Final Semester 1 - Astronomy Flashcards
Which of the following items is the largest?
universe
What is an example of a question that could be answered using cosmological models?
what stars are made of
How would cosmologists describe the overall content of the universe?
isotropic
Sandy takes a glass jar filled with clear paint and adds a few pinches of sand into it. She then uses a paint mixer to vigorously shake the jar, mixing the sand uniformly in it. When the jar is held to the light, the sand is evenly distributed throughout. What is this an illustration of?
the cosmological principle
What force binds a galaxy together?
gravity
What is the name of the galaxy we live in?
the Milky Way
What is the Sun?
a star
How old is the universe?
about 14 billion years old
What was the universe immediately before the Big Bang occurred?
a singularity
What causes cosmic microwave background energy?
cooling as the universe expands
What is happening to the universe today?
It is expanding in size.
Observation has shown that galaxies further away from us are moving away at a faster rate than galaxies closer to us. What does this evidence most directly support?
the Big Bang theory
What concept does Hubble’s Law most concern?
growing distance between galaxies
An astronomer notes that the celestial object they are observing is exhibiting a blueshift. What does this mean?
It’s moving towards the astronomer.
Tabitha knows the redshift value of a particular celestial object. What can she use this information most directly to find out?
the age and distance of the object
Which statement below is LEAST objective?
The sun is bright.
Marcy has just written down a question about a scientific observation that she’s made. In order to correctly follow the scientific method, what should she do next?
Form a hypothesis.
Javier is a navigator for the navy. His ship has just lost all power in the middle of the ocean, including access to your GPS. Which astronomical tool would be MOST helpful in this situation?
a sextant
A group of scientists have just concluded that all cow meat contains a bacteria that is harmful and in some cases deadly to humans. They are determined to share this information so that consuming beef would no longer be allowed. What is this an example of?
science for policy
Edward is a professional astronomer who observes that only one side of the moon faces the Earth at any given time. He asks himself why the moon appears to be facing our planet in the same direction all of the time. Continuing with the scientific method, which of the following would be a good hypothesis?
The moon rotates at the same rate it orbits the planet.
When following the scientific method, why would asking a subjective question be an inappropriate part of the procedure?
A subjective question deals with opinions, morals, and emotions and is not suited for science.
Which of these would be considered part of the natural world?
The Grand Canyon
Which of the following questions may be difficult to test scientifically?
Why is cheating wrong?
The statement “Earth is the third planet from the sun” is an example of a:
fact.
“The planets revolve around the sun in an elliptical pattern because of the respective gravitational forces that interact between the sun and the other planets.” This statement is an example of a:
theory
“The moon’s gravitational force causes high and low tides on Earth.” This statement is an example of a:
law
Imagine that someone is immersed under a beautiful cosmic meteor shower. Which instrument would BEST help them view the largest portion of the sky?
binoculars
Which type of telescope would an astronomer MOST likely use to try and search for a black hole?
radio telescope
Sarah just bought a telescope and is telling you all about what she saw last night, but she keeps mentioning that every object she pointed it towards seemed to have a fuzzy glow. What type of telescope was she MOST likely using?
refracting telescope
What type of scientific investigation would include creating a chart that shows the phases of the moon?
descriptive
Which ancient society first coined the word astronomy and contributed important early work in this discipline?
the Greeks
What is the geocentric model of the solar system?
Earth is the center of the universe.
A large university says that it has several satellite campuses. What does this mean?
it has many small campuses in the area around the main campus
As a planet forms in space, which of the following makes its gravitational pull increase?
Its mass increases.
Miguel has built an observation station on the moon in the “sea of tranquility,” a maria famous for being one of the “eyes” of the “man in the moon.” How often will Miguel be able to see the earth from this station?
all the time, as the moon rotates and revolves
What would each half of the Earth be if we were to horizontally divide Earth in half at the equator?
a hemisphere
A science-fiction style mad scientist wants to place half the world in eternal darkness using an “anti-rotation” machine. What should be the targets of this machine for the scheme to work?
Earth itself
Why does summer receive more daylight hours than winter?
The hemisphere of Earth is tilted more toward the Sun.
Which of the following occurs when the moon is closest to the Earth?
periapsis
How often does Earth complete a revolution?
365 days
The summer season is closely linked to which of the following?
a solstice because Earth is very close to the Sun
Which of these statements BEST summarizes what the Earth and Moon have in common?
They are both constantly revolving in an elliptical path.
Approximately how often does the Moon revolve around Earth?
every 30 days
Which of the following items is shaped MOST like the Moon?
an egg
How much of the Moon does the Sun illuminate at all times?
one-half
What is the name of the star that is the closest to Earth?
the Sun
What force is responsible for crushing or collapsing stars?
gravity
What do light bulbs emit to produce light?
photons
Alicia is an avid stargazer and noticed that, over time, one of her favorite stars appears to be switching locations across the sky as the night progresses. What is this called?
apparent motion
Fiona is trying to describe the location of some of the brightest set of stars in the Northern Sky, Betelgeuse and Rigel, to a friend. What could she have her friend look for to help find the stars?
Orion’s belt
What are the official names for the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper?
Ursa Major and Ursa Minor
What could an astronomer deduce if they know the type of light being emitted by a star?
elements that it absorbs
What does an astronomer know about a star if they know its classification in the Morgan-Keenan Spectral Classification system?
a method of classifying stars by their temperatures and compositions
The supergiant star Alnitak is one of the hottest stars identified by astronomers. What color must it be?
blue
How long does it take light to travel from the Sun to Earth?
about eight minutes
What does the H-R diagram represent?
a star’s absolute magnitude and temperature.
“Clouds” in space can begin as what celestial object?
nebulae
What is the aging process of a star referred to as?
the evolution
What is a small, low-mass remnant star that has exhausted all the fuel to perform nuclear fusion?
a white dwarf
What type of star may appear brighter than an entire galaxy for days?
supernova
Neutron stars have been overtaken by what?
gravity
What do astronomers call a neutron star that spins?
a pulsar
The _____ layer of a star is very dense and hot, while the _____ layer of a star is much cooler and less dense.
inner; outer
The _____ layer of a star is very dense and hot, while the _____ layer of a star is much cooler and less dense.
inner; outer
Anastasia is trying to identify which among a set of stars has the coldest temperature. What color should she be looking for?
red
What term refers to groups of stars that form patterns in the sky?
constellations
Jonah is filling out paperwork for insurance and in the “applicant occupation” space he writes cartographer. What does Jonah’s job entail?
creating geographic maps of continents and countries
Natale is describing a group of stars that are located between Polaris and the Northern Hemisphere horizon to her class. She explains that because of Earth’s rotation, these stars appear to move around Polaris. What is she talking about?
circumpolar constellation
Mikel’s teacher asks him to describe what happens to stars as they undergo nuclear fusion and process hydrogen into helium. What does Mikel say?
They become hotter and denser.
Waves that make up light have peaks and valleys just like the ocean. What are the scientific terms for peaks and valleys?
crests and troughs
What were sextants, which used celestial bodies like stars to plot courses of movement and exploration, used for?
astronavigation
Hannah is interested in learning more about the constellations in the celestial sphere. What are some easily accessible technological applications that Hannah could use to find and identify constellations?
Google Sky Maps or Pocket Universe
Who is responsible for writing one of the earliest compendiums of constellations in a book called Almagest?
Roman astronomer Ptolemy
Jamal would like to alter the wavelength of a particular beam of light for an experiment. What would he need to change to cause this effect?
introduce a material for it to pass through
Kevin is holding a container with a small hole in it (so that light can get in but not get out). The container absorbs all of the light that comes in through the small hole. What is Kevin holding an example of?
a blackbody radiator
In Einstein’s famous equation E=mc2, what do each of the letters stand for?
e is energy, m is mass, and c is the speed of light
Magnitude is used to show the brightness of one object compared with the brightness of another object with the _____ magnitude of a star referring to a star’s brightness as seen from your eyes and _____ magnitude being the actual brightness of a star.
apparent; absolute
What term refers to a large cloud of dust and gas that contracts under the force of gravity and breaks apart to create stars?
nebula
What is used to measure the different speeds that different stars spin at?
angular momentum
When a star is created from a nebula, what is the separate entity that it becomes called?
protostar
What is made when certain wavelengths of light, or colors, are given off by hot gases and can be thought of like a fingerprint for elements?
emission lines
What can be used to detect the powerful beams of cosmic microwave background radiation that can be detected on Earth?
radio telescopes
What does Einstein’s famous equation say that all matter is?
concentrated energy that has condensed into the atoms
What is produced when light from a hot solid or dense gas passes through a less dense, cooler gas as photons of light move from the core of the star to the star’s outer atmosphere?
absorption spectrum
According to astronomers, what will eventually become a white dwarf?
the Sun
Shooting stars aren’t actually stars; what are they?
meteros
What can we discuss better by using the theory of electromagnetism?
the different types of light, both visible and invisible
What do astronomers use to break a star’s light into a spectrum?
spectrograph
Why do astronomers have difficulty locating black holes and use observations of stars to detect their presence?
They do not give off light.
What does the motion of the stars around the center of the Milky Way tell astronomers?
There is a black hole there.
The small amount of missing mass that occurs when _____ atoms fuse to form helium atoms is converted into energy in the form of heat and light.
hydrogen
The small amount of missing mass that occurs when _____ atoms fuse to form helium atoms is converted into energy in the form of heat and light.
hydrogen
When energy and matter are paired with light, they are one in the same.
true
Gravity makes a nebula more stable in a newly-formed star.
false
All objects emit and absorb electromagnetic radiation.
true
A star is mainly made of hydrogen gas, but most classes of stars include other elements such as helium, calcium, and other heavier elements and molecules.
true
If they waited long enough, a person living in any single location in the world could create a sky map with every known constellation.
false
Edwin used a telescope from the 1920s and observes fuzzy blobs of light off in the distance. What is Edwin seeing?
galaxies
When approximating the mass of a nebulae, what reference system is MOST appropriate?
thousands of times the mass of our Sun
When approximating the mass of a nebulae, what reference system is MOST appropriate?
thousands of times the mass of our Sun
What could nebulae be considered?
“nests” for stars
What could nebulae be considered?
“nests” for stars
Which of the following everyday activities MOST illustrates the concept of accretion?
a dough mixer forming a “ball” from ingredients
Which of the following BEST describes the black hole status within the Milky Way?
There is a supermassive black hole that is about 15 million miles across.
How do scientists know that dark matter exists?
They observe gravitational lensing bending the light of other objects in space.
What are redshifts?
galaxies that are moving farther apart
What will happen when the Andromeda galaxy and the Milky Way galaxy collide sometime in the next five billion years?
They will merge to create one super galaxy.
Jane is observing the Milky Way thanks to the fact that it is a very clear, dark night. However, she feels like she can only see a very small part of it and wants to see the entire galaxy. Why is this impossible?
because of her position within it
How do astronomers classify galaxies with tightly wound spiral arms and fat nuclear bulges?
spiral type-a
Which galaxy is the farthest-away that we’ve been able to see, also logically making it the oldest galaxy we’ve ever been able to see?
GN-z11
Why is looking through a telescope to observe infant galaxies like looking back in time?
because it takes time for light to travel
Why would it be impossible to survive near a black hole?
The gravity is too strong.
Robert is looking at four galaxies:
an irregular galaxy the he calls “Calliope”;
a spiral galaxy that he calls “Medea”;
an elliptical galaxy that he calls “Minerva”;
and a lenticular galaxy that he calls “Ariadne”;
Which of these four is the youngest?
Calliope
What can the accreting core be in the process of accretion?
star, planet, or black hole
James is a scientist who is working on finding an answer to a question about solar eclipses; however, he doesn’t have enough time or data to test all the possible answers to his question. Based on this, James is using specific studies and calculations in an effort to find answers that are close to, or an approximation of, a correct answer. What are these approximation answers that James is looking for called?
estimation
Jaden is interested in learning more about the basics of astronomy and looking more closely at the sky all by himself. He wants to get a basic, starter telescope to help him with this endeavor and his teacher suggests an organization that might be able to help him with this. What organization is Jaden’s teacher likely referring to?
Astronomers Without Borders
If you started counting from 1st grade, how many years of education would the typical professional astronomer have today, at minimum?
18 years
If a kiloparsec (kpc) is equal to 1000 parsecs, how many light years is a kiloparsec equal to?
3, 260 light years
Imagine aliens landed on earth. If the aliens learned English, from their perspective, what would Earth be?
an exoplanet
Imagine scientists discovered an asteroid in our own solar system and found that it had moderate gravity and temperature, an oxygen-rich atmosphere, and water. What label would make the MOST sense for that asteroids?
habitable
If GAIA’s photometric instrument broke down, what would scientists be less able to measure?
the composition of stars
During her presentation on exoplanets, Johana explains to the class that while Proxima-b and TRAPPIST-1e may potentially be able to support life, with each of these planets, one side of the planet always faces the sun, making that side perpetually hot and the dark side eternally cool. What term does Michelle use to describe this?
tidally locked
Colin tells his friend to orbit around the perimeter of the yard spraying bug spray every few feet. How does Colin want his friend to move?
within a curved or elliptical path
What do the following have in common: charcoal, sulfur, burning metal, welding, brake pads, and even burnt cookies?
They are all things that astronauts have claimed space smells like.
When the Earth is on one side of the sun, a star’s location is recorded. In six months, when the Earth is on the other side of the sun, the same star is observed and the distance between the first observation and the second is calculated. What is this an example of?
trigonometric parallax
On which process does looking for substances like beryllium as a “cosmic clock” rely?
spallation
How do we know that some galactic bodies have interacted with each other?
Spallation caused particle exchange.
How often does the average person rely use confidence intervals, at least informally?
several times a day
Given the nature of the plant nicknamed “Methuselah” by astronomers, what could you guess about the mythical figure named Methuselah?
They were incredibly old.
Which industry deals with both commercial and government vehicles that fly within Earth’s airspace?
aerospace industry
Elias just was hired on to work at the Johnson Space Center. Which state will he move to?
Texas
Elias just was hired on to work at the Johnson Space Center. Which state will he move to?
Texas
Justine just got a job offer from NASA and accepted the position. She works in this big room and communicates with some of the spacecraft, sending signals back and forth. Which of the following is MOST likely to be her official job?
member of the mission control team
Caleb has become interested in outer space, so his aunt and uncle are planning a trip to Florida for him to visit one of the most recognizable space centers in the country. Which space center would Caleb be visiting?
John F. Kennedy Space Center
Which sector of industry expanded the most due to the “space boom” in Cape Canaveral?
hospitality services
In what order does a flight director prioritize tasks to assure success?
crew safety, spacecraft safety, mission success
Which of the following is the only group in mission control that gets to communicate with the astronauts in space?
CAPCOM
The CAPCOM acronym gets its name from which combination of words?
Capsule Communication
A strong thunderstorm just knocked out the power of the entire space center. Who should the team contact to make sure their equipment is still in working order?
Ground Control
The term astronaut derives from Greek. What does it translate to in English?
star sailor
The two-year training period that an astronaut must complete is very similar to what other type of training?
military training
Which career uses charts, reports, graphs, and other visual representations in the field of astronomy?
data scientists
What aspect of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope are astronomers most excited about?
It will house one of the world’s largest cameras.
What is the goal of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope?
to give scientists a time lapse recording of the southern hemisphere
Where should someone look for employment openings if they want to pursue a career in academia?
email lists that distribute openings in colleges and universities
