Test 1

Question 1

What are constellations?

Answer 1

Groups of stars relatively close together in the sky.

Question 2

Where on Earth can you stand and, over the course of a year, see the entire sky?

Answer 2

The equator.

Question 3

Why do we only ever see the same side of the Moon?

Answer 3

The moon rotates once each orbit. Also known as tidal lock.

Question 4

When the moon is at the Meridian at sunrise, it’s phase is what?

Answer 4

Third quarter.

Question 5

If you see the first quarter moon on the Meridian, the sun is in what direction?

Answer 5

On the western horizon.

Question 6

If people on earth were looking at a total lunar eclipse, what would you see from the moon?

Answer 6

A totally dark earth.

Question 7

The cities of Beijing and Philadelphia have about the same latitude, how does their view of the sky compare?

Answer 7

They’re identical.

Question 8

What star does the Earth’s axis point toward?

Answer 8

Polaris

Question 9

What direction does the moon rise in?

Answer 9

The east.

Question 10

What is the term for the a planet appearing to travel backwards as the Earth catches up to it?

Answer 10

Retrograde motion.

Question 11

What are inferior planets?

Answer 11

Any that are closer to the Sun.

Question 12

What are superior planets?

Answer 12

Any that are farther from the Sun.

Question 13

Describe the speeds of planets with elliptical orbits.

Answer 13

They slow when they travel away from their star and speed up when moving towards it.

Question 14

Describe Kepler’s second law.

Answer 14

A planet will move fastest when it is closest to it’s star.

Question 15

What is one of the first public criticisms of the geocentric model?

Answer 15

Galileo’s observations of the phases of Venus and of moons orbiting Jupiter, indicating not all things orbit Earth.

Question 16

Define eccentricity.

Answer 16

The stretch of a planet’s elliptical orbit.

Question 17

Why are high eccentricity planets unlikely to support life?

Answer 17

The changing distance from the star drastically changes the temperature.

Question 18

Which of Newton’s laws explains why people continue moving when a car stops.

Answer 18

Inertia.

Question 19

Why do we wear seatbelts in cars and airplanes?

Answer 19

To protect against acceleration.

Question 20

How would the speed of a satellite moving to a different orbiting altitude change?

Answer 20

Lower: faster, higher: slower

Question 21

The connection between gravity and orbits enables astronomers to measure a planet’s what?

Answer 21

Mass.

Question 22

How does the gravitational force change based on distance?

Answer 22

It is an inverse square. So a moon half as far would experience 4 times the force, while a moon twice as far would experience a fourth of the force.

Question 23

Describe where the moon is during spring(vernal) and neap tides.

Answer 23

During spring tides it is in line with the Earth and the Sun, while during neap tides they form a right angle.

Question 24

Self gravity is what?

Answer 24

The gravitational effect of all parts of a body.

Question 25

Tidal tails are caused by…?

Answer 25

Gas on one side being pulled before the gas on the far side.

Question 26

Astronauts experience weightlessness because…?

Answer 26

They are free falling around the Earth.

Question 27

What kind of orbit is best represented by Kepler’s second law?

Answer 27

An elliptical orbit.

Question 28

How long does it take light to reach the earth?

Answer 28

Roughly 8 minutes.

Question 29

What is the term for the compression and elongation of frequencies?

Answer 29

The Doppler effect.

Question 30

As a black body becomes hotter it also…?

Answer 30

becomes more luminous and bluer.

Question 31

When a planet radiates less energy, what happens to the planet?

Answer 31

It’s temperature increases until equilibrium is achieved.

Question 32

What happens when light enters a medium?

Answer 32

It slows down and refracts.

Question 33

Star A is twice as far as Star B and equally as bright. How do their luminosities compare?

Answer 33

Star A is 4 times as luminous.

Question 34

What does thermal equilibrium mean?

Answer 34

The amount of energy entering is the same as the amount leaving.

Question 35

What does the negative number mean in Doppler shift calculations?

Answer 35

The star is moving closer to the observer.

Question 36

What will doubling a star’s temperature do to it’s flux?

Answer 36

The flux will increase by 16 times as much.

Question 37

Through what material does light travel fastest?

Answer 37

A vacuum.

Question 38

What are some advantages of reflecting telescopes?

Answer 38

They have long focal length in a short tube; they don’t experience chromatic aberration; they don’t bend due to the weight of the lens; they don’t influence the light with a medium.

Question 39

What is the purpose of adaptive optics?

Answer 39

To adjust a telescope to correct for light bending due to air turbulence.

Question 40

What does better angular resolution mean?

Answer 40

Smaller details are visible.

Question 41

What is the benefit of CCDs compared to normal photography?

Answer 41

They have higher quantum efficiency and see fainter objects.

Question 42

What is the advantage of space telescopes over grounded?

Answer 42

They are unaffected by the atmosphere.

Question 43

What are the different types of information gathering missions performed by probes?

Answer 43

Flybys - Travel past different planets, picking up data.
Rovers - land on ground and study the land matter.
Atmospheric probes - dip into the atmosphere of gas giants and send back data.

Question 44

Why are all large telescopes reflective?

Answer 44

Chromatic aberration is minimized?

Question 45

What is the biggest disadvantage for putting telescopes in space?

Answer 45

They are expensive to build and access for repairs.