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- 1. Multiple Choice
Stars that appear close together, even though they are actually very far apart, are called ___
perceived binary stars
optical double stars
visual twin stars
double vision stars
- 2. Multiple Choice
Two stars that physically orbit each other are called ___
double stars
binary stars
twin stars
dual stars
- 3. Multiple Choice
What percentage of all stars in the sky are part of a binary, or multiple, star system?
about 5% to 30%
about 33% to 50%
about 50% to 67%
about 70% to 95%
- 4. Multiple Choice
The binary stars, Mizar and Alcor, can be visibly found in ___
the kink in the handle of the Big Dipper
the end of the handle of the Little Dipper
the left shoulder of Orion
the tip of the top horn of Taurus
- 5. Multiple Choice
If the two stars of a binary system can be seen separately using a telescope, they're called ___
a perceived binary
a visual binary
a perceived double
a visual double
- 6. Multiple Choice
The brightest star in the night sky, a luminous blue star, is a visual binary called ___
Polaris
Arcturus
Sirius
Vega
- 7. Multiple Choice
The white dwarf companion of Sirius is by far the brighter of the two when using ___
the naked eye
a backyard telescope
an X-ray telescope
a microwave telescope
- 8. Multiple Choice
Observing the orbital motion of visual binaries allows us to calculate ___
their nuclear decay rate
the composition of the stars
the masses of the stars
their distance
- 9. Multiple Choice
The only way we know to get accurate measurements of stellar masses, is when ___
we use spectroscopy
they become a super nova
they collide
they're in binaries
- 10. Multiple Choice
The shift in wavelength for an observer who is moving relative to the wave source is called ___
the Doppler shift
the Binary red-shift
retrograde motion
Heisenberg's uncertainty principle
- 11. Multiple Choice
Binaries detected by a red or blue shift of the stars' spectral lines are called ___
Dopplergangers
red-blue doublets
color twins
spectroscopic binaries
- 12. Multiple Choice
How many stars are gravitationally bound together in the Mizar and Alcor star system?
two
four
six
eight
- 13. Multiple Choice
Polaris, the North Star, is actually a pentuple star system, composed of ___
two binary stars
five stars
seven stars
nine stars
- 14. Multiple Choice
Stars that were born in the same multiple star system would likely have similar ___
luminosities
masses
elemental composition
molecular composition
- 15. Multiple Choice
In one binary star, called 4U 1820-30, the neutron star and white dwarf orbit each other in ___
11.4 seconds
11.4 minutes
11.4 hours
11.4 years
- 16. Multiple Choice
When we see the orbit of a binary star edge on, so that stars pass in front of each other, they're called ___
binary oclusions
binary dominations
blocking binaries
eclipsing binaries
- 17. Multiple Choice
In an eclipsing binary, when the fainter star blocks the brighter one, we see ___
an increase in the light
no change in the light
a small dip in the light
a big dip in the light
- 18. Multiple Choice
Stars that get so close together that they touch each other are called ___
cuddling binaries
contact binaries
snuggling stars
bundled binaries
- 19. Multiple Choice
When stars in a binary system appear to have evolved opposite of what we expect, it's called ___
the Polaris ambiguity
the Algol paradox
the Perseus inconsistency
the Sirius anomaly
- 20. Multiple Choice
A white dwarf that accrues material and suddenly flares into visibility in the sky is called ___
stellar amara, for lovely star
stellar clara, for bright star
stellar novae, for new star
stellar veteris, for old star
- 21. Multiple Choice
A white dwarf that reaches a mass of around 1.4 times that of the Sun gets so hot that it ___
fuses carbon and explodes
fuses carbon and implodes
fuses iron and explodes
fuses iron and implodes
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