General Astronomy Final Questions

This astronomer catalogued the spectral classes of stars: O, B, A, F, G, K, M. Einstein Hubble Barnard Messier Cannon

Cannon

This spacecraft is currently orbiting Saturn: Voyager 6 Pioneer 12 Galileo Cassini Magellan

Cassini

Pluto was discovered by - Asaph Hall. James Christy. Clyde Tombaugh. J.G. Galle. William Herschel.

Clyde Tombaugh

Also known as Barnard Clouds, these small dark nebulae are associated with star formation: globular clusters open clusters planetary nebulae Bok globules reflection nebulae

Bok globules

Which of the following best describes the earth's inner core?a. It's made of iron and nickel.b. Because of the heat, it's a molten liquid.c. Because of the pressure, it's solid.d. It's primarily made of vibranium. Both a and b are correct. Both a and c are correct. Both a and d are correct. Both b and d are correct. Only Captain America's shield is made of vibranium.

Both a and c are correct

This explains why the absorption lines of stars are blue-shifted or red-shifted: parallax Doppler effect Bunsen effect Bode's law inertia

Doppler effect

He devised the laws of special and general relativity: Hubble Lowell Kirchoff Eddington Einstein

Einstein

In the formula, E = mc squared, "E" is ___, "m" is ____ and "c" is ____. Entropy; mass, corpuscular radiation Entropy; momentum; speed of light Energy; mass; speed of light Energy; momentum; celluarization Elasticity; mojo; supercallifragilisticexpialidocius

Energy; mass; speed of light

This moon probably has liquid water beneath its icy surface: Io Europa Ceres Mimas Hyperion

Europa

He observed canali (channels) on Mars; the word was mistranslated by _________, who saw "canals". Picard; Adams Cassini; Tombaugh G. Schiaparelli; P. Lowell HG Wells; ER Burroughs Khan Noonian Singh; Zefram Cochrane

G. Schiaparelli; P. Lowell

This is the largest moon in the solar system (please research this question; the answer's not immediately apparent from the textbook!) Io Titan Triton Ganymede Europa

Ganymede

His discovery of a variable star in the Andromeda "Nebula" established it as another galaxy: Hubble Shapley Hertzsprung Einstein Curtis

Hubble

The star Vega has blue-shifted spectral lines; six months later its lines are red-shifted. Why? Vega is, for unknown reasons, approaching us, and then receding from us. It's an effect of the earth's revolution as its orbit takes it first toward Vega, then away. Vega has an unstable orbit. The perceived Doppler shifts are spurious; only at earth's rotational poles is this effect seen. The Vogons are preparing to construct another hyper-space bypass around this part of the galaxy.

It's an effect of the earth's revolution as its orbit takes it first toward Vega, then away

Besides Saturn, the following planets also have rings: Uranus, Neptune Jupiter, Uranus Jupiter, Neptune Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune

Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune

Quaor, Sedna, Eris and other ice dwarfs are all part of this cometary belt: Oort asteroid Chiron Kuiper Halley

Kuiper

Gullying in the Mariner Valley, hematite nodules at Mars' landing sites, river and flow features, delta deposits, and direct sampling of Martian rocks all suggest that ... Mars once had liquid water on its surface. volcanism is common on Mars. Mars' polar ice caps are made of water. Mars has a thick nitrogen atmosphere. irrigation canals were once constructed in the Tharsis region of Mars.

Mars once had liquid water on its surface

These are terrestrial planets: Jupiter, Venus, Earth, Mars Earth, Mars, Saturn, Pluto Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Pluto Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth

Mercury, Mars, Venus, Earth

He made a catalog of a hundred or so fuzzy objects that weren't comets, back in the late 1700's: Herschel Newton Halley Flamsteed Messier

Messier

This Uranian moon has a great ice cliff several miles high, perhaps the result of a catclysmic impact that shattered the moon long ago: Ariel Umbriel Oberon Miranda Titania

Miranda

It's the largest known volcano in the solar system: Mauna Kea of Earth Mt. Everest of Earth Mt. Olympus of Mars Mt. Maxwell of Venus Mt. Loki of Jupiter's moon Io

Mt. Olympus of Mars

The Great Dark Spot, now gone, was once an earth-sized hurricane on which planet? Earth Saturn Jupiter Uranus Neptune

Neptune

This spacecraft passed Pluto in the summer of 2015; it sent back stunning images and lots of information about Pluto and its moons. Voyager 6 Huygens Lowell New Horizons Nomad

New Horizons

Of the following, the rarest kind of star: G-type M-type F-type K-type O-type

O-type

This is a great example of an open star cluster: Einstein Omega Centauri Barnard Cluster M13 - Hercules Pleaides (the Seven Sisters)

PLeaides (the Seven Sisters)

These two moons of Mars look as though they were captured from the asteroid belt: Phobos and Eros Echo and Phoebe Phobos and Electra Phobos and Deimos Ajax and Hector

Phobos and Deimos

If Jupiter is 500 million miles from the sun and Saturn is 1 billion miles from the sun, how much sunlight does Saturn get compared to Jupiter? Saturn gets twice as much light as Jupiter. Saturn gets four times as much light as Jupiter. Saturn gets half the light that Jupiter gets. Saturn gets one-fourth the light that Jupiter gets. Saturn and Jupiter get the same amount of sunlight.

Saturn gets one-fourth the light that Jupiter gets

In the Summer of 1994 the comet ______ struck the planet ________. Shoemaker-Levy 9; Jupiter Halley; Saturn Encke; Earth Hyakutake; Neptune Hale-Bopp; Saturn

Shoemaker-Levy 9; Jupiter

If the stars Sirius and Luyten 726-8A are the same distance away, but Sirius has an apparent magnitude of -1.46 and Luyten 726-8A has an apparent magnitude of 12.54, then - Sirius' absolute magnitude is much greater than Luyten 726 -8A's. Luyten 726 -8A's absolute magnitude is much greater than Sirius'. Sirius is much closer to us. Luyten 726-8A is much closer to us. Both stars are 10 parsecs away.

Sirius' absolute magnitude is much greater than Luyten 726 -8A's.

Why weren't geologists satisfied with Kelvin's 30 million year estimate for the sun's age? They were mad because they hadn't thought of it first! They had little fiath in the second law of thermodynamics as expressed by Kelvin. Their estimates of geologic processes suggested that the earth and solar system were much, much older than Kelvin's estimates. They knew that the processes of entropy demanded that the Universe become more disordered over time. They had discovered Zaphod Beeblebrox's towel preserved in hard lava dating back to the Pleistocene epoch.

Their estimates of geologic processes suggested that the earth and solar system were much, much older than Kelvin's estimates.

These belts of trapped radiation are created by the earth's magnetic field or magnetosphere: Vandekamp Van Dyke Van Helsing Van Allen Barry Allen

Van Allen

Which statement is true? Earth has a thick atmosphere, Venus and Mars have almost none. Earth's atmosphere is 100 times thicker than Venus'. Mars' atmosphere is 100 times thicker than Venus'. Venus' atmosphere is thick, Mars' is thin, Earth's is in between. Vulcan's thin air means Spock could beat Kirk in physical combat.

Venus' atmosphere is thick, Mars' is thin, Earth's is in between.

During its formation, Uranus may have suffered a large impact with a protoplanet, which resulted in - the formation of its sister planet Neptune. the liberation of its moon Pluto, which then broke orbit and became a planet all on its own. a sideways tilt, which places Uranus' axis of rotation nearly in the plane of its orbit. its methane-blue atmosphere. long and protracted litigation lawsuits involving the Vogon constructor fleet and the planet builders of Magrathea

a sideways tilt, which places Uranus' axis of rotation nearly in the plane of its orbit.

A type 1 supernova results from - a solitary, super-massive blue giant star. two super-massive blue giant stars that collide in the disc of the galaxy. the collision of a white dwarf star and a neutron star, typically in the galaxy's core. a white dwarf star that pulls too much material off a companion star, putting its mass over the threshold. internal warfare among the Q continuum.

a white dwarf star that pulls too much material off a companion star, putting its mass over the threshold.

If all stars were ten parsecs away, we'd see their apparent differences in brightness as a true measure of their actual brightness. This actual brightness of a star is called - apparent magnitude. absolute magnitude. luminosity. photometric magnitude. Kesselrun gravimagnitude.

absolute magnitude

Cool gas absorbs certain wavelengths of light, (Fraunhofer lines) creating a(n) _____ spectrum. continuous absorption emission Doppler Bunsen

absorption

The disc-like whirlpool of matter that collects around a white dwarf or a black hole: agitation zone ergosphere accretion disc Roche cache Dunkin disc

accretion disc

Geologically speaking, the earth is ____ and the moon is _____. active; active inactive; inactive or dead active; inactive or dead inactive; active

active; inactive or dead

Scientific term for the percentage of sunlight reflected by a planet's or moon's surface: reflective index refraction index bobedo albedo diffraction index

albedo

When the sun dies it will expand to become a red giant star. its outer atmosphere will lift off, forming a planetary nebula. it will probably swell to the point that our planet will be inside it. after expansion, it will shrink to become a white dwarf star. all of the preceeding.

all of the preceeding

Meteor impact craters on Venus ... do not exist. completely cover the planet. are typically very small. are typically quite large. are typically medium-sized.

are typically medium-sized

At 500 miles' diameter, Ceres is the largest found so far; its members include Gaspra, Ida, Mathilde and Eros (which have been visted by spacecraft) and the NEAR-Shoemaker probe actually landed on Eros. These "star bodies" can be found mainly between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, but other "belts" of them can be found in the inner solar system and out beyond Jupiter as well: asteroids meteors meteorites meteorwrongs comets

asteroids

Our moon and in fact, most terrestrial surfaces contain these two basic igneous materials: gypsum and talc iron and nickel basalt and granite sandstone and limestone corbomite and pellucidarite

basalt and granite

Cygnus X-1 is a black hole. pulsar. neutron star. white dwarf. red giant.

black hole

The most massive star is a(n) blue giant. red dwarf. yellow giant. white dwarf.

blue giants

Lunar breccia, lunar glass, ejecta blankets, regolith and lunar erosion are all indicators of - wind and water erosion, long since ended. plate tectonics and surface movement. bombardments by micrometeorites and cratering by larger rocks. volcanic flow events. a devastating attack by the Daleks that was ultimately thwarted by Dr. Who.

bombardments by micrometeorites and cratering by larger rocks.

Venus, atmosphere is mainly ____; Mars' atmosphere is mainly ___ . carbon dioxide; carbon dioxide carbon dioxide; oxygen oxygen; carbon dioxide nitrogen; carbon dioxide methane; nitrogen

carbon dioxide; carbon dioxide

The Local Group is the group of stars in the immediate neighborhood of the sun. galaxy to which our sun belongs. cluster of galaxies to which the Milky Way belongs. association of spiral galaxiews within 100 parsecs.

cluster of galaxies to which the Milky Way belongs

This part of a comet is a gaseous atmospheric "head," a cloud that surrounds the nucleus: gas tail ion tail mantle dust tail coma

coma

These "sunken volcanoes" on Venus are the result of the planet's atmospheric surface temperature being not much cooler than the molten rock that makes up the lava flows: coronae impact craters lobate scarps fumaroles cinder cones

coronae

The greater the Doppler shift, the _____ the object's ________. greater; proper motion less; proper motion greater; radial velocity less; radial velocity greater; likelihood of being a TARDIS

greater; radial velocity

Stars that have the lowest average metal content are found in the _______ of the galaxy halo and nuclear bulge disk spiral arms Delta Quadrant fluidic space

halo and nuclear buldge

The energy-making process occurring in the sun's core also yields the element --- helium dilithium adamantium uranium kryptonite

helium

Harlow Shapley maintained that the sun is located - at the center of the Milky Way galaxy. in the halo of the Milky Way galaxy. in the disk of the galaxy, roughly halfway out from the center. in the middle of a globular star cluster. at the outside edge of the Milky Way galaxy.

in the disk of the galaxy, roughly halfway out from the center.

The atmosphere of Mercury ... is essentially non-existant. is made principally of carbon dioxide. is made principally of nitrogen. is made principally of oxygen. is made principally of methane.

is essentially non-existant

How is lunar farside different from lunar nearside? It has few impact craters. It has a smooth surface, covered with large, dark maria. Its crust is thinner than lunar nearside. It has almost no lunar maria. Aliens have set up an elaborate earth-observation platform to monitor our technological progress.

it has almost no lunar maria

These Mercurian features are the result of the planet's interior cooling and shrinkage: coronae caldarae impact craters ice cliffs lobate scarps

lobate scarps

The dark regions on the moon are called: breccia anorthositic zones maria subduction zones ejecta blankets

maria

These tides occur when the moon is at first or third quarter: neap. spring. Perigean spring. quadratus. surfulus.

neap

Most earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur in a random pattern across the world. near the margins of tectonic plates. near the centers of tectonic plates. only in ocean basins. only on continents.

near the margins of tectonic plates

Saturn's moon Titan has a dense atmosphere, mainly made of ____. hydrogen ammonia nitrogen oxygen zarkoffium

nitrogen

Scientific term for a white dwarf that periodically erupts and brightens due to mass-transfer from a companion: nova Type 2 supernova hypernova transwarp nova boomtube

nova

The sun produces energy via this method: nuclear fission nuclear fusion gravitational compression meteoritic bombardment chemical oxidation (burning)

nuclear fusion

The ring- or bubble-shaped shell of gas ejected slowly by a giant star is known as a - supernova remnant. Bok globule. planetary nebula. reflection nebula. emission nebula.

planetary nebula

Large planet-building objects that formed from the solar nebula: planetismals accretoids asteroids proplyds arachnoids

planetismals

The earth's crust and upper mantle are moving about due to convective heating from deep down. The theory that attempts to describe and understand this phenomenon is called - diastrophism. mass wasting. plate tectonics. regional metamorphism. tidal upheaval.

plate tectonics

Jocelyn Bell discovered this super-dense star, which sends out pulses of electromagnetic energy: mass-loss black hole red giant white dwarf pulsar

pulsar

Rapidly rotating neutron stars are also known as - quasars. blazars. masers. pulsars. black holes.

pulsars

The order of the electromagnetic spectrum, from LOW to HIGH energy: gamma, x-ray, infrared, ultraviolet, visible, radio radio, x-ray, infrared, ultraviolet, visible, gamma radio, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, x-ray, gamma gamma, x-ray, ultraviolet, visible, infrared, radio radio, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, gamma, x-ray

radio, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, x-ray, gamma

Of the following, the kind of star we don't see with the naked eye from earth: blue giant red giant yellow giant main sequence G type red dwarf

red dwarf

The brightest stars as seen in Earth's night skies are typically red dwarfs red giants and blue giants white dwarfs pulsars neutron stars

red giants and blue giants

Scientific term used to describe small soil-like particles found on the moon's surface: regolith iron slag migmatite anorthosite dirt

regolith

Gamma rays have - long wavelength and high frequency or energy. short wavelength and high frequency or energy. long wavelength and low frequency or energy. short wavelength and low frequency or energy.

short wavelength and high frequency or energy

Shepherding satellites keep these together: some planetary rings the asteroid belt ice moons the Oort Cloud rebel alliance stragglers

some planetary rings

When the moon is new, we have ___ tides; when the moon is full, we have ____ tides neap; spring spring; neap neap; neap spring; spring no; no

spring; spring

All of these theories about the formation of the solar system have been discarded except: the tidal theory which suggested that hot gas blew off the sun to form planets. the condensation or solar nebula theory which suggested the sun and planets formed from a cloud or nebula. the planetismal theory which suggested that a passing star pulled material from the sun to form planets. the double star theory which suggested the sun was a binary, but the companion blew up, making planets.

the condensation or solar nebula theory which suggested the sun and planets formed from a cloud or nebula.

A light year is - the distance that light travels in one year. the number of seconds in a non-leap year. The average distance between the earth and the sun. the distance of a star with a parallax of 1 second of arc.

the distance that light travels in one year

This is the point of no return for a black hole, where even light cannot escape the event horizon the Roche limit the Lagrangian point the Einstein boundary the rainbow connection

the event horizon

We think that the earth and moon formed as a result of - the earth capturing the moon from somewhere else. the moon breaking free of the earth due to its fast spin, leaving the Pacific Ocean basin as a result. the earth and moon forming simultaneously out of two nearby clouds of dust. the earth and moon forming simultaneously out of the same cloud of dust. the impact of another protoplanet with the early, forming earth.

the impact of another protoplanet with the early, forming earth.

Pangaea is - a mythical land in Greek mythology. the region in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean where the seafloor is spreading. a deep trench in the Pacific Ocean into which the Pacific plate is being subducted. the name of the hypothetical impactor that struck the earth some 4.8 billion years ago. the large land mass from which the continents broke apart roughly 200 million years ago.

the large land mass from which the continents broke apart roughly 200 million years ago

The earth's ocean tides are caused principally by - the earth's rotation. the sun's gravity. the moon's tidal pull. the earth's revolution. a grand alignment of the planets.

the moon's tidal pull.

The extensive volcanic activity on Io is the result of _ heat generated by radioactive decay. heat generated by meteorite impacts. mangnetic resonances. tidal heating caused by the gravitational pull of Jupiter and Europa. Romulan red matter drilling operations

tidal heating caused by the gravitational pull of Jupiter and Europa.

The San Andreas fault in California is a good example of a ____ plate boundary. converging diverging transform or strike-slip copasetic

transform or strike-slip

We have high tides ___ a day; we have spring tides ____ a month. once; once twice; twice three times; three times once; twice twice; once

twice; twice

If the sun were 10 parsecs away,... it would be impossible to see with the unaided eye. you could see the sun, but it would be faint, around 5th magnitude. the sun would be a second magnitude star. the sun would be a first magnitude star. we would be in the Delta Quadrant and in dange of being assimilated by the Borg

you could see the sun, but it would be faint, around the 5th magnitude.

Which of the following is evidence that supports the notion that extrasolar planets are common? If it is happening here, it is happening elsewhere, (variant on the assumption of universality). There are proplyds (proto-planetary discs) in the Great Orion Nebula. Many nearby stars, such as Gliese 581 and 51 Pegasi, exhibit a spectroscopic "wobble" caused by planetary gravity, and the Kepler spacecraft detected thousands of dips in the light output of other stars which could be caused by planets in transit. All of the preceding. Choices A and C only.

All of the preceding

Absolute zero is equal to 0 degrees K 0 degrees C 0 degrees F 0 degrees M

0 degrees K

The Milky Way's diameter, from one edge of the disc to the other, is closest to 10,000 ly. 20,000 ly. 50,000 ly. 79,000 ly. 100,000 ly

100,000 ly

The most recent supernova visible to the naked eye occurred in the year ____ in the _____. 1987; Large Magellanic Cloud 1604; constellation Pisces 1572; constellation Cassiopeia 1054; Crab Nebula 2001; Catseye Nebula

1987; Large Magellanic Cloud

Cygnus X-1 has a mass 8 times that of the sun. Given an S radius = 3km/solar mass, what is its Schwarzschild radius? 4 km. 8 km. 16 km. 24 km. 32 km.

24 km

Given the formula, D = 1/p, calculate the distance to Barnard's Star if its parallax is .16 arc second. 5.5 pc 3 pc 6 pc 6.25 pc 4 pc

6.25 pc

Using the conversion formula, [multiply by 1.8 and add 32], convert 20 degrees Celsius to Fahrenheit. 32 degrees F 53.8 degrees F 68 degrees F 93.6 degrees F 98.6 degrees F

68 degrees F

Omega Centauri and M13 in Hercules are good examples of these celestial objects: quasars open star clusters globular star clusters pulsars reflection nebulae

globular star clusters

The three principal layers of a terrestiral planet or moon, in order, starting at the outside and going to the center: crust; mantle; core mantle; core; crust core; mantle; crust crust; core; mantle

crust; mantle; core

Process where dense materials sink to a planet's core while less dense materials "float" on top: accretion condensation formation differentiation amelioration

differentiation

Spiral arms are found in this part of the galaxy: halo corona nucleus disk mantle

disk

The mid-Atlantic ridge is a good example of a ______________ plate boundary converging diverging transform strike-slip melmac

diverging

These occur at the margins of tectonic plates: earthquakes volcanic activity earthquakes and volcanic activity hurricanes and tornadoes floods, plagues and dust storms

earthquake and volcanic activity

The star Algol in Perseus is a(n) __________ , where two stars pass in front of each other. eclipsing binary. visual binary. optical double. spectroscopic binary.

eclipsing binary

Large explosions on the sun's visible surface are called ___ plages sunspots spicules flares filaments

flares

The Eagle Nebula, the Lagoon Nebula and the Orion Nebula are places where stars are - forming. dying. going supernova. collapsing into pulsars and black holes.

forming