Astronomy Final Exam Part 1

Active optics

The name of the top of a wave is the crest.

The moon Europa is covered with an icy crust. We think that there might be some oceans of water under the ice.

The largest moon in the solar system is

The use of the Doppler Effect in astronomy is related to something called the red shift. Objects that show are

Should a piece of an meteoroid make it through the atmosphere and hit the ground, we would call it a

Renaissance astronomer thought to have made the most accurate measurements because of his tools

The planet that was discovered because it actually made the orbital path of another planet change is

There are no asteroids that cross the earth’s orbital path.

A total solar eclipse is more rare than a lunar eclipse because

The name of the lighter part of the earth’s shadow is called the

Some stars still have Arabic names because the Arabs kept the records that were lost during the Dark Ages.

The planet that has no moons is

The rings of Saturn are

Eratosthenes was successful at measuring the distance to the Sun.

The amount of time it takes the Sun to return to its position relative to the background stars is called

Absorption lines are produced when frequencies of light are removed as that energy is absorbed by a cool gas.

Because of Mercury’s distance from the Sun

Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is thought to be

The greenhouse effect has been made worse by the presence of Freon in the atmosphere.

A lunar eclipse can happen during any phase of the moon.

The Sun seems to move through certain groups of stars throughout the year. These stars are called

The type of spectrum that is produced when light is given off by a hot gas (like in lab) is called

Uranus was discovered by Galileo.

Infra-red astronomy is sometimes performed

The comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 hit what planet in 1994?

The only of the following objects that does not have rings is

The largest planets also have the highest densities.

The moon exerts a force on the earth that causes ocean levels to vary. The variations are called

Ptolemy was the Greek astronomer that is credited with creating a model. What was in the center?

Copernicus was the Renaissance astronomer that is credited with creating a model. What in the center?

What gas is most responsible for the green house effect here on Earth?

Radio telescopes are generally the smallest type of telescope.

Compared to the rest of the planets, which planet rotates almost on its side (tilted 98°), so that it is weird?

The phase of the Moon when there is a lunar eclipse is

The largest mountain (volcano) in the solar system is on Mars. It is called

This planet has a density so low that it would float on water

The surface of Mars looks red because

The wavelength of a wave tells us

The name for the distance at which a moon is ripped apart by a planet’s gravity is called

There are celestial coordinates like longitude and latitude. They are called

One problem with lenses is that different frequencies of light are focused in different spots; this is called

Asteroids are thought to be very old.

In December, we are further from the sun than in June.

We think that part of the center of the earth is liquid. We know this from the study of

Blackbody radiation is

The size of the crests in a wave is called

Jupiter’s magnetic field is much larger than the earth’s.

What is the name of the satellite that we used to get the fist images of the rings of the outer planets?

Newton’s 1st Law says that an object

We think Jupiter’s magnetic field is caused by its large iron core.

On the earth, we generally build telescopes

Kepler said that the orbits of the planets were ellipses.

Ptolemy used circles in his model of the solar system. . The paths were called?

The sidereal day is longer than the solar day.

How long does it take the Moon to go from full to new and back to full again (a synodic month)?

Electrons give can give off any amount of energy when they go from one energy level down to another

We are able to say that part of the earth is liquid by studying the waves produced by earthquakes.

Constellations were chosen because the stars are really physically close together.

The process of making observations to describe how nature works and developing theories from those observations

The phase of the Moon when there is a solar eclipse is

Comets have two tails. In general both tails point in what direction?

The electromagnetic spectrum in order from longest to shortest wavelength is

Io is geologically inactive like most moons.

X-ray telescopes are put in space because

Frequency is

The advantage of a reflecting telescope is that

Johannes Kepler is known for creating several laws of planetary motion. His first law says that planets must move in

The magnetic field of the earth is responsible for

Triton orbits Neptune in the reverse direction of all the other moons.

Comets that orbit very, very far from the Sun [long period comets] make up the

The longer the wavelength of electromagnetic radiation

the light given off by several gasses and then determine what chemicals they are by using a special chart

The asteroid belt is between

The snow-ball core of a comet is surrounded by the

Nebular contraction theory models the formation of the solar system and

The first day of spring is called

The green house effect

The idea that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction is called

As a large spinning cloud of gas contracts to a smaller diameter

The surface temperature of Venus

The Moon has phases because

The darker bands of Jupiter’s atmosphere are actually higher in altitude.

We think that water has flowed on Mars.

A telescope in space has an advantage over one in Booneville in that

The only moon that has a thick nitrogen based atmosphere is

Neptune has a moon named Triton. On this moon there are geysers that shoot

The largest gap in Saturn’s rings is called

The light gathering power of a telescope depends on the size of the mirror or lens.

The gas that makes Neptune blue is nitrogen.

Describe the moons of Mars

Optical telescopes work best in low altitude areas like Mississippi.

Which theory of the Moon’s origin is thought to be true?

The bright streak of light we call a shooting star has the scientific name

The largest optical telescope is not in space.

As a mass spins, rotational effects cause it to become

Plate tectonics tells us that when an earthquake happens

One convenient consequence of gamma rays is that

Light is not radiation.

The only way we can make out features on Venus is to use ultraviolet light.