Science Bowl Astronomy Questions and Definitions
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A solar eclipse can only occur at a: A. full moon B. new moon C. ½ gibbous moon D. ¼ gibbous moon
Answer: B
Which of the following constellations cannot be seen in the summer sky of the northern hemisphere? A. Libra B. Orion C. Ursa Major D. Cygnus
Answer: B
What percent of stars in the sky that appear to be single stars are actually binary stars: A. about 90% B. about 50% C. about 20 % D. about .5%
Answer: B
The apparent speed of the Sun along the ecliptic: A. is constant B. varies during the solar year C. varies only during winter D. varies only during summer
Answer: A
In the Australian winter night sky, which of the following is true regarding the constellation Orion: A. it is seen in the western sky B. it is seen in the southern sky C. it is seen in the northern sky D. it can never be seen
Answer: C
The 29 ½ days it takes the Moon to complete an orbit around the Earth is called a: A. synodic month B. sidereal month C. orbital month D. solar month
Answer: A
Which of the following is NOT true about meteorites: A. most of the meteorites that have been found have a high iron content B. iron meteorites often contain 10 - 20% nickel C. most of the iron meteorites are octahedrites D. on rare occasions, acid-etched iron meteorites display a pattern called the Widmanstatten pattern
Answer: D
The Orion Nebula is a good example of what kind of nebula?
ANSWER: EMISSION NEBULA
According to Kepler's Third Law, plotting the squares of the periods of the planet against the cubes of the semi- major axes of their orbits will result in what sort of graph: A. a parabolic line B. a straight line C. an irregular jagged line D. a hyperbolic line
Answer: B
The time between two successive meridian transits of the Sun as observed from a stationary spot on the Earth's surface is called: A. the stellar day B. an apparent solar day C. lunar day D. an apparent solar month
Answer: B
The hydrogen envelope that surrounds the comet's nucleus derives its hydrogen most directly from: A. gases escaping from the melting comet's ice B. hydrogen captured from interstellar space C. breakdown of water by ultraviolet light D. hydrogen in the solar winds
Answer: C
At a location half-way from the Equator to the North Pole, which of the following correctly describes the stars apparent motion: A. they move in circles parallel with the horizon B. they rise and set vertically C. they remain stationary D. they rise and set at an angle to the horizon
Answer: D
Light from distant galaxies comes mostly from which of the following: A. low mass stars B. high mass stars C. ionized hydrogen nebula D. large globular clusters of stars
Answer: B
Which of the following is NOT a superior planet: A. Jupiter B. Venus C. Mars D. Pluto
Answer: B
Which of the following planets has the highest escape velocity: A. Saturn B. Uranus C. Jupiter D. Mars
Answer: C
What is the term for the amount of energy released from each square meter of an object's surface each second: A. energy flux B. Pascal's Law C. Boltzman's Equation D. Kelvin's Law
Answer: A
Astronomers usually detect the electromagnetic emissions of a single neutron star in what single form: A. cosmic radiation B. microwaves C. radio waves D. infrared waves
Answer: C
An emission or bright line spectrum consists of: A. a series of bright lines superimposed on a black or continuous background. B. a series of bright and dark lines superimposed on a black-lined grid C. a series of faint black lines superimposed on a bright background D. a circular array of dark ring patterns on a bright background
Answer: A
Maria on the moon are: A. darker and smoother parts of the moon's surface B. mountains of the moon C. irregular craters D. highland areas which show up as irregular contours
Answer: A
Which of the following is NOT another name for the Pleiades? A. M45 B. the seven sisters C. the false dipper D. the bull's bowl
Answer: D
Which of the following is a pulsating variable star whose brightness varies in a very regular time period of about 1-50 days: A. Lyrae star B. Cepheid C. Mira star D. Cannon Star
Answer: B
Name the part of the Sun that we can see without any instruments:
Answer: The Photosphere
All of Saturn's moons are composed predominantly of what substance?
Answer: Ice
Rounded off to the nearest trillion, how many miles is in a light year?
Answer: 6
Of the three types of meteorites, which is the most common, in terms of the number of samples, to fall to Earth in recorded history:
Answer: Stony Meteorites
What are the scientific names for the two regions of a sunspot?
Answer: Umbra And Penumbra
The Kappa Cygnids and the Northern Delta Aquarids are names for what phenomena?
Answer: Meteor Showers
What substance is responsible for Neptune's blue-green color?
Answer: Methane Gas
Give the common name for the phenomenon which is the result of sunlight reflecting off the Earth and faintly illuminating the darkened portion of the moon:
Answer: Earthshine
Whose book, titled "Concerning the Revolutions of Celestial Spheres", is considered to mark the birth of modern astronomy?
Answer: Copernicus
The celestial coordinate analogous to latitude is called:
Answer: Declination
What do Astronomers call the point in the sky that is directly overhead?
Answer: Zenith
A meteor that reaches the surface of the Earth is more accurately called a:
Answer: meteorite
Which planet in our solar system has the most circular orbit?
Answer: venus
Mars has a thin atmosphere composed mainly of what gas?
Answer: carbon dioxide
Which moon is the only other body in our solar system, besides the Earth, that has an atmosphere of mostly nitrogen?
Answer: Titan
When a superior planet is at quadrature in reference to the Earth, what is its elongation in degrees?
Answer: 90o
What moon of Neptune orbits in a retrograde direction?
Answer: Triton
What is the name for the celestial body of interstellar gas and dust where stars are sometimes born?
Answer: Nebula
Based on "best altitude conditions", during what month in the northern hemisphere is it the best time to observe the full moon?
Answer: December
The work of this Harvard College Observatory scientist made possible the first accurate determination of extragalactic distances by what is often called Henrietta's Law:
Answer: Henrietta Leavitt
What term is most commonly used to refer to the actual motion that stars have in relation to each other, and over many years will lead to changes in the shapes of constellations?
Answer: Proper Motion
What is the constant called that is the average flux of the Sun's energy arriving at the Earth:
Answer: Solar Constant
In a search for "Planet X", this celestial body was found after astronomers had searched for an orbital disturbance of the planet Uranus:
Answer: Pluto
Sam Langley invented what instrument, which allows astronomers to measure the energy output of the Sun and other stars:
Answer: Bolometer
How many half- moons are there in a lunar cycle?
Answer: 2
The Persied's Meteor Showers are viewed in the State of Maine during what month?
Answer: August
This powerful telescope weighs about 11 tons, has a primary mirror 7.9 feet in diameter, and orbits about 380 miles above the earth:
Answer: The Hubble Telescope
In the Doppler effect, what is the correct term for the change in the color of light when an object that is emitting light is moving toward the observer?
Answer: Blue-Shift
What is the thinnest layer of the Sun's atmosphere?
Answer: The Corona
What are the only two planets to rotate from East to West?
Answer: Venus And Uranus
The Magellan clouds are actually what type of celestial body?
Answer: Galaxies
If the temperature of a star increases from 10,000K to 30,000K, by what factor will the rate of energy radiated per second increase?
Answer: 81
Most astronomers believe that these celestial bodies are at the center of quasars and are the main reason for their large energy emissions:
Answer: Black Holes
These doughnut shaped zones of atomic particles consists of electrons and protons captured by the Earth's magnetic field from the solar winds and are called:
Answer: VAN ALLEN BELTS
The largest circular storm in our solar system is on the surface of which of the following planets? A. Jupiter B. Venus C. Uranus D. Earth
ANSWER: A - JUPITER
The rapidly moving stream of charged particles that is being driven away from the sun is known as what?
ANSWER: SOLAR WIND
The biggest asteroid known is: A. Vesta B. Icarus C. Ceres D. Eros
ANSWER: C - CERES
Rounded to the nearest day, the Mercurian year is equal to: A. 111 days B. 88 days C. 50 days D. 25 days
ANSWER: B -- 88 DAYS
One of the largest volcanos in our solar system-if not the largest-is named Olympus Mons. This volcano is located on: A. Jupiter's moon Callisto B. Venus C. Saturn's moon Titan D. Mars
ANSWER: D - MARS
One Jupiter day is equal to which of the following? A. 30 hrs 40 min B. 9 hrs 50 min C. 3 hrs 20 min D. 52 hrs 10 min
ANSWER: B -- 9 HRS 50 MIN
The time interval between two successive occurrences of a specific type of alignment of a planet (or the moon) with the sun and the earth is referred to as: A. a conjunction B. an opposition C. a sidereal period D. a synodic period.
ANSWER: D -- A SYNODIC PERIOD (conjunction and opposition are names of specific configurations)
During the period between 1979 and 1998, what is the farthest planet from the sun?
ANSWER: NEPTUNE
Of the following four times, which one best represents the time it takes energy generated in the core of the sun to reach the surface of the sun and be radiated? A. Three minutes B. Thirty days C. One thousand years D. One million years
ANSWER: D -- ONE MILLION YEARS
The sunspot cycle is: A. 3 years B. 11 years C. 26 years D. 49 years
ANSWER: B -- 11 YEARS
The Hertzsprung-Russel Diagram of stars DIRECTLY compares what TWO of the following properties of stars? A. size B. temperature C. luminosity D. density
ANSWER: B and C -- TEMPERATURE AND LUMINOSITY (Size and distance of stars can be inferred from H-R diagram but not directly)
The andromeda Galaxy is which of the following types of galaxies? A. elliptical B. spiral C. barred-spiral D. irregular
ANSWER: B - SPIRAL
About how many light years across is the Milky Way? Is it: A. 1,000 B. 10,000 C. 100,000 D. 1,000,000
ANSWER: C -- 100,000
Which unlucky Apollo lunar landing was canceled after an oxygen tank exploded?
ANSWER: APOLLO 13
What device first proved that Earth rotates on its axis?
ANSWER: FOUCAULT PENDULUM
Which is the smallest planet in our solar system?
ANSWER: MERCURY (used to be Pluto, but that's no longer a planet)
Which "planet" has a moon almost as big as the planet itself?
ANSWER: PLUTO
What distinction is Sally K. Ride known for?
ANSWER: FIRST AMERICAN WOMAN IN SPACE
In what year did Neil Armstrong make his historic walk on the Moon?
ANSWER: 1969
Only one planet in the solar system has a day which lasts longer than its year. Name this planet.
ANSWER: VENUS
What is the heavenly body Charon (pron: kar-en), that's spelled C-h-a-r-o-n?
ANSWER: PLUTO'S MOON
Where in space is Cassini's division?
ANSWER: BETWEEN TWO RINGS OF SATURN
Who was the first black American astronaut in space?
ANSWER: (GUION S.) BLUFORD
What is the Vostok 1?
ANSWER: THE FIRST MANNED SPACECRAFT
Heliocentric (pron: he-lee-o-sen-trik) means around: A. Jupiter B. the Moon C. the Sun D. Neptune
ANSWER: C -- THE SUN
Triton, Neptune's moon, has an ocean made of a liquid. What is this liquid?
ANSWER: NITROGEN
Who was the first man to classify stars according to their brightness? A. Aristarchus B. Pythagorus C. Copernicus D. Hipparchus
ANSWER: D - HIPPARCHUS
For what reason was the Schmidt telescope specially built? Was it to serve as: A. a sky camera B. a radio telescope C. an optical telescope D. a solar telescope
ANSWER: A -- A SKY CAMERA
What is the star nearest to the sun?
ANSWER: ALPHA CENTAURI or PROXIMA CENTAURI
The greatest distance of a planet from the sun is called what? Is it the planet's: A. aphelion (pron: ah-feel-yen) B. perihelion (pron: per-eh-heel-yen) C. helix D. eccentricity
ANSWER: A - APHELION
What is the name given to very bright meteors or bolides?
ANSWER: FIREBALLS
How is the atmospheric pressure of Mars as compared to the atmospheric pressure of the earth? Is it: A. about the same as the earth's B. about 100 times as great as the earth's C. about 1/200th that of the earth's D. half as much as that of the earth's
ANSWER: C -- ABOUT 1/200th THAT OF THE EARTH'S
What gas is the main component of the atmosphere of Mars?
ANSWER: CARBON DIOXIDE
The planet Jupiter has a mass that is: A. equal to the combined masses of the earth and Mars B. equal to the combined masses of Saturn and Pluto C. equal to the combined masses of Saturn, Neptune and Uranus D. greater than the combined masses of all of the planets
ANSWER: D -- GREATER THAN THE COMBINED MASSES OF ALL OF THE PLANETS
Which one of the following moon features is named Copernicus? Is it a: A. sea B. crater C. mountain range D. rill
ANSWER: B-- A CRATER
On which day of the year does the summer solstice usually occur?
ANSWER: JUNE 21
When the earth if farthest from the sun, what season is it in the Northern Hemisphere?
ANSWER: SUMMER
Of the nine known planets, seven have one or more natural satellites. Name the only two moonless planets.
ANSWER: VENUS AND MERCURY
The English nickname for this CONSTELLATION is "The Chained Maiden". What is the astronomer's name for this constellation?
ANSWER: ANDROMEDA
Hercules is a constellation which is commonly viewed in the summer in North America. In which of the seasons is the constellation "Pegasus" normally viewed?
ANSWER: AUTUMN
The brightest star in this constellation is Vega. In which constellation can ega be found?
ANSWER: LYRA
The brightest star in this constellation is Aldebaran (pron: al-DEB-ar-on). In which constellation can this star be found?
ANSWER: TAURUS
A binary star system lends itself very well to a determination of the total mass of the binary star system. What TWO observables must be measured to make the total mass determination.
ANSWER: 1) SEPARATION OF THE TWO STAR 2) THE STARS' PERIOD OF REVOLUTION
The Orion Nebula is a good example of what kind of nebula?
ANSWER: EMISSION NEBULA
A major component of the interstellar media consists of charged particles which havespeeds close to that of light. What are these charged particles called?
ANSWER: COSMIC RAYS
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