Astronomy Quiz
Questions: 16 · 10 minutes
1. Which description best matches the Milky Way?
A barred spiral galaxy containing the Solar System
An irregular galaxy orbiting the Andromeda Galaxy
A spiral galaxy with no central bar
An elliptical galaxy containing only old stars
2. An astronomer separates a star's light into a spectrum and finds dark lines at particular wavelengths. What can those lines help reveal?
The exact number of planets orbiting the star
The chemical elements in the star's atmosphere
The shape of the star's planetary system
The number of galaxies between Earth and the star
3. A small rocky object enters Earth's atmosphere and produces a visible streak of light. What is that phenomenon called?
A meteoroid
An asteroid belt
A meteorite
A meteor
4. Over several weeks, Mars sometimes appears to move backward relative to the background stars. What best explains this apparent retrograde motion?
Mars briefly reverses direction in its orbit around the Sun.
The relative orbital motions of Earth and Mars change our line of sight.
Earth's rotation changes direction for a short period.
Background stars orbit Mars in the opposite direction.
5. A planet is moved to a stable orbit closer to its star. How would its orbital period generally change?
It would become longer.
It would become shorter.
It would stay the same because the star's mass is unchanged.
It would vary only with the planet's rotation rate.
6. Light from a distant galaxy shows spectral lines shifted toward longer, redder wavelengths. What is the usual interpretation?
The galaxy is receding from Earth.
Interstellar dust has stopped the galaxy's blue light completely.
The galaxy is moving toward Earth.
The galaxy contains only cool red stars.
7. After a Sun-like star exhausts the hydrogen fuel in its core, which major stage does it enter next?
Neutron star
Supernova remnant
Black hole
Red giant
8. Which alignment is required for a lunar eclipse?
The Moon lies between the Sun and Earth.
The Sun lies between Earth and the Moon.
Earth and the Moon are on opposite sides of the galaxy.
Earth lies between the Sun and the Moon.
9. An observer sees different constellations at midnight in June than at midnight in December. What is the main reason?
Earth's axis reverses its tilt between June and December.
The constellations rapidly orbit Earth over a six-month cycle.
As Earth orbits the Sun, the nighttime side faces different directions in space.
The Milky Way rotates halfway around Earth every six months.
10. What does a light-year measure?
The time required for a star to orbit its galaxy
The age of an object observed one year in the past
The amount of light a star emits in one year
The distance light travels through a vacuum in one year
11. During which lunar phase is the Moon positioned approximately between Earth and the Sun?
Full moon
First quarter
New moon
Third quarter
12. Two stars appear equally bright from Earth. One looks blue and the other red. What can generally be inferred from their colors?
The red star must be closer to Earth.
The stars must have the same surface temperature.
The blue star has a higher surface temperature.
The red star produces more ultraviolet light per unit area.
13. A star's brightness dips by a small, regular amount every few days. Which explanation is the transit method designed to test?
A planet periodically passes in front of the star from our viewpoint.
The star repeatedly expands and contracts.
The star is periodically hidden by Earth's Moon.
A planet reflects a burst of light toward Earth during each orbit.
14. An astronaut travels from Earth to the Moon. Ignoring equipment, how do the astronaut's mass and weight change?
Both mass and weight become about one-sixth as large.
Mass stays the same, but weight becomes about one-sixth as large.
Mass becomes about one-sixth as large, but weight stays the same.
Both mass and weight stay the same.
15. A traveler can see Polaris above the horizon on a clear night. In which part of Earth is the traveler located?
On the equator only
In the Southern Hemisphere
In the Northern Hemisphere
At either geographic pole only
16. Earth is closest to the Sun in early January, yet January is winter in much of the Northern Hemisphere. What primarily causes that winter?
The Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun, producing lower sunlight angles and shorter days.
Earth receives substantially less solar energy because its orbital speed increases.
The Sun produces less energy during the Northern Hemisphere's winter.
The Northern Hemisphere passes through a denser region of interplanetary dust.