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DESCRIPTIVE ASTRONOMY FINAL EXAM
2026/2027 ACTUAL QUESTIONS WITH
VERIFIED ANSWERS.
What is a galaxy? - correct answer-a huge gropu of stars, star
systems star clusters, dust and gas bound together by gravity.
Who determined the Milky way's size? - correct answer-
Henrietta Leavitt
How can we determine distances to other galaxies using
standard candles? - correct answer-by using objects of known
brightness that astronomers use to find distance; Cepheid
variable stars and supernovae
What are spiral galaxies - correct answer-pinwheel shaped,
spiral arms that rotate, nucleus in the center, oldest stars
located near nucleus, 30% of all galaxies
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What are elliptical galaxies? - correct answer-spherical or oval
shaped, 60% of all galaxies, very old stars, very little dust and
gas
What are irregular galaxies? - correct answer--No definite
structure
-Smaller and less common than other galaxies
-Tend to have blue or white color because recent star formation
makes galaxies appear blue
-Composed of both young and old stars and large amounts of
gas and dust
What are Lenticular galaxies - correct answer-A disk-shaped
galaxy that contains no conspicuous structure within the disk.
Lenticular galaxies tend to look more like elliptical galaxies than
spiral galaxies.
What is the Local group? - correct answer-Domain local groups
grant permissions to objects within the domain in which the
reside. Global groups contain grant permissions tree or forest
wide for any objects within the Active Directory.
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What are the largest in the local group? - correct answer-Milky
Way and Andromeda
What is the Hubble turning fork diagram - correct answer-a
diagram to help classify galaxies
What is the milky way classification - correct answer-it is an Sc
What is galactic cannibalism - correct answer-the process by
which a large galaxy, through tidal gravitational interactions with
a companion, merges with that companion, resulting in a larger,
often irregular galaxy.
What is an active galaxy? - correct answer-A galaxy whose
active galactic nucleus emits large amounts of energy.
What are Seyfert galaxies? - correct answer-Spiral galaxy, very
bright cores in UV and X-ray, Very hot gasses, high variability
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What are Radio galaxies? - correct answer-They emit large
amounts of energy in the radio part of the spectrum. Most are
elliptical.
What are Quasars? - correct answer-They are the brightest and
most distant objects in the universe. Some scientists think that
quasars are active galaxies, which are all very, very far away
from us. Quasars may also by ignited from normal galaxies
when infused with a fresh source of matter. They are extinct
and have a huge redshift. They eventually become much less
luminous and become active, then normal galaxies, because
their engines, which are supermassive black holes, run out of
food.
What is a galaxy rotation curve? - correct answer-the
dependence of the rotational velocity of the visible stars or gas
in the galaxy on their radial distance from the center of the
galaxy.
What is gravitational lensing? - correct answer-Bending of light
by gravity field
DESCRIPTIVE ASTRONOMY FINAL EXAM
2026/2027 ACTUAL QUESTIONS WITH
VERIFIED ANSWERS.
What is a galaxy? - correct answer-a huge gropu of stars, star
systems star clusters, dust and gas bound together by gravity.
Who determined the Milky way's size? - correct answer-
Henrietta Leavitt
How can we determine distances to other galaxies using
standard candles? - correct answer-by using objects of known
brightness that astronomers use to find distance; Cepheid
variable stars and supernovae
What are spiral galaxies - correct answer-pinwheel shaped,
spiral arms that rotate, nucleus in the center, oldest stars
located near nucleus, 30% of all galaxies
, Page | 2
What are elliptical galaxies? - correct answer-spherical or oval
shaped, 60% of all galaxies, very old stars, very little dust and
gas
What are irregular galaxies? - correct answer--No definite
structure
-Smaller and less common than other galaxies
-Tend to have blue or white color because recent star formation
makes galaxies appear blue
-Composed of both young and old stars and large amounts of
gas and dust
What are Lenticular galaxies - correct answer-A disk-shaped
galaxy that contains no conspicuous structure within the disk.
Lenticular galaxies tend to look more like elliptical galaxies than
spiral galaxies.
What is the Local group? - correct answer-Domain local groups
grant permissions to objects within the domain in which the
reside. Global groups contain grant permissions tree or forest
wide for any objects within the Active Directory.
, Page | 3
What are the largest in the local group? - correct answer-Milky
Way and Andromeda
What is the Hubble turning fork diagram - correct answer-a
diagram to help classify galaxies
What is the milky way classification - correct answer-it is an Sc
What is galactic cannibalism - correct answer-the process by
which a large galaxy, through tidal gravitational interactions with
a companion, merges with that companion, resulting in a larger,
often irregular galaxy.
What is an active galaxy? - correct answer-A galaxy whose
active galactic nucleus emits large amounts of energy.
What are Seyfert galaxies? - correct answer-Spiral galaxy, very
bright cores in UV and X-ray, Very hot gasses, high variability
, Page | 4
What are Radio galaxies? - correct answer-They emit large
amounts of energy in the radio part of the spectrum. Most are
elliptical.
What are Quasars? - correct answer-They are the brightest and
most distant objects in the universe. Some scientists think that
quasars are active galaxies, which are all very, very far away
from us. Quasars may also by ignited from normal galaxies
when infused with a fresh source of matter. They are extinct
and have a huge redshift. They eventually become much less
luminous and become active, then normal galaxies, because
their engines, which are supermassive black holes, run out of
food.
What is a galaxy rotation curve? - correct answer-the
dependence of the rotational velocity of the visible stars or gas
in the galaxy on their radial distance from the center of the
galaxy.
What is gravitational lensing? - correct answer-Bending of light
by gravity field
