AST 109 FINAL EXAM UMAINE Batuski

What is a meteor shower?

when earth passes through the orbital path of a comet, when that occurs Earth intersects the dust & gravel left behind by the comet & we observe the showers

What is a radiant

a radiant is the point from where the meteors appear to be coming

how is a meteor shower named?

they are named from the constellation that the radiant comes from

Sporadic/Random Meteors

Meteors that come from random directions and may fall at any time. (meteorites)

When is it best to look for meteor showers?

after midnight bc you are on the front, forward moving face of Earth

The planet with the greatest range of temperatures is:

a. Earth

b. Mercury

c. Mars

d. Venus

e. Jupiter

b. Mercury

Features on the surface of Venus are almost all named after

Famous Women

Venus is as bright as it is primarily of which of the following reasons?

a. it is heavily cratered

b. the surface has mostly smooth rocks

c. it is covered with clouds

d. the cloud layer extends down to the planet's surface

c. it is covered with clouds

Venus is similar to the Earth in that it has

a. about the same mass and radius.

b. about the same surface temperature.

c. about the same surface pressure.

d. about the same period of rotation on its axis.

e. about the same amount of water on the surface.

a. about the same mass and radius

The rotation rate of Mercury was only recently correctly measured, because its surface is hard to see from Earth. The reason for this is:

a. Mercury is a small planet.

b. Mercury is always close to the sun.

c. Mercury has a low albedo.

d. All of the above.

e. None of the above.

d. all of the above

Which of the following relationships between the ages of the highlands and maria is correct?

a. Maria are older than highlands.

b. Maria and highlands are the same age.

c. Maria are younger than highlands.

d. We still do not know which is older.

e. Maria is married to a highlander.

c. maria are younger than the highlands

Which statement about craters on our Moon is correct?

a. Cratering is uniform on our Moon.

b. Craters occur primarily on the highlands.

c. Craters occur only on the highlands.

d. Craters occur primarily on the maria.

e. Craters occur only on the maria.

b. craters occur primarily on the highlands

In what way is the far side of the Moon most different from the side we see?

a. it has almost no maria

b. it has molten lava

c. it is less heavily cratered

d. it has no craters

e. it has oceans of frozen water

a. it has almost no maria

Rilles are best described as

a. collapsed lava tubes.

b. dry river beds.

c. volcanic craters.

d. steep cliffs.

e. liquid lava oceans.

a. collapsed lava tubes

What happens to ejecta blankets with age?

a. they darken

b. they lighten

c. they evaporate

d. they become molten

e. they become smoother

a. they darken

The very large flat areas on the Moon are called:

a. maria.

b. highlands.

c. rilles.

d. scarps.

e. regoliths.

a. maria

What is the second major cause of tides on the Earth?

a. Mars

b. Jupiter

c. The Sun

d. Saturn

e. Venus

c. the sun

Of the lunar surface samples brought back by the Apollo flights, the Maria basalts are both dark and fine-grained. These characteristics imply that these rocks

a. cooled slowly from magma.

b. contain mostly aluminum and calcium silicates.

c. cooled quickly from magma.

d. solidified about 4.5 billion years ago.

e. were never molten.

c. cooled quickly from magma

Considering the composition of the materials in its interior, Venus is mostly

a. cardboard

b. hydrogen and helium

c. rock and iron

d. ices

e. carbon and oxygen

c. rock and iron

Which of the following relations between lunar phases and ranges of tides is correct?

a. new moon - neap tides

b. waxing crescent - spring tides

c. quarter moon - spring tides

d. full moon - spring tides

e. full moon - neap tides

d. full moon - spring tides

We can tell that some craters on the moon are quite young because they have

a. lots of erosion.

b. ejecta blankets.

c. low rims.

d. rough floors.

e. central peaks.

b. ejecta blankets

How does the magnetic field of Mercury compare with the Earth's magnetic field?

a. about the same strength as the Earth's field

b. much stronger than the Earth's field

c. Mercury has no magnetic field at all.

d. much weaker than the Earth's field

d. much weaker than the Earth's field

What part of Mercury is most similar to the same part of the earth?

a. The vacation spots.

b. The core.

c. The atmosphere.

d. The oceans.

e. The polar icecaps.

b. The core.

The clouds on Venus are

a. made up of carbon dioxide ice crystals.

b. about 300 kilometers thick.

c. rare.

d. only at high altitudes (30 - 70 kilometers). Below that it is all clear to the surface.

e. made up of water.

d. only at high altitudes (30 - 70 kilometers). Below that it is all clear to the surface.

The surface pressure of Venus is about _______ times that of the Earth.

a. 100

b. 1/10

c. one

d. 10

e. 1/100

a. 100

The color changes in Mars' atmosphere are primarily due to changes in atmospheric:

a. carbon dioxide

b. water

c. sulfuric acid

d. methane

e. dust

e. dust

The time scale on Mars that is most similar the same period on Earth is

a. the length of its day.

b. the length of its year.

c. the length of its northern summer.

d. the length of its month.

e. the length of vacations Martians take.

a. the length of its day.

The component of the polar ice caps of Mars that changes with the seasons is primarily:

a. water

b. ammonia

c. carbon monoxide

d. carbon dioxide

e. methane

d. carbon dioxide

What color is the sky on Mars?

a. Bright blue, like the Earth's.

b. Pale green.

c. Always deep, dark black - as on the Moon.

d. Often pink, like no other place in the solar system.

e. Grey, as on Venus.

d. Often pink, like no other place in the solar system.

The 'belts' and 'zones' on Jupiter are

a. like high- and low-pressure weather systems on Earth, but stretched out around the planet by rapid differential rotation.

b. alternating bands of rising and falling gases.

c. regions of different colors because of temperature differences.

d. visible, even in a small telescope, from the Earth.

e. All of the above.

e. All of the above.

Why is Jupiter's albedo so high (50%)?

a. He did not see the doctor in time.

b. Its surface is rocky.

c. Its atmosphere is mostly hydrogen.

d. It has very thick, light colored clouds.

e. It rotates very rapidly.

d. It has very thick, light colored clouds.

Jupiter is composed primarily of:

a. rocky road ice cream

b. iron

c. carbon

d. hydrogen

e. water

d. hydrogen

Which moon has a thick water ocean beneath a layer of ice ?

a. Earth's Moon

b. Europa

c. Io

d. Callisto

e. Phobos

b. Europa

Which of the following is a Galilean moon

a. Earth's Moon

b. Callisto

c. Diemos

d. Amalthea

e. Phobos

b. Callisto

Considering the state of the materials in its interior, Jupiter is mostly

a. cardboard.

b. gases.

c. ices.

d. solid rocks.

e. liquids.

e. liquids.

Mars is generally considered to be the planet (other than Earth) on which a person would have the greatest chance of survival (even if not for long). Which is not a reason for this?

a. The atmosphere contains oxygen even if it is only in small quantities.

b. The temperatures are on the cool side but not as harsh as on the other planets.

c. The pole caps contain water ice.

d. The Viking missions found life which would provide a source of food.

e. All of the above are good reasons.

d. The Viking missions found life which would provide a source of food.

Which of the following best explains why Mars has relatively few craters?

a. Wind erosion on Mars wore down most of the craters.

b. The tidal forces inside Mars forced meteorites to land in only a few places.

c. The meteors burned up in Mars' atmosphere and, therefore, never struck the surface.

d. The meteorites splashed into Mars' oceans and sank without a trace.

e. Jupiter protects Mars from meteorites.

a. Wind erosion on Mars wore down most of the craters.

The moons of Mars differ from the Earth's Moon most noticeably in that:

a. Mars' moons are not kept in orbit by gravity

b. Mars' moons are not spherical

c. Mars' moons have active volcanoes

d. Mars' moons have no craters

e. Mars' moons have thick atmospheres

b. Mars' moons are not spherical

Answers:

The only moon that rises in the west and sets in the east in its planet's sky is

a. Io.

b. Phobos.

c. Diemos.

d. Triton.

e. Titania.

b. Phobos.

We think that Jupiter has a very strong magnetic field because deep within the planet there is

a. liquid water.

b. a gigantic red and white bar magnet.

c. liquid metallic hydrogen carrying electrical currents.

d. a lot of methane.

e. a lot of iron in the core.

c. liquid metallic hydrogen carrying electrical currents.

Which moon of Jupiter has the lowest density?

a. Ganymede

b. Io

c. Phobos

d. Europa

e. Callisto

e. Callisto

Io has a much warmer interior than the other moons of Jupiter. What is the best reason why?

a. It experiences tidal flexing from the gravity of Jupiter, Europa and Ganymede.

b. The volcanoes on its surface reheat the interior.

c. It has been hit by far more meteorites, dumping heat energy into the interior.

d. It has held on to much more of its fossil heat of formation.

e. It receives much more sunlight than the other moons.

a. It experiences tidal flexing from the gravity of Jupiter, Europa and Ganymede.

The real 'canals' seen on Mars were probably formed by which of the following mechanisms?

a. nuclear explosions

b. carbon dioxide flow

c. water flow

d. lava flow

e. meteorite impact and meteorite tunneling

c. water flow

Which of the following moons has a huge `bullseye' of frozen water ripples on its surface?

a. Ganymede

b. Titan

c. Callisto

d. Io

e. Europa

c. Callisto

Of the following processes, which is most important now in shaping the Martian surface?

a. meteorite impact

b. water erosion

c. wind erosion

d. All of these (above and below; the answer order is randomized) are about equal in importance.

e. volcanoes

c. wind erosion

Cassini's division is best described as

a. a zone of Saturn.

b. a band on Jupiter.

c. a large gap in the rings of Saturn.

d. a ring of Jupiter filled with very small particles.

e. a moon of Saturn.

c. a large gap in the rings of Saturn.

Which of the following planets is most massive?

a. Pluto

b. Neptune

c. Uranus

d. Mars

e. Saturn

e. Saturn

The rings of Saturn are most likely

a. the debris of a moon that came apart because of Saturn's tidal forces.

b. debris that could not form into a moon because of Saturn's tidal forces.

c. the debris of another planet that collided with Saturn.

d. the debris of a moon that escaped from Jupiter and collided with one of Saturn's moons.

e. figments of the imagination of a few astronomers.

b. debris that could not form into a moon because of Saturn's tidal forces.

Saturn has density

a. about the same as water

b. somewhat less than water

c. about the same as rock

d. about the same as iron

e. about that of a half rock, half ice mixture

b. somewhat less than water

What planet was the first one to be discovered `by pencil' (that is, by calculated prediction of where it would be)?

a. Pluto

b. Neptune

c. Uranus

d. Saturn

e. Mercury

b. Neptune

Which moon has surface that looks like a cantaloupe's skin?

a. Titania

b. Miranda

c. Triton

d. Europa

e. Nereid

c. Triton

Which of the following planets puts out much more energy than what it receives from the Sun?

a. Jupiter

b. Saturn

c. Neptune

d. All of the above put out much more energy than what they receive from the Sun.

e. none of the above

d. All of the above put out much more energy than what they receive from the Sun.

Some parts of Pluto have an albedo of 0.98! What do we think could cause such a thing?

a. Parts of the surface are polished metals.

b. Water clouds are blocking the sunlight.

c. There has been recent 'upwelling' of fresh ice from beneath the surface.

d. Some of the methane ice surface has been changed to carbon by radiation.

e. Charon is eclipsing those parts each time it orbits.

c. There has been recent 'upwelling' of fresh ice from beneath the surface.

The planet that appears to be a twin to Neptune (in mass, composition, density, temperatures, for example) is

a. Earth

b. Mercury

c. Uranus

d. Jupiter

e. Saturn

c. Uranus

Which of the following planets does NOT put out much more energy than what it receives from the Sun?

a. Jupiter

b. Saturn

c. Neptune

d. Uranus

e. All of the above put out much more energy than what they receive from the Sun.

d. Uranus

All the medium-sized moons of Saturn have densities that are only slightly more than 1 gram per cubic centimeter. This means that probably these moons are all mostly

a. ice.

b. rock.

c. iron.

d. foam rubber.

e. dust.

a. ice.

Uranus appears blue because its clouds contain

a. water ice.

b. methane.

c. carbon dioxide.

d. dust.

e. sulfuric acid.

b. methane.

Titania is

a. the moon Titan's twin.

b. the largest moon of Saturn.

c. the second largest moon of Venus.

d. the largest moon of Uranus.

e. the planet between Jupiter and Saturn.

d. the largest moon of Uranus.

The chemical composition of the atmosphere of which of the following is most similar to that of the Earth's?

a. Io

b. Mars

c. Venus

d. Titan

e. Jupiter

d. Titan

Triton is the only major moon in the solar system with

a. only a few craters on its surface.

b. a retrograde orbit.

c. an atmosphere.

d. geysers/volcanoes.

e. ice in its interior.

b. a retrograde orbit

What color best describes the surface of Pluto?

a. red

b. violet

c. aqua

d. yellow

e. green

a. red

Why is Saturn most oblate of the planets?

a. It is low density, and fast spinning can push equator region outward more

b. Formed that way when planetesimals originally slammed together

c. Gravity pulls harder along poles

d. Its moons cause strong tidal bulge around whole planet

e. Has had no success with the South Beach diet

a. It is low density, and fast spinning can push equator region outward more

Some of the rings of Saturn are known to be kept in place by

a. Uranus.

b. tidal effects from the other rings.

c. Saturn's magnetic fields.

d. the shepherd moons.

e. comets.

d. the shepherd moons.

Considering the state of the materials in its interior, Uranus is mostly

a. liquids.

b. cardboard.

c. gases.

d. ices.

e. solid rocks.

a. liquids.

Which of these planets has an axis tilt that is most similar to Earth's?

a. Uranus

b. Venus

c. Saturn

d. Jupiter

e. Pluto

c. Saturn

A piece of space debris falling through our atmosphere is most correctly called a(n):

a. comet residue

b. meteor

c. asteroid

d. meteoroid

e. meteorite

b. meteor

What direction does the gas tail of a comet always point?

a. in the direction from which the comet came

b. in the direction to which the comet is going

c. away from the sun

d. towards the sun

e. perpendicular to its path around the sun

c. away from the sun

Where are most comets believed to be orbiting?

a. inside Mars' orbit around the sun

b. between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter

c. in the same orbit as Jupiter

d. inside the orbit of Neptune

e. outside the orbit of Neptune

e. outside the orbit of Neptune

Meteor showers occur when

:

a. the Earth strikes an asteroid.

b. the Earth passes a comet's path.

c. the Earth passes through Jupiter's magnetic field.

d. the Earth, Moon, and sun are in a straight line.

e. a comet strikes the sun.

b. the Earth passes a comet's path.

The largest asteroids are most similar in size to:

a. Mars

b. Phobos

c. Pluto

d. Earth

e. Jupiter

c. Pluto

The largest asteroids are most similar in shape to

a. spheres

b. eggs

c. disks

d. cubes

e. irregular blobs

a. spheres

Why so few meteor craters on Earth?

a. Most hit Moon instead, on way in

b. Few meteoroids in this part of Solar System

c. Earth's magnetic field deflects many

d. Erosion removes them rather quickly

e. Earth's gravity not strong enough to pull many in

d. Erosion removes them rather quickly

Pluto is now described as a(n)

a. planet

b. dwarf planet

c. star

d. moon

e. asteroid

b. dwarf planet

The solid part of a comet is called its:

a. mascon

b. regolith

c. nucleus

d. coma

e. ion tail

c. nucleus

After space debris has hit the Earth's surface, what is it called?

a. a protoplanet

b. a meteoroid

c. a meteorite

d. a comet

e. a meteor

c. a meteorite

Meteoroid

Meteor

Meteorite

In orbit/space

Has entered the atmosphere

Has hit the ground

The planet Neptune shares what feature with Earth?

They have roughly the same axis tilt

How can the amount of light gathered by a telescope be increased?

Increase the size of the opening (aperture)

How can black holes be detected?

A massive object in a binary star system that emits large amounts of X-radiation

The Sun's corona is visible when?

Only during an eclipse

The event horizon is what?

The place at which, after crossing, nothing can escape from a black hole

An 'Astronomical Unit' (AU) is what?

The distance between the Sun and the Earth

The color of a hot star and the color of a cold star are, respectively:

Blue, Red

Cosmology is the study of

The properties and history of the Universe

What caused the gas tail of Comet Hale-Bopp to point so directly away from the Sun?

The Solar Wind

What is 'apparent visual magnitude'?

The brightness of a star as seen from Earth

What do we know from the spectrum of a star?

The elements/compounds present in the atmosphere and its temperature

Jupiter radiates approximately how much more energy than it receives from the Sun?

Twice as much

During 'retrograde motion' planets move in which direction from night to night?

West

Leftover planetesimals are which objects?

Asteroids

What is the force that holds a galaxy together?

Gravity

What happens when a mass range 3 star runs out of Hydrogen (H) to fuse into Helium in its core?

Expands and becomes a Red Giant

What distinguishes very new craters on the Moon?

New craters have ejecta blankets

The shape of the Universe is best described as

Flat

Radio

The longest wavelength

Infra-red (IR)

Is best known as "heat"

Visible

The only type we can see

Ultra-violet (UV)

The cause of sunburns

X-Ray

Allows doctor to see your insides

Gamma

The most destructive type of radiation