AST 101 FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED ANSWERS LATEST
UPDATE 2026
The first astronomer to show that spiral nebulae (today called spiral galaxies) have
large Doppler shifts was - Answers Vesto Slipher
Edwin Hubble was able to show that (with the exception of our nearest neighbors) the
farther a galaxy is from us, the - Answers the faster it is moving away from us
In a distant galaxy, whose light is just arriving from 10 billion light years away, our
spectroscope should reveal that the most common element is - Answers hydrogen
The Andromeda Galaxy (our nearest spiral neighbor) has spectral lines that show a
blue shift. From this we may conclude that - Answers this particular nearby galaxy is
moving toward us
Which of the following was not done by Edwin Hubble? - Answers discovering the
relationship between period and luminosity of a cepheid variable
According to Hubble's Law, if two galaxies are not part of our Local Group, and
galaxy B is three times farther away from us as Galaxy A, then Galaxy B will -
Answers move away from us three times faster than A
Which of the following statements about the implications of Hubble's Law is FALSE?
- Answers if you were observing the universe from a distant galaxy, you would NOT
see all the galaxies (except those in your own group) moving away from YOU
Why is the use of Hubble's Law to measure distances to galaxies so important to
astronomers? - Answers Most galaxies are so far away, the only way to get distances
to them is to use Hubble's Law
Before you can use Hubble's Law to get the distance to a galaxy, what observation
must you make of that galaxy? - Answers you must take a spectrum of the galaxy and
measure the red shift
The astronomer who assisted Edwin Hubble at the Mount Wilson Observatory and
helped him establish the expansion of the universe was - Answers Milton Humason
Our Milky Way Galaxy is what type of galaxy? - Answers spiral
Which type of galaxy is observed to contain mostly older stars? - Answers Elliptical
Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a spiral galaxy? - Answers When
we take spectra of its stars, they have far less of the heavier elements than the sun
, About two thirds of the nearby spiral galaxies (which we can study in more detail)
don't have a round central bulge, but instead show - Answers central bulge with a bar
of stars in the middle
The type of galaxy that sometimes has a distinct bar of stars running across the central
region is - Answers spiral
Edwin Hubble developed a classification scheme for galaxies. By what characteristic
did he classify galaxies? - Answers their shape
The type of galaxy that consists almost entirely of old stars and is thus less blue (more
yellow and reddish) than the other types is - Answers elliptical
Which type of galaxy is very difficult to see, but (astronomers recently realized) may
be very common? - Answers dwaf elliptical
Among irregular galaxies, what makes the Large and Small Magellanic Cloud
especially useful for astronomers? - Answers they are (for galaxies) very close to us,
so they are easy to study
Which of the following statements about the different types (shapes) of galaxies is
correct? - Answers collisions and mergers between galaxies can sometimes change a
galaxy's type (shape)
William Herschel thought that the Sun and Earth were roughly at the center of the
great grouping of stars we call the Milky Way. Today we know this is not the case.
What was a key reason that Herschel did not realize our true position in the Milky
Way? - Answers the dust that extends throughout the disk of the Galaxy only allowed
Herschel to see the small part of the Milky Way that surrounds us
The scientist who made the first telescopic survey of the Milky Way and discovered
that it is composed of a huge number of individual stars was - Answers galileo galilei
What objects did Harlow Shapley use as "signposts" to figure out the extent of the
Milky Way Galaxy and the location of its center? - Answers globular clusters
What have we learned from the work of Harlow Shapley and others about the location
of the Sun in the Milky Way Galaxy? - Answers we are in the disk of the Galaxy,
about 3/5 of the way from the center
Astronomers today know a lot about the size and shape of the Milky Way Galaxy.
Which of the following common objects most resembles the shape of our Galaxy? -
Answers CD or DVD
UPDATE 2026
The first astronomer to show that spiral nebulae (today called spiral galaxies) have
large Doppler shifts was - Answers Vesto Slipher
Edwin Hubble was able to show that (with the exception of our nearest neighbors) the
farther a galaxy is from us, the - Answers the faster it is moving away from us
In a distant galaxy, whose light is just arriving from 10 billion light years away, our
spectroscope should reveal that the most common element is - Answers hydrogen
The Andromeda Galaxy (our nearest spiral neighbor) has spectral lines that show a
blue shift. From this we may conclude that - Answers this particular nearby galaxy is
moving toward us
Which of the following was not done by Edwin Hubble? - Answers discovering the
relationship between period and luminosity of a cepheid variable
According to Hubble's Law, if two galaxies are not part of our Local Group, and
galaxy B is three times farther away from us as Galaxy A, then Galaxy B will -
Answers move away from us three times faster than A
Which of the following statements about the implications of Hubble's Law is FALSE?
- Answers if you were observing the universe from a distant galaxy, you would NOT
see all the galaxies (except those in your own group) moving away from YOU
Why is the use of Hubble's Law to measure distances to galaxies so important to
astronomers? - Answers Most galaxies are so far away, the only way to get distances
to them is to use Hubble's Law
Before you can use Hubble's Law to get the distance to a galaxy, what observation
must you make of that galaxy? - Answers you must take a spectrum of the galaxy and
measure the red shift
The astronomer who assisted Edwin Hubble at the Mount Wilson Observatory and
helped him establish the expansion of the universe was - Answers Milton Humason
Our Milky Way Galaxy is what type of galaxy? - Answers spiral
Which type of galaxy is observed to contain mostly older stars? - Answers Elliptical
Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a spiral galaxy? - Answers When
we take spectra of its stars, they have far less of the heavier elements than the sun
, About two thirds of the nearby spiral galaxies (which we can study in more detail)
don't have a round central bulge, but instead show - Answers central bulge with a bar
of stars in the middle
The type of galaxy that sometimes has a distinct bar of stars running across the central
region is - Answers spiral
Edwin Hubble developed a classification scheme for galaxies. By what characteristic
did he classify galaxies? - Answers their shape
The type of galaxy that consists almost entirely of old stars and is thus less blue (more
yellow and reddish) than the other types is - Answers elliptical
Which type of galaxy is very difficult to see, but (astronomers recently realized) may
be very common? - Answers dwaf elliptical
Among irregular galaxies, what makes the Large and Small Magellanic Cloud
especially useful for astronomers? - Answers they are (for galaxies) very close to us,
so they are easy to study
Which of the following statements about the different types (shapes) of galaxies is
correct? - Answers collisions and mergers between galaxies can sometimes change a
galaxy's type (shape)
William Herschel thought that the Sun and Earth were roughly at the center of the
great grouping of stars we call the Milky Way. Today we know this is not the case.
What was a key reason that Herschel did not realize our true position in the Milky
Way? - Answers the dust that extends throughout the disk of the Galaxy only allowed
Herschel to see the small part of the Milky Way that surrounds us
The scientist who made the first telescopic survey of the Milky Way and discovered
that it is composed of a huge number of individual stars was - Answers galileo galilei
What objects did Harlow Shapley use as "signposts" to figure out the extent of the
Milky Way Galaxy and the location of its center? - Answers globular clusters
What have we learned from the work of Harlow Shapley and others about the location
of the Sun in the Milky Way Galaxy? - Answers we are in the disk of the Galaxy,
about 3/5 of the way from the center
Astronomers today know a lot about the size and shape of the Milky Way Galaxy.
Which of the following common objects most resembles the shape of our Galaxy? -
Answers CD or DVD
