Objects in the Sky
This & That
The Earth & Moon
100
Which of the following statements is incorrect?
a. Neptune gets its blue color from clouds of frozen methane in its atmosphere.
b. Neptune was discovered as a result of mathematical forecasting before it was actually observed.
c. Because of Pluto’s elliptical orbit, it is sometimes closer to the Sun (and us) than Neptune is.
d. Neptune takes about 16 hours to rotate once (a Neptunian day), and about 65 Earth years to orbit the sun (a Neptunian year).
What is d? A Neptunian year is 165 Earth years.
100
T or F: Space photography helped reveal changes in the position and appearance of celestial objects.
What is true?
100
Convert 3.54 x 109 km to AU.
Conversion factors:
1 AU = 1.5 × 108 km
1 light-year = 9.5 × 1012 km
1 parsec = 31 x 1012 km, or about 3.262 light-years
What is 23.6 AU?
200
Which of the following statements regarding Uranus is incorrect-
a. Uranus rotates in a retrograde direction, opposite to the way Earth and most other planets turn.
b. Uranus contains faint rings that are visible from Earth.
c. Uranus has a hydrogen upper layer, which has helium mixed in.
d.Uranus is nearly coldest planet in the solar system.
What is b- rings aren’t visible from Earth
200
The H-R (Hertzprung-Russell) Diagram sorts the stars according to these two criteria.
What are the temperature and the absolute magnitude? (Heat and brightness)
200
The prevailing theory supported by the scientific community which suggests that the moon formed when an object smashed into early Earth.
What is the giant impact theory?
300
The Kuiper Belt is 4.5 x 10-4 light-years away from Earth. Convert this to AU.
Conversion factors:
1 AU = 1.5 × 108 km
1 light-year = 9.5 × 1012 km
1 parsec = 31 x 1012 km, or about 3.262 light-years
What is 28.5 AU?
300
The discovery of this phenomena, by radio astronomers Robert Wilson and Arno Penzias, put the Big Bang theory on solid ground, elevating it above rival explanations of the universe's origin such as the "steady state" idea. It also won Wilson and Penzias the 1978 Nobel Prize in physics.
What is cosmic microwave background?
300
Theory that the moon and Earth were both formed from the same cloud of gas and dust.
What is the accretion hypothesis?
400
_________________ are all stable stars that still have enough hydrogen in their cores to steadily fuse hydrogen to helium.
What are main sequence stars?
400
T or F The International Astronomical Union defines a planet as an object that:
a. orbits a star
b. has sufficient mass to be round, or nearly round
c. is a satellite (moon) of another object
d. has removed debris and small objects from the area around its orbit
What is F- a planet is not a moon of another object.
400
T or F: During planetary accretion a) particles rotate in the same direction as the nebular disk, b) as gravity pulls the nebular disk inward, the disk spins faster, c) particles frequently collide with one another at rapid speeds.
What is T?
500
The _____________ sequence of dim, small, and hot, stars lie in the lower left.
What are white dwarfs?
500
Use the conversion factors to rewrite the distances in different, but equivalent, units.
Conversion factors:
1 AU = 1.5 × 108 km
1 light-year = 9.5 × 1012 km
1 parsec = 31 x 1012 km, or about 3.262 light-years
A = 218,770 AU
B = 1.3 pc
C = 2.9 x 1013 km
A = 218,770 AU or 1.06 pc
B = 268,144 AU or 1.3 pc
C = 193,333 AU or .94 pc
Closest to farthest C, A, B
500
This made life on Earth possible.
What is water in three states—solid, liquid, and gas?