question

A solar ecplise that occurs when the new moon is too far from Earth to completely cover the Sun can be either a partial solar eclipse or an ____________.

answer

Annular eclipse

question

Anyone looking from the night side of Earth can, in principle, see a

answer

Total lunar eclipse

question

During some lunar eclipses, the Moon's appearance changes only slightly, because it passes only through the part of of Earth's shadow called the

answer

penumbra

question

A _________________ can only occur when the Moon is new and has an angular size larger than the sun in the sky

answer

total solar eclipse

question

A partial lunar eclipse begins when the Moon first touches Earth's

answer

umbra

question

A point at which the Moon crosses Earth's orbital plane is called a

answer

node

question

The distance to bodies in the solar system are a few light minutes to light hours

answer

true

question

list things in order from largest to smallest

answer

Universe, local group, milky way, solar system

question

It was Aristotle who used the scientific method to show the Earth was a sphere

answer

True

question

Modern scientific theories are NOT

answer

perfect

question

Aristotle's hypothesis was that

answer

only a spherical Earth would always cast a circular shadow on the Moon

question

Constellations are close clusters of stars, all about the same distance from the Sun

answer

False

question

Only at the equator are all the stars visible over the course of the year

answer

true

question

over the course of a night, Polaris moves less than any other visible star in the sky

answer

true

question

About how many stars are visible on a clear, dear night with the naked eye?

answer

a few thousand

question

What are constellations?

answer

Groups of stars making an apparant patter in the celestial sphere

question

The places where the Sun crosses the equator are called the

answer

equinoxes

question

A year is defined as

answer

the time it takes for Earth to complete an orbit around the Sun

question

Which statement about the length of a day is FALSE

answer

The sidereal day includes both the Earth's rotation and revolution around the Sun

question

The four extra minutes in the solar day are due to our _____ around the Sun

answer

orbit

question

In general, the brightest star in a given constellation is designated as alpha

answer

true

question

Latitude and right ascension are coordinate systems used to find objects on the Celestial Sphere

answer

false

question

From Earth, the Sun and Moon have about the same angular diameter

answer

true

question

The Full Moon rises at sunrise, and sets at sunset

answer

false

question

In general, what is true of the alpha star in a constellation?

answer

it is the brightest star in the constellation

question

What is the range of values for declination

answer

-90 to +90

question

What is the range of values for Right Axcension

answer

0 to 23 hours

question

If you are in the Moon's umbral shadow, then you will witness

answer

a total solar eclipse

question

Why is there a two day difference in the sidereal and synodic months

answer

The Earth is also revolving around the Sun, so the Moon must "catch up"

question

The Earth's circumference was first determined by:

answer

Erastothenes with solstice shadows

question

It was the Chinese who provided critical ancient data on supernovae and comets

answer

True

question

When a planet retrogrades, it appears to move westward for weeks at a time

answer

true

question

The principal culture that transferred Green astronomical knowledge to Renaissance Europe was

answer

Islamic

question

Like the Sun and the Moon, the planets always appear to move from west to east from one day to the next

answer

False

question

The most accurate Greek attempt to explain planetary motion was the model of:

answer

Ptolemy

question

The Ptolemaic model probably persisted for all these reasons except:

answer

it accounted well for Galileo's observations of the phase cycle of Venus

question

The Ptolemaic model of the universe

answer

explained and predicted the motions of the planets with deferents and epicycles

question

The greatest contribution of the Greeks to modern thought was:

answer

the development of scientific inquiry and model building

question

As originally stated, the Copernican model did no better job of predicting planetary behavior than did the Ptolemaic one.

answer

True

question

On which of these assumptions do Ptolemy and Copernicus agree?

answer

All orbits must be perfect circles

question

The heliocentric model was actually first proposed by:

answer

Aristarchus

question

According to Copernicus, the retrograde motion for Mars must occur

answer

at opposition, when the earth overtakes Mars and passes between Mars and the Sun

question

Galileo's observations of sunspots proved the Sun was rotating, like the Earth.

answer

True

question

Which of these was Not seen telescopically by Galileo?

answer

stellar parallax

question

Which of the following was NOT a contribution of Galileo to astronomy?

answer

The changing appearance of Saturn's rings corresponds to our seasons

question

Which of these observations of Galileo refuted Ptolemy's epicycles?

answer

the complete cycle of Venus' phases

question

It took two centuries for the Copernican model to replace the Ptolemaic model because

answer

there was no scientific evidence to support either model until Galileo made his observations

question

Earth is located at one _____ of the Moon's orbit

answer

focus

question

According to Kepler's second law, Jupiter will be traveling most slowly around the Sun when at

answer

aphelion

question

Earth orbits in the shape of an _________ around the Sun

answer

ellipse

question

The mathematical form of Kepler's third law measures the period in years and the ____________ in astonomical units, AU

answer

semimajor axis

question

According to Kepler's second law, Pluto will be traveling fastest around the Sun when at

answer

perihelion

question

The extent to which Mars' orbit differs from a perfect circle is called its

answer

eccentricity

question

Kepler found the orbits of planets are ellipses, not circles

answer

true

question

the orbits of most of the planets have eccentricities close to zero

answer

true

question

Kepler based his theories on the precise planetary observations of Tycho Brahe

answer

true

question

The eccentricity of a perfectly circular orbit is 1

answer

false

question

A planet will speed up as it approaches the Sun

answer

True

question

Newton's Law completely replaced the incorrect work of Kepler

answer

False

question

Tycho Brahe's contribution to Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion were

answer

his detailed and accurate observations of the planet's position

question

The most famous prehistoric astronomical observatory is:

answer

Stonghenge

question

Which concept was NOT a part of Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion

answer

Epicycles are needed to explain the varying brightness of the planets

question

According to Kepler's third law, the square of the planet's period in years is

answer

proportional to the cube of its semimajor axis in A.U.

question

A planet whose distance from the Sun is 3 A. U. would have an orbital period of how many Earth-years?

answer

sq rt of 27

question

The place in a planet's orbit that is closest to the Sun is called

answer

perihelion

question

Today we rely largely on what technique to precisely measure distances in the solar system?

answer

radar echo timings

question

Newton's gravity would explain why Saturn, so far from the Sun, moves so slowly across the sky

answer

True

question

If the mass of a body were doubled, its gravity would become 4x stronger

answer

false

question

According to Newton's second law, if you double the force acting on a body, the accelaration will double

answer

True

question

The force of gravity varies with

answer

both product of the two masses and inverse square of the distance separating the two bodies

question

The law of universal gravitation was developed by

answer

Newton

question

The force of gravity between two objects:

answer

increases with the masses of the bodies, but decreases with the square of the distances between them

question

According to Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation, if the Moon were three times further from Earth, the force by Earth on the Moon would

answer

decrease by a factor of 9

question

According to Newton's second law, when the same force acts on two bodies, the body with the larger mass will have the __________ acceleration

answer

Smaller

question

Orbital speed is the speed with which a planet moves around the Sun. This speed is determined by

answer

the mass of both the planet and the Sun and the distance between the two

question

Escape velocity is the speed required to

answer

overcome the gravitational pull of an object

question

It was the Chinese who provided critical ancient data on supernovae and comets

answer

true

question

When a planet retrogrades, it appears to move westward for weeks at a time

answer

true

question

Astronomers have not yet been able to detect planets outside our solar system

answer

false

question

the solar system contains eight major bodies called planets and thousands of smaller bodies

answer

true

question

Our solar system contains more than 100 kuiper Belt objects larger than 300 km in diameter

answer

true

question

Our solar system contains only 65 moons

answer

false

question

Which planet by itself contains the majority of mass of all the planets

answer

Jupiter

question

What is the goal of comparative planetology?

answer

to dtermine the origin and evolution of the solar system

question

Earth is nearly twice as large as Venus

answer

false

question

The planet's orbital period is

answer

the time it takes to return to the same location in the sky, relative to the Sun

question

The average density of each planet in the solar system is determined by taking its mass and dividing that by its

answer

volume

question

Which of these bodies has the lowest density

answer

a comet

question

__________ is about 30 times as far from the Sun as our own planet

answer

Neptune

question

_____ is the planet with the highest average surface temperature

answer

Venus

question

The planet with the lowest average density is _____

answer

Saturn

question

The planet that orbits closest to the Sun is ______

answer

Mercury

question

The only rocky planet to have more than one moon is ____

answer

Mars

question

_____ is the jovian planet that orbits closest to the sun

answer

Jupiter

question

______ has a rotational axis that is tilted so much it lies nearly in the plane of its orbit

answer

Uranus

question

Most of the surface of ____ is covered with liquid water

answer

Earth

question

All the jovian planets lie beyond the asteroid belt

answer

true

question

Of all the terrestrial planets, Murcury's orbit is most eccentric and tilted most above the ecliptic

answer

True

question

Mercury's most unusual orbital feature as compared to the other planets, is

answer

The shape of its orbit

question

Which statement about the motion of the planets is incorrect?

answer

Most planets move in the Earth's equatorial plane

question

Planetary orbits

answer

are almost circular with low eccentricities

question

All terrestrial planets have moons

answer

false

question

One characteristic of the Terrestiral planets is their extensive moon system

answer

false

question

All Jovian planets have rings around their equators and at least eight moons

answer

true

question

How do the densities of the jovian and terrestrial planets compare?

answer

All terrestrials are more dense than any of the jovians

question

Which of the following are the Jovian planets

answer

Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune

question

Which characteristics listed below describes the jovian planets?

answer

low density

question

Which of the characteristics below describes the terrestrial planets?

answer

possessing weak magnetic fields

question

Asteroids are the densest form of interplanetary debris

answer

True

question

The Kuiper Belt is found where in the solar system?

answer

beyond the orbit of Neptune

question

In composition, asteroids and meteoroids are most like

answer

terrestrial planets

question

The smallest sort of interplanetary matter is called

answer

interplanetary dust

question

The most detailed look we've had of an asteroid comes from

answer

spacecraft sent to an asteroid

question

A meteorite is

answer

a chunk of space debris that has struck the ground

question

The tail of a comet always points

answer

away from the Sun and becomes longest and brightest at perihelion

question

Which of these spacecraft went into orbit about Saturn in July 2004?

answer

Cassini

question

Which spacecraft gave us our best information about Mercury, until Messenger arrived in 2009?

answer

Mariner 10

question

The best present maps of the surface of Venus come from

answer

Magellan

question

The only spacecraft to be intentionally crashed into Jupiter was

answer

Galileo

question

The "Grand Tour" of all four jovians was conducted by

answer

Voyager 2

question

Our best close-up views of the jovian moons came from the many passes by:

answer

Galileo

question

Interstellar dust grains start the process of condensation in the early solar nebula

answer

True

question

Any model of solar system formation must explain why terrestrial planets and jovian planets formed differently

answer

True

question

Any model of solar system formation must explain why the planets revolve in the same direction as the sun rotates

answer

True

question

Any model of solar system formation must explain why every planet is relatively isolated in space

answer

true

question

Any model of solar system formation must explain why comets come from the Oort Cloud, with orbits very different from the planets, asteroid, and Kuiper Belt Objects

answer

True

question

All planets revolve around the Sun counterclockwise, and most also rotate on their axis counterclockwise

answer

true

question

Accretion occured sooner in the inner part of the solar system than it did in the outer regions

answer

false

question

As the solar nebula contracts due to gravitation, the cloud

answer

spins faster

question

What is the name of the theory that is currently used to describe the formation of the solar system?

answer

Nebular theory

question

What is the role of irregularities in the solar system in terms of theories of its origin?

answer

They introduce a need for flexibility in theories of the solar system's origin

question

What phase of planet formation caused the jovian planets to form?

answer

core-accretion

question

What happens when a solar nebula contracts?

answer

All of the above

question

What is the process of accretion?

answer

growth of an object by the accumulation of matter

question

Conservation of angular momentum means that a spinning body tends to

answer

keep spinning

question

What was the primary role of dust in the formation of the solar system

answer

Dust acted as condensation nuclei, platforms to which other particles could attatch and form larger particles of matter

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