ISP 205 Exam 1 Review

An astronomical unit is

Earth's average distance from the Sun.

Which of the following correctly lists our "cosmic address" from small to large?

Earth, solar system, Milky Way Galaxy, Local Group, Local Supercluster, universe

Although all the known stars rise in the east and set in the west, we might someday discover a star that will rise in the west and set in the east.

False

Could we see a galaxy that is 50 billion light-years away?

No, because it would be beyond the bounds of our observable universe.

When we say the universe is expanding, we mean that:

The average distance between galaxies is growing with time.

The fact that nearly all galaxies are moving away from us, with more distant ones moving faster, helped us to conclude that:

The universe is expanding.

If stars existed but galaxies did not:

We would not exist because we are made of material that required recycling in galaxies.

The North Celestial Pole is 35∘ above your northern horizon. This tells you that you are at:

latitude 35∘ N.

The age of our solar system is about:

one-third of the age of the universe.

The total number of stars in the observable universe is roughly equivalent to:

the number of grains of sand on all the beaches on Earth.

If we represent the solar system on a scale that allows us to walk from the Sun to Pluto in a few minutes, then:

the planets would all be marble size or smaller and the nearest stars would be thousands of miles away.

The star Betelgeuse is about 600 light-years away. If it explodes tonight,

we won't know about it until 600 years from now.