Space Science Final
You note that a particular star is directly overhead. It will be directly overhead again in
23 hours 56 minutes.
A hypothetical planet orbits the sun a distance of 3 AU. What is its orbital period?
5.2 years
What is the altitude of the zenith at 9:00 p.m. on December 21 at a latitude of 40 degrees north?
90 degrees
From the horizon to the observer's zenith is an angle of
90 degrees for everyone on Earth
From the horizon to the observer's zenith is an angle of
90 degrees for everyone on earth
Why does Saturn have a much more muted overall appearance than does Jupiter?
A hazy cloud layer obscures the more colorful clouds of Saturn.
Which of the following could be the coordinates of a star that is rising in the northeast?
Azimuth 60 degrees, altitude 0 degrees
How did Ptolemy revolutionize the then current model of the universe?
By using epicycles to explain retrograde motion.
The largest asteroid, and probably the only one to be a spherical "world" is
Ceres
Which of the following occurs because of the rotation of the Earth?
Coriolis effect
What are constellations?
Croups of stars making an apparent pattern in the celestial sphere.
Which of the following was NOT done by Galileo Galilei
Explaining retrograde motion with the heliocentric hypothesis.
The Moon keeps one side facing the Earth because it doesn't rotate on its axis. t or f
False
Where is most of the carbon on Mars stored?
In surface rocks
Why are most meteorite finds irons?
Irons are recognizable as meteorites long after they fall.
Which statement about our core is FALSE?
It generates a stable and permanent magnetic field much as a regular bar magnet.
The Moon's atmosphere is composed of
It has almost no atmosphere.
Which of the following best describes the evolution of Jupiter since soon after it formed?
It has grown steadily dimmer and cooler.
How does Saturn compare with Jupiter?
It is less massive and smaller.
In the laboratory, an atom emits a spectral line at a wavelength of 400 nanometers. in the spectrum of a star, the same spectral line is found to have a wavelength of 410 nanometers. What can be said about the star?
It is moving away from Earth
What is remarkable about the magnetic field of Neptune?
It is tipped at a large angle with respect to the axis of rotation.
How do we know that the Red Spot of Jupiter is not a hurricane like storm?
It rotates in the wrong direction.
Which of the following is a criterion for a good scientific theory?
It should be possible to prove the theory wrong.
What was significant about Galileo's discovery of Jupiter's four brightest satellites?
It showed that there are some objects which do not orbit the Earth
Which of the following is the reason that Comet Halley is observed to be much more spectacular at some appearances that at others?
Its observability near perihelion depends on the time of the year.
Why is remarkable about the rotation of Uranus?
Its rotation axis lies in its orbital plane.
The lack of a strong magnetic field on Venus probably is due in which part to which of the following considerations?
Its slow overall rotation
Which of the following planets has the lowest density?
Jupiter
Which planet by itself contains the majority of mass of all the planets?
Jupiter
The equatorial diameter of Jupiter is about 6% larger than the polar diameter of Jupiter. Why?
Jupiter rotates rapidly.
Which of the following sets of planets has large diameters, locations in the outer solar system, and extensive gaseous atmospheres?
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
What is the name of the temperature scale that places zero at the point where all atomic and molecular motion ceases?
Kelvin
Which body experiences season with changing weather patterns?
Mars
Most of the asteroids are located between the orbits of
Mars and Jupiter.
A fatal flaw with Ptolemy's model is its inability to predict the observed phases of
Mercury and Venus.
What is unusual about the orbit of Pluto?
Pluto is sometimes nearer the Sun than is Neptune.
Which of the following forms of electromagnetic radiation has the longest wavelength?
Radio
The spacecraft Cassini went into orbit around
Saturn.
Which of these is the same for all forms of electromagnetic (E-M) radiation in a vacuum?
Speed
Why do X-ray telescopes have to be placed in space satellites?
The Earth's atmosphere absorbs cosmic X-rays.
Suppose the same force were applied to objects A and B. Object A is twice as massive as object B. How do the accelerations of A and B compare?
The acceleration of B is twice as large.
Why does the thick atmosphere of Venus lead to a high temperature at its surface?
The atmosphere blocks the escape of infrared radiation from Venus.
Suppose an object moves in a circular path at constant speed. What can be said about the force acting on it?
The force acting on it must vary in direction
Which of the following is one of Kepler's Law of Planetary Motion?
The planet's distance cubed is proportional to its period squared
A total lunar eclipse occurs whenever the moon enters earth's shadow at which point in its orbit?
The point farthest from the sun
The inner parts of Saturn's rings orbit at a faster speed than the outer parts of the rings. What does this tell us about the rings?
The rings are made of a myriad of independently orbiting particles.
What object was located at the center of Aristarchus's model of the solar system?
The sun
Why do meteors seem to come from the same point in the sky (the radiant) during a meteor shower?
They are following similar orbits through space.
Which of the following statements about the dark-colored regions that are observed in the clouds of Jupiter is correct?
They are relatively warm and deep in the atmosphere.
Why are Adams and Leverrier acknowledged as the discoverers of the plant Neptune?
They predicted its position
Which of the following planets has a visual appearance that most closely resembles that of Uranus? (This question refers only to appearance, not physical properties.)
Venus
Which of these gets so bright as to be seen in daylight at times?
Venus
Which planet experiences the greatest average surface temperature in our solar system?
Venus
Which planet has a sidereal day that is longer than its year?
Venus
A spacecraft that landed upon the planet Mars was
Viking II.
When does the retrograde motion of Jupiter occur in the heliocentric model of the solar system?
When Earth passes Jupiter.
A ground-based visual telescope view of Venus reveals
a completely cloud-shrouded planet, with high atmospheric wind speeds.
Paris is about 1/4 of the way around Earth from Chicago see a first quarter moon, people in Paris see
a first quarter moon.
Both the Moon and Mercury have very large temperature variations between day and night. The main reason for this large variation is
a lack of atmosphere.
Essentially, the Great Red Spot is
a large cyclonic storm (hurricane)
Suppose a solar eclipse occurred today. What is the soonest that another eclipse could occur and what kind of eclipse would it be?
a lunar eclipse 2 weeks from now
We now know that the orbit of a stable planet around a star like the sun is always in the shape of
an ellipse
The Kuiper Belt is found where in the solar system?
beyond the orbit of Neptune
If a source of light is approaching us at 3000 km/sec, then all its waves are
blue shifted by 1%.
How did Eratosthenes determine the circumference of the Earth?
by comparing the altitude of the sun at different locations
How was the mass of Pluto determined?
by determining the orbit of its satellite, Charon
The far side of the Moon was first mapped
by early Russian spacecraft.
How was Neptune discovered?
by looking at a position predicted by calculations
The largest component of both the Martian and Venusian atmospheres is
carbon dioxide
Most of the material in the polar caps of Mars is frozen
carbon dioxide.
The main constituent of the Martian atmosphere is
carbon dioxide.
Alternating zones of rising and sinking gas in Jupiter's atmosphere
create light and dark bands
The outermost layer of earth on planet earth is called the
crust.
Which of the following statements is good description of the appearance of Neptune in the Voyager images.
deep blue color with a few prominent cloud features
Typically, astronomers express the declination of a star on the sky in what units?
degrees, minutes, and seconds
an astronomical unit is a measure of
distance
Kepler's first law worked, where Copernicus' original heliocentric model failed, because Kepler described the orbits as
elliptical, not circular.
In the scientific method, it is not necessary to test your theory. t or f
false
Kepler's third law allows us to find the average distance to a planet from observing its period of rotation on its axis. t or f
false
Latitude and right ascension are coordinate systems used to find objects on the celestial sphere. t or f
false
Wave energy can only be transmitted through a material medium. t or f
false
If you could find a bathtub big enough for Saturn, the planet would
float.
Approximately what fraction of the energy Jupiter emits into space can be accounted for as absorbed sunlight?
half
When it comes to our place in the solar system today, which model do we accept?
heliocentric
What are the two most abundant gases in the atmosphere of Saturn?
helium and hydrogen
Alpha decay occurs when a nucleus decays by ejecting
helium nucleus.
Which of the following planets, at the same distance from the Sun, would be the coolest?
highly reflecting in the visible, radiates well in the infrared
Tyco Brache's contribution of Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion were
his detailed and accurate observations of the planets' positions.
The most abundant element in the universe is
hydrogen
The atmosphere of Jupiter is primarily made up of
hydrogen and helium.
Which of the following layers of the Earth is unique among the terrestrial planets?
hydrosphere
Where are the Trojan asteroids located?
in orbit about the Sun at Jupiter's distance
If you are in the Earth's umbra on the Earth's surface, then
it is night time.
What is the resolution of a telescope?
its ability to distinguish two adjacent objects close together in the sky.
What did astronomers learn about Pluto as a result of the discovery of its satellite, Charon?
its mass
How does Mercury's rotation relate to the Sun?
its rotation rate is 2/3 as long as its year, due to tidal resonances
Which of the following is NOT a reason to use a reflecting telescope rather than a refractor?
lenses are harder to focus than mirrors.
Which of the following is not likely to be an attribute of a good observing site?
low elevation
Which of the following descriptions of the Earth's core is true?
made of metal, denser than the mantle
Density is defined as
mass per unit volume
The important way that scientists have been able to study the interior of the Earth is by
measuring how seismic waves are transmitted through the Earth.
The two outer jovian planets appear bluish in color because
methane gas in their atmospheres absorbs red light well.
a hypothesis
must be testable and be able to be shown to be false
An observer at a latitude of 41 degrees North sees the sun at the zenith at noon on which days?
never
A solar eclipse can only happen during a
new moon
Earthquake producing faults are much more likely to be found
on the boundaries of continental plates, where they meet other plates.
In Bohr's model of the atom, electrons
only make transitions between orbits of specific energies.
According to Newton's law, gravity is an attractive force that affects
only things with mass, such as protons and electrons.
When a planet's orbit takes it closest to the Sun, it's called
perihelion.
Earth's magnetic field
prevents charged particles in the solar wind from reaching the surface.
The overall geography of the Venus surface has been determined by
radar techniques, from Earth and from orbiting spacecraft.
Heat transported through the electromagnetic waves is
radiation.
If the temperature of the sun were to decrease while its size remained the same, it would become
redder and fainter
Epicycles were created to explain
retrograde motion
Which of the following is the best description of most of the surface of Venus?
rolling plains
A write of a mystery novel wants to portray something gruesome happening just as the full moon is setting. What time of the day will this gruesome event occur?
roughly at sunrise
We determine the structure of the Earth's core using
seismic wave data.
Which of the following best describes the appearance of the rings of Uranus?
several thin rings, widely separated
Which of the following best describes the rotation of Venus?
slow and retrograde
According to the theory of plate tectonics
slow motions within the mantle of the Earth move large sections of the crust around.
The longest period of daylight in the northern hemisphere comes when the sun arrives at the
summer solstice
Our most detailed maps of Venus come from
the Magellan space probe.
In an annular eclipse,
the Sun appears as a thin, bright ring.
The chemical composition of Jupiter is closest to that of
the Sun.
The ecliptic refers to
the apparent path of the sun among the stars during the solar year.
Which of these observations of Galileo refuted Ptolemy's epicycles?
the complete cycle of Venus' phases
In noting that the Earth is "differentiated, we mean that
the density increases as you descend downward toward the core.
In which part of Saturn's rings do the ring particles move the fastest?
the innermost part of the rings
Mercury's surface most resembles which of these?
the lunar far side
All planets orbiting the Sun close to the ecliptic plane in the same direction is evidence for
the origin of the solar system from a cloud of gas and particles
If the Earth's equator were in the plane of the ecliptic, which of the following phenomena would not occur?
the seasons
If an object emits blackbody radiation there is a unique correspondence between
the temperature of the object and the wavelength at which it is brightest.
The Pioneer and Voyager spacecraft were used to search for planets beyond Pluto. What property of such planets was searched for by the spacecraft?
their gravitational attractions
What is true of the moon's orbital and rotational periods?
they are equal.
If a star was the same size as our sun, but it was 81 times more luminous, it must be
three times hotter than the sun
A blue star has a higher surface temperature than a red star. t or f
true
A planet (or comet) will speed up as it approaches the Sun. t or f
true
According to Newton's third law, when the Voyager probes passed Jupiter in 1979, they exerted exactly the same force on Jupiter as the giant planet did on them. t or f
true
As white light passes through a prism, the red (longer) wavelengths bend less than the blue (shorter) wavelengths, so forming the rainbow of colors. t or f
true
From full moon to third quarter moon takes about a week. t or f
true
In the sky, declination is measured in degrees north or south of the celestial equator. t or f
true
Kepler's third law relates the square of the planet's orbital period in years to the cube of average distance from the sun in astronomical units. t or f
true
Mars has larger volcanoes than Earth's Hawaii. T or F
true
The frequency of a water wave give is its height. t or f
true
The sidereal day is determined by the Earth's rotation with respect to the stars. t or f
true
The special lines of each element are distinctive to that element, whether we are looking at emission or absorption lines. true or false
true
The Sun crosses the celestial equator each year moving from south to north (negative declination angle to positive) at the time of the
vernal equinox.
What evidence do we have that there has been liquid water on Mars's surface in the recent past?
very young channels near the rims of craters
When does retrograde motion of Jupiter occur in the heliocentric model of the solar system?
when Earth passes Jupiter.
