The Solar System - Questions with Solutions for Exam | AST 191, Exams of Astronomy

Download The Solar System - Questions with Solutions for Exam | AST 191 and more Exams Astronomy in PDF only on Docsity! 1 How many stars exist in the Solar System? A) 1 B) 2-4 C) 6-8 D) Several thousand E) Several 10s of thousands or more 2 Which object below is not a member of the Solar System? A) Comet Halley B) Pluto C) Io (satellite of Jupiter) D) Proxima Centauri E) 433 Eros (asteroid between orbits of Earth and Mars) 3 The Solar System is about _____ as old as the universe itself. A) 200 times B) 50 times C) 3 times D) 1/3rd E) 1/50th 4 The nearest star to the planet Neptune is A) Alpha Centauri B) Polaris C) The Sun D) Proxima Centauri E) Sirius 5 Planets are different from stars in that planets A) Are composed of mostly liquid and solid materials B) Are typically more massive than stars C) Are luminous objects, visible by their own light D) Are less dense than stars E) Rotate more slowly on their axes than stars 6 The most massive object in the Solar System is _____. This object is a _____. A) The Sun, planet B) The Sun, star C) Jupiter, planet D) Jupiter, star E) Proxima Centauri, star 7 What planet has a solid surface most affected by the greenhouse effect? A) Venus B) Mars C) Earth D) Mercury E) Jupiter 8 What planet does not appear to have a solid surface? A) Mars B) Venus C) Mercury D) Earth E) Saturn 9 The diameter of the Sun is approximately _____ the diameter of the Earth. A) One half B) 4 times C) 10 times D) 100 times E) 300,000 times 10 How far does light travel in 10 seconds? A) 186,000 miles B) 1,860,000 miles C) 1.86 billion miles D) 700 trillion miles E) 10 light hours 11 If the Sun is reduced to the size of a ping pong ball (and all other sizes scaled down proportionately), then the distance to the Sun’s nearest neighbor star is about A) 500 feet B) 0.5 miles C) 20 miles D) 700 miles E) 8000 miles 12 A light year could also be expressed in terms of what other units? A) Kilometers per hour B) Miles per second C) Years D) Kilograms E) Kilometers 13 What shape most closely resembles the shape of our Milky Way Galaxy? A) Fried egg B) Football C) Basketball D) Pancake E) Pork chop 14 The Solar Neighborhood is defined as A) The region of interplanetary space approximately out to the orbit of Neptune B) The region of space approximately half way to the Sun’s nearest neighbor star C) The region of space in our Galaxy including the nearest few tens of thousands of stars D) A region of space that includes our Galaxy, the Andromeda galaxy, and about 20 other relatively nearby galaxies E) Our Local Group of Galaxies and several other groups of galaxies 27 The city of Melbourne, Australia has latitude of 38o south. Where in the skies of Melbourne would you find the south celestial pole? A) At the south point of the horizon B) 38o above the north point of the horizon C) 38o below the north point of the horizon D) 38o above the south point of the horizon E) 38o below the south point of the horizon 28 Where on Earth do both the north and the south celestial poles lie on the horizon? A) The Equator B) The North Pole C) The South Pole D) The Arctic Circle E) Nowhere on Earth 29 Which object below was not a “wondering star” identified by ancient astronomers? A) Moon B) Sun C) Uranus D) Saturn E) More than one of the above 30 From the perspective of ancient astronomers, an example of a “fixed” star is ____, an example of a “wandering” star is _____. A) Proxima Centauri, the Sun B) The Sun, Mars C) The Sun, The Moon D) Venus, The Sun E) Alpha Centauri, Betelgeuse (in the constellation Orion) 31 The Sun is seen in the constellation Libra in October and in Scorpio in November. Why the change? A) The Sun moves in the Solar System. B) The Solar System moves around the center of the Galaxy. C) The Earth spins on its axis. D) The Earth orbits the Sun. E) The Sun-Earth distance changes during the year. 32 The path traced out by the Sun in the sky over the course of a full year is called the _____. A) Zodiac B) Celestial equator C) Zenith D) Epicycle E) Ecliptic 33 The Sun appears to move ____ degree(s) _____ in 24 hours as a result of the Earth’s rotation. A) 1, westward B) 360, westward C) 1, eastward D) 360, eastward E) 90, eastward 34 The Sun appears to move ____ degree(s) _____ in 24 hours as a result of the Earth’s orbital motion. A) 1, westward B) 360, westward C) 1, eastward D) 360, eastward E) 90, eastward 35 Constellations of the zodiac (of astrological importance) are different from other constellations in the sky in that zodiac constellations A) Lie along the celestial equator B) Lie along the ecliptic C) Are close to the north celestial pole D) Are close to the south celestial pole E) Are close to the zenith as viewed from the Earth’s equator 36 The dates of the year associated with the sun signs of astrology are different now from what they were in ancient times. This change is the result of the A) Motion of the Sun through the Milky Way Galaxy B) Motion of the Sun through the Solar Neighborhood C) Orbital motion of the Earth D) Wobbling of the Earth’s rotational axis E) Combined effects of the gravitational forces of other planets on the Earth 37 Owing to its annual apparent motion, about how long does the Sun take to “move” from one constellation to the next? A) 24 hours B) One week C) One month D) 6 months E) One year 38 As a traveler moves north in the Northern Hemisphere A) The North Celestial Pole (NCP) rises higher above the horizon B) The South Celestial Pole (SCP) rises higher above the horizon C) The NCP sinks lower toward the horizon D) The SCP remains on the south point of the horizon E) The NCP moves toward the east point on the horizon 39 The angle of the north celestial pole above the horizon was known by ancient astronomers to change as a traveler moved north or south. This information was used by ancient astronomers to infer A) That the Earth is spherical B) The rotational period of the Earth C) The distance of the North Pole Star Polaris from the Earth D) That the rotational axis of the Earth exhibits precession E) The diameter of the Earth’s orbit about the Sun 40 What astronomical phenomenon is caused by the shadow of the Earth? A) Phases of the Moon B) A solar eclipse C) A lunar eclipse D) Tides on the Earth E) More than one of the above 41 Imagine using Eratosthenes’ method of estimating the size of the Earth based upon two cities along a north-south line. Suppose the Sun angle at high noon is 36 degrees different between two cities located 3000 units apart. In this case, the estimated diameter of the Earth is about _____ units. A) 3000 B) 10,000 C) 16,000 D) 30,000 E) 360,000 42 Suppose Eratosthenes had been mistaken about the distance between Alexandria and Syene. In particular, suppose he mistakenly thought the two cities were twice as far apart as they actually are. In this case, his estimate of the diameter of the Earth would have been A) Two times larger than the correct value B) Four times larger than the correct value C) One half as large as the correct value D) One quarter as large as the correct value E) Pi (3.14) times as large as the correct value 43 In modern times, the occasional retrograde motion of Mars and other planets is explained by the fact that Mars A) Is a smaller planet than the Earth B) Is a larger planet than the Earth C) Moves more slowly in its orbit than Earth D) Spins faster about its axis than Earth E) Moves on a small circle called an epicycle 44 Approximately how often does the planet Jupiter exhibit retrograde motion? A) Once per week B) Once per month C) Once per year D) Once per 12 years E) Once per 20-25 years