AST 101 WEEK 1 EXAM QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED ANSWERS
LATEST UPDATE 2026
What is a Galaxy? - Answers A cloud of 100 Billion Stars
What is a Light Year? - Answers It is a measurement of distance. Light can travel
9461 trillion km per year
What is an Astronomical Unit? - Answers The average distance between the sun and
the Earth ( 149.6 million kilometres)
What are Terrestrial Planets? - Answers They are small and rocky planets with either
a thin or no atmosphere, and few moons. They are comprised of very heavy elements
What are Jovian Planets - Answers Larger planets with a lot of moons and a thick
atmosphere. Made up mostly of gas, liquids, or light elements
What are Dwarf Planets - Answers Very small planets that have high ice contents.
DOn't orbit sun on Ecliptical Plane.
What is the ecliptic plane? - Answers the imaginary flat surface that contains the path
of Terrestrial and Jovian planets' orbit around the Sun
What are comets? - Answers Icy bodies that are seen farther into the solar system.
They have elliptical orbits and have a tail when travelling closer to the sun.
What is the Asteroid Belt? - Answers A band of over a million asteroids between
Mars and Jupiter that engulfs the sun.
Describe the Asteroids in the Asteroid Belt - Answers Each asteroid has a diameter
greater than 1 meter, and their mass altogether is only 3 percent of the moon
What is the Kuiper Belt? - Answers Vast collection of icy bodies that orbit Neptune,
including dwarf planets. Their total mass is equal to Earth's moon
What are Voyager Probes? - Answers These are probes that we had sent out in the
1970s when the planets were aligned perfectly. It allowed probes to use each planet's
gravity to accelerate and change direction to next planet
Currently, how far away are Voyager 1 and Voyager 2? - Answers They are 20-light
hours away from Earth
Describe the Scale of Outer Space - Answers Sun = Cantaloupe
Terrestrial Planets = seeds
Jupiter and Saturn = blueberries
Neptune and Uranus = peas
Galaxy = 100 billion grains of sand
LATEST UPDATE 2026
What is a Galaxy? - Answers A cloud of 100 Billion Stars
What is a Light Year? - Answers It is a measurement of distance. Light can travel
9461 trillion km per year
What is an Astronomical Unit? - Answers The average distance between the sun and
the Earth ( 149.6 million kilometres)
What are Terrestrial Planets? - Answers They are small and rocky planets with either
a thin or no atmosphere, and few moons. They are comprised of very heavy elements
What are Jovian Planets - Answers Larger planets with a lot of moons and a thick
atmosphere. Made up mostly of gas, liquids, or light elements
What are Dwarf Planets - Answers Very small planets that have high ice contents.
DOn't orbit sun on Ecliptical Plane.
What is the ecliptic plane? - Answers the imaginary flat surface that contains the path
of Terrestrial and Jovian planets' orbit around the Sun
What are comets? - Answers Icy bodies that are seen farther into the solar system.
They have elliptical orbits and have a tail when travelling closer to the sun.
What is the Asteroid Belt? - Answers A band of over a million asteroids between
Mars and Jupiter that engulfs the sun.
Describe the Asteroids in the Asteroid Belt - Answers Each asteroid has a diameter
greater than 1 meter, and their mass altogether is only 3 percent of the moon
What is the Kuiper Belt? - Answers Vast collection of icy bodies that orbit Neptune,
including dwarf planets. Their total mass is equal to Earth's moon
What are Voyager Probes? - Answers These are probes that we had sent out in the
1970s when the planets were aligned perfectly. It allowed probes to use each planet's
gravity to accelerate and change direction to next planet
Currently, how far away are Voyager 1 and Voyager 2? - Answers They are 20-light
hours away from Earth
Describe the Scale of Outer Space - Answers Sun = Cantaloupe
Terrestrial Planets = seeds
Jupiter and Saturn = blueberries
Neptune and Uranus = peas
Galaxy = 100 billion grains of sand
