Astronomy 101 Exam questions and
Verified Answers
what makes our solar system? - ANSWER stars, planets, moons
planets in order - ANSWER -mercury
-mars
-earth
-venus
-jupiter
-saturn
-uranus
-neptune
steps of the scientific method - ANSWER -observation/data
-formulate question
-hypothesis
-prediction only
-test prediction- get dada
-repeat
why do the sun and moon move in a diurnal motion? - ANSWER due to the earth rotation
forms of light invisible to the human eye - ANSWER x rays, gamma rays, radio waves,
microwaves, and ultra violet and infrared radiation
,meteorites - ANSWER -oldest objects found on earth -
bits of interplanetary debris that fall onto our surface
-have allowed us to see that our entire solar system is 4.56 billion years old
what is the nearest star to earth? - ANSWER the sun
how does the sun shine? - ANSWER -center of the sun is thermonuclear reactions (converting
H to He at high tempts)
- releases a ton of energy, makes its way to the suns surface and escapes as
light -same way all stars shine at night
why can't all stars last forever? - ANSWER thermonuclear reactions- the way they shine-
consumes material of which stars are made
nebulae - ANSWER huge clouds of interstellar gas found across the sky ex.
the orion nebula - stars are born from the material of the nebula itself
supernova - ANSWER star ends its life by blowing itself apart
where do we get carbon from? - ANSWER when stars die, they release gas into
interstellar space- this gas has heavy elements like carbon
-intersteller space builds up all these heavy elements/gases
-sun and planets were formed from the interstellar material
- heavy elements like iron, nickel, carbon- make up earth, us and everything else
galaxies - ANSWER group of stars
quasars - ANSWER most distant and bright objects in the sky
,-shines as bright as a hundred galaxies
-draw their energy from material falling into black holes
motion of distant galaxies explains what? - ANSWER the universe is expanding
-will continue and is expanding faster
angular measure - ANSWER size of an angle exactly
why do astronomers use angular measure? - ANSWER they use it to describe the apparent
size of a celestial object- how wide it appears on the sky
why is the power-of-ten notation useful? - ANSWER -short hand system for writing
numbers (for very large and very small numbers)
-more convenient
who is AU unit convenient to use? - ANSWER for measuring large distances between
planets and even larger distances between stars
advantage to using light year as a unit of distance - ANSWER -measures things very far from us
-measuring stars we can see how long it would take to get back to us in terms of distance
diurnal (daily) motion - ANSWER -daily motion of stars moving across the sky
-sun and moon too
diurnal motion of constellations - ANSWER -entire pattern of stars shift positions daily - you
won't see the same constellations in the same place every day
-only after a year will the night sky appear the same as it did a year before
, why does the sky go through diurnal motion? - ANSWER earth rotates from west to east,
making one complete rotation every 24 hours- its why we have a daily cycle of day and night
why do stars appear to rise in the east and set in the west? - ANSWER earth's rotation- 1
rotation every 24 hours
why do constellations visible at night change throughout the year? - ANSWER b/c earth orbits
around the sun completely in a year
-night time side of earth turns towards different parts of space
celestial sphere - ANSWER -an imaginary sphere that rotates all the stars around the
earth (everything in the universe moving around us)
-idea that this sphere rotated around the earth once a day from east to west- causing the
diurnal motion of the sky
-not correct
celestial poles - ANSWER north/south poles- same position as on earth
-where earths axis of rotation (extended into space) intersects the celestial sphere
-north pole is always above the horizon
why is the celestial sphere a useful tool? - ANSWER easy to specify directions of objects in the
sky and see the motion of them
celestial equator - ANSWER earth's equator projected into space- same position as equator on
earth
-divides the sky into northern and southern hemispheres
-no circumpolar stars at the equator
zenith - ANSWER point directly above your head- straight overhead
Verified Answers
what makes our solar system? - ANSWER stars, planets, moons
planets in order - ANSWER -mercury
-mars
-earth
-venus
-jupiter
-saturn
-uranus
-neptune
steps of the scientific method - ANSWER -observation/data
-formulate question
-hypothesis
-prediction only
-test prediction- get dada
-repeat
why do the sun and moon move in a diurnal motion? - ANSWER due to the earth rotation
forms of light invisible to the human eye - ANSWER x rays, gamma rays, radio waves,
microwaves, and ultra violet and infrared radiation
,meteorites - ANSWER -oldest objects found on earth -
bits of interplanetary debris that fall onto our surface
-have allowed us to see that our entire solar system is 4.56 billion years old
what is the nearest star to earth? - ANSWER the sun
how does the sun shine? - ANSWER -center of the sun is thermonuclear reactions (converting
H to He at high tempts)
- releases a ton of energy, makes its way to the suns surface and escapes as
light -same way all stars shine at night
why can't all stars last forever? - ANSWER thermonuclear reactions- the way they shine-
consumes material of which stars are made
nebulae - ANSWER huge clouds of interstellar gas found across the sky ex.
the orion nebula - stars are born from the material of the nebula itself
supernova - ANSWER star ends its life by blowing itself apart
where do we get carbon from? - ANSWER when stars die, they release gas into
interstellar space- this gas has heavy elements like carbon
-intersteller space builds up all these heavy elements/gases
-sun and planets were formed from the interstellar material
- heavy elements like iron, nickel, carbon- make up earth, us and everything else
galaxies - ANSWER group of stars
quasars - ANSWER most distant and bright objects in the sky
,-shines as bright as a hundred galaxies
-draw their energy from material falling into black holes
motion of distant galaxies explains what? - ANSWER the universe is expanding
-will continue and is expanding faster
angular measure - ANSWER size of an angle exactly
why do astronomers use angular measure? - ANSWER they use it to describe the apparent
size of a celestial object- how wide it appears on the sky
why is the power-of-ten notation useful? - ANSWER -short hand system for writing
numbers (for very large and very small numbers)
-more convenient
who is AU unit convenient to use? - ANSWER for measuring large distances between
planets and even larger distances between stars
advantage to using light year as a unit of distance - ANSWER -measures things very far from us
-measuring stars we can see how long it would take to get back to us in terms of distance
diurnal (daily) motion - ANSWER -daily motion of stars moving across the sky
-sun and moon too
diurnal motion of constellations - ANSWER -entire pattern of stars shift positions daily - you
won't see the same constellations in the same place every day
-only after a year will the night sky appear the same as it did a year before
, why does the sky go through diurnal motion? - ANSWER earth rotates from west to east,
making one complete rotation every 24 hours- its why we have a daily cycle of day and night
why do stars appear to rise in the east and set in the west? - ANSWER earth's rotation- 1
rotation every 24 hours
why do constellations visible at night change throughout the year? - ANSWER b/c earth orbits
around the sun completely in a year
-night time side of earth turns towards different parts of space
celestial sphere - ANSWER -an imaginary sphere that rotates all the stars around the
earth (everything in the universe moving around us)
-idea that this sphere rotated around the earth once a day from east to west- causing the
diurnal motion of the sky
-not correct
celestial poles - ANSWER north/south poles- same position as on earth
-where earths axis of rotation (extended into space) intersects the celestial sphere
-north pole is always above the horizon
why is the celestial sphere a useful tool? - ANSWER easy to specify directions of objects in the
sky and see the motion of them
celestial equator - ANSWER earth's equator projected into space- same position as equator on
earth
-divides the sky into northern and southern hemispheres
-no circumpolar stars at the equator
zenith - ANSWER point directly above your head- straight overhead
