Topic 1.1 - Planet Earth 0.0 / 5 ? AstronomyPlanet EarthGCSEEdexcel Created by: goldstar3Created on: 02-06-18 17:12 I) Terms Latitude: Co-ordinate on Earth's surface measuring how far N/S a location is. Angular displacement from the equator Longitude: Co-ordinate on Earth's surface measuring how far E/W. Angular displacement from Prime Meridian Meridian: imaginary line between poles along longitude Horizon: the plane which meets the Earth's surface at a tangent Zenith: Point 90 degrees to the horizon, directly above us Equator: divides the Earth in half, northern & southern hemispheres Tropics: Sun over Cancer on 21/06, & over Capricorn on 21/12 Over equator on 21/03 & 21/09 Earth rotates about axis passing through N/S poles 1 of 3 P) Van Allen Belts Doughnut shaped rings of high energy particles Held in place by magnetic field Inner belt: high energy protons Dicovered Jan 1958 by Explorer 1 Outer belt: electrons & charged particles emitted by Sun Discovered Dec 1958 by Pioneer 3 Geiger counters provided data proving existence Discovered by James Van Allen 2 of 3 O) Observatory Sites IR sites: high altitude, aircraft or satellites Telescope has to be cooled so it can't detect its own IR radiation UV sites: Satellites & rockets Ozone blocks UV Used for quasars, interstellar gas and O & B type stars X-ray: Rockets & satellites Discovered binary stars & supernovae remnants 3 of 3
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