Astronomy (Earth Science TEST 1)

NASA's four orbiting telescopes

1. Hubble Space Telescope, visible light 2. Compton gamma-ray Observatory 3. Chandra x-ray Observatory 4. Spitzer Space Telescope, infrared

1. Main sequence Stars 2. Giants or red giants are supergiant's 3. White dwarfs

1.90% 2. 3. Less than 10%

What is the typical length of a sunspot cycle

11 years

Light travels at

186,000 miles per second

Brightness of sun

5

How long does it take sun rays to reach Earth?

60x60x24x360x186000 = 5700,000,000,000

One AU

93 million miles, distance from Sun to Earth

You are studying a constellation of stars and need to rank the stars in order of brightness. Which of the following Greek letters would be used to note the brightest star

Alpha

The layer of the solar atmosphere directly above the Photosphere is referred to as the

Chromosphere

Nebulae (hot/blue)

Clouds of interstellar matter. 90% hydrogen 9% helium 1% Interstellar dust

the type of spectrum provided by a common light bulb is a

Continuous Spectrum

Three types of light

Continuous, dark line, bright line

The earliest astronomical records appear to have been made by the ancient Chinese, Egyptians, and the Babylonians in order to

Determine when to plant crops or hunt animals based on seasonal changes

What kind of planet is Pluto

Dwarf

Which Planet contains water in all three states liquid ice and gas

Earth

One of the discoveries which led to the modern view of the solar system was that the orbits of the planets are

Ellipses

When the Earth is the farthest from the Sun it is said to be in the perihelion position true or false

False

The first scientist to use a telescope for astronomical purposes

Galileo

The scientist was the first to use the telescope in astronomy

Galileo

Gravity and thermal expansion

Gravitational collapse, expansion....balance = main sequence

What force keeps the planets in orbit around the sun

Gravity

Which of the following is not considered a form of electromagnetic radiation

Gravity

Which two elements are the most abundant in the universe

Helium and hydrogen

The sun produces energy by converting

Hydrogen nuclei into helium nuclei

Edmund Hubble discovered that nearly all stars were shifted toward the infrared? Or ultraviolet? Portion of the electromagnetic spectrum

Infrared

When viewing the planets Mars appears to move backwards or retrograde because

It is rotating around the Sun slower than the Earth's rotation

Most asteroids come from the asteroid belt between Mars and

Jupiter

Which planet has the most satellites or moons

Jupiter

Which planet is the largest in the solar system

Jupiter

What about life beyond Neptune that contains comments Rocky bodies and dwarf planet

Kuiper

What is the distance light travels in a year called

Light year

Alpha Centauri is a famous star because it is one of the closest stars to Earth. Where would you look in the night sky for it

Look for the brightest star in the constellation Centaurus

Name the three types of stars on the hertzsprung-russell diagram

Main sequence Stars. Giants or Red Giant. White dwarf.

Which planet contains mons Olympus the largest volcano in the solar system

Mars

Which planet is closest to the Sun

Mercury

Astronomers looking through a telescope are observing a star in motion. If it appears red, which direction relative to the Earth is it moving

Moving away from the Earth

A total eclipse of the sun is only possible at

New moon

The source of the sun's energy is

Nuclear Fusion

Three action at the center of the Sun that create solar energy is called

Nuclear fusion

During periods of high solar activity huge cloud-like structures that appear as great arches extending from the Sun are often produced. These solar features are called

Prominences

Doppler effect shift color

Redshift

Which planet has an extensive system of rings made of ice rock and dust

Saturn

A statement you will sometimes hear people say is that a day is not 24 hours but is really 23 hours 53 minutes and 43 seconds. What does this time refer to

Sidereal time. Not solar time. A solar day is 24 hours

H - R diagram

Size, color (brightness), temperature of the star

Layers of sun

Solar interior, Photo Sphere, chromosphere, Corona

The shape of the Milky Way galaxy is

Spiral galaxy

Galaxies can be hint 3

Spiral, elliptical, irregular

What is the modern explanation for guest stars that appear in the night sky and then disappear

Stars that go nova or supernova and appear as bright objects during the event

What is the most common meteorite

Stony

Spectroscopy

Study of properties of light

Cosmology

Study of universe

The most conspicuous features on the surface of the Sun are dark areas called

Sunspot

Solar features hint 3

Sunspots, prominences, solar flares

The period of time required for the Moon to complete a cycle of phases is called the

Synodic month

The discovery that the universe appears to be expanding led to the widely accepted Theory called

The Big Bang Theory

To determine whether a Celestial body is approaching or receding from Earth astronomers employ

The Doppler effect

Which body has the greatest mass in our solar system

The Sun

The part of the sun clearly visible during a solar eclipse is

The chromosphere

The solar wind originates from

The corona

Galileo observed several features using the telescope. Which of the following did he not discover

The two moons of Mars

Why do the planets drift East relative to the stars and then move west for periods of time

They're moving in the same rotation sense as the Earth around the Sun but as Earth moves faster ( or slower depending on the planet) the motion appears to be backwards

Our sun is a main sequence star true or false

True

The sun is considered an average star true or false

True

The sun's energy results from the conversion of hydrogen nuclei into helium nuclei true or false

True

Which planet rotates on its side

Uranus

Which planet is the brightest in our night sky

Venus

Which color has the shortest wavelength

Violet

Red giant Stars cool and collapse to become either hint 3

White dwarf, Neutron, black holes

When all of the hydrogen is consumed, it collapses and causes hint 3

White dwarf, neutron star, black hole

What color is our sun

Yellow

At the beginning of Spring, the vernal equinox, what is the right Ascension of the Sun

Zero