Astronomy-kctcs – Flashcards

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0. The Milky way galaxy is about 1 million times larger than earth?
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False
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IN the scientific method, it is not necessary to test your theory?
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False
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A tropical year is the same as a sidereal year?
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False
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The angular diameter of an object is inversely proportional to its distance from the observer?
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True
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When the moon is directly opposite the Sun in the Sky, it's phase is?
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Full
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The 12 constellations the Solar System bodies move through are the?
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Zodiac Signs
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If the Moon's orbit were a little larger, solar eclipses would be?
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More likely to be annular
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A star with a declination of +60.0° will be?
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North of the celestial equator
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A lunar eclipse can only occur during the full phase?
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True
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If Earth rotated twice as fast as it currently does, but it's motion around the sun stayed the same, then?
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The night would be half as long
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The closest terrestrial analog to hours of right ascension is angle of longitude?
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True
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A star with Right ascension of 2.6 hours will cross the local meridian from East to West 2.6 hours after the vernal equinox?
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True
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If you are in the Moon's umbral shadow, then you will witness?
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A total eclipse
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When a thin crescent of the Moon is visible jest before sunrise, the Moon is in its?
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Waning phase
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You note a particular star is directly overhead it will be directly overhead again in?
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23 hours, 56 minutes
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The sidereal day is determined by the Earth's rotation with respect to the stars?
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True
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This diagram explains:
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Difference between solar ; sidereal time
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The interval from new Moon to 1st qtr is about a(n):
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Week
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You see a star ; it moves 15° across the sky. How long are you watching for?
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1 hour
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The solar day is longer than a sidereal day?
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True
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1. The heliocentric model of the Universe holds that Earth is the center ; everything else moves around it?
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False (heliocentric is Sun center model. Geocentric is Earth center model)
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Aristotle was the 1st to propose that all planets revolve around the Sun?
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False (Galileo was)
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A major flaw in Copernicus's model was that it still had?
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Circular Orbits
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According to Copernicus, the retrograde motion for Mars must occur?
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At opposition, when Earth over takes Mars and passes between Mars and Sun.
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Galileo fund the rotation period of the Sun was approximately?
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One month long
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If Earth's orbit around the Sun were twice as large as it is now, orbit would take?
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More than 2 times as longer to traverse
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Which of these was NOT seen telescopically by Galileo?
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Stellar Parallox
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How much stronger is the gravitational pull of the Sun on Earth, at 1 AU, than it is on Saturn at 10 AU?
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100 times
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Galileo's observations of the entire phase cycle of Venus proved that Ptomely's epicycles could not be correct in keeping Venus between the Sun?
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True
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An asteroid with an orbit lying entirely inside Earth?
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Has an orbital semi-major axis of less than 1 AU
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A calculation of how long it takes a planet to orbit the Sun would be most closely related to Kepler's?
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3rd Law of planetary motion
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In Ptomely's geocentric model, retrograde motion occurs when the planet is closes to us, on the inside portion of the?
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Epicycle
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You throw a ball to someone; before the ball is caught, it is temporally in orbit around Earth's center?
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True
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A planet whose distance from the Sun is 3 AU would have an orbital period of how many Earth years?
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?27 (square root of 27)
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According to Copernicus, retrograde motion occurs at opposition for the Outer Planets?
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True
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Kepler relied heavily on the telescopic observations of Galileo in developing his laws of planetary motion?
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False (he relied on Tycho Brahe's observations)
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Which of these observations of Galileo refuted Ptolmey's epicycles?
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The complete cycle of Venus' phases
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If the distance between 2 asteroids is doubled, the gravitational force they exert on each other will?
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Be ¹/?th as great
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In Newton's first law, the _____ of a body causes it to resist changes in its motion:
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Inertia
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An X-Ray telescope located in Antarctica would not work well because of?
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Earth's Atmosphere
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The blackbody curve of a star moving towards Earth would have it's peak shifted?
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...(toward higher energies???)
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A star much cooler than the Sun would appear?
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Red
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Imagine an emission spectrum produced by a container of hydrogen gas. Changing the amount of hydrogen in the container will change the colors of the lines in the spectrum.
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False
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Two otherwise identical objects have temperatures of 1000 ? and 1200 ?, respectively. The object at 1200 emits roughly twice as much radiation as the object at 1000 ?.
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True
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The energy of a photon is inversely proportional to the wavelength of the radiation?
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True
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Imagine an emission spectrum produced by a container of hydrogen gas. Changing the amount of hydrogen in the container will change the colors of the lines in the spectrum.
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False
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An electron moves to a higher energy level in an atom after absorbing a photon of a specific energy.
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True
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According to the Zeeman effect, the splitting of a sunspot's spectral lines is due to?
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...(their magnetic fields.)
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The temperature scale that places zero at the point where all atomic and molecular motion ceases is?
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...(Kelvin)
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The radiation our eyes are most sensitive to lies in the color?
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...(yellow-green at about 550 nm)
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Which of these is emitted when an electron falls from a higher to lower orbital?
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...(a photon)
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As white light passes through a prism, the red (longer) wavelengths bend less than the blue (shorter) wavelengths, so forming the rainbow of colors?
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...(
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Wein's law relates the peak wavelength of the blackbody to its size. The larger the black body, the shorter its peak wavelength?
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...(
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In the Doppler effect, a red shift of spectral lines shows us the source is receding from us?
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...(false)
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The Sun's observed spectrum is?
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...(a continuum with absorption lines)
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The element first found in the Sun's spectrum, then on Earth 30 years later, is?
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...(helium)
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According to Wein's law, the higher the surface temperature of a star, the redder its color?
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...(false)
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If a star was the same size as our Sun, but was 81× more luminous, it must be?
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...( )
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In general, the spectral lines of molecules are?
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...(more complex than those of atoms)
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3. The main advantage to using the HST is the increased amount of "night time" viewing it affords?
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False
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The main reason that most professional research telescopes are reflectors is that?
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large mirrors are easier to build than large lenses.
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The term seeing is used to describe how faint an object can be detected by a telescope?
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False
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When multiple radio telescopes are used for interferometry, resolving power is most improved by increasing?
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the distance between telescopes
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The Spitzer Space Telescope (SST) is stationed far from Earth because?
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Earth is a heat source and the telescope must be kept very cool
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The primary reason professional observatories are built on the highest mountaintops is to?
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Reduce atmospheric blurring
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If telescope mirrors could be made of odd sizes, the one with the most light-gathering power would be?
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rectangle with two 1-m sides and two 2-m sides.
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The best way to study young stars hidden behind interstellar dust clouds would be to use?
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Infrared light
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In astronomy, an interferometer can be used to?
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To improve the angular resolution of radio telescopes
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________ optics deform the shape of the mirror to compensate for the turbulence in the atmosphere and yield a diffraction-limited image?
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Adaptive
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A major advantage of a Newtonian reflector over a refractor is?
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the elimination of chromatic aberration
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Gamma-ray telescopes employ the same basic design that optical instruments use?
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False
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Radio telescopes are large in part to improve their angular resolution, which is poor because of the long wavelengths at which they are used to observe the skies?
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True
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Because gamma rays have very short wavelengths, gamma-ray telescopes can achieve extremely high angular resolution?
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False
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The Cassegrain reflector needs a primary concave main mirror and a smaller, convex secondary mirror to reflect light back through a hole in the primary?
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True
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The 400" Keck reflector can see objects 100 fainter than the 40" Yerkes lens?
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True
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Radio telescopes have poorer angular resolution than optical telescopes because radio waves have a much longer wavelength than optical waves?
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True
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Infrared astronomy can only be done from space?
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False
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The line intensity of a spectrum depends both on the abundance of a particular element and its temperature as well?
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True
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What is the resolution of a telescope?
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its ability to distinguish two adjacent objects close together in the sky
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4. In the leading theory of solar system formation, the planets?
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formed from the same flattened, swirling gas cloud that formed the Sun
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The total mass of all the planets is much less than the mass of the Sun?
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True
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Asteroids, meteoroids, and comets are remnants of the early solar system?
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True
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In the solar nebular theory, the dusty disk condensing around the Sun's equator became the ecliptic plane in which the planets then formed?
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True
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Water on Earth was?
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Transported here by comets
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The number of confirmed planets beyond our solar system is?
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More than 300
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If we were to construct an accurate scale model of the solar system on a football field with the Sun at one end and Neptune at the other, the planet closest to the center of the field would be?
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Uranus
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The solar system is of largely uniform composition?
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False
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The largest asteroid, and probably the only one to be a spherical "world" is?
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Ceres
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How much advance warning did we have of the close approach of asteroid 2002 MN in June 2002?
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None; it was found 3 days after its closest approach
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The tail of a comet always points?
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Away from the sun and becomes longest and brightest at perihelion
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The most detailed look we've had of an asteroid comes from?
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Spacecraft sent to an asteroid
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Pluto's orbit has the lowest inclination to the ecliptic of any planet?
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False
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Pluto is more similar to the jovian planet's icy moons than to any of the other planets?
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True
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Some meteorites are believed to have come from Mars and the Moon?
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True
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The two smallest planets, Mercury and Pluto, have no moons?
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False
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Any successful model for the formation of the solar system must explain why the orbits of the planets have low eccentricities?
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True
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The Oort Cloud is believed to be?
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a spherical cloud of cometary nuclei far beyond the Kuiper Belt.
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Meteorites are important because?
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All of the above (: they contain pristine material from the solar nebula, some come from the Moon and Mars, as well as the asteroid belt, large ones may cause mass extinctions)
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All the terrestrial planets lie inside the asteroid belt?
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True
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5. Motion of the crustal plates is driven by convection in Earth's upper mantle?
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True
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The first figure in Discovery 5-2 shows that levels in Earth's atmosphere began to rise rapidly?
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In the mid-19th century
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Like Earth, the Moon has a molten metal core?
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False
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Lunar maria are extensive lava-flow regions?
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True
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Because of tidal forces, the Moon is in a synchronous orbit around Earth?
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True
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The Earth's inner core is about the same temperature as the surface of the Sun?
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True
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Sunlight absorbed by Earth's surface is reemitted in the form of?
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Infrared
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In what part of our atmosphere do we live?
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Troposphere
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Today, an average lunar moonquake releases about as much energy as?
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A firecracker
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Due to its larger mass, the Sun's gravitational on Earth's tides is greater than the Moon's?
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False
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Weather occurs in the troposphere?
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True
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The major presence of water detected on the Moon is in?
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the floors of deep craters in the polar regions, as ice deposits that never thaw
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Earth's magnetic field is the result of our planet's large, permanently magnetized iron core?
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False
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Except for the layer of air closest to Earth's surface, the ozone layer is the warmest part of the atmosphere?
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True
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The ozone layer is contained within the stratosphere?
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True
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Earth's average density is about the same as that of?
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Chunk of Black Volcanic Rock
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If you were making a scale model of Earth representing our planet by a 12-inch basketball, the inner core would be about the size of?
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A 2" golf ball
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If Earth had no Moon, then tides would?
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occur with the same frequency, but would not be as strong
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What is true of spring tides?
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The difference between low and high tides would be greatest
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At what phase would you expect to find extremely high and low tides?
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Both new & full moons
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6. Numerous surface features on Venus can be seen in Earth-based images made in the ultraviolet part of the spectrum?
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False
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There is strong circumstantial evidence that active volcanism continues on Venus?
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True
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In terms of area, the extinct Martian volcano Olympus Mons is about the size of?
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Colorado
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The most likely theory of the formation of Earth's Moon is that it?
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formed from a collision of Earth with a Mars-sized object.
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There are many indications of past plate tectonics on Mars?
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False
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Mercury's solar day is longer than its solar year?
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True
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In comparison to the atmosphere of Venus, the vastly different atmospheric character of Mars is likely due to a/an?
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reverse greenhouse effect
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Valles Marineris is comparable in size to Earth's Grand Canyon?
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False
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Evidence of lava flows is common on the surface of Venus?
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True
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No evidence of impact craters has been found on Venus?
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False
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The surface of Mars is surprisingly smooth and featureless?
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False
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Because of its axial tilt and more elliptical orbit, Mars' polar caps change size even more than do the earth's?
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True
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The seasonal polar caps on Mars, which grow and shrink over the year, are primarily carbon dioxide?
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True
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Valles Marineris is the most striking example of a(n)?
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rift valley
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The NASA missions that landed on Mars in 1976 were the?
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Vikings I and II
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The presence of a Mercurian magnetic field surprised the planetary scientists on the Mariner 10 team because?
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the dynamo theory predicted that Mercury was spinning too slowly for one
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What is the main constituent of the atmosphere of Venus?
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Carbon Dioxide
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The largest difference between Mars' northern and southern hemispheres is that:
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the southern appears older, with more impact craters
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What is true of Mars?
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Iron oxide on the surface is responsible for its reddish color
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We now know of polar caps on Mercury, the Moon, Earth, and Mars?
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True
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7. Like the discovery of Uranus, the finding of Neptune was accidental?
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False
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Of the jovian planets, which generates the least internal heat?
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Uranus
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All four jovians spin faster than any of the terrestrials?
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True
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The reason the jovian planets lost very little of their original atmosphere is due to their?
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Large Mass
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What is thought to lie at the center of Jupiter?
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a massive core of rocky materials with some iron mixed in
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Jupiter's axial tilt is similar to that of Mercury, while Saturn's is more like ours?
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True
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Compared to Earth, Saturn's core is roughly?
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10 times more massive
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All nine planets in the solar system have been visited by spacecraft?
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False
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All four jovian planets are made primarily of hydrogen and oxygen?
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False
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Differential rotation is when a planet's equator and polar regions rotate at different rates?
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True
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The axial tilts of Uranus and Neptune are similar?
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False
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Neptune probably does not have a rocky core?
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False
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During the northern summer of Uranus, an observer near the north pole would observe the Sun high and almost stationary in the sky?
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True
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The element helium plays an important role in producing Saturn's atmospheric colors?
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False
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The solid surface of Jupiter lies just below the cloud layers that are visible from Earth?
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False
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William Herschel was the discoverer of Uranus?
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True
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The Galileo probe was deliberately steered into Jupiter's atmosphere, ending its mission?
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True
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The magnetic fields of both Uranus and Neptune are highly tilted relative to their rotation axes and significantly offset from the planets' centers?
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True
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Although often referred to as a gaseous planet, Jupiter is mostly liquid in its interior?
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True
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Jupiter and the other jovian planets are noticeably oblate because?
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they are fluid bodies that are spinning rapidly
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8. If Uranus takes 84 years to orbit the Sun, and Voyager 2 found its rings wide open at solstice in 1989, when will they appear edge on, as seen from Earth?
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2010
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If Saturn takes about 30 years to orbit the Sun, and its rings were seen edge-on in 1995, when will they appear most open at solstice?
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2002
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What best explains the darkness of the rings beyond Saturn's?
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old, sooty debris and radiation darkening
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All four ring systems orbit the equators of Jovian planets outside their Roche limits?
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False
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Io's internal heat is due to tidal interactions with Jupiter and Europa?
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True
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Io's surface appears very smooth because it?
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is continually resurfaced by volcanic activity
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The particles in Saturn's E ring probably come from volcanic eruptions on Enceladus?
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True
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The rings of Uranus were discovered when it passed in front of a star, and the dark rings occulted the star several times for brief intervals?
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True
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The haphazard terrain of Miranda suggests it was broken up by impact after it had differentiated, then fell back together as a jumbled maze?
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True
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Of the Jovian satellites, which shows the oldest, most cratered surface?
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Callisto
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The atmosphere of Titan is composed mostly of?
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Nitrogen
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The composition of Saturn's ring particles is predominantly water ice?
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True
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Two small shepherd satellites are responsible for the unusually complex form of Saturn's F ring?
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True
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Saturn's rings exist because they lie within the planet's Roche limit?
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True
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Uranus has no large moons?
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True
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Pluto was discovered via its gravitational effect on Neptune?
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False
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For a moon the same density as its planet, the Roche limit lies at ________ times the radius of its planet?
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2.5
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The brightest and probably youngest surface of any moon of Saturn belongs to?
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Enceladus
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Besides Mars, exobiologists find Europa also a good candidate for life?
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True
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What statistic below has changed the most in the last decade?
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the number of known Jovian moons
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