NS-2 Astronomy Progress test Study Set

Dark nebula

Which type of nebulae do not have an illuminating star nearby?

White dwarfs

These types of stars are 100 times fainter than our Sun but much hotter.

gas, cosmic dust

The amount of ____ and _____ _______is the determining factor in what kind of a star will develop in a region of space.

Ellipsoidal

Which type of galaxies have clearly defined, symmetrical shapes?

Spectrum-luminosity diagram

What diagram is used by astronomers to group stars according to their color and their

magnitude or stellar brightness?

Light year

What is the most commonly used measurement of astronomical distances?

Color and temperature

What two features are used by astronomers to classfy stars?

absolute magnitude

The brightness that a star would have 10 parsecs away from the Earth is known as the

star's ________________________.

planetary nebula

Which type of nebula consist of a nova with a large cloud of particles surrounding it?

broken-up comets

The cause of meteor showers is the remnants of ______-____ ______.

meteoroid, meteor, meteorite

What we call chunk of rock or metal orbiting in outer space; entering the earth's atmosphere; once it hits the earths surface

asteroids

Small bodies (smaller than planets but larger than 1 mile) between the orbits of Mars and

Jupiter are referred to as ____________.

Halley's comet

What famous comet has a period of around 76 years, making it a frequent sight over the

history of mankind?

Iron and nickel

What are siderites mainly composed of?

irregular

Asteroids tend to have ___________ orbits.

Ceres

The largest asteroid known to man is ________.

Atmosphere

Asteroids do not have their own ____________.

same

Asteroid revolve around the Sun in the ______ direction as the larger planets

Gaspra and Ida

What two asteroids did the near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft image in 1991 and 1993?

Deep Impact

What is the name of the NASA spacecraft sent to investigate the comet Tempel?

coma

What is the name given to the particles of material and vapor that surround the head of a

comet?

Kuiper Belt

region out beyond the orbit of Pluto believed to be full of comets is known as what?

NEAR

What spacecraft recorded the first landing on an asteroid?

Sun, Earth, moon

The relative positions of the Moon, Earth and Sun during a full Moon is ______, ______, ______

craters

On the moon maria sometimes cover up old ________.

magnetic

Some maria have definite ________ (Magnetic/corn) fields.

later

Maria were most like made a billion years ______ ( earlier/later) than the Moon or Earth

fewer

Maria show ______ (fewer/greater) signs of meteorite bombardment.

mascon

Buried, super-heavy magnetic concentrations beneath the lunar surface .

Gibbous

What is the term used to describe the Moon when more than half of it is visible and it is

between the first and last quarters?

tektites

Tiny glass spheres no larger than sand granules found on the surface of the

Moon.

igneous

The presence of ________ rocks leads scientists to believe that the Moon, like the Earth, has or once had a hot interior and volcanoes?

lunar eclipse

What is the term that describes what happens when the Moon passes through the conical

shadow of the Earth?

rilles

Cracks in the lunar surface similar to shallow river beds on the western deserts of the U.S.

are called what?

large

There is a (large/small) daily change in temperature from hot to cold on the moon.

27 1/3

The moon circles the earth every _____ days

no

The moon has (no/some) atmosphere.

2160

The moons diameter is _____ miles.

same

The moon always has (a different/same) side facing the Earth.

breccia

Broken rocks from meteorites on the Moon's surface are called what?

entire

Moonquakes are different from earth quakes because the _____ moon shakes.

third

The moon is roughly a ______ the size of the earth.

radiation

The Sun's energy passes through space by the process of _____________.

Photosphere, chromosphere, corona

What are the 3 layers of the suns atmosphere from inside to out.

Solar wind

X-rays and atomic particles from the Sun racing thousands of miles beyond the planets in our solar system is known as what?

Chromosphere and corona

What or which layers of the Sun become visible on Earth during a solar eclipse?

sunspots

Whirling fountains of hot gas that have come out of the interior of the Sun are known as

what?

photosphere

What is the name of the light-giving surface of the Sun?

Ulysses

What spacecraft was launched in October 1990 to explore the regions over the Sun's north and south poles?

Nuclear fusion

What process is occurring at the center of the Sun that causes it to radiate energy?

Mercury and Venus

Which planets are closer to the Sun than is the Earth

Jupiter

Which of the planets is able to easily retain all kinds of gases in its atmosphere due to its large size and gravitational pull?

Mercury and Venus

Which of the planets have no moons?

Mercury

Which of the planets has a temperature of +800 degrees on the lighted side and -300

degrees on the dark side?

Venus

Which other planet is closest to the Earth in terms of size, mass and density?

Retrograde

The fact that some planets, as seen from Earth, appear to go backward in their orbits is

known as ____________ motion.

ecliptic

The Earth's orbit around the Sun is known as the "plane of the _________."

Neptune

Which of the following planets cannot be seen without a telescope?

Europa

Evidence of liquid water and confirmation of water ice was discovered by the Galileo

spacecraft on which moon of Jupiter?

Saturn

Which of the planets has been called a "solar system in miniature."

exploration

Which phase of the study of our solar system involves the use of orbiter and probe spacecraft to do detailed mapping and measurement?

Sir Isaac Newton

Who is credited with inventing the first reflecting telescope?

Sun

What was the primary focus of the Skylab program, launched and run between May 1973

and February 1974?

refracting

Which type of telescope uses two lenses?

Sputnik I

The launch of what satellite marked the beginning of the space age?

Georges Lemaitre

Who first proposed the expanding-universe or "Big Bang" theory?

Radar Telescopes

What type of telescopes can measure accurate distances to celestial objects near the

earth?

Spectrograph

What instrument do astronomers use to study light from celestial bodies to determine the

amount of hydrogen, helium, and other elements in them?

Optical interferometry

What is the name of the technique where the signals from two or more telescopes at

separate locations are combined?

back, side

Cassegrain Reflectors focus the image to the _____ of the telescope while Newtonian Reflectors focus it to the _____ of the telescope