Astronomy Test: Can You Pass?
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Astronomy is a natural science, and it's applies maths, physics, chemistry and geography, Let's start and know more about it!
- 1.The basic unit of length in the metric system is the
- A.
Micron
- B.
Meter
- C.
Mile
- D.
Kilometer
- 2.Which of the following numbers has the same meaning as 8670
- A.
8.67 x 10 ^ 3
- B.
8.67 x 10 ^ 2
- C.
8.67 x 10 ^ 1
- D.
0.867 x 10 ^ 3
- 3.The distance traveled by light or by an object is equal to speed times
- A.
Frequency
- B.
Meters
- C.
Mass
- D.
Time
- 4.The procedure of writing numbers as a decimal value between 1 and 10 times 10 raised toa n integer power (e.g., 2.4 x 10 ^4) is called
- A.
The scientific method
- B.
Mathematical precision
- C.
Scientific notation
- D.
Astronomical designation
- 5.A light-year is defined as the
- A.
Speed of light in a vacuum
- B.
Average distance from the Earth to the Sun
- C.
Length of the Solar Year
- D.
Distance light travels in one year
- 6.Which unit of measure, often used by astronomers, is not a preferred SI unit of combination?
- A.
Meter
- B.
Second
- C.
Kg/m^3
- D.
Km/s
- E.
Angstrom
- 7.In space light travels about
- A.
3 m/s
- B.
300 m/s
- C.
300 km/s
- D.
300,000 km/s
- 8.The process of breaking light down into its component colors creates a(n)
- A.
Image
- B.
Hologram
- C.
Spectrum
- D.
Pulse
- 9.Ancient astronomers divided the sky into regions containing distinct groups of stars called
- A.
Clusters
- B.
Coordinates
- C.
Constellations
- D.
Galaxies
- E.
Nebula
- 10.Scientific results must be
- A.
Hyptothetical
- B.
Reproducible
- C.
Controversial
- D.
Believed by at least 50% of scientists
- 11.The Earth's atmosphere shields us from most kinds of electromagnetic radiation. The exceptions are
- A.
Visible light and radio waves.
- B.
X-rays and ultraviolet radiation.
- C.
Only visible light frequencies.
- D.
X-rays and gamma rays
- E.
X-rays and radio waves.
- 12.Compared with visible-light photons, a photon of radio waves has
- A.
Less energy.
- B.
More energy
- C.
The same energy
- D.
Redder energy
- E.
AM energy.
- 13.The type of electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength just longer than that of red light is
- A.
Radio waves.
- B.
X-rays.
- C.
Infrared radiation.
- D.
Gamma rays.
- E.
Ultraviolet radiation.
- 14.The rule describing the relationship between the temperature of a material and the wavelength of its peak emittedradiation is
- A.
The blackbody rule.
- B.
The quantum theory.
- C.
Planck's law.
- D.
The Stefan-Boltzmann law.
- E.
Wien's law.
- 15.The rule describing the relationship between the total radiant energy emitted by a blackbody to its temperature is
- A.
The blackbody rule.
- B.
The quantum theory.
- C.
Planck's law.
- D.
The Stefan-Boltzmann law.
- E.
The Wien displacement law.
- 16.The atomic model that places electrons in definite orbits around the nucleus but allows only certain orbits to exist isthe
- A.
Bohr model.
- B.
Einstein model.
- C.
Feynman model.
- D.
Rutherford model.
- E.
Thomson model.
- 17.If electrons are or removed from a neutral atom the atom is said to be
- A.
Nuclear.
- B.
Ionized.
- C.
Doubly neutral.
- D.
Electronic.
- E.
A proto-atom.
- 18.The lowest possible energy state of an atom is called the
- A.
Excited state.
- B.
Ground state.
- C.
Neutral state.
- D.
Photon level.
- E.
Balmer level.
- 19.When a gas removes energy at a particular wavelength from radiation passing through it, it creates a(n)
- A.
Continuous spectrum.
- B.
Emission line.
- C.
Stellar spectrum.
- D.
Absorption line.
- E.
Black hole.
- 20.In a spectrum, bright lines that appear at wavelengths where there is more radiation than at neighboring wavelengthsare called
- A.
Absorption lines.
- B.
Emission lines.
- C.
Fraunhofer lines.
- D.
Continuum lines
- E.
Stellar lines.
- 21.A curved lens or mirror can form an image by bringing light to a(n)
- A.
Aberration.
- B.
Focus.
- C.
Resolution.
- D.
Divergence.
- E.
Ray.
- 22.A reflecting telescope that uses a secondary mirror to reflect light to the side of the telescope is called a(n)
- A.
Newtonian.
- B.
Cassegrain.
- C.
Schmidt.
- D.
Gregorian.
- E.
Halleyan.
- 23.All other things being equal, and ignoring atmospheric effects, a reflecting telescope with a large objective mirror willhave, compared with a telescope with a smaller mirror,
- A.
Better light-gathering power only
- B.
Better resolution only.
- C.
Better light-gathering power and better resolution.
- D.
Better light-gathering power but poorer resolution.
- E.
Better infrared sensitivity.
- 24.Today, sites for new large ground-based telescopes are selected primarily on the basis of all the following except
- A.
Proximity to universities and research centers
- B.
Elevation above sea level.
- C.
The characteristics of the atmosphere above the proposed site.
- D.
Ability to see the southern sky.
- E.
Dark sky.
- 25.The Hubble Space Telescope is a(n)
- A.
Ground-based refracting telescope
- B.
Ground-based reflecting telescope.
- C.
Orbiting refracting telescope.
- D.
Orbiting reflecting telescope.
- E.
Orbiting radio telescope.
- 26.A radio telescope 100 meters across, when used to measure 10-centimeter waves, is
- A.
1,000,000 wavelengths across.
- B.
1000 wavelengths across.
- C.
100 wavelengths across.
- D.
10 wavelengths across.
- E.
1 wavelength across.
- 27.A method for improving the images produced by ground-based optical telescopes despite blurring by the Earth'satmosphere is called
- A.
Fourier transformation.
- B.
Very long baseline interferometry
- C.
Down-conversion
- D.
Adaptive optics.
- E.
Narrow-band filtering.
- 28.The ability to distinguish between details or to distinguish two adjacent objects as separate is
- A.
Reflection.
- B.
Refraction
- C.
Aperture.
- D.
Resolution.
- E.
Spectroscopy.
- 29.NASA's successor to the Hubble Space Telescope is to be the
- A.
Planck Telescope.
- B.
Extremely Large Telescope.
- C.
Neil Armstrong Space Telescope.
- D.
George Washington Telescope.
- E.
James Webb Space Telescope.
- 30.NASA's set of Great Observatories includes all but
- A.
Hubble Space Telescope
- B.
Spitzer Space Telescope
- C.
Compton Gamma-ray Observatory
- D.
Chandra X-ray Observatory
- E.
Keck Telescope
- 31.The most obvious difference between the images of planets and stars, as seen from the ground, is that stars
- A.
Twinkle.
- B.
Change color.
- C.
Are very small.
- D.
Move through the sky.
- E.
Change their shape.
- 32.For any location on the Earth there is a point directly overhead in the sky called the
- A.
Autumnal equinox.
- B.
Vernal equinox.
- C.
Hour circle.
- D.
Meridian.
- E.
Zenith.
- 33.The calendar containing 365 days with every fourth year a leap year, except century years not divisible by 400, is the
- A.
Babylonian calendar.
- B.
Gregorian calendar.
- C.
Julian calendar
- D.
Roman calendar
- E.
King James calendar.
- 34.If the Sun is just setting, and the Moon is at its first quarter phase, the Moon will be
- A.
Directly overhead.
- B.
On the meridian.
- C.
On the eastern horizon.
- D.
Below the horizon
- E.
5° below the zenith.
- 35.The period between new Moons is called a
- A.
Lunar year
- B.
Month.
- C.
Sidereal day
- D.
Fortnight
- E.
Saros.
- 36.The photosphere of the Sun as seen from Earth, covers an angle of about
- A.
1/2°.
- B.
1°.
- C.
2°.
- D.
5°.
- E.
10°.
- 37.A star that is 100 times fainter than another star at the same distance will be
- A.
1 magnitude dimmer
- B.
2.5 magnitudes dimmer.
- C.
3 magnitudes dimmer.
- D.
5 magnitudes dimmer.
- E.
10 magnitudes dimmer.
- 38.The moon looks reddish at a total lunar eclipse because
- A.
The Sun hits it at sunset.
- B.
It is illuminated mainly by the Sun's H-alpha red radiation.
- C.
It is red hot.
- D.
It is Dopper shifted into the red.
- E.
Sunlight is bent through the Earth's atmosphere, with blue scattered out.
- 39.If the North Star is Polaris, the South Star is
- A.
Betelgeuse
- B.
Orion
- C.
Non-existent.
- D.
Octans.
- E.
Sirius.
- 40.When the next total solar eclipse occurs in the United States, viewers will have to
- A.
Use solar filters during totality.
- B.
Travel to a path about 200 km wide.
- C.
Use pinhole cameras to see it.
- D.
Pay admission.
- E.
Cover their eyes.
- 41.Not long after the death of Nicholas Copernicus, a Danish nobleman used giant instruments to makeobservations of the planet's motions with unprecedented accuracy. This astronomer was
- A.
Galileo Galilei
- B.
Johannes Kepler.
- C.
Isaac Newton.
- D.
Tycho Brahe.
- E.
Ole Rømer.
- 42.Ptolemy's ideas about the Universe and a summary of the ideas of his predecessors were contained in his majorwork,
- A.
The Almagest.
- B.
The Encyclopedia.
- C.
Primum Mobile.
- D.
Revolutionibus.
- E.
Sidereus Nuncius.
- 43.Which pair of planets was known to the ancient Greeks?
- A.
Venus, Mars
- B.
Earth, Uranus
- C.
Jupiter, Pluto
- D.
Saturn, Neptune
- E.
Pluto, Mars
- 44.The closer a planet, asteroid, or comet is to the Sun in its orbit, the faster it moves. This is a consequence of
- A.
Kepler's first law.
- B.
The Law of Equal Areas.
- C.
Kepler's third law.
- D.
The speed of light.
- E.
Newton's second law.
- 45.Galileo's telescopic observations of Venus proved conclusively that
- A.
Venus does not travel on a deferent centered on the Earth.
- B.
The Earth orbits the Sun.
- C.
The orbit of Venus is elliptical.
- D.
The orbit of the Earth is elliptical.
- E.
The axis of the Earth is inclined.
- 46.If a satellite orbiting just above the surface of the Earth orbits in about 1.5 hours, then at about how many Earthradii from the Earth's center must a satellite orbit to have a period of 24 hours?
- A.
2.1
- B.
6.4
- C.
8
- D.
11.3
- E.
24
- 47.The line that extends from one edge of an ellipse to the other, passing through both foci of the ellipse is calledthe
- A.
Eccentric.
- B.
Major axis.
- C.
Semimajor axis.
- D.
Minor axis.
- E.
Semiminor axis.
- 48.An object is moving through space. If all forces are removed from the object, then it will
- A.
Continue in a straight line but slow down and stop
- B.
Move in random directions.
- C.
Continue in a straight line at constant speed.
- D.
Enter a circular orbit.
- 49.Two remarkable aspects of our solar system that must be accounted for in any theory of cosmogony are that
- A.
The planets all have the same density and composition
- B.
All of the planets revolve around the Sun in the same sense as the Sun rotates, and the orbits of all of the planets lie in nearly the same plane.
- C.
All of the planets rotate in the same sense as the Sun, and all have a density similar to that of water
- D.
The orbits of all of the planets lie in nearly the same plane, and all have the same composition
- 50.Which is the only planet (of the 9-planet system) whose orbit is significantly tilted with respect to the ecliptic?
- A.
Mercury
- B.
Earth
- C.
Jupiter
- D.
Saturn
- E.
Pluto
- 51.Much of our knowledge of the interior of the Earth comes from the study of planetary vibrations, which is thescience of
- A.
Geography.
- B.
Geology.
- C.
Meteorology.
- D.
Planetology.
- E.
Seismology.
- 52.The process of forming layers within a body because of differences in thermal characteristics and densitybetween materials is called
- A.
Differentiation.
- B.
Geothermal energy
- C.
Internal heat.
- D.
Isotopes.
- E.
Plate tectonics
- 53.The highest and lowest tides occur
- A.
In spring
- B.
When the Moon is at first or last quarter
- C.
When the Moon is new or full.
- D.
When the Sun's gravitational pull is the greatest
- E.
When the spring tide is neap
- 54.Charged particles trapped in Earth's magnetic field may collide with molecules in the upper atmosphere andproduce the glowing lights called
- A.
Aurorae.
- B.
Ionosphere.
- C.
Ozone layer.
- D.
Magnetic field.
- E.
Van Allen belts.
- 55.Of the inner planets, which has the strongest magnetic field?
- A.
Mercury
- B.
Venus
- C.
Earth
- D.
Mars
- E.
None of the above
- 56.Most of the rocks found on the Moon are
- A.
Metamorphic.
- B.
Limestone.
- C.
Shales.
- D.
Igneous.
- E.
Sedimentary.
- 57.Of all Moon rocks sampled, rocks taken from the lunar maria tend to be the
- A.
Heaviest.
- B.
Lightest.
- C.
Oldest.
- D.
Youngest.
- E.
Hollowest.
- 58.The theory that the Moon formed from a ring of material ejected from the Earth by a collision is the
- A.
Condensation theory
- B.
Capture theory.
- C.
Fission theory.
- D.
Co-accretion theory.
- E.
Collision theory.
- 59.The fraction of the light falling on a body that is reflected is the body's
- A.
Albedo.
- B.
Density.
- C.
Phase.
- D.
Color index
- E.
Refraction.
- 60.Which is heavier, a ton of feathers or a ton of lead?
- A.
Feathers by a little
- B.
Lead
- C.
Neither (you still need to know why!)
- D.
Feathers by a lot
- E.
Half the feathers plus half the lead
- 61.The largest planetary satellite in the solar system is
- A.
Charon
- B.
Ganymede
- C.
The Moon
- D.
Titan
- E.
Triton
- 62.Violently volcanic, with many simultaneous eruptions now going on, is Jupiter’s satellite
- A.
Io
- B.
Europa
- C.
Ganymede
- D.
Callisto
- E.
Amalthea
- 63.The closest views of Jupiter's moons have come from which spacecraft?
- A.
Pioneer 10
- B.
Voyager 1
- C.
Cassini
- D.
Mariner 10
- E.
Galileo
- 64.The Galileo atmospheric probe found that the amount of water vapor in Jupiter's atmosphere, at least where itentered, is
- A.
Zero.
- B.
About as expected
- C.
Less than expected.
- D.
More than expected.
- E.
Enough for it to rain every day.
- 65.The largest satellite of Saturn is
- A.
Ganymede.
- B.
Hyperion.
- C.
Tethys.
- D.
Titan.
- E.
Triton.
- 66.Saturn’s satellite with water geysers, discovered from the Cassini mission, is
- A.
Mimas
- B.
Enceladus
- C.
Rhea
- D.
Iapetus
- E.
Titan
- 67.Compared with the Earth's orbit around the Sun, Uranus's orbit is
- A.
2 times larger.
- B.
12 times larger.
- C.
19 times larger.
- D.
84 times larger.
- E.
1,000 times larger.
- 68.The initial discovery of the rings of Uranus came accidentally during observations of its
- A.
Phases.
- B.
Occultation of a star.
- C.
Rotation period
- D.
Revolution period.
- E.
Transit of the Sun.
- 69.It is possible to explain the peculiar orientation of Uranus's magnetic field if the field is generated
- A.
Deep in its core.
- B.
In the crust.
- C.
In a thin shell outside the core.
- D.
By the radiation belts.
- E.
In the atmosphere.
- 70.The period of Neptune's solar orbit is about
- A.
30 Earth years.
- B.
100 Earth years.
- C.
165 Earth years.
- D.
195 Earth years.
- 71.The period of the orbit of Pluto around the Sun is
- A.
2 Earth years
- B.
12 Earth years.
- C.
30 Earth years.
- D.
248 Earth years.
- E.
1000 Earth years.
- 72.The first satellite of the planet Pluto that was discovered is named
- A.
Chiron.
- B.
Charon.
- C.
Puck.
- D.
Oberon.
- E.
Hamlet
- 73.The known Kuiper belt objects have orbital semimajor axes in the approximate range
- A.
5 to 10 A.U.
- B.
10 to 20 A.U.
- C.
20 to 30 A.U.
- D.
30 to 80 A.U.
- E.
1 to 2 light years
- 74.The density of Pluto is about
- A.
1 g/cm3.
- B.
2 g/cm3.
- C.
5.5 g/cm3.
- D.
10 g/cm3.
- E.
30 g/cm3.
- 75.The matter at the center of the head of a comet is the
- A.
Coma.
- B.
Dust tail
- C.
Gas tail
- D.
Hydrogen cloud.
- E.
Nucleus.
- 76.The gas tail of a comet is created by the effects of the
- A.
Nucleus.
- B.
Coma.
- C.
Reaction force
- D.
Solar wind.
- E.
Gas jets.
- 77.The composition of the dust in Comet Halley, as measured by the Giotto spacecraft in 1986, is most like that of
- A.
Venus.
- B.
A giant planet moon.
- C.
The early Solar System.
- D.
Planetary material ejected by meteorite impacts.
- E.
Saturn's moon Titan.
- 78.When a fragment of interplanetary matter survives its trip through an atmosphere to reach the surface of anastronomical body it is called a
- A.
Bolide.
- B.
Fireball.
- C.
Meteor.
- D.
Meteoroid.
- E.
Meteorite.
- 79.A few meteorites contain
- A.
Iron.
- B.
Stone.
- C.
Liquid water
- D.
Organic compounds
- E.
Methane.
- 80.Among the many bodies that resulted from the aggregation of planetesimals when the solar system was formedwere minor planets, less than 1000 km across, called
- A.
Asteroids.
- B.
Meteoroids.
- C.
Meteorites.
- D.
Planetoids.
- E.
Plutoids.
- 81.Modern theories of solar system formation posit that planets formed through aggregation of many smaller bodies, each perhaps only hundreds of kilometers in size, called
- A.
Planetoids.
- B.
Planetesimals.
- C.
Protoplanets.
- D.
Nebulae.
- E.
Venusians.
- 82.The first extra-solar planets detected are not likely candidates for life because
- A.
The planets are too small
- B.
Their surface temperatures are probably too low for liquid water
- C.
They orbit pulsars, which emit too much powerful radiation
- D.
They are too distant from the star they orbit.
- E.
They are invisible.
- 83.So far, it appears that one way extra-solar planetary systems differ from our solar systems in that
- A.
Stars in the centers of these systems are all much more massive than the Sun
- B.
The planetary systems are typically larger than our solar system.
- C.
These planetary systems never have more than one planet.
- D.
Many have giant planets are located closer to the central star than Jupiter in our system.
- E.
They are found around B stars
- 84.Several early reports of the detection of extrasolar planets later proved to be incorrect. This illustrates that
- A.
Most astronomers are careless.
- B.
Detecting such objects is very difficult.
- C.
Extrasolar planets do not exist
- D.
All such objects are smaller than Jupiter.
- E.
The planets were there but they evaporated
- 85.As of this writing, how many of the newly-discovered extrasolar planets have been imaged directly?
- A.
None
- B.
At least one
- C.
5
- D.
All of them
- E.
About half
- 86.Doppler methods are biased toward finding planets
- A.
Smaller than Earth
- B.
Composed of ices.
- C.
With orbital periods greater than 20 years
- D.
With orbital planes along the line of sight.
- E.
With large moons
- 87.Which spacecraft mission is not intended to search for extrasolar planets?
- A.
Eddington
- B.
Space Interferometry Mission (SIM)
- C.
Cassini
- D.
Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF)
- E.
Kepler
- 88.Most of the extrasolar planets detected since 1995 are unlikely to harbor life as we know it because
- A.
UFO's patrol space to wipe out incipient life in new places
- B.
They are too far from their stars
- C.
Their orbits are too inclined relative to the equators of their stars.
- D.
They are too small
- E.
They are gas giants, without solid surfaces
- 89.________________ are objects more massive than Jupiter but not massive enough to start fusing hydrogen intheir cores
- A.
White dwarfs
- B.
Black holes
- C.
Red dwarfs
- D.
Yellow Dwarfs
- E.
Brown dwarfs
- 90.As of this writing, the most massive extrasolar planets detected are about ________________ times the mass ofJupiter
- A.
Two
- B.
Three
- C.
Five
- D.
Ten
- E.
Fifteenths
- 91.The outermost level of the Sun is the
- A.
Photosphere.
- B.
Solar corona.
- C.
Solar wind.
- D.
Scattering of sunlight.
- E.
Sunspots.
- 92.All of the energy of the Sun is generated in the
- A.
Chromosphere.
- B.
Core.
- C.
Corona.
- D.
Photosphere.
- E.
Solar wind.
- 93.About 94 percent of the nuclei in the outer parts of the Sun are
- A.
Helium.
- B.
Hydrogen.
- C.
Heavy elements.
- D.
Gas.
- E.
Iron.
- 94.The light we receive from the Sun comes from the layer of the Sun's atmosphere called the
- A.
Photosphere.
- B.
Solar corona
- C.
Solar wind.
- D.
Scattering of sunlight
- E.
Sunspots.
- 95.The wavelength peak of the Sun's radiation is in the middle of the
- A.
Infrared region.
- B.
Radio spectrum
- C.
Ultraviolet region
- D.
Visible spectrum
- E.
X-ray region
- 96.The solar corona is so hot it emits mainly
- A.
Infrared radiation
- B.
Radio waves
- C.
Ultraviolet radiation
- D.
Visible light.
- E.
X-rays
- 97.The dark region of a sunspot is often surrounded by a less dark region called the
- A.
Granule.
- B.
Hole.
- C.
Penumbra.
- D.
Spicule.
- E.
Umbra.
- 98.Dark lines threading their way across the Sun, visible in H light near sunspots are
- A.
Coronal holes.
- B.
Filaments.
- C.
Solar flares
- D.
Plages.
- E.
Prominences.
- 99.The Maunder minimum was a period beginning in the late 17th century when there were apparently no
- A.
Coronal holes
- B.
Eclipses.
- C.
Solar flares
- D.
Solar magnetic reversals.
- E.
Sunspots.
- 100.Compared to surrounding regions on the photosphere, sunspots are
- A.
Hotter.
- B.
Cooler.
- C.
Much less dense
- D.
Deficient in helium
- E.
Bluer.
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