Astronomy

Front 1

True or false: A Scientific theory can be tested by observations and proven to be true.

Back 1

False: You can test a theory, but you can't prove it's true because another piece of evidence could come along and prove it wrong. All you can do is disprove something.

Front 2

True or false: A pattern in nature can reveal an underlying physical law.

Back 2

True: We build our understanding by watching and explaining patters.

Front 3

True or False: A theory in science is a guess about what might be true.

Back 3

False: A theory is "a carefully constructed proposition. . . of how the world works" It is never a guess.

Front 4

Which unit of measurement would typically be used for measuring distances between the sun and nearby stars, such as Proxima Centauri?

Back 4

Light-year

Front 5

Modern astronomers have divided the night-time sky as seen from earth into 88 sections. What are the names of the 88 regions?

Back 5

Constellations

Front 6

Which unit of measurement would typically be used for measuring distances between the sun and planets within our solar system?

Back 6

Astronomical Unit

Front 7

Which unit of measurement would typically be used for measuring distances between the sun and galaxies outside of our own?

Back 7

Mega Parsec

Front 8

Venus is about the same size as which other planet?

Back 8

Earth

Front 9

If we had a sufficiently powerful telescope, what is the farthest that we could wee back in time?

Back 9

Only back to a fog of electromagnetic radiation and charged particles that were constantly scattering off of each other.

Front 10

The Hubble Ultra Deep Field image reveals about 10,000 galaxies that are about 13 billion light years away. To obtain that image, the Hubble telescope was pointed towards:

Back 10

A very empty region of space known as the Fornax Void.

Front 11

The largest known star is named

Back 11

VY Canis Majoris

Front 12

About how many suns would fit inside of the aforementioned largest known star?

Back 12

6,000,000

Front 13

Astronauts feel weightless as they orbit the earth because-

Back 13

The inertia of the astronaut's (and spacecraft's) orbit causes an outward acceleration that just balances the acceleration of gravity.

Front 14

If you are riding a Merry Go Round:

Back 14

You experience acceleration because of change in direction, even if the speed remains constant.

Front 15

Which has the most inertia?

Back 15

A high mass object.

Front 16

Empirical laws rely on experience or observation alone often without due regard for system and theory. Which set of law(s) are considered to be empirical?

Back 16

Kepler's Laws

Front 17

The earliest information about the structure of the universe comes from which of the following:

Back 17

Slight temperature deviations relative to the approx. 2.7 degree Kelvin microwave background radiation that seems to come from all directions in space.

Front 18

True or False: Massive objects fall faster in the Earth's gravitational field than do less massive objects.

Back 18

False

Front 19

True or False: A kilogram of lead has more mass than does a kilogram of feathers.

Back 19

False

Front 20

True or False: A planet travels fastest when it's closest to the sun.

Back 20

True

Front 21

T or F: Mass is the same thing as weight.

Back 21

False

Front 22

T or F: Johannes Kepler found that the gravitational force between the Sun and Earth is inversely proportional to the mass of the Sun

Back 22

False

Front 23

What is the name of the part of an eclipse shadow from which the sun cannot be seen at all?

Back 23

Umbra

Front 24

What is the name part of an eclipse shadow from which a portion of the sun can be seen?

Back 24

Penumbra

Front 25

According the Newton's First Law an object at rest will remain at rest and an object in motion will remain in motion unless acted upon by a(n):

Back 25

External Force

Front 26

Why does the moon appear reddish orange during a total lunar eclipse?

Back 26

While the disk of the Earth shadows the disk of the moon, sunlight is able to pass through a portion of the Earth's atmosphere, all but the red light is scattered away. Some of that red light is scattered on the moon's surface, which gives it a red color.

Front 27

Stars appear to twinkle. Planets do not. Why?

Back 27

Stars are so far away that they appear as single points of light. Atmospheric turbulence can cause the intensity of the point to flicker, it can also bend light coming from that source.

Front 28

During which phase(s) of the moon can a lunar eclipse occur?

Back 28

A lunar eclipse can only occur at the time of a full moon.

Front 29

During which phase(s) of the moon can a solar eclipse occur?

Back 29

A solar eclipse can only occur at the time of a new moon.

Front 30

At what time does a full moon rise?

Back 30

On average, 6 pm.

Front 31

At what time does a new moon rise?

Back 31

On average, 6 am.

Front 32

What time will a full moon be highest in the sky?

Back 32

Midnight

Front 33

What time will new moon be highest in the sky?

Back 33

Noon

Front 34

In what direction should we face to see the full moon at it's highest?

Back 34

Due south

Front 35

The projection of the Earth's equator on the celestial sphere is called the Celestial Equator. What do we call the lines on the celestial sphere that are analogous to latitude on earth?

Back 35

Lines (or circles) of Declination

Front 36

What is the alititude of the sun as seen from the Earth's equator at noon on the Vernal Equinox:

Back 36

90 degrees

Front 37

Rochester has a latitude of about 43.17 degrees. Given that the Earth's axis is tilted about 23.5 degrees, what is the altitude of the sun at noon on the day of the Summer Solstice?

Back 37

First accounting for latitude of Rochester, the sun would be at 90* - 23.17 * = 46.47. Next, accounting for the Summer Solstice and the tilt of the Earth, we add the tilt of the Earth to the result of the first part of your calculation. 46.47* + 23 = 70.2*

Front 38

What do we call the plane on which the Earth and other planets orbit the sun?

Back 38

Ecliptic Plane

Front 39

Because of precession, the Earth's axis sweeps out two big circles in the sky. One represents which way the North Pole points as a function of time, and one represents which direction the South Pole points as a function of time. How long does it take to complete one such circle?

Back 39

About 26,000 years

Front 40

Earth would appear to go through phases when viewed from Mars, but not when viewed form Venus. Why?

Back 40

The orbit of Earth is closer to the Sun than that of the Mars, as such someone see portions of the Earth's surface that are not lit up by Sun. So as viewed from Mars, Earth does go through phases.

Front 41

Which type of total eclipse is visible from only a small swath of Earth's surface?

Back 41

Total Solar Eclipse

Front 42

How does the semi-major axis for a comet's orbit about the sun compare with that of a planet orbiting the sun?

Back 42

For comets, the semi-major axis is much longer than the semi0minor axis. That is the orbit is very elongated, and the two foci are apart.

Front 43

T OR F: VY Canis Majoris is the brightest star in the night sky.

Back 43

False

Front 44

T OR F:

Back 44

Proxima Centauri is the brightest star in the night sky.

Front 45

The hubble deep field image reveals about 10,000 galaxies that are about 13 billion light years away. To obtain the image the Hubble telescope was pointed towards:

Back 45

A very empty region of space known as the Fornax Void

Front 46

What is the difference between a hypothesis and a theory?

Back 46

A hypothesis is an educated guess. Theory is a hypothesis that has been rigorously tested.

Front 47

Keeplers Three Laws

Back 47

1. Kepler's First Law: Planets travel in elliptical orbits with the sun at one Focus.

2. Kepler's Second: Planet orbiting the Sun sweep out equal areas in equal times.

Kepler's Third Law: The Period Squared of an Orbit is proportional to it's cubed. p^2 = k * a ^3

Front 48

Newtons Three Laws of Motion

Back 48

1: A body at reset will bremain at rest; body in motion will remain in motion along a straight line at constant velocity, unless acted upon by an external force.

2: A body of mass m subjected to a force F undergoes an accelerations, a, that has the same direction as the force and a magnitude that is directly proportional to the force and inversely proportional to the mass, i.e., F = ma

3: For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction

Front 49

About how far does light travel in one second?

Back 49

186,000 miles, on e light-second.

Front 50

How far does light travel in one year?

Back 50

6 trillion miles, one light-year

Front 51

Length of time that is takes light to travel from Sun to Earth:

Back 51

8.3 minutes

Front 52

Length of time that is takes light to travel from Moon to Earth:

Back 52

1.28 seconds

Front 53

Length of time that is takes light to travel from Neptune to Earth:

Back 53

8.3 hours

Front 54

Length of time that is takes light to travel from Proxima Centauri to Earth:

Back 54

4.2 years

Front 55

Length of time that is takes light to travel from Andromeda Galaxy to Earth:

Back 55

2,500,000 years

Front 56

Why is rising raison bread dough often used as an analogy for describing the expansion of the universe?

Back 56

The big bang was not an explosion from a single center. It was instead an expansion of all points in space. That is, space itself is expanding, causing every point to move away from every other point.

Front 57

In the balloon analogy of the universe, what happens to the wavelength as the balloon expans?

Back 57

The wavelength of the balloon gets longer.

Front 58

Which has the most energy a photon of blue or red light?

Back 58

Blue light

Front 59

What is the ~ diameter of the Milky Way Galaxy?

Back 59

100,000 light-years

Front 60

on a clear night in a very dark sky conditions, an average human can see several thousand stars with his or her unaided eyes. under these conditions, the most distant stars visible would all be:

Back 60

Blue Giants

Front 61

Which star is nearest the Earth?

Back 61

Our Sun

Front 62

Can one see Proxima Centauri from the Earth with his or her unaided eye?

Back 62

No, at a distance of 4.2 light-years, Proxima Centauri is much too dim to be seen from Earth with one's unaided eye.

Front 63

State the cosmological principle in your own words.

Back 63

universe will look the same to every observer inside it

Front 64

What do you call the point that is directly overhead as you are standing on the Earth's surface?

Back 64

Zenith

Front 65

The zero line of Right ascension is tied to the crossing of which two planes?

Back 65

Ecliptic Plane and Celestial Equator

Front 66

In which constellation does the above referenced crossover point occur?

Back 66

Pisces

Front 67

The zero line of declination is tied to what plane ( or circle )

Back 67

Celestial Equator