Geology Exam 5
How many constellations are currently recognized?
88
What is a white dwarf?
A remnant following the collapse of a star with low-to-medium mass
What is a main-sequence star?
A star that is precisely balanced between gravitational collapse and expansion from nuclear fusion of hydrogen to form helium at the core
The first scientist to use a telescope for astronomical purposes was ________.
Galileo
What is distinctive about Jupiter's satellite Io?
It is possibly the most volcanic body in our solar system.
Three laws of planetary motion were discovered by ________.
Johannes Kepler
Who discovered that planetary orbits are ellipses rather than circles?
Johannes Kepler
Which planets have rings?
Jovian planets
Our galaxy is called the ________.
Milky Way
The first modern astronomer to propose a Sun-centered universe was ________.
Nicolaus Copernicus
The largest known volcano in the solar system is ________.
Olympus Mons on Mars
Which of the following is not a Jovian planet?
Pluto
What differentiates terrestrial planets from Jovian planets?
Terrestrial planets are smaller, denser, and closer to the Sun than Jovian planets, which are larger, less dense, and farther from the Sun.
How do the "lives" of the most-massive stars end? What are the two possible products of this event?
The lives of the most-massive stars in the universe end in black holes or neutron stars.
How long does it take the Moon to rotate once on its own axis?
The same amount of time it take for one revolution around Earth
The frequency of sunspots and related solar activity is ________.
an 11 year cycle
The Sun is considered a(n) ________ star.
average
The densest stars known to exist are ________.
black holes
Which color stars have the highest surface temperature?
blue
According to the Ptolemaic (Greek) system, the planets have ________ orbits.
circular
Sunspots appear dark because they are ________ than the surrounding solar surface.
cooler
The earliest astronomical records appear to have been made by the ancient Chinese, Egyptians, and Babylonians in order to ________.
determine when to plant crops or hunt animals based on seasonal changes
The motion of a star can be determined using the ________ effect.
doppler
What two elements formed first?
helium and hydrogen
Apparent magnitude is ________.
how bright stars appear to be from Earth
What fuel is consumed by the Sun?
hydrogen
The ________ explains how our solar system probably formed from a giant cloud of gases and dispersed solid particles.
nebular hypothesis
Which planet has the highest recorded winds in the solar system?
neptune
The source of the Sun's energy is ________.
nuclear fusion
Electromagnetic radiation that behaves like a particle is called a(n) ________.
photon
Which body is a dwarf planet?
pluto
Which of the following colors has the longest wavelength?
red
The apparent westward "drift" of the planets compared to the background stars is called ________.
retrograde motion
What type of galaxy is our Milky Way?
spiral galaxy
Galileo discovered that the Sun has "blemishes," which we call ________.
sunspots
Streams of protons and electrons emitted from the Sun produce ________.
the solar wind
Based on the observed red shifts in the spectral lines of distant galaxies, astronomers conclude that ________.
the universe is expanding
The high surface temperatures of ________ have been attributed to the greenhouse effect.
venus
Which planet rotates the opposite direction it revolves around the Sun?
venus
