Q&A Hero

Q: Shorter wavelengths correspond to more energetic photons.

Q: Blue stars are cooler than red stars.

Q: The wavelength of red light is shorter than the wavelength of yellow light.

Q: In some instances, light behaves like waves, and in others, like discrete particles.

Q: Examine the words and/or phrases for each question below and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option which does not fit the pattern. granules sunspots spicules photosphere

Q: Examine the words and/or phrases for each question below and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option which does not fit the pattern. corona photosphere chromosphere sunspots

Q: Examine the words and/or phrases for each question below and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option which does not fit the pattern. reflecting refracting radio optical

Q: What fuel is the source of energy from the Sun? A) helium B) lithium C) oxygen D) hydrogen

Q: What does Einstein's formula e = mc2 have to do with the Sun? A) It determines the energy released as the solar mass is converted to energy as matter is intensely compressed in its interior. B) It determines the energy released when 4 protons are fused to make a helium atom in the interior of the Sun. C) It relates to how much energy is carried away from the Sun when mass is ejected from the Sun at the speed c. D) The formula has nothing to do with the Sun

Q: Hydrogen "burning" in stars is ________. A) a chemical reaction that bonds hydrogen to oxygen to make water, which remains a gas because of the extremely high temperatures B) an atomic reaction that generates hydrogen by splitting helium atoms C) an atomic reaction that fuses 4 protons to make a helium nucleus, releasing energy by converting mass to energy D) hydrogen atoms that combine with deuterium atoms to make HD complexes, and this reaction generates immense amounts of energy.

Q: If you live at high latitude, when do you expect to see the aurora? A) at times of high sunspot activity, during the active sun B) at intermediate periods when sunspots are present but not prominent C) during low sun spot activity, when solar flares are most abundant D) at times when the earth's magnetic field has temporarily been weakened

Q: Hale discovered that sunspots were associated with magnetic fields. What happens to these magnetic fields during a full sunspot cycle? A) They die away. B) They get stronger. C) They get weaker. D) They change polarity.

Q: If solar flares pose a danger to orbiting spacecraft and astronauts, how much warning is there for the danger? A) There is no warning; the radiation arrives at the same time as the feature is observed because they all travel at the speed of light. B) The primary danger is from high energy particles that travel at the speed of the solar wind 500km/s, so there is ample warning of 3-5 days. C) The danger is from high energy particles moving thousands of km per second, so the warning is a few hours. D) The danger is primarily from emission of neutrinos, which move at just below the speed of light; hence the warning is only a few seconds after a feature is observed.

Q: Prominences and solar flares present dangers to astronauts primarily because ________. A) they disrupt communications on earth B) they pose a radiation danger from X-rays and gamma rays, but primarily from high-energy particle emissions. C) they can overheat the spacecraft. D) they do not pose a danger to astronauts.

Q: The frequency of sunspots and related solar activity is ________. A) a 22 year cycle B) a 7 year cycle C) an 11 year cycle D) not a regular cycle

Q: There are websites that predict solar weather, or essentially the impact of the solar wind on earth (in one sense, our planet is within the outer atmosphere of the sun). How is this possible when the speed of light is a fixed quantity? A) The solar wind does not travel at the speed of light, so it arrives much later than when a solar event is observed. B) The solar weather is related to sunspots, and they only affect Earth when the sunspots are in line with the earth, so knowing the solar rotation speed, you can predict when sunspots are aimed at Earth. C) The solar forecast is like weather forecasting on Earth; solar scientists observe phenomena as they form and grow on the sun, and predict their timing D) The solar weather effect on Earth depends largely on the earth's magnetic field and its interaction with Earth weather, so scientists predict variations in both.

Q: The solar wind originates from ________. A) the interior of the Sun B) the photosphere C) the corona D) the heliosphere

Q: The part of the Sun clearly visible during a solar eclipse is ________. A) the photosphere B) the chromospheres C) the mesosphere D) the corona

Q: Irregularities in brightness on the Sun's photosphere (granules) are produced by ________. A) large convective cells within the photosphere B) different elemental abundances being stirred within the photosphere, to produce variable brightness C) pods of solid mass ejected to the photosphere by violent explosions within the Sun's interior, hence the name granule D) local violent explosions within the photosphere equivalent to a hydrogen bomb explosion

Q: A solar telescope would quickly incinerate your eyes, so how do astronomers save their eyes when looking at the Sun? A) They use heavy filters to block out light, particularly at specific wavelengths. B) They project the telescope image onto a large screen or record the image with a camera. C) They use a special water cooled camera system to avoid superheating the camera. D) They look at the image very quickly.

Q: During periods of high solar activity, huge cloudlike structures that appear as great arches extending from the Sun are often produced. These solar features are called ________. A) quasars B) the solar wind C) spicules D) plages E) prominences

Q: Streams of protons and electrons emitted from the Sun produce ________. A) quasars B) the solar wind C) granules D) plages E) prominences

Q: The amount of energy released during a nuclear reaction was established by ________. A) Albert Einstein B) Sir Isaac Newton C) Galileo D) George Hale E) Niels Bohr

Q: The Sun produces energy by converting ________. A) oxygen nuclei to carbon dioxide B) oxygen nuclei to nitrogen nuclei C) carbon monoxide to oxygen nuclei D) hydrogen nuclei to helium nuclei E) helium nuclei to hydrogen nuclei

Q: The most conspicuous features on the surface of the Sun are dark areas called ________. A) granules B) helium lines C) flares D) spicules E) sunspots

Q: The source of the Sun's energy is ________. A) chemical burning B) nuclear fission C) nuclear fusion D) heat of contraction E) potential energy

Q: The most explosive events to occur on the Sun are ________. A) umbras B) solar flares C) sunspots D) filaments E) solar winds

Q: The outermost layer of the Sun is called the ________. A) ionosphere B) corona C) photosphere D) chromosphere E) megasphere

Q: The layer of the solar atmosphere directly above the photosphere is referred to as the ________. A) ionosphere B) corona C) chromosphere D) solarsphere E) megasphere

Q: The layer of the Sun that radiates most of the light that reaches Earth is called the ________. A) ionosphere B) corona C) photosphere D) chromosphere E) megasphere

Q: The Spitzer space telescope is ________. A) a planned replacement telescope for Hubble B) a new X-ray detecting observatory C) a thermal infrared detecting telescope D) the next generation gamma ray detecting satellite

Q: Why would astronomers place an X-ray observatory in space, like the Chandra observatory? A) to map X-ray emissions from the moon B) to map X-ray emissions from the sun C) to record X-rays emitted from the big bang; the so called background radiation of the universe D) to map deep X-ray emissions from deep space, particularly as a proxy for materials being sucked into black holes

Q: Why would astronomers be interested in placing a gamma ray detecting observatory in space? A) to map gamma ray emissions from radioactive elements on Earth B) to detect nuclear weapons tests on Earth C) to map high-energy electromagnetic waves from distant sources that would be blocked out or scattered by Earth's atmosphere D) to map gamma ray emissions coming from the Sun

Q: Which of the following is not a discovery made by the Hubble Space Telescope? A) distinction of the various rings of Saturn B) demonstration that disk shaped dust clouds are common around young stars C) evidence for massive black holes in the center of our galaxy D) deep space images never seen before

Q: To improve the resolution of radio telescopes, astronomers ________. A) group smaller telescopes in arrays, like the very large array in New Mexico B) make bigger telescopes C) place the telescope in outer space D) scan the skies rapidly to detect the direction of the radio signal

Q: In a radio telescope, the electromagnetic energy is gathered by ________. A) a glass mirror with a reflective coating, similar to an optical telescope B) a spherical thin metal foil that refracts the radio waves to a point C) a parabolic metallic mirror, commonly wire mesh D) a solid slab or copper metal, formed into the shape of a parabola

Q: Which of the following is not an advantage that radio telescopes have over optical telescopes? A) They are less affected by the conditions of the atmosphere. B) They are generally less expensive. C) They can operate 24 hours a day. D) They have better resolution. E) They can "see" through interstellar dust clouds.

Q: What is the ideal way, if cost is no object, for a telescope to avoid atmospheric disturbance? A) Place it on a very high mountain. B) Place it in a very dry climate, like the deserts in Chile. C) Place it in space. D) Place it on land, as far from the ocean as possible.

Q: The first telescopes, and most amateur telescopes, rely on the human eye to observe objects. Modern telescopes record the observations with ________. A) projection systems B) digital cameras C) photographic film D) polyspectral scanners

Q: The first telescopes, and most amateur telescopes, rely on the human eye to observe objects. The first improvement on this observation method used ________. A) projection systems B) digital cameras C) photographic film D) polyspectral scanners

Q: Classic Newtonian reflector telescopes use a mirror shaped like ________. A) a parabola B) a concave spherical surface C) a convex spherical surface D) a hyperbola

Q: How do modern telescopes prevent problems of earlier telescopes that limited mirror size and stability during temperature changes? A) They use a digital imaging system and process the image to remove distortions. B) They use a mirror that is constantly adjusted in shape to adjust for changes in atmospheric distortions. C) They only use telescopes in space to avoid the atmosphere. D) They use a super refraction system that uses a series of small lenses that avoid chromatic effects to collect more light than previously possible.

Q: Nearly all large optical telescopes built today are ________. A) reflectors B) refractors C) radio

Q: Because lenses act like a prism to separate the colors of the spectrum, they produce a troublesome effect known as ________. A) focal distortion B) the atmospheric effect C) chromatic aberration D) poor seeing E) light dispersion

Q: The problems encountered with lenses caused this scientist to build reflecting telescopes of his own design. A) Albert Einstein B) Sir Isaac Newton C) Galileo D) George Hale E) Niels Bohr

Q: When excited electrons decay to ground state, hydrogen emits along distinctive line near the visible red. An astronomer observes what appear to be hydrogen emission lines from a distant star but they are in the infrared spectral band. She concludes ________. A) her instrument needs to be recalibrated B) the star must be moving very fast away from Earth C) the star must be moving very fast toward Earth D) the star's hydrogen emission must be being absorbed by water in the atmosphere, which then re-emits in the infrared

Q: You take a block of granite and heat it to 1000 degrees Kelvin, and it glows bright red. If you then heat it to 1200 Kelvin, how might it look different? A) It would be brighter and more white. B) It would be much brighter and red. C) It would be about the same brightness but white. D) None of the above; it would have melted, and once it melts, it will no longer emit.

Q: The spectra of most stars are dark-line spectra because ________. A) elements in the Sun's outer atmosphere emit radiation between these dark bands B) elements in the Sun's outer atmosphere absorb in these dark-line bands, blocking the radiation in those bands C) elements in the earth's atmosphere absorb in these dark-line bands, blocking out the frequencies in the dark bands D) electrons decaying to a lower energy state emit a photon at a fixed energy, leaving dark bands between the emissions

Q: The old fashioned incandescent light bulb produces yellowish colored light by heating tungsten to a very high temperature and the tungsten radiates light peaking in the yellowish-white range. If you wanted a more blue light that was brighter, what would you need to do with a simple filament light bulb? A) You would have to add more electrical current to raise the filament to a higher temperature, which would make it burn out faster. B) You would have to make the filament thicker and add more current to make it glow brighter (for example, a 75w vs 40w bulb). C) You would have to add a layer of some other material that would absorb the longer wavelengths of light. D) You couldn't do this; it isn't possible.

Q: A microwave oven is a good example of a familiar device that relies on absorption of electromagnetic waves at fixed frequencies by specific elements or compounds. In this case, water absorbs strongly in the microwave band used by the device, heating water molecules in food. What might a microwave oven imply about measuring microwaves emitted by the Sun on Earth? A) It is irrelevant; the Sun does not emit microwaves. B) Microwaves must be the major reason for global warming. C) Microwave radiation will be heavily absorbed in the earth's atmosphere, particular if humidity is high. D) Microwaves will never make it to Earth because they will get absorbed by hydrogen between Earth and the Sun.

Q: If a yellow star is moving away from us very rapidly, what color will it appear to be? A) purple B) bluish purple C) reddish orange D) greenish blue

Q: To determine whether a celestial body is approaching or receding from Earth, astronomers employ ________. A) the Stefan-Boltzmann law B) Einstein's equation C) the Doppler principle D) high speed radar E) telescopic imaging

Q: As the temperature of a radiating surface is increased ________. A) the total amount of energy emitted increases B) a larger portion of the energy is radiated at longer wavelengths C) a larger portion of the energy is radiated at shorter wavelengths D) both A and B E) both A and C

Q: The type of spectrum produced by a common light bulb is a ________. A) continuous spectrum B) dark-line (absorption) spectrum C) bright-line (emission) spectrum D) all of the above E) none of the above

Q: The study of spectroscopy was begun by ________. A) Albert Einstein B) Sir Isaac Newton C) Galileo D) George Hale E) Niels Bohr

Q: Light is an electromagnetic wave, meaning an electric field and magnetic field travel together, oscillating at specific frequency. All metals are electrical conductors and all metals are also opaque to light. Why might this be, knowing the nature of light waves? A) The metal atoms absorb the light into their nucleus. B) The free electrons in the metal capture the light. C) The electric field of the wave excites electrons, which move through the solid conductor and dissipate the electric field, stopping the light wave. D) The magnetic field polarizes iron, so all metals have a similar property, so when the magnetic field interacts with atoms, it dissipates the wave.

Q: Light travels 300,000 km/s. Many communications satellites are in geosynchronous orbit at about 36,000 km above the earth's surface. If you talk to your friend on the other side of the world via a geosynchronous satellite using Skype or your phone, what is the minimum time delay there will be between you and your friend in your conversation? A) 8.3 seconds B) .12 seconds C) .24 seconds D) .48 seconds

Q: The wavelength of light emitted from a distance object is related to ________. A) the energy of the sourcemore energetic source has higher wavelength emissions B) the energy of the sourcemore energetic source has lower wavelength emissions C) distance of the sourcethe farther away the object is, the lower the wavelength observed related to changes in electromagnetic energy over time D) gravitygravity bends electromagnetic waves causing refraction and sorting of wavelengths

Q: Visible light is a small part of the electromagnetic spectrum, but when we see colors, we are seeing ________. A) different photons that come from different directions B) refractions of white light C) an even narrow range of wavelengths than white light within the visible light spectrum D) complementary spectra from light re-emitted off objects when light impinges on the object

Q: X-rays have shorter wavelength than visible light; therefore, X-rays ________. A) have lower energy than light waves B) are higher energy than light waves C) cannot be detected because of their wavelength D) pass through materials because their photons are smaller than light photons

Q: Electromagnetic radiation that behaves like a particle is called a(n) ________. A) proton B) electron C) photon D) quark

Q: Which of the following colors has the longest wavelength? A) blue B) violet C) green D) red E) orange

Q: Which of the following is not considered a form of electromagnetic radiation? A) radio waves B) gravity C) gamma rays D) visible light E) X-rays

Q: Why are meteorites a possible source of information regarding the origin and composition of Earth? Also, what other "clues" might be present in meteorites?

Q: Compare Earth's surface processes to the surface processes on Saturn's moon Titan.

Q: Why might a moon's orbit be used to evaluate if it was a primary moon, formed at the same time as the planet or a feature (asteroid or comet) that was captured by the planet's gravity?

Q: Carefully examine the telescopic view of the lunar surface (near side) below and the features labeled A, B, and C. (a) Give a brief description that characterizes the bright area around C. (b) Notice the features like those labeled A. What are such features called? (c) How are craters like the one labeled B different from the craters of the area labeled C? (d) In what order (from first to latest) did the features form that are labeled A, B, and C?

Q: Relatively small bodies which generally orbit between Mars and Jupiter are called ________.

Q: The only planet in the solar system whose axis of rotation lies close to its equatorial plane is ________.

Q: Saturn's moon Titan has rain like earth, but the rain is ________, not water.

Q: Which planet, in addition to Earth, shows clear evidence of water erosion?

Q: ________ is the major gas in the atmosphere of Venus.

Q: A popular modern theory for the origin of the Earth-Moon system is that the early Earth collided with another planet the size of ________.

Q: The lunar maria are large impact craters filled with ________.

Q: Label the planets on the diagram below.

Q: The two most abundant gases in Earth's atmosphere are ________ and ________.

Q: The body comprising a comet comprises the coma.

Q: Comets are thought to be composed of dust and tiny, icy particles encased in small, solidified, metallic fragments.

Q: Meteorites disintegrate and burn up as shooting stars; meteoroids survive an impact event and a trip through Earth's atmosphere.

Q: Rays in the rings of Saturn are bright, radial streaks that converge inward toward the planet's surface.