Astronomy Final Exam PDF

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1. The surface temperature of Venus is 730K, even hotter than Mercury. True 2. The atmospheric pressure on Venus is much higher than on Earth. 3. What did radar astronomers find in the polar regions of Mercury? Temperatures cold enough to allow thin sheets of water ice. 4. Which hemisphere on mars appears to be the youngest? Western. 5. Of all the planets, the axial tilt and rotation period of Mars is most like our own. 6. Winds on Mars give rise to planet-wide dust storms. True 7. Mars appears red due to iron oxide on its surface. 8. Which body has the densest atmosphere? Venus. 9. The most effective wavelengths to see through the clouds of Venus to the surface are radio. 10. That the Tharsis region on Mars has so few craters suggests it is the youngest region on the planet. 11. What is the main constituent of the atmosphere of Venus? Carbon dioxide. 12. The largest volcano in the solar system, O  lympus Mons , is found on Mars. 13. We now know of polar caps on Mercury, the Moon, Earth, and Mars. True. 14. Which planet shows the widest range of surface temperatures between day and night? Mercury. 15. Which three worlds have almost identical densities? Mercury, Venus, and Earth. 16. The direction of the rotation of Venus is exceptional because it is in a retrograde direction. 17. Much of the water on Mars i s thought to be in a layer of permafrost just below the surface. 18. Compared to Earth, Venus spins very rapidly on its axis. T  rue. 19. The scarps on Mercury were probably caused by t he crust cooling and shrinking.

20. The greatest rift valley system yet found is Valles Marineres on  Mars. 21. How does Mercury's rotation relate to the Sun? Its rotation rate is 2/3 as long as its year, due to tidal resonances. 22. Because of their low surface gravities, the Moon and Mercury lack a tmosphere. 23. Atmospheric pressure on Mars is roughly half that of Earth's at sea level. False. 24. The deepest depression found on the surface of Mars is the Hellas Basin. 25. Essentially, the Great Red Spot is a large cyclonic storm (hurricane). 26. At which planet can the pole remain in darkness for 42 years, then have 42 years of constant daylight? Uranus 27. In terms of axial tilt, which of the jovian planets shows us the largest inclination? Uranus 28. Uranus was discovered l ess than 250 years ago. 29. Compared to the terrestrial planets, the jovian planets have lower average densities. 30. Of the jovian planets, which generates the least internal heat? Uranus 31. Jupiter gives back into space twice the energy it gets from the distant Sun. Where is this energy coming from, for the most part? The slow escape of gravitational energy left from its formation. 32. Cometary impacts with Jupiter are extremely rare. 33. Small deviations in a planet's orbital motion imply the nearby presence of a massive body. 34. What is true of Jupiter's magnetosphere? I t has a tail that extends at least to Saturn's orbit. 35. A gravitational assist, or slingshot, can be used to either speed up or slow down a spacecraft. True 36. Of the planets, S  aturn is the least dense, and could float on water. 37. Alternating zones of rising and sinking gas in Jupiter's atmosphere c reate light and dark bands.

38. Because it has a higher percentage of methane, Neptune appears even bluer than Uranus. 39. Which two jovian planets have magnetic field tilts that are NOT along their rotation poles? Uranus and Neptune 40. Unlike Jupiter and Saturn, at Uranus and Neptune the equator rotates the slowest. 41. The only probe into the atmospheres of any jovian planet was launched by Galileo into Jupiter's equatorial zone. 42. Adams and Leverrier both predicted the position of Neptune, based on its effects on Uranus. 43. Arrange the Jovian planets in terms of their distance from the sun, with the closest at the top.  F  arthest - Uranus, Neptune, Saturn, Jupiter - Closest 44. What is thought to lie at the center of Jupiter? A massive core of rocky materials with some iron mixed in. 45. The Great D  ark Spot of Neptune was striking in 1989, but gone by 1995. 46. Compared to Jupiter, the element helium is notably less common in Saturn's atmosphere, perhaps condensing to fall toward the core as rain. 47. The magnetic field tilts of which two bodies are the most unusual? U  ranus and Neptune 48. Like Jupiter's, Saturn's rotation is fast and differential, with the equator rotating fastest. 49. As we go outward from Io to Ganymede, the density of the moon decreases. 50. All four ring systems lie around their planet's roche limit. 51. Which moon of Saturn shows the largest impact crater, relative to its size? Mimas. 52. In terms of dark, smoother maria and cratered highlands, which Jovian moon most resembles the near side of our own? Ganymede 53. Because the probe came so close, Voyager 1  sent back high resolution photos of detail on the surface of Titan in 1980. False. 54. Based on our current knowledge of the motions of Uranus and Neptune, it is obvious that Pluto's discovery was a triumph of physics, on par with Adams and Leverrier's work in finding Neptune. F  alse.

55. The Cassini Division is a gap in Saturn's rings caused by g ravitational interaction with Mimas. 56. Saturn's rings are thick, perhaps a few thousand kilometers. F  alse. 57. It appears that while they are similar in size, Ganymede is much more differentiated than Callisto. T  rue. 58. What is thought to be the cause of Io's volcanoes? T  idal stresses from both Jupiter and Europa. 59. What is so unusual about Pluto's orbit? I t is more inclined to the ecliptic than any of the eight planets. 60. Which are the four Galilean moons of Jupiter? Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. 61. For a moon the same density as its planet, the Roche limit lies at 2 .4 times the radius of its planet. 62. In general, the less cratered a moon's surface, the younger it is. 63. The F Ring around Saturn is maintained by s hepherd moons. 64. Which of these moons has the densest atmosphere? Titan. 65. The retrograde orbit of Triton dooms it to spiral inward toward Neptune, perhaps someday to make a ring system. T  rue. 66. Which of the Galilean moons is densest and most geologically active? Io. 67. Pluto was discovered in 1 930. 68. Compared to the size of Mercury, Ganymede is larger. 69. The moon E  nceladus may have erupted to create the E rings around Saturn. 70. To explain its magnetic field, Europa must have an ocean of l iquid water. 71. Which Jovian moon shows the most diverse terrain, suggesting a violent impact broke it into many pieces, some of which reformed it as a jumbled puzzle? Miranda. 72. Charon's orbit i s highly inclined to Pluto's orbital plane. 73. At Titan, the lakes are made mostly of liquid methane.

74. The Huygens probe of the ESA made a successful landing on T  itan. 75. Inside the Roche Limit large moons are torn apart. 76. Pluto is no longer classified as a planet. True. 77. The only particle we can directly observe coming out of the Sun's core is the neutrino. 78. Which is the net result of the proton-proton chain? 4 protons →1 helium 4 + 2 neutrinos + gamma rays (CORRECT) 79. Suppose a large flare is detected optically. How long until radio interference arrives? Simultaneously. 80. Nuclear fusion explains the Sun's immense and sustained energy output. 81. What is the meaning of the solar constant? The amount of energy the Earth receives per unit area and unit time. 82. Sunspots are dark splotches on the Sun. Which statement is true? T  hey are extremely hot, but cooler than the surrounding areas of the sun. 83. During a period of high solar activity, most sunspots lie near the Sun's equator. 84. The outward pressure of hot gas in the Sun i s balanced by the inward gravitational pressure. 85. The critical temperature to initiate the proton-proton cycle in the cores of stars is 10 million k. 86. A solar f lare is a sudden, violent disruption around sunspots, releasing a tremendous amount of energy in almost all wavelengths. 87. While the photosphere produces chiefly visible light, most coronal energy is in the form of x -rays. 88. Stellar spectra tell us that helium is the second most abundant element in the Sun. 89. During a period of high solar activity, the corona is more irregular. 90. In the proton-proton cycle, the helium atom and neutrino have less mass than the original hydrogen. What happens to the "lost" mass? It is converted to energy. 91. The s olar winds blows out of the coronal holes. 92. The temperature of the photosphere is about 5,800 K.

93. The strongest magnetic fields in the photosphere lie near Sunspots. 94. Sunspots c ome in pairs, representing the north and south magnetic fields. 95. The speed of light is 3.00 × 108 m/s. If 2.00 kg of mass is converted to energy, how much energy will be produced? 1.80 × 1017 J 96. Visible sunspots lie in the granulation in the photosphere. 97. From inside out, which is in the correct order for the structure of the Sun? Core, radiative zone, convective zone, chromosphere. 98. The solution to the solar neutrino problem was 2/3 of the neutrinos transform into a new type during the 8-minute trip to Earth. 99. Typically a granule in the photosphere is about the size of Texas, about 1,000 km across. 100. While observing the Sun, you note a large number of sunspots. What can you conclude? T  here are likely to be an above average number of flares and prominences. 101. What two energy transport mechanisms, in order from outside the core to the surface, are found in the Sun? Radiation; convection. 102. The most striking example of solar variability was the Maunder Minimum from 1645-1715. 103. As the Sun rotates, an individual sunspot can be tracked across its face. From eastern to western limb, this takes about t wo weeks. 104.

How long does the sunspot cycle last, on average? About 11 years....