Meteors that have fallen to Earth are called ______________________.
What is a meteorite?
100
The Sun is an example of a _______________.
What is a star?
100
Objects in the solar system stay in orbit (are kept nearby) because of the Sun’s _________________.
What is gravity?
100
You are from the _________________ galaxy.
What is the Milky Way?
100
A galaxy includes billions of different objects. Stars are usually the ______________ objects.
What is largest?
200
What protects Earth from a great number of significant impacts from meteors?
What is the atmosphere?
200
Over long periods of time, astronomical objects form the shapes of _______________ due to gravity.
What are spheres?
200
A ____________ is an astronomical body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that: 1. is big enough to be rounded by its own gravity; 2. is not big enough to cause thermonuclear fusion; and 3. has cleared its neighboring region of significantly large objects.
What is a planet?
200
A small object made of dust and ice that revolves around the sun is called a _______________.
What is a comet?
200
A star might appear brighter than another star due to its distance from Earth, but in reality is not brighter. This is an example of _________________.
What is apparent magnitude?
300
What is a natural satellite?
What is a moon?
300
The region of space between Mars and Jupiter where most asteroids are found is called the _____________________.
What is the asteroid belt?
300
A hole in the surface of a larger object caused by a fallen meteorite is called a ___________.
What is a crater?
300
The _______________________ is all of space and time (spacetime) and its contents, including planets, moons, minor planets, stars, galaxies, the contents of intergalactic space and all matter and energy.
What is a universe?
300
The relative brightness of a star is its _______________. The actual amount of light given off by a star is its ______________.
What is apparent magnitude and luminosity?
400
Explain, in detail, what astronomical event happened in August that caused a nationwide stir.
What is a solar eclipse?
400
In total, the mass of all the asteroids is less than that of Earth's moon. Which asteroid is large and round enough to be classified as a dwarf planet?
What is Ceres?
400
A ___________ planet is a planetary-mass object that is neither a planet nor a natural satellite.
What is a dwarf planet?
400
A _______________ is of vast size, with millions of stars and millions of light years in diameter.
What is a galaxy?
400
The Sun is composed of several layers of different materials. Name the layers, from the outermost to the innermost.
What is corona, transition, photosphere, chromosphere, convective, radiative, and core?
500
These are the three criteria for classification as a planet.
1. is big enough to be rounded by its own gravity; 2. is not big enough to cause thermonuclear fusion; and 3. has cleared its neighboring region of significantly large objects.
500
Human-made spacecraft are currently travelling past the farthest reaches of the solar system. What are they called?
What is Voyager 1 and 2?
Bonus (500 points - raise your hand!): What year were they launched?
500
By which criteria did Pluto not qualify as a planet?
It needs to have “cleared the neighborhood” of its orbit.
500
A _______________ is an interstellar cloud of dust, hydrogen, helium and other ionized gases.
What is a nebula?
500
A star is made of mostly which state of matter?
What is plasma? "Plasma is the most abundant state of matter in the universe."