Which one of the following statements best describes the Sun?

• generates energy by nuclear fusion

• located 10 AU from earth

• orbiting the Solar System

• located in the centre of the Milky Way

Which of the following sequences objects is in the correct order of decreasing distance

• Moon, Venus, Saturn, Polaris, Andromeda galaxy

• Venus, Saturn, Moon, Andromeda galaxy, Polaris

• Polaris, Andromeda galaxy, Moon, Saturn, Venus

• Andromeda galaxy, Saturn, Venus, Polaris, Moon

The nearest star to our solar system is alpha Centauri at 4.0x10^16 m (4.3 ly away). The diameter if the sun is 1.4x10^9 m. How many suns would it take to line up adjacent to each other in order to reach alpha Centauri?

• 2.8x10^7

• 5.6x10^6

• 2.8x10^25

There approximately 100 billion stars in our galaxy. If there 100 billion observable galaxies in our universe, what is a reasonable estimate for the total number ion the universe?

• 1.0X10^22

• 2.0x10^20

• 1.5x10^15

• 1.0x10^24

The distance to a super cluster galaxy might be

• 100 Mpc

• 10 Kpc

• 120 ly

• 10 AU

Approximately 100 Earths would fit inside Jupiter. This Jupiter’s radius must be __________ times larger that Earth’s radius

• 100

• 12

• 10

• 1000

A spherical particle in the ring of Saturn has radius of about 1m. The surface area of the particle in the area of radiation flow is

• 125 m^2

• 3.14 ^2

• 12.6 m^2

• 14 m^2

If the landing lights in Denver airport were switched on, then in one second these photons travel to:

• New York (1580 km)

• Alpha Centauri (40,000,000,000 000 km)

• The Sun(150,000,000 km)

• Moon (384,000 km)

Sirius the brightest star in the sky is about 9 ly away. If the speed of light became half of its present value, how far would Sirius be?

• 9 ly

• 18 ly

• 4.5 ly

• 32 ly

The Andromeda galaxy is about 2,000,000 ly away. Therefore light started its travel

• 1,000,000 y

• 2,000,000 y

• Just a second ago

• Can’t be determined

What is 5.7×107 the same as?

• 5.7 million

• 57 thousand

• 570 thousand

• 57 million

If the distance from the Sun to the Earth is represented by roughly 15 metres, then what would the distance from the Earth to the Moon on the same scale be?

• about 30 metres

• about 10 metres

• about 1 metre

• smaller than the width of your hand

Approximately how many times larger than the diameter of a typical planet (the Earth) is the diameter of a typical star (the Sun)?

• 10 times

• 100 times

• 1000 times

• 10,000 times

What does the Solar System contain?

• the Sun, its planets, and some smaller bodies

• the Sun, galaxies, planets, and stars

• the Sun, planets, moons, and stars

• the Sun, planets, asteroids, and galaxies

What is the approximate diameter of the Earth?

• 1 AU

• 13,000 light-years

• 13,000 kilometres

• 1,000,000 kilometres

Which of the following is no longer considered a major planet?

• Mercury

• Uranus

• Pluto

• Saturn

Today the age of the universe is estimated in 13,700,000,000 years

• 1.37x10^6 y

• 1.37x10^7 y

• 1.37x10^8 y

• 1.37x10^9 y

Which statement best describes the Milky Way Galaxy?

• It is a spiral galaxy

• It is comprised of several smaller galaxies

• It is about 1,000 light-years in diameter

• It is type of supercluster

What is the implication if the distance to the nearest star is 4.2 light-years?

• The star is 4.2 million AU away

• The light we see left the star 4.2 years ago

• The star must be very old

• The star must be very young

If we say that an object is 1,000 light-years away, how does that affect how we see it?

• We see it as it looked 1,000 years ago

• We see it as it would appear to our ancestors 1,000 years ago

• We see it as it looked 1,000 light-years ago

• We see it as it is right now, but it appears 1,000 times dimmer

What is the average distance from Earth to the Sun?

• 1 ly

• 1 AU

• 1 million km

• 1 billion km

How is a planet different from a star?

• Planets are larger than stars.

• Planets reflect light, while stars produce their own light.

• Stars move faster in the sky than planets.

• Planets are brighter than stars.

Which of the following is the smallest?

• size of a typical planet

• 1 AU

• 1 light-year

• size of a typical galaxy

It takes light 1.3 seconds to travel from the Moon to Earth and 8 minutes for light to travel from the Sun to Earth. Which of the following statements is true?

• The Sun is 6.2 times farther from Earth than the Moon

• The Sun is 10 times farther from Earth than the Moon

• The Sun is 370 times farther from Earth than the Moon

• The Sun is 0.10 times farther from Earth than the Moon

How long does it take for light to travel from the Sun to Neptune?

• several seconds

• several minutes

• several hours

• several weeks

The speed of light is 3.0×105 km/s, and it takes 1.3 seconds for light to travel from the Moon to Earth. Based on this information, what is the distance from the Earth to the Moon?

• 390,000 km

• 230,000 km

• 3.9 km

• 2.3 km

Which of the following definitions best describes a constellation?

• a group of very bright stars

• the dividing line between the north and south celestial hemispheres

• a region of the sky containing a certain star pattern

• a group of very faint stars

Which of the following best describes the Big Dipper?

• a faint star near Polaris

• a constellation

• an asterism

• the North Star

What do stars in the same constellation have in common?

• They must have been discovered at about the same time.

• They are in the same part of the sky as seen from the Earth.

• They probably formed at the same time

• They must be part of the same cluster of stars in space.

Which of the following best describes Ursa Major (the Great Bear)?

• an asterism

• a constellation

• another name for the Big Dipper

• another name for the Seven Sisters

Which of the following statements correctly describes the relationship between stars and constellations?

• Only the brighter stars are in constellations.

• Only stars close to the ecliptic (the Earth's orbital plane) are located in constellations.

• Only those stars that were visible to the ancient Greeks are located in constellations.

• Every star is located in a constellation.

If the apparent visual magnitude of a star is 7.3, what does this tell us about the brightness of the star?

• It is bright enough that it would be visible even during the day.

• It is not visible with the unaided eye.

• It is one of the brighter stars in the sky.

• It appears faint because of its great distance from the Earth.

Which of the following describes the magnitude scale?

• It can be used to indicate the apparent intensity of a celestial object.

• It was used to determine the rate of precession.

• It originated just after the telescope was invented.

• It is no longer used today.

If the apparent visual magnitude of star A is 3.1, and the apparent visual magnitude of star B is 0.5, how do star A and star B compare in terms of apparent brightness as seen from Earth?

• Star A is only slightly brighter than star B.

• Star A is much brighter than star B.

• Star A is fainter than star B.

• Star A is about the same brightness as star B.

What aspect of an object depends on both the size of the object and the distance to the object?

• angular diameter

• apparent magnitude

• proper motion

• apparent brightness

What is the term for the point on the celestial sphere directly above an observer, no matter where on the Earth the observer is located?

• south celestial pole

• north celestial pole

• nadir

• zenith

Where is the zenith for an observer standing at a point on the Earth’s equator?

• near the horizon and towards the south

• near the horizon and towards the west

• the position depends on the time of day

• directly overhead

An observer in the northern hemisphere watches the sky for several hours. Due to the motion of the Earth, this observer notices that the stars near the north celestial pole appear to move. What pattern does this apparent movement follow?

• from right to left

• from left to right

• counter-clockwise around the celestial pole

• clockwise around the celestial pole

The Moon has an angular diameter of 0.5°. What is the Moon's angular diameter in minutes of arc?

• 0.5

• 1800

• 50

• 30

You point your finger toward the zenith right now, and then point there again six hours later. At both times, your finger was pointing in the same direction relative to one of the options below. Which one?

• your horizon

• the Sun

• the ecliptic

• the north celestial pole

For an observer in Valdivia, Chile, at a latitude of 39° South, what is the angle between the southern horizon and the south celestial pole?

• 39°

• 51°

• 23.5°

• 45°

For an observer in Waterloo, at a latitude of 43° North, what is the angle between the northern horizon and the north celestial pole?

• 36°

• 23.5°

• 74°

• 43°

What languages do the standard constellation names come from?

• Greek and Latin

• Greek and Arabic

• Arabic and Sanskrit

• Latin and Arabic

What causes the precession of the Earth’s rotation axis?

• the impacts of asteroids

• the force of gravity from the Sun and Jupiter on the Earth–Moon system

• the magnetic field of the Earth

• the force of gravity from the Sun and Moon on the Earth's equatorial bulge

The Earth revolves in a counter clockwise direction around the sun at about 1 deg/day (360 deg and 365 days). Then this motion makes the sun to appear moving

• 15 deg per day eastward

• 1 deg per day eastward

• not at all-the sun does not appear to move

• 1 deg per day westward

• 15 deg per day westward

Which of the following diagrams represent the area of the sky where an ancient Greek astronomer could observe the planets? (Ancient Greeks knew the 5 planets, in fact the word planet comes from the Greek word “planetes” = wanderer.)

A person in Nashville , TN observes Venus in the western part of the horizon. Six hours later Venus will be

• high in the south

• low in the south

• nearly overhead

• not visible

A person in Denver Colorado observes Jupiter in the eastern horizon right after the sunset. Where would the planet be after six hours?

• low in the south

• low in the west

• nearly overhead

• high in the south

• not visible