star Clusters

Note~342 words · 2 min

The Schwarzschild Solution In 1916, Karl Schwarzschild found the first exact solution to the Einstein field equations: the spacetime geometry outside a static, spherically symmetric, non-rotating, uncharged mass M. In Schwarzschild coordina

Astronomy