Astronomy Midterm

Front 1

If the Moon rises at sunset, what is its phase?

Back 1

Full

Front 2

Uranus' period around the Sun is about 84 years, and its rotation period is about 18 hours. For approximately how long will the Sun remain above the horizon for an observer at Uranus' north pole?

Back 2

half its orbital period, or 42 years

Front 3

Kepler's three laws describe what?

Back 3

the orbital motions of the planets

Front 4

If you could look ""down"" on the solar system, so that you saw the north pole of the Earth, you would see most objects orbit

Back 4

counterclockwise

Front 5

If the Earth's spin axis were to be perpendicular to the Earth's orbital plane (the ecliptic plane), the season and seasonal variation would...

Back 5

be nonexistent

Front 6

The ionic tail of a comet points...

Back 6

along a line joining the comet and the Sun

Front 7

The Great Red Spot on Jupiter is thought to be

Back 7

a very old storm

Front 8

A Jovian planet is

Back 8

characterized by their far position relative to the Sun, large masses, low mean densities, and light element compositions

Front 9

The northern lights, referred to as aurora borealis, are caused by:

Back 9

charged particles falling into the earth near the poles

Front 10

Kepler

Back 10

astronomer who developed three laws of planetary motion which modified the Copernican ideas

Front 11

A short-period comet is likely to be found in an orbit near...

Back 11

the ecliptic plane

Front 12

The Kuiper Belt is the likely origin of

Back 12

short-period comets

Front 13

If the moon is seen setting at noon in New Jersey, what is its phase?

Back 13

last quarter

Front 14

Venus has a larger angle at maximum elongation than does Mercury. In the Copernican model, this fact is used to infer...

Back 14

that Venus is farther from the sun than Mercury

Front 15

The magnifying power of an astronomical telescope can be modified simply by changing the

Back 15

eyepiece

Front 16

Difference between visible light and radio waves

Back 16

radio waves have longer wavelengths than visible light

Front 17

Which telescope focus would an astronomer use who wanted to use heavy equipment?

Back 17

Coude

Front 18

The frequency of a light wave is inversely proportional to its

Back 18

wavelength

Front 19

What is the relationship between the incident and reflected beams of light?

Back 19

the angle of incidence is always equal to the angle of reflection

Front 20

The focus behind the hole in the main mirror is called

Back 20

The Cassegrain

Front 21

A 6-inch telescope collects _____ more light than a 3-inch telescope.

Back 21

4x

Front 22

What do all kinds of electromagnetic energy have in common?

Back 22

all have the same speed in a vacuum

Front 23

The Doppler Effect

Back 23

can tell you whether a body is approaching or receding but not its velocity

Front 24

List colors of visible light in order of increasing wavelength

Back 24

violet, yellow, orange, red

Front 25

Light

Back 25

-can behave like a particle is expected to behave

-can behave like a wave is expected to behave

-can move through a vacuum

-has energy

Front 26

The ____ telescope has a thin corrector plate and a spherical mirror.

Back 26

Schmidt-Cassegrain

Front 27

Which of the following phenomenon cannot be explained by the Wave Model of Light?

Back 27

Blackbody Radiation

Front 28

Chromatic aberration is a problem with ____ telescopes.

Back 28

Refracting

Front 29

The seasons on earth are caused primarily by

Back 29

the tilt of the earth's rotational axis with respect to the ecliptic

Front 30

Asterisms

Back 30

patterns of the stars in the sky

Front 31

The Bayer designation "alpha Orionis" refers to

Back 31

a particular star, alpha, in the constellation Orion

Front 32

If we could observe background stars in daylight, how would the Sun appear to move against this background because of our motion on an orbiting Earth?

Back 32

1° per day, from west to east

Front 33

As the magnitude of a star increases

Back 33

it becomes less luminous

Front 34

Which galaxy is the most distant from earth?

Back 34

The Andromeda Galaxy

Front 35

About how long does it take light from the Sun to reach the Earth?

Back 35

about 8 mins

Front 36

If a star could be moved twice as far away, it would appear to be...

Back 36

1/4 as bright

Front 37

Hipparchus rated stars on a scale of 1 to 6, according to their

Back 37

brightness

Front 38

Astronomy is

Back 38

a primarily observational physical science

Front 39

At Stockton, the noon sun is

Back 39

highest in the sky during the month of June

Front 40

As seen from a point above the North Pole, the earth rotates ____ and revolves ____

Back 40

both CCW

Front 41

The stars that we see looking west from Stockton are moving _____ due to diurnal motion.

Back 41

down and to the right

Front 42

Zodiac

Back 42

band of constellations around the sky that contains the paths of the Sun, Moon, and planets

Front 43

Precession causes changes in ____ relative to the stars.

Back 43

-the position of the North Celestial Polethe

-the position of the Vernal Equinox

Front 44

What portion of the celestial sphere is visible to a New Jersey observer at any particular time?

Back 44

most of the northern celestial hemisphere and less than half of the southern celestial hemisphere

Front 45

From a star's apparent brightness, we can calculate its

Back 45

Absolute Magnitude

Front 46

As absolute magnitude increases

Back 46

the star becomes more luminous

Front 47

The primary difference between the sidereal day and solar day is due to the fact that:

Back 47

the Earth moves around the Sun