1
Q
The largest circular storm in our solar system is on the surface of which planet?
A
JUPITER
2
Q
What is the rapidly moving stream of charged particles that is being driven away from the sun called?
A
SOLAR WIND
3
Q
What is the biggest asteroid known?
A
CERES
4
Q
Rounded to the nearest day, the Mercurian year is equal to how many days?
A
88 DAYS
5
Q
Olympus Mons, one of the largest volcanos in our solar system, is located on which planet?
A
MARS
6
Q
One Jupiter day is equal to which of the following?
A
9 HRS 50 MIN
7
Q
The time interval between two successive occurrences of a specific type of alignment of a planet with the sun and the earth is referred to as what?
A
A SYNODIC PERIOD
8
Q
During the period between 1979 and 1998, what is the farthest planet from the sun?
A
NEPTUNE
9
Q
How long does it take for energy generated in the core of the sun to reach the surface of the sun?
A
ONE MILLION YEARS
10
Q
The sunspot cycle is approximately how many years?
A
11 YEARS
11
Q
The Hertzsprung-Russel Diagram of stars directly compares which two properties of stars?
A
TEMPERATURE AND LUMINOSITY
12
Q
The Andromeda Galaxy is which type of galaxy?
A
SPIRAL
13
Q
About how many light years across is the Milky Way?
A
100,000
14
Q
Which Apollo lunar landing was canceled after an oxygen tank exploded?
A
APOLLO 13
15
Q
What device first proved that Earth rotates on its axis?
A
FOUCAULT PENDULUM
16
Q
Which is the smallest planet in our solar system?
A
PLUTO
17
Q
Which planet has a moon almost as big as the planet itself?
A
PLUTO
18
Q
What distinction is Sally K. Ride known for?
A
FIRST AMERICAN WOMAN IN SPACE
19
Q
In what year did Neil Armstrong make his historic walk on the Moon?
A
1969
20
Q
Only one planet in the solar system has a day which lasts longer than its year. Name this planet.
A
VENUS
21
Q
What is the heavenly body Charon?
A
PLUTO’S MOON
22
Q
Where in space is Cassini’s division located?
A
BETWEEN TWO RINGS OF SATURN
23
Q
Who was the first black American astronaut in space?
A
GUION S. BLUFORD
24
Q
What is Vostok 1?
A
THE FIRST MANNED SPACECRAFT
25
Heliocentric means around which celestial body?
THE SUN
26
Triton, Neptune's moon, has an ocean made of what liquid?
NITROGEN
27
Who was the first man to classify stars according to their brightness?
HIPPARCHUS
28
What was the Schmidt telescope specially built to serve as?
A SKY CAMERA
29
What is the star nearest to the sun?
ALPHA CENTAURI or PROXIMA CENTAURI
30
The greatest distance of a planet from the sun is called what?
APHELION
31
What is the name given to very bright meteors or bolides?
FIREBALLS
32
How is the atmospheric pressure of Mars compared to that of the earth?
ABOUT 1/200th THAT OF THE EARTH'S
33
What gas is the main component of the atmosphere of Mars?
CARBON DIOXIDE
34
The planet Jupiter has a mass that is greater than what?
THE COMBINED MASSES OF ALL OF THE PLANETS
35
Which moon feature is named Copernicus?
A CRATER
36
On which day of the year does the summer solstice usually occur?
JUNE 21
37
When the earth is farthest from the sun, what season is it in the Northern Hemisphere?
SUMMER
38
Name the only two moonless planets.
VENUS AND MERCURY
39
What is the astronomer's name for the constellation known as 'The Chained Maiden'?
ANDROMEDA
40
In which season is the constellation 'Pegasus' normally viewed?
AUTUMN
41
In which constellation can the brightest star Vega be found?
LYRA
42
In which constellation can the brightest star Aldebaran be found?
TAURUS
43
What two observables must be measured to determine the total mass of a binary star system?
1) SEPARATION OF THE TWO STARS
2) THE STARS' PERIOD OF REVOLUTION
44
The Orion Nebula is a good example of what kind of nebula?
EMISSION NEBULA
45
What are the charged particles that make up a major component of the interstellar media called?
COSMIC RAYS
46
A typical galaxy, such as our Milky Way galaxy, contains about how many stars?
200 BILLION
47
What do we call the path in the sky that the sun appears to traverse over the course of a year?
ECLIPTIC
48
Refracting telescopes always contain which one of the following?
LENSES
49
A comet's tail points in which direction?
AWAY FROM THE SUN
50
Spectral line splitting due to the influence of magnetic fields is called what?
ZEEMAN EFFECT
51
What is the term applied to the dark, relatively smooth lunar plains whose name is derived from the Latin for 'sea'?
MARE or MARIA
52
What is the collection of small rocky bodies, otherwise known as minor planets, 99.8 percent of whose orbits lie between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter?
ASTEROIDS
53
Elliptical, Spiral, and Irregular are classifications of what type of astronomical systems?
GALAXIES
54
I am a type of star with a relatively low effective temperature (3,000 to 4,000 Kelvins) and have a large radius. What am I?
RED GIANT
55
A 5th magnitude star is how many times brighter than an 8th magnitude star?
15.85
56
Which of the following statements is true for both Saturn and Jupiter?
BOTH ROTATE FASTER THAN THE EARTH
57
What is the name given to the configuration when three celestial bodies are in a line?
SYZYGY
58
Which planet has the most eccentric orbit?
PLUTO
59
What name was given to the series of two-man U.S. space missions undertaken in the mid 1960's?
GEMINI
60
What is formed when a massive star, after reaching supergiant status, explodes?
A SUPERNOVA
61
The beads of light visible around the rim of the moon at the beginning and end of a total solar eclipse are called what?
BAILY'S BEADS
62
What is formed when a massive star reaches supergiant status?
A SUPERNOVA or TYPE II SUPERNOVA or NEUTRON STAR or BLACK HOLE
63
What are the beads of light visible around the rim of the moon at the beginning and end of a total solar eclipse called?
BAILY'S BEADS
64
What are the coordinates used for star locations?
* right ascension
* declination
65
Which planet is usually the brightest in the sky?
VENUS
66
What is the last planet Voyager II visited?
NEPTUNE
67
The 2.7 Kelvin cosmic background radiation is concentrated in what spectral region?
RADIO WAVELENGTHS
68
Which planets can never be in opposite direction from the Sun in Earth's sky?
* VENUS
* MERCURY
69
If you were watching a star collapsing to form a black hole, why would the light disappear?
IS STRONGLY REDSHIFTED
70
In which spectral region is it possible for astronomers to observe through clouds?
RADIO
71
What is the name of the first U.S. planetary probe released since the Challenger accident and its primary destination?
GALILEO, JUPITER
72
What type of galaxies are the Magellanic Clouds?
IRREGULAR GALAXIES
73
What element was found in high concentrations at the geological boundary between the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods?
IRIDIUM
74
What term is used in astronomy to indicate the reflecting power of an object?
ALBEDO
75
The VISUAL aurora is usually located in which part of the atmosphere?
IONOSPHERE
76
What star ranks second in apparent brightness among the stars and is located in the constellation Carina?
CANOPUS
77
Which northern latitude constellation is recognized by a 'W' shape?
CASSIOPEIA
78
When two heavenly bodies occupy the same longitude, they are said to be in what?
CONJUNCTION
79
What is the study of the origin and evolution of the universe known as?
COSMOLOGY
80
What famous discovery did Penzias and Wilson make that supported the Big Bang theory?
BACKGROUND RADIATION RESULTING FROM THE BIG BANG
81
Who determined the orbit of the then-unknown planet Neptune?
(JOHN C.) ADAMS
82
What are the two constellations that make up the famous 'Great Square of Pegasus'?
* PEGASUS
* ANDROMEDA
83
What allotrope of oxygen is formed in the upper atmosphere by ultraviolet radiation from the sun?
OZONE
84
What percentage of the Sun's mass has been converted to energy?
.001%
85
According to Kepler's Laws, what shape are all orbits of the planets?
ELLIPSES
86
According to Kepler's Laws, the cube of the mean distance of a planet from the sun is proportional to what?
SQUARE OF THE PERIOD
87
What type of visible star is the coolest?
M
88
Which type of star is maintained by the pressure of an electron gas?
WHITE DWARF
89
Which planet has a moon with a mass closest to its own?
PLUTO
90
Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto are satellites of what planet?
JUPITER
91
The universe is estimated to be between ten and twenty billion years old based on which constant?
THE HUBBLE CONSTANT
92
Who first hypothesized that the Earth orbited the sun?
COPERNICUS
93
What year was the last manned moon flight made?
1972
94
What is the temperature of the cosmic background radiation, a remnant of the Big Bang?
2.7K
95
What is the name of the outer boundary of the sun's magnetic field?
HELIOPAUSE
96
Superbubbles and chimneys are both galactic structures theorized to result from what explosive phenomena?
SUPERNOVAS or NOVAS
97
How many Mercury sidereal days does Mercury's year last?
ONE AND ONE-HALF
98
A planet is said to be at aphelion when it is what?
FARTHEST FROM THE SUN
99
What is the angle called that describes the position of an inferior planet by the angle it makes with the sun as seen from the Earth?
ELONGATION
100
Which planet has the greatest eccentricity?
PLUTO
101
Phobos and Deimos are moons that orbit which planet?
MARS
102
What is the name of the largest moon in our solar system that has an atmosphere denser than the atmosphere of Mars?
TITAN
103
What are the two main radiation belts that surround the earth known as?
VAN ALLEN BELTS
104
On which planet would the sun rise in the west?
VENUS
105
Which planet has an axis tilt of 98 degrees?
URANUS
106
What planet was discovered by studying the deviations in the orbit of another planet?
URANUS
107
What angle does the full moon take up in the night sky?
1/2 DEGREE
108
What is the period from one full moon to the next?
29.5 DAYS
109
When a superior planet is at opposition, it makes an angle of how many degrees with the sun?
180 DEGREES
110
What does the word Albedo refer to?
THE AMOUNT OF LIGHT A PLANET REFLECTS
111
What discovery did Galileo make about Venus that challenged existing theories?
VENUS HAD PHASES LIKE THE MOON
112
What is Cassini's division described as?
A BREAK IN THE RINGS OF SATURN
113
Which of Kepler's three laws states that all planets orbit the sun in elliptical orbits?
FIRST
114
Who discovered that Mars orbits the sun in an elliptical orbit?
KEPLER
115
What is the phase of the moon during a solar eclipse?
NEW MOON
116
What is the phase of the moon during a lunar eclipse?
FULL MOON
117
How many degrees is the orbital plane of the moon inclined from the ecliptic?
5 DEGREES
118
Which Jovian planet rotates slower than the Earth?
NONE
119
Neptune is closest in size to which planet?
URANUS
120
Is a sunspot hotter, cooler, or about the same temperature as the region around it?
COOLER
121
What is the temperature in the lowest level of the photosphere of the Sun?
6,000 DEGREES KELVIN
122
In Earth years, how long is a Galactic year?
230 MILLION YEARS
123
What is the temperature of the photosphere of the Sun?
6,000 DEGREES KELVIN
124
A first magnitude star is how many times brighter than a second magnitude star?
2.5
125
What is the name of the star that is the brightest in the sky?
SIRIUS
126
Which constellation has more bright stars than any other?
ORION
127
A line through the three stars in Orion's belt points toward which star?
SIRIUS
128
A pulsar is actually a:
NEUTRON STAR
129
In the Milky Way, there are approximately how many stars?
200 BILLION STARS
130
Which of the following words best describes the shape of our galaxy?
SPIRAL
131
What is the name of the star closest to our sun?
PROXIMA CENTAURI
132
On February 9, 1991, ROSAT finished the first ever all-sky survey of what?
X-RAYS
133
On what planet does a 'year' last only 88 days?
MERCURY
134
The Asteroid Belt is between the orbits of which two planets?
MARS AND JUPITER
135
The ring nebula is an example of a planetary nebula. It is:
AN EXPANDING RING OF GAS RELEASED FROM A DYING STAR
136
After what geophysical occurrence might you see Bishop's Ring?
VOLCANIC ERUPTION
137
How many people have set foot on the Moon?
TWELVE
138
How many manned moon landings have there been?
SIX
139
Which planets are never visible at midnight?
MERCURY AND VENUS
140
Whose paradox asks why the sky is not ablaze with starlight if the universe is infinite?
OLBER'S
141
What object was left on the moon for scientists to measure the distance between the Earth and the moon?
MIRROR
142
What are Schmidt, Cassegrainian, and Galilean examples of?
TELESCOPES
143
How large of an angle is the tilt of the Earth's spin axis from normal to the ecliptic plane?
23 AND 1/2 DEGREES
144
What are the two bright spots of light on opposite sides of a halo called?
SUN DOGS
145
What was most significant about the Apollo 11 flight?
IT WAS THE FIRST MANNED LANDING ON THE MOON
146
What are the Geminids, the Perseids, and the Leonids?
METEOR SHOWERS
147
Laika, the first living creature to orbit the earth, was what type of animal?
DOG
148
Most stars are cooler than the sun. These stars emit most of their radiant energy in the:
INFRARED
149
If the diameter of a reflector's objective mirror is doubled, how many times as great is its light-gathering power?
4 TIMES
150
Astronomers use cepheids principally as measures of what?
DISTANCE
151
What is the name of the class that the Andromeda Galaxy belongs to?
SPIRAL
152
Where are most asteroids located?
BETWEEN MARS AND JUPITER
153
What was the year of the first lunar landing by man?
1969
154
What is the Latin name for the lunar seas?
MARIA
155
Of the following phases of the moon, which is the one at which a spring tide occurs?
NEW
156
Which star am I? I am one of two stars known as the Pointers. My fellow star is Merak.
DUBHE
157
What is the sidereal period of the moon?
27 AND 1/3 DAYS
158
What is the English name for the constellation known as 'Cygnus'?
THE SWAN
159
A white dwarf has a mass of roughly one solar mass but a size of about:
THE EARTH
160
What kind of star is the small companion of the binary star system Sirius?
WHITE DWARF
161
Which of the following can be used to see through Venus's clouds?
RADAR
162
Name the Chicago area astronaut that drove the Lunar Rover during the Apollo 17 mission.
(EUGENE) CERNAN
163
What is the type of reflecting telescope in which the light focused by the primary mirror is intercepted short of focal point?
CASSEGRAIN OR CASSEGRAINIAN
164
The only supernova explosion in modern times visible to the naked eye became visible in which year?
1987
165
To within 5%, what fraction, by mass, of the universe is helium?
24%
166
What is the source of energy in a supernova explosion?
GRAVITATION
167
Give one year when Pluto was discovered.
1930
168
Primary cosmic radiation is characterized by:
ALL OF THE ABOVE
169
Globular clusters in our galaxy are primarily found:
IN THE HALO OF OUR GALAXY
170
The phenomenon that causes the Moon's rotation about its own axis to be equal to the Moon's period of revolution is called:
TIDAL FRICTION
171
The Sun rotates about its own axis approximately:
VARIES WITH SOLAR LATITUDE
172
Presently, what is the farthest planet from the sun?
NEPTUNE
173
Andromeda, the nearest galaxy similar to the Milky Way, is how far from the Earth?
2,000,000 LIGHT YEARS
174
The angular position of an object measured from a fixed point along the horizon is its:
AZIMUTH
175
The precession of the Earth refers to the:
CHANGE IN ORIENTATION OF THE EARTH'S AXIS
176
Algol is a binary star whose larger component revolves around and regularly eclipses the smaller star. In which constellation is Algol located?
PERSEUS
177
The term 'Parsec' is a contraction of what two words?
PARALLAX SECOND
178
The angular position of the sun at solar noon with respect to the plane of the equator is the definition of:
SOLAR DECLINATION ANGLE
179
Which of the following men was the first to make systematic use of a telescope in astronomy?
GALILEO
180
The Magellanic cloud is a:
GALAXY
181
The comet known as Halley's Comet has an average period of:
76 YEARS
182
Which one of the following planets has no moons?
VENUS
183
Which planet has the shortest year?
MERCURY
184
In kilometers, the earth's average distance from the sun is roughly:
150 MILLION
185
The gravity on the moon is what fraction of the gravity on the earth?
1/6
186
What fraction of the gravity on the Earth is the gravity on the Moon?
1/6
187
What are rocks that enter the Earth's atmosphere and do not burn up completely called?
Meteorites
188
95% of the Martian atmosphere is composed of what substance?
Carbon Dioxide
189
How many of Jupiter's moons did Galileo see with his first telescope?
Four
190
What is the definition of one Astronomical Unit?
It is the distance from the Sun to the Earth
191
What is the motion called when a planet seems to be moving westward in the sky?
Retrograde
192
In the Copernican system, what is the shape of the planets' orbits?
Circle
193
With which astronomical objects are meteor showers associated?
Comets
194
In what year did Galileo first use an optical telescope to study the Moon?
1611
195
What device would not work on the Moon?
Siphon
196
Where is the Great Red Spot located?
Jupiter
197
What astronomical event made the headlines in 1986?
Halley's Comet
198
What celestial body is known for its 11-year cycle?
Sun
199
What are Callisto and Ganymede?
Two of Jupiter's moons
200
What feature do only Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus have in common?
Rings
201
The size of the average meteor is about the size of which of the following?
A grain of sand
202
When could you see Bailey's Beads?
During a total solar eclipse
203
Geocentric means around:
The Earth
204
How many moons does Mars have?
Two
205
During what phase of the Moon can a total visual eclipse of the Moon occur?
Full Moon
206
What is the more common name for the aurora borealis?
Northern Lights
207
Which planet is the Earth's twin size-wise?
Venus
208
Which three planets have moons larger than Mercury?
Saturn, Jupiter, and Neptune
209
What belts are composed of charged particles surrounding the Earth?
Van Allen Belts
210
Which two planets have overlapping orbits?
Neptune and Pluto
211
What are 'cool' areas on the surface of the Sun called?
Sun Spots
212
Which is the only moon in the solar system with a substantial atmosphere?
Saturn's Titan
213
True or False: The moon is denser than the Earth.
False
214
A comet's apparent size does which of the following as the comet gets closer to the Sun?
Increase
215
The Pythagoreans appear to have been the first to have taught that the Earth is:
Spherical in shape
216
The light-gathering power of a reflecting telescope depends on:
The area of its objective mirror
217
Who was the first individual to observe the phases of Venus?
Galileo
218
Who first used Tycho Brahe's observational data on Mars to determine its elliptical orbit?
Kepler
219
True or False: Newton taught that the natural state of motion of a body is one of uniform motion in a circular path.
False
220
Approximately how many times could a beam of light travel around the Earth in one second?
7.5 times
221
The diameter of the Earth is approximately:
13,000 kilometers
222
The average density of the Earth is approximately:
Five and a half times the density of water
223
What term describes the phenomenon of nearby stars shifting against the background of distant fixed stars due to the Earth's motion around the Sun?
Parallax
224
What name is given to the situation where the Sun crosses the celestial equator around March 21?
Vernal Equinox
225
Of the following colors, which is bent least in passing through a prism?
Red
226
In a reflecting telescope, where in the tube is the objective mirror placed?
The bottom of the tube
227
The diameter of the disk of our galaxy, within a factor of two, is how many light years?
100,000 light-years
228
What is the principal source of a young star's energy?
Fusion of hydrogen to helium
229
What is the approximate age of our sun?
5 billion years
230
What does it mean when someone says that comets have eccentric orbits?
The sun is far from the foci of their orbits
231
Which of the following planets has the lowest density?
Saturn
232
What planet comes closest to the Earth?
Mars
233
What causes the gas tail of a comet to always point away from the sun?
Solar wind
234
What are Saturn's rings composed of?
Billions of tiny solid particles
235
True or False: Canals have been photographed on Mars by recent space probes.
False
236
Of the following, which is the only planet that CANNOT be seen with the unaided eye?
Neptune
237
Accretion is:
The gradual accumulation of matter in one location usually due to gravity
238
If we look at a galaxy that is moving AWAY from us, we find that the wavelengths of light coming from this galaxy are:
Lengthened
239
What is the name of the first artificial Earth satellite and the year in which it was launched?
Sputnik 1957
240
The stars Castor and Pollux are the two brightest stars of what constellation?
Gemini
241
The age of the Universe in billions of years is approximately:
18
242
The reason we call an astronomical body a black hole is that:
Its gravity is so high that it absorbs its own photons
243
A blue shift means a Doppler shift of light from a(an):
Approaching star
244
The first and largest asteroid discovered was:
Ceres
245
Which of the following Saturnian satellites is known to possess an atmosphere?
Titan
246
The Crab Nebula consists of the remnants of a supernova which was observed by:
The Chinese in 1054 A.D.
247
The atmosphere of Venus contains mostly:
Carbon Dioxide
248
What causes a planet to have a magnetic field?
The dynamo effect
249
On the celestial sphere, the annual path of the Sun is called:
Ecliptic
250
The angular distance between a planet and the Sun, as viewed from the Earth, is called:
Elongation
251
Which of the following has the greatest density?
Venus
252
Mercury and Venus are said to be inferior planets because:
Their orbits are inside of the Earth's orbit
253
What is the name of an important galactic cluster of stars in the Milky Way?
254
Why are Mercury and Venus classified as inferior planets?
Their orbits are inside of the Earth's orbit
## Footnote
Inferior planets are those whose orbits are closer to the Sun than Earth's orbit.
255
What is the common name for the important galactic cluster of stars in the Milky Way known as the Seven Sisters?
Pleiades
256
What is the point at which the orbit of Mercury comes closest to the Sun called?
Its perihelion
257
Which of the following was NOT one of Galileo's discoveries?
Mountains on Venus
## Footnote
Galileo made significant discoveries including the phases of Venus, moons of Jupiter, and sunspots.
258
What are the ripples in the overall geometry of space produced by the acceleration of moving objects called?
Gravitational waves
259
Which planet has less mass than the Earth?
Pluto
260
Which of the following planets is NOT a terrestrial planet?
Jupiter
261
Why do we see lunar eclipses more often than solar eclipses?
The lunar eclipse is visible to much more of the Earth than a solar eclipse.
262
What is a starlike object with a very large redshift?
Quasar
263
What does the apparent magnitude of an object in the sky describe?
Brightness
264
What are the Van Allen belts?
Charged particles trapped in the Earth's magnetic field
265
What do the two stars at the end of the cup in the Big Dipper point to?
Polaris or the North Star
266
A coordinate system based on the ecliptic system is especially useful for the studies of?
Planets
267
How were planets such as Pluto distinguished from the multitude of stars in the sky?
The planets move relative to the stars.
268
What was the distance of the moon from Earth in March 1993?
216,000 miles
269
Identify the largest planet in our solar system.
Jupiter
270
Identify the brightest planet in our solar system.
Venus
271
What type of variable star is a red dwarf star that shows rapid and irregular changes in light?
Flare star
272
What happens to a collapsed star that is too massive to be supported by neutron pressure?
It forms a black hole
273
What is the name of the spacecraft that used Jupiter's gravitational field to redirect its course toward the Sun's polar regions?
Ulysses
274
What is the mean distance of the Earth from the Sun in astronomical units?
1
275
The decreasing pitch of the siren of a receding locomotive is an example of what phenomenon?
Red shift
276
What process produces a star's energy?
Nuclear fusion
277
Who measured the diameter of a star other than the sun using a stellar interferometer in 1920?
Albert Michelson
278
On which planet can one find the solar system's largest volcano?
Mars
279
What is the most distant object in the sky that the human eye can see without optical instruments?
The Andromeda Galaxy
280
Which planet has the greatest number of known moons?
Saturn
281
What is the common name given to the group of stars also known as Crux Australis?
Southern Cross
282
What is the name of Pluto's solitary moon?
Charon
283
Which civilization developed and implemented the first solar calendar?
Egyptian
284
What is the hottest region of the sun?
The corona
285
Why does the same side of the moon always face the Earth?
Tidal forces keep the moon's rotation and orbiting motion in sync with each other.
286
What does the resolving power of a telescope depend on?
Diameter of the objective
287
The determination of stellar parallax is important because it allows for the determination of?
Distance
288
What property besides temperature does the luminosity of a star depend upon?
The star's area or diameter
289
What did the Giotto spacecraft set a new record for in July?
The closest visit to the core of a comet
290
What technique did the Magellan orbiter use to map the surface of Venus?
Radar
291
What is Neptune's largest moon now known to be?
Half the size of Mercury
292
In 1995, which spacecraft was scheduled to go into orbit about Jupiter?
Galileo
293
On a clear, dark, moonless night, approximately how many stars can be seen with the naked eye?
3,000
Sam’s Astronomy
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