Exam 2: The Science of Life in the Universe

A planet is furthest from the Sun in its elliptical orbit when it is at

Which Greek school of thought suggested that life elsewhere in the universe might be common?

The first detailed astronomical observations were made by the

Scientific models supported by a large, compelling body of evidence are referred to as

The astronomical unit (AU) is defined to be equal to the

The general pattern of thought that is accepted by the majority of scientists at a particular point in time is referred to as a

In science, conceptual representations of observed phenomena are referred to as

Most of the time, planets are observed to

Galileo discovered that Venus goes through a cycle of phases like the Moon. This suggested that

The recently dwarf planet Eris has an orbital period about the Sun, P, of 557 years. According to Kepler's 3ʳᵈ Law, what is the semi-major axis, a, of its orbit?

The first ancient civilization able to predict eclipses were the

One fundamental consequence of the Copernican model which many people had difficulty accepting at the time it was proposed was that the Earth

An astronomer surveying the sky toward a random region of the sky finds, by chance, the most distant galaxy ever detected. This is an example of

In science, the tendency of an experiment to produce a particular result is referred to as

Johannes Kepler

In the Ptolemaic model, retrograde motion is due to

The seven days of the week are related to the

The astronomical object in our sky which is directly connected to the tides is the

Newton's 2ⁿᵈ Law of Motion states that

The discovery of a supernova by Tycho Brahe in 1572 contradicted the commonly held belief that the universe was