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- 1. Open EndedThe Solar system consists of
- 2. Open EndedThe distance to a neighboring state could be
- 3. Open EndedA 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 BlankApproximately 1,000 Earths could fit inside Jupiter. Therefore, Jupiter's radius must be roughly _________ times larger than that of the Earth.
- 5. Open EndedThe 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 EndedThe 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 EndedRelative to the age of the universe, how old is our solar system?
- 8. Open EndedPlanet 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 EndedAn 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 EndedIf a star is 5 light-years away, this means that
- 11. Open EndedNorth celestial pole, an imaginary point on the celestial sphere, is
- 12. Open EndedWhich statement about ecliptic is false?
- 13. Open EndedThe 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 EndedThe 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 EndedWhich of the following contributes to seasons?
- 16. Fill in the BlankFrom a latitude of 30◦N, the altitude of the North Celestial Pole is ________ above the north point.
- 17. Fill in the BlankFrom a latitude of 90◦S, the altitude of the South Celestial Pole is _______ above the south point.
- 18. Open EndedIf the Earth had no orbital tilt (of 0◦), then
- 19. Open EndedThe seasons on earth are caused primarily by
- 20. Open EndedSeasons would not exist on the Earth if
- 21. Open EndedA point on the Celestial Equator, on the Ecliptic, and in time
- 22. Open EndedYou're stranded on a desert island. You locate the Polaris at 17 degrees above the northern horizon. What is your latitude?
- 23. Open EndedWhich 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 EndedWhich 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 EndedWhich 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 EndedIf the Sun rises directly east on the vernal equinox, then three weeks later it will rise
- 27. Open EndedThe fact that the moon always keeps the same face towards the earth means that
- 28. Open EndedWhich of these produces a total lunar eclipse?
- 29. Open EndedThe nodes in the moon's orbit are
- 30. Fill in the BlankDuring a solar eclipse, the _____ is in the ________ shadow.
- 31. Open EndedSaros period is important and useful because it tells us
- 32. Open EndedIf you see the Moon around 6 am, then its phase is approximately
- 33. Open EndedWhich 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 EndedHow did Eratosthenes measure the size of the Earth?
- 35. Open EndedWhat do we call the phase of the Moon when we see the left half of the Moon in the sky?
- 36. Open EndedHow long is the period of precession of the Earth's poles?
- 37. Open EndedThe projection of the Earth's latitude onto the sky is called
- 38. Open EndedAfter 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 EndedWhat is the most fundamental difference between planets and stars?
- 40. Open Ended1 AU (astronomical unit) is approximately
- 41. Open EndedApproximately how far is it between us and the Galactic Center of the Milky Way Galaxy?
- 42. Open EndedWhich 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 EndedWhich one of the following can be a correct unit for"parallax"?
- 44. Open EndedWhat is the definition of 1pc (parsec)?
- 45. Open Ended0.00423 is equal to
- 46. Open EndedCan you compare the brightness/intensity of two stars by eye
- 47. Open EndedWhich 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 EndedHow does the Earth compare with the Sun in terms of how they rotate/spin?
- 49. Open EndedThe Milky Way Galaxy's rotational curve can tell us something about
- 50. Fill in the BlankThe Hubble's law states that ______.
- 51. Open EndedA 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 EndedWhat is believed to be present at the Milky Way's Galactic Center (GC)?
- 53. Fill in the BlankThe _____ 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 EndedThe angle between the ecliptic and the celestial equator is approximately
- 55. Open EndedThe Reason for Seasons is that the earth is closer to the Sun in summer, while farther from the Sun in winter.
- 56. Open EndedRelatively speaking, the Earth's season is less dramatic near
- 57. Open EndedThe Sun rises in the northeast and sets in the north west with the highest path for
- 58. Open EndedMilankovitch cycles is intimately related to
- 59. Open EndedRight Ascension (RA) and Declination (DEC) are used in
- 60. Fill in the Blank_____ is an area of the narrow sky centered upon 8-9° north or south of the ecliptic.
- 61. Open EndedWhich 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 EndedThe north star (i.e. Polaris) is seen 20 deg above your local horizon due north. Where are you?
- 63. Open Ended"Solar Days" and "Sidereal Days" are defined differently,and the former is ____ the latter.
- 64. Open EndedWhat are the coordinates of a star that lies exactly "halfway" between the vernal equinox and the north celestial pole?
- 65. Open EndedA star at RA = 04h 00m 00s and DEC = 30 deg must have
- 66. Open EndedTidal locking between a planet and its satellite normally sets in if
- 67. Open EndedDuring one month, an astronaut on the Lunar near side would see
- 68. Open EndedSynodic month is ____ Sidereal month (in time).
- 69. Open EndedSolar eclipse occurs with (lunar phase)
- 70. Open EndedLunar eclipses are divided into different types according to
- 71. Open EndedTotal lunar eclipse appears to be reddish primarily because of
- 72. Open EndedThe solar "coronae" can be optically seen during ____.
- 73. Open EndedSince 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 EndedWhich one of the following was the major reason why ancient Greek did NOT believe in heliocentric view?
- 75. Open EndedIn an effort to construct a planetary model consistent with observations in ancient Greek times, what did they hypothesize?
- 76. Open EndedAncient Greek astronomers had believed that "Heavens must be perfect." In their mind, this means that
- 77. Open EndedAn ancient Greek philosopher/astronomer, Ptolemy, was the first to construct the geocentric planetary model where
- 78. Open EndedWho proposed a Sun-centered (heliocentric) model first in post-Greek astronomy?
- 79. Open EndedWhich one of the following better characterizes the unique essence of Copernican planetary model?
- 80. Open EndedWhich one of the following is NOT true in Tychonic planetary model?
- 81. Open EndedWhat is the definition of "eccentricity" of ellipse?
- 82. Open EndedSome planets have an eccentricity of 1
- 83. Open EndedSome planets have an eccentricity of 0
- 84. Fill in the BlankThe orbit of each planet around the Sun is ____ with the Sun at _____.
- 85. Open EndedAs a planet moves around its orbit, it moves ___ near the perihelion while ___ the aphelion.
- 86. Open EndedKepler's 3rd law formula, p^2 = a^3, is only correct when you express the variables as?
- 87. Open EndedAn 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 EndedGalileo showed by his observations that Venus actually goes through a complete phase transition. Its direct consequence is that
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