Astronomy Final

In which spectral sequence are the hottest stars categorized?

O Stars

The Moon’s core does not contain much iron, so it cannot produce a dynamo effect. (T/F)

True

Vega is the fifth brightest star in the night sky and belongs to the constellation of Lyra. It has an apparent magnitude mV = +0.026 and is located at a distance d of 25 light years from Earth. What is the absolute magnitude of Vega? Hint: MV=5 - 5Log(d) - mV (d in parsecs).

\+0.550

The planet that has very dense and toxic atmosphere, very high surface temperatures, and acid rain is:

Venus

Newtonian gravity is often called universal mutual gravitation because every particle with mass in the Universe must attract every other particle. (t/f)

True

If the classical music radio station at Raleigh (WCPE) is tuned at 89.7 MHz, what is the wavelength of WCPE radio waves?

3\.3 m

Uranus and NEptune look green/blue because

Their atmospheres are mostly made of methane (CH4 ).

Kepler’s second law of planetary motion states “A line from a planet to the Sun sweeps over equal areas in equal intervals of ____.”

time

9\. The planets __________ and ____________ are also known as the "ice-giants".

URanus, Neptune

What did the IAU establish in 1928?

The IAU recorded 88 constellations with defined boundaries.

During Apollo 15 mission, astronaut David Scott performed an experiment to prove that objects speed up at the same rate in free fall, proving that _________ was right.

Galileo Galilei

Which statement is true when comparing Saturn to Jupiter?

Saturn has stronger winds than Jupiter.

When a moon is tidally locked to its parent planet, it means that its rotation is retrograde. (t/f)

False

If Earth rotated about its axis completely upright, what would we fail to experience?

Seasons

Which of these pairs of planets have rotation axes different than those of the rest of the planets?

Venus, Uranus

During its formation, Mars cooled quickly because it is a small planet. (t/f)

True

Earth's magnetic field protects us from the dangerous ultraviolet radiation. (T/f)

False

What evidence is there to prove Jovian planets have a liquid interiors?

They all are oblate

Which is the only moon in the Solar System that rotates in opposite direction (retrograde) with respect to the rotation direction of its parent planet?

Triton

In which phase is the Moon during a Solar eclipse?

New Moon

Orbital speed of neptune

Increases when it is the closest to the Sun in its orbit.

The energy of a photon is proportional to its frequency. (t/f)

True

With no water and a thick, slow-moving lower atmosphere, there is little erosion on Venus. (T/f)

True

Charon is a moon with an extreme elliptical orbit. (t/f)

False

A(n) ____ orbit is one where the orbiting object is always above the same location on Earth's surface.

geosynchronous

What is unique about Pluto’s orbit?

e. high eccentricity

Order the apparent magnitudes of the Sun, the Moon, and a 60 W lightbulb from brightest to dimmest.

\-26, -12, 60

A ____ is produced by ionized gas carried away from the comet by solar wind.

gas tail

It is very dangerous to observe with the naked eye a Solar eclipse, but it is completely safe to observe directly a Lunar eclipse. (t/f)

true

Cosmic rays are made of photons. (t/f)

False

__________create structure on the Earth's surface, and __________ shapes those structures.

Plate tectonics, erosion

Why was Voyager 2 so important?

Because it provided us with information about Uranus, Neptune, and the outer Solar System.

Solar eclipses are completely random events. (t/f)

False

The Universe consists of the Sun, its family of planets, and some smaller bodies such as moons, asteroids, and comets. (t/f)

False

Which star has the largest diameter?

supergiant

When an object is _________ to a bigger body its rotation is determined by the latter.

Tidally-locked

What unit is used to measure wavelengths?

nanometer

Which of these elements has been present since the beginning of the Universe?

Hydrogen

In the example we worked out in class, how long was Neptune's orbital period? Hint: Neptune is located at 30.1 AU from the Sun.

165 yrs

Which list is in order of increasing size?

planet, star, solar system, galaxy, Universe

How is Titan different from all the other Jovian satellites?

Titan has a thick atmosphere.

A star's absolute visual magnitude depends only on the star's ______ and _____.

distance; magnitude

What does a high albedo indicate with regard to a planetary object?

The surface is highly reflective and therefore young.

Stars are said to become alive when they

begin nuclear fusion in their cores.

A comet near the Sun whose orbit is ____ would never be near the Sun again.

hyperbolic

Since Mars’s axis is tipped 25.2o to its orbit. Consequently, it experiences _______.

seasons

Which moon orbits Pluto?

Charon

Newton’s second law of motion is represented by ____.

F=ma

Which of these planets is just 0.39 AU from the Sun?

Mercury

Sunspots locations in the Sun repeat in cycles. (T/f_

True

There are three types of planets. (t/f)

False

What was Tycho Brahe’s contribution to astronomy?

He compiled detailed observations of the positions of the Sun, Moon, and planets over a period of 20 years.

The circular velocity of a satellite orbiting Earth is given by . In this equation, M represents the ____.

b. mass of Earth, and r is the distance from Earth to the satellite

Which spacecraft was the first to photograph Uranus in 1986?

Voyager 2

Which is a characteristic Venus shares with Earth?

Both planets are still geologically active.

The ________ is the point in the Celestial Sphere that is the right above your head, while the ________ is the one below your feet.

Zenith, Nadir

There is no air on the Moon to scatter light and soften shadows. (t/f)

True

Einstein revolutionized modern physics by ____.

providing an explanation of gravity based on the geometry of curved space-time

Seismic waves are classified as

Pressure and Shear Waves

Refracting telescopes use a mirror to gather and focus light. (t/f)

False

Which statement is true about asteroids?

Asteroids have an irregular shape and are battered by impact cratering.

What is a unique geologic feature of Miranda?

ovoids

____________ death will result in a supernova leaving either a black hole or a neutron star.

Massive stars

How did Mars get its two moons?

Mars captured asteroids from the asteroid belt.

Newton's laws gave mathematical explanation and foundation to Kepler's laws? (t/f)

True

All rock samples brought from the Moon by the Apollo astronauts are _________ rocks.

igneous

The neap tides occur at the new moon and full moon. (t/f)

False

The Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram is a plot for stars using absolute magnitude versus temperature. (T/F)

True

How many laws of motion did Isaac Newton postulated?

3

Kepler's laws are empirical, which means that they were obtained based on observations. (t/f)

True

According to Ptolemy, stars can be classified in ____ classes according to their brightness.

Six

During an Annular Solar eclipse, the Moon must be in the New Moon phase and it must be _________ Earth.

the farthest from

What was the most important consequence of Galileo's discovery of the Jupiter's moons?

Proved that the Heliocentric model was correct.

Betelgeuse is the alpha star in the Orion constellation and is located at 200 Pc from the Earth. If the apparent magnitude of Betelgeuse is 0.58, what is its absolute magnitude? Hint: Mv = mv + 5 - 5Log(d)

\-5.9

The Perseverance rover landed on _________ to look for more evidence of the past presence of water.

Mars

Of the following parts of the Sun, which is the hottest?

corona

Which power of a telescope reveals fine details within an image?

Magnifying power

What characteristic of Uranus makes it stand out from all the other Jovian planets?

​rotates on its side

Knowing the Uranus takes 84 years to orbit the Sun, how far away is from it?

19\.2 AU

The region between Mars and Jupiter is known as

The Asteroid Belt

The Sun is what spectral type?

G2

Newton's law of gravitational force states that ____.

for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction

Which of the following planets does not have seasons:

Mercury

Herzsprung-Russel is used to identify which of the following:

Stars

Plant life brought oxygen to the Earth atmosphere. (t/f)

True

A “larger” Moon on the horizon is an optical illusion. (t/f)

True

Meteoroid, meteor, and meteorite are names for the different stages of the same rocky object. (t/f)

True

The most widely accepted system of measurement is the metric system. (t/f)

True

​Sunspots are parts of active solar regions dominated by magnetic fields that encompass all layers of the Sun’s atmosphere. (t/f)

True

How many light years are there in a Parsec?

3\.26

What feature makes most people think of Saturn as a wonder of the Solar System?

Its rings system.

The star Aldebaran from the Taurus constellation is located at a distance of 20 Pc from the Earth. How much is that distance in Light years?

d

Betelgeuse is the brightest star of which constellation?

Orion

For a star that will be visible to an observer, its_________ coordinate tells the observer where to look for it.

Declination

As the illuminated part of the Moon grows larger from new to full, it is said to “wane”. (t/f)

False

How were Uranus's rings discovered?

By observing it while passing in front of distant stars.

The second postulate of special relativity states that ____.

the speed of light is constant and will be the same for all observers independent of their motion relative to the light source

List the Solar System components in order from closest to farthest from Mercury:

Venus, Mars, Uranus, Kuiper Belt, Oort Cloud

It takes an average of time of 23.3 minutes for sunlight to reach Ceres in the Asteroid Belt. In average, how far is Ceres from the Sun?

2\.8 AU

Mercury is tidally locked to the Sun in a 3:2 ratio. This means that

for every two revolutions around the Sun, Mercury does 3 rotations.