A Martian and a Venusian is debating about the units for expressing distances to stars. Whose parsec is bigger and by how much
4. Fill in the Blank
30 seconds
1 pt
Approximately 1,000 Earths could fit inside Jupiter. Therefore, Jupiter's radius must be roughly _________ times larger than that of the Earth.
5. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
The bright star, Betelgeuse, is about 520 light-years away from us. If the speed of light were twice its current value, how far away would it be?
6. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
The Crab Nebula is the supernova remnant observed by Chinese astronomers in 1,054 ACE. As the Crab Nebula is about 6,500 light-years away from us, the supernova must have occurred around the year
7. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Relative to the age of the universe, how old is our solar system?
8. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Planet A and Planet B have the same angular size of the sky. Planet A is known to have a physical diameter of 2E4 km. Planet B is known to be 10 times further away from us than Planet A. Therefore, Planet B has a diameter of
9. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
An astronomer on the Earth measures parallax p for a nearby star. An astronomer on Mars would measure parallax for the same star as
10. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
If a star is 5 light-years away, this means that
11. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
North celestial pole, an imaginary point on the celestial sphere, is
12. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Which statement about ecliptic is false?
13. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
The orbital tilt of the Earth's rotational axis is 23.5◦. How would the Earth's season be different if the angle were increased to 30◦?
14. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
The orbit of the Earth has an eccentricity of e= 0.017 where e= 0 denotes a circular orbit while 0< e <1 form an elliptical orbit, for example. How would the Earth's season be different if the eccentricity were increased toe= 0.018?
15. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Which of the following contributes to seasons?
16. Fill in the Blank
30 seconds
1 pt
From a latitude of 30◦N, the altitude of the North Celestial Pole is ________ above the north point.
17. Fill in the Blank
30 seconds
1 pt
From a latitude of 90◦S, the altitude of the South Celestial Pole is _______ above the south point.
18. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
If the Earth had no orbital tilt (of 0◦), then
19. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
The seasons on earth are caused primarily by
20. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Seasons would not exist on the Earth if
21. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
A point on the Celestial Equator, on the Ecliptic, and in time
22. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
You're stranded on a desert island. You locate the Polaris at 17 degrees above the northern horizon. What is your latitude?
23. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Which of the following locations is the closest to the SCP?
(a) (RA,dec) = (14h,+88◦) (b)(14h,−88◦) (c)(23h,+2◦) (d)(18h,+86◦) (e) (6h,+24◦)
24. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Which of the following locations is the closest to the Vernal Equinox?
(a) (RA, dec) = (14h, +88◦)
(b)(14h, −88◦)
(c) (23h, +2◦)
(d) (18h, +86◦)
(e) (6h, +24◦)
25. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Which of the following locations is the closest to the Celestial Equator?
(a) (RA,dec) = (14h,+88◦)
(b)(14h,−88◦)
(c)(23h,+2◦)
(d)(18h,+86◦)
(e) (6h,+24◦)
26. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
If the Sun rises directly east on the vernal equinox, then three weeks later it will rise
27. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
The fact that the moon always keeps the same face towards the earth means that
28. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Which of these produces a total lunar eclipse?
29. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
The nodes in the moon's orbit are
30. Fill in the Blank
30 seconds
1 pt
During a solar eclipse, the _____ is in the ________ shadow.
31. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Saros period is important and useful because it tells us
32. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
If you see the Moon around 6 am, then its phase is approximately
33. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Which two ideas of these
(I) The Sun is at the center of the universe
(II) All heavenly bodies move in combinations of perfect circles
(III) The Earth is at the center of the universe
(IV) The stars never move
made Ptolemy's geocentric model very complicated and prevented it from correctly describing the actual movements of bodies in the Solar System?
34. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
How did Eratosthenes measure the size of the Earth?
35. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
What do we call the phase of the Moon when we see the left half of the Moon in the sky?
36. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
How long is the period of precession of the Earth's poles?
37. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
The projection of the Earth's latitude onto the sky is called
38. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
After a given solar eclipse in a particular local region, the next one seen on the Earth will occur at a location that is
39. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
What is the most fundamental difference between planets and stars?
40. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
1 AU (astronomical unit) is approximately
41. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Approximately how far is it between us and the Galactic Center of the Milky Way Galaxy?
42. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Which one of the following is the largest?
(a) radius of the Earth
(b) 1 light-second
(c) radius of the Sun
(d) 1 AU
43. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Which one of the following can be a correct unit for"parallax"?
44. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
What is the definition of 1pc (parsec)?
45. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
0.00423 is equal to
46. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Can you compare the brightness/intensity of two stars by eye
47. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Which one of the following key words best describes the universe in modern cosmology?
(a) extremely homogeneous constituents
(b) stationary or steady-state
(c) large-scale structure
(d) infinitely large in size
48. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
How does the Earth compare with the Sun in terms of how they rotate/spin?
49. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
The Milky Way Galaxy's rotational curve can tell us something about
50. Fill in the Blank
30 seconds
1 pt
The Hubble's law states that ______.
51. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
A distant star at 700 light-years emits enough light to be observed at the Earth. Which one of the following is (the most) impossible?
52. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
What is believed to be present at the Milky Way's Galactic Center (GC)?
53. Fill in the Blank
30 seconds
1 pt
The _____ is a circle/line on the celestial sphere that passes through the observer's zenith (the point directly overhead)and the north and south points on the observer's horizon.
54. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
The angle between the ecliptic and the celestial equator is approximately
55. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
The Reason for Seasons is that the earth is closer to the Sun in summer, while farther from the Sun in winter.
56. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Relatively speaking, the Earth's season is less dramatic near
57. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
The Sun rises in the northeast and sets in the north west with the highest path for
58. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Milankovitch cycles is intimately related to
59. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Right Ascension (RA) and Declination (DEC) are used in
60. Fill in the Blank
30 seconds
1 pt
_____ is an area of the narrow sky centered upon 8-9° north or south of the ecliptic.
61. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Which one of the following coordinates, (RA, dec), is NOT expressed correctly?
(a) (03h 34m 25.7s, -10deg)
(b) (06h 12m 34.5s, 12deg)
(c) (00h 00m 13.8s, 87deg)
(d) (14h 05m 47.3s, -31deg)
(e) (01h 45m 51.2s, 95deg)
62. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
The north star (i.e. Polaris) is seen 20 deg above your local horizon due north. Where are you?
63. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
"Solar Days" and "Sidereal Days" are defined differently,and the former is ____ the latter.
64. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
What are the coordinates of a star that lies exactly "halfway" between the vernal equinox and the north celestial pole?
65. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
A star at RA = 04h 00m 00s and DEC = 30 deg must have
66. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Tidal locking between a planet and its satellite normally sets in if
67. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
During one month, an astronaut on the Lunar near side would see
68. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Synodic month is ____ Sidereal month (in time).
69. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Solar eclipse occurs with (lunar phase)
70. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Lunar eclipses are divided into different types according to
71. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Total lunar eclipse appears to be reddish primarily because of
72. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
The solar "coronae" can be optically seen during ____.
73. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Since one "saros" cycle is 18 years + 11 +1/3 days, the next similar solar eclipse in the same region of the globe will occur approximately in
74. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Which one of the following was the major reason why ancient Greek did NOT believe in heliocentric view?
75. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
In an effort to construct a planetary model consistent with observations in ancient Greek times, what did they hypothesize?
76. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Ancient Greek astronomers had believed that "Heavens must be perfect." In their mind, this means that
77. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
An ancient Greek philosopher/astronomer, Ptolemy, was the first to construct the geocentric planetary model where
78. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Who proposed a Sun-centered (heliocentric) model first in post-Greek astronomy?
79. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Which one of the following better characterizes the unique essence of Copernican planetary model?
80. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Which one of the following is NOT true in Tychonic planetary model?
81. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
What is the definition of "eccentricity" of ellipse?
82. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Some planets have an eccentricity of 1
83. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Some planets have an eccentricity of 0
84. Fill in the Blank
30 seconds
1 pt
The orbit of each planet around the Sun is ____ with the Sun at _____.
85. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
As a planet moves around its orbit, it moves ___ near the perihelion while ___ the aphelion.
86. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Kepler's 3rd law formula, p^2 = a^3, is only correct when you express the variables as?
87. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
An asteroid orbits the Sun with the orbital period of 8 years.What is the average distance between the two according to p^2 = a^3 (Kepler's 3rd law)?
88. Open Ended
30 seconds
1 pt
Galileo showed by his observations that Venus actually goes through a complete phase transition. Its direct consequence is that