Comets and Asteroids
Key Concepts of Science / Astronomy
History of Astronomy
Light
Stars
100

Is Ceres an asteroid or a dwarf planet?

BOTH

100

This word is used in scientific experiments to indicate a prediction.

What is a Hypothesis?

100

What is the difference between a Geocentric and a Heliocentric model of the solar system?

Geocentric - Earth at the center

Heliocentric - Sun at the center

100

What distinguishes one type of electromagnetic radiation from another?

Frequency / Wavelength / Energy


(All correct answers)

100

Is our Sun a star (yes or no)?

YES

200

The Asteroid belt is in between these two planets

What is Mars and Jupiter?

200

Are laws of nature universal? (yes or no)

YES

200

What are the 2 different types of telescopes?

Refracting and Reflecting

200

Which kind of electromagnetic radiation is right next to the red color in the visible spectrum?

Infrared Light

200

T or F:  Our Sun is unique amongst all the other stars

False:  Our sun is a very normal star

300

This is the part of the comet that leaks gas for up to millions of miles behind it.

The tail

300

This is a mathematical shorthand for describing really large or really small numbers without having to write out all of the zeros.

Scientific Notation

300

Galileo discovered the 4 big moons from this planet which are now named after him.

Jupiter

300

If something is blue shifted - does this mean it's moving toward you or away from you?

Toward you

300

What is a binary star system?

When two nearby stars are orbiting around a common center of mass.

400

This is the main feature that a comet contains that is different from an asteroid.

What is ice?

400

This is a common unit of measurement used to describe really far distances in astronomy (on the scale of galaxies to galaxies).

What is a LIGHT YEAR.

400

He was the first human in space.

Yuri Gagarin

400

Which is more dangerous to living things, gamma rays or X-rays?

Gamma Rays - they are more energetic

400

Is a brown dwarf a planet?

No, it is still a star

500

Why do humans want to retrieve samples from Asteroids to study on Earth?

Because they contain information about the formation of our solar system.

500

If light from a galaxy that is 300 million light years away reaches us, when are we seeing this galaxy?

300 million years ago!

500

These are the farthest man-made objects now in interstellar space.

Voyager 1 + 2

500

What can you do with a glass prism and light?

Split white light into the color spectrum

500

What does the H-R diagram tell us about a typical star with a high mass?

It will have high luminosity.