Astronomy 1010

Front 1

Seasons on earth are primarily cause by _____________?

Back 1

The tilt of the earth's rotational axis

Front 2

You note that a particular star is directly overhead. It will be directly overhead again in how much time?

Back 2

23 hours 56 minutes

Front 3

The constellations of the zodiac fall along _____________?

Back 3

The ecliptic

Front 4

The angular size of an object depends on which two quantities?

Back 4

The objects actual size and it's distance from us

Front 5

A solar eclipse can only happen during a ____________

Back 5

New moon

Front 6

When the moon is directly opposite the sun in the sky, it's phase is ______

Back 6

Full

Front 7

Some type of solar eclipse will happen about ________ at _________

Back 7

Every six months; new moon

Front 8

The retrograde motion for Mars occurs ______________

Back 8

At opposition, when earth overtakes Mars and passes between Mars and the sun

Front 9

What does Kepler's third law imply about planetary motion?

Back 9

Planets further from the sun orbit slower than planets closer to the sun

Front 10

The place in a planets orbit that is closer to the sun is called __________

Back 10

Perihelion

Front 11

According to newton's law of universal gravitation, if the moon were three times further from the earth, the force by earth on the moon would (decrease/increase) by a factor of _________

Back 11

Decrease; 3

Front 12

Of all the forms of electromagnetic radiation, the one with the lowest frequency is ________

Back 12

Radio

Front 13

The two forms of electromagnetic radiation that penetrate the atmosphere best are _______

Back 13

Visible and radio waves

Front 14

The visible color of electromagnetic radiation that has the shortest wavelength is __________

Back 14

Violet

Front 15

There are no X-ray telescopes on earth because _______________

Back 15

X-rays don't penetrate earth's atmosphere

Front 16

The wavelength at which a black body radiates most depends on its _______________

Back 16

Temperature

Front 17

If a light source is approaching you at a speed very close to the speed of light, it will appear ___________

Back 17

Bluer than it is

Front 18

An incandescent light produces _________

Back 18

A continuous spectrum

Front 19

A neon light gives us _______

Back 19

A few bright emission lines

Front 20

Why are molecular lines more complex than elemental spectral lines?

Back 20

Molecules cant vibrate and rotate as well

Front 21

The amount of diffraction, and thus the resolution of the scope, depends upon ____________

Back 21

The wavelength used and the size of the telescope objective lens or mirror

Front 22

What is the resolution of a telescope?

Back 22

It's ability to distinguish two adjacent objects close together in the sky

Front 23

The angular resolution of an 8 inch telescope is ________ greater than that it a 2 inch scope

Back 23

4 times

Front 24

What is the light gathering power of an 8 inch telescope compared to a 4 inch telescope?

Back 24

4x better

Front 25

One advantage of the hubble space telescope over ground based ones is that __________

Back 25

In orbit, it can operate close to its diffraction limit at visible wavelengths

Front 26

What problem does adaptive optics correct?

Back 26

Turbulence in the earth's atmosphere which creates twinkling

Front 27

Which planet by itself contains the majority of mass of all the planets?

Back 27

Jupiter

Front 28

What is true about solar system densities?

Back 28

The denser planets lie closer to the sun

Front 29

The rotation periods of Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are difficult to determine because ____________

Back 29

Their surface features are obscured by their atmospheres

Front 30

As the solar nebula contracts due to gravitation, the cloud ________

Back 30

Spins faster

Front 31

Dust is an important part of the nebular theory of the solar system formation because dust is needed to explain _________

Back 31

How the initial cloud cooled enough to collapse

Front 32

What is the primary reason that it is so difficult to view mercury from Earth?

Back 32

Mercury is always very close to the sun

Front 33

What planet has the largest axial tilt?

Back 33

Uranus

Front 34

How does Mercury's rotation relate to the sun?

Back 34

It's rotation is 2/3 as long as it's year, due to tidal resonances

Front 35

Mercury's surface most resembles that of which other body?

Back 35

Moon

Front 36

Which feature is attributed to the shrinking of Mercury's core as it cooled?

Back 36

Scarps

Front 37

Why is it reasonable to conclude that the internal structure and evolution of Venus are basically earth-like?

Back 37

They have similar masses and sizes

Front 38

Together, what two gases make up 90% of Jupiter's atmosphere?

Back 38

Hydrogen and Helium

Front 39

What is the main constituent of the atmosphere on Venus?

Back 39

Carbon dioxide

Front 40

Mars is best viewed from Earth when it is at _______

Back 40

Opposition

Front 41

Why does Mars appear fainter than Venus, as seen from Earth?

Back 41

Because it is smaller, farther away, and less reflective

Front 42

Unlike earth, Mars' seasons are affected by the distance between Mars and the sun because _______

Back 42

The orbit of Mars is significantly more elliptical

Front 43

What are Saturn's rings?

Back 43

Small, icy particles moving in orbit around Saturn

Front 44

What property of Mars is responsible for producing the great heights of its volcanoes?

Back 44

It's thick crust and low surface gravity

Front 45

What is thought to be the reason that there are no small impact craters on Mars?

Back 45

The wind blows small dust particles, eroding the surface

Front 46

How many moons does Mars have?

Back 46

Two

Front 47

What would Jupiter have needed to have become a star?

Back 47

More mass

Front 48

Jupiter is noticeably oblate because ______

Back 48

It rotates rapidly

Front 49

Essentially, the great red spot is ___________

Back 49

A large cyclonic storm