Term
| If a planet is seeing its Moon in the New Phase right now, in what phase would the planet appear to be when viewed from its Moon? |
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Definition
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Term
| What is the reason for the seasons on Earth? |
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Definition
| Earth is tilted with respect to the Sun by about 23.5 degrees |
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Term
| As compared to a cool star, a hotter star emits: |
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Definition
| shorter wavelength, higher frequency, bluer color |
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Term
| At approximately what time does the third quarter Moon rise? |
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Definition
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Term
| The electrons in a cloud of hydrogen gas are making the transition from excited states to the ground state. What does the spectrum of this cloud of gas look like? |
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Definition
| It will consist of a few bright emission lines at very specific wavelengths. |
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Term
| If Earth had its orbit changed so that at all points along its orbit it was always the same distance from the Sun (circular orbit), how would this affect the seasons on Earth? |
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Definition
| the same as they are now. |
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Term
| I detect a star giving off more ultraviolet light than green light. What property of the star can I estimate with this information? |
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Definition
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Term
| What do you expect the spectrum of an object that is 1,000,000 Kelvin to be like? |
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Definition
| It should peak at X-ray wavelengths. |
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Term
| What time of year is it dark all day (and night) at the South pole? |
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Definition
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Term
| A planet with its rotation axis tilted by 40 degrees relative to its orbital plane around its star would: |
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Definition
| have dark all the time on the South pole during its winter |
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Term
| The planets are seen in the Zodiac constellations because: |
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Definition
| they orbit the Sun in the same plane as the Earth does |
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Term
| What makes a transition from a higher energy state to a lower energy state when a photon is absorbed into an atom? |
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Definition
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Term
| Which of the following is FALSE? |
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Definition
| The wavelengths of the emission lines produced by an element are different from the wavelengths of an absorption line produced by the same element. |
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Term
| One of the lines of Hydrogen has a wavelength of 121.6 nm. If a cloud of Hydrogen gas is moving TOWARDS us at 200km/s, what will we detect? |
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Definition
| An emission line in the cloud’s spectrum with a wavelength shorter than 121.6 nm. |
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Term
| Why does light come in different colors? |
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Definition
| differences in wavelength |
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Term
| Say you are in the bottom of Happy Valley. How does the force of gravity compare to what it would be on top of Mount Nittany? |
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Definition
| slightly greater in Happy Valley than on Mount Nittany |
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Term
| What kind of a telescope would have to be put in space to be effective? |
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Definition
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Term
| Dark lines in an absorption spectrum represent: |
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Definition
| particular energies of light coming from a distant object that are absorbed by material in between. |
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Term
| f the mass of the Sun were cut in half, how would the force between the Sun and the Earth change? |
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Definition
| it would decrease by a factor of two |
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Term
| In what way does a 30 meter telescope outperform a 10 meter telescope? |
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Definition
| The images of the 30 meter are 9 times brighter than those of a 10 meter. |
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Term
| On a planet whose Moon is in the same orbital plane as the planet’s orbit around its star, how often will solar eclipses occur? |
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Definition
| Once every orbit of its moon (its month). |
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Term
| Say that our Moon was Full on May 1, 2007. When was the next First Quarterphase after that Full Moon? |
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Definition
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Term
| Why does a neon light appear red? |
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Definition
| It gives off an emission spectrum with mostly red spectral lines. |
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Term
| Why don’t we see the constellation Orion all year? |
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Definition
| As the Earth orbits the Sun, its nighttime side points to different constellations at different points along its orbit. |
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Term
| From Earth, in which type of constellation might you find the planet Saturn? |
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Definition
| Only in a Zodiac constellation |
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Term
| What is the main constituent of the atmosphere of Venus? |
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Definition
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Term
| The escape velocity needed for an atom in the atmosphere of a planet to escape the gravitational pull of the planet is smaller if: |
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Definition
| the mass of the planet is smaller |
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Term
| The planets of the solar system were formed: |
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Definition
| as individual condensation/accretion centers in a rotating solar nebula |
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Term
| Which of the following is true about Neptune? |
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Definition
| Its atmospheric composition is most like Uranus and its rings are like those of Uranus and Jupiter. |
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Term
| The Oort Cloud is thought to be: |
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Definition
| A spherical cloud of comets surrounding the solar system. |
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Term
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Definition
| only near sunrise or sunset. |
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Term
| Planet A has an orbit with a semi-major axis of 3 Astronomical Units. Planet B has an orbit with a semi-major axis of 12 Astronomical Units. How does the orbital period compare between the two planets? Use P squared = a cubed to estimate. |
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Definition
| Planet B has an orbital period 8 times longer than Planet A. |
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Term
| How would an inflated landing module bounce if it were dropped onto the surface of Earth from the same altitude as it was on Mars? |
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Definition
| It would bounce lower and fewer times than it did on the surface of Mars. |
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Term
| How does Pluto’s mass compare with that of Earth’s Moon? |
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Definition
| The Moon is roughly 7 times more massive than Pluto. |
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Term
| How was Earth’s Moon formed, according to the currently most-accepted theory? |
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Definition
| It formed from debris produced by the collision of a Mars-sized object with the Earth. |
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Term
| Why does Mars have seasons? |
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Definition
| Its axis is tilted relative to its orbital plane. |
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Term
| Which planet is able to retain the largest (by radius and by volume) atmosphere? |
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Definition
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Term
| The process of formation of the Solar System |
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Definition
| took only a small fraction of the age of the Solar System. |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
| Which of the following is typical of a Terrestrial planet? |
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Definition
| evidence for volcanic activity |
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Term
| What are the most abundant gases in Jupiter’s atmosphere? |
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Definition
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Term
| Which has the lowest average density? |
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Definition
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Term
| Which of these planets has rings? |
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Definition
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Term
| Which fact about Mars is NOT true? |
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Definition
| Mars has a thicker atmosphere than Earth does. |
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Term
| Mars has a mass that is 1/10th the mass of the Earth and a radius that is 1/2 the radius of Earth. Compare the force of gravity on Mar’s surface to that on the surface of Earth using the proportional relationship F is proportional to M/R 2 |
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Definition
| Gravity on Mars is 4/10ths as strong as on Earth. |
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Term
| The Sun is at one focus of the elliptical orbit of the Earth around the Sun. What is at the other focus? |
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Definition
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Term
| Which of the following are the jovian planets? |
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Definition
| Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune |
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Term
| Which of the following statements is TRUE? |
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Definition
| The planet Uranus is blue-green and virtually featureless. |
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Term
| The surface of Venus is hotter than the surface of Mercury because: |
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Definition
| Venus is more massive and is able to retain a thick atmosphere. |
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Term
| What fraction of the solar system’s mass is in the Sun? |
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Definition
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Term
| How do astronomers measure the temperature of stars? |
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Definition
| By looking at which absorption lines are present in the star’s spectrum. |
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Term
| How do we determine the age of a star cluster? |
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Definition
| by identifying the type of stars that have just turned off the main sequence |
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Term
| A hypothetical star has a parallax of 0.05 arcseconds. How far away is it? |
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Definition
|
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Term
|
Definition
| will eventually develop an Iron core |
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Term
| A star that is twice the mass of our Sun would have a habitable zone that: |
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Definition
| includes Mars but not the Earth |
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Term
| The largest fraction of nearby stars (e.g. within 100 light years) are: |
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Definition
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Term
| What happens when a planet passes in front of its star (i.e. between the star and us)? |
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Definition
| The star decreases in brightness and the star moves towards us |
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Term
| A 16 solar mass main sequence star is at a smaller distance than a 1 solar mass main sequence star. Which star appears brighter? |
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Definition
| the 16 solar mass main sequence star |
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Term
| The event horizon of a black hole is: |
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Definition
| the minimum distance from which light can escape |
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Term
| A cold, irregularly shaped region in the interstellar medium that diminishes or completely obscures the light from background stars is called a//an: |
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Definition
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Term
| In nuclear fusion, energy is produced because: |
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Definition
| the mass of the reacting chemicals is larger than that of the products. |
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Term
| Is the Milky Way Galaxy currently participating in Galactic cannibalism, and if so what is it devouring? |
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Definition
| It is currently pulling apart and ”eating” the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy. |
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Term
| Fill in the blank in the following chemical reaction that occurs in the Sun: Deuterium+ proton = ?? + energy: |
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Definition
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Term
| What happens when you drop a clock into a black hole? |
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Definition
| The clock appears to be advancing slowly from the point of view of an outside observer, but normally for an observer falling with the clock. |
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Term
| In which part of the Sun are gamma rays produced? |
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Definition
|
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Term
| Which is the longest time? |
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Definition
| the time it takes for a photon to pass through the radiative zone of the Sun |
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Term
| Which star is the closest if all have the same apparent brightness? |
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Definition
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Term
| If two stars are the same temperature, how can one be more luminous than the other? |
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Definition
| It can have a larger radius. |
|
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Term
|
Definition
| is the ejected envelope of a low to intermediate mass star |
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Term
| A supernova can occur when: |
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Definition
| material from a companion star falls onto a white dwarf |
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Term
| Which of the following is TRUE? |
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Definition
| A brown dwarf is a case where the temperature of a protostar did not grow enough to burn Hydrogen. |
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Term
| The stars in the halo of our galaxy are: |
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Definition
| older and redder than those in the disk. |
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Term
| How can we see through the dusty plane of the Milky Way disk in order to study star formation? |
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Definition
| Look at infrared radiation with the Spitzer Space Telescope. |
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Term
| Which of the following is FALSE? |
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Definition
| A star with spectral type of B is sometimes hotter than a star with spectral type A, and sometimes colder. |
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Term
| What element is only produced in a supernova explosion? |
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Definition
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Term
| Which is true about cold dark matter? |
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Definition
| Cold dark matter particles travel more slowly than hot dark matter particles. |
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Term
| Which source is the most luminous (or would be, if all its energy were output in visible light)? |
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Definition
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Term
| Which force holds the quarks together within a proton? |
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Definition
| The ’strong’ force, through exchange of gluons. |
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Term
| Which is a reason that we know dark energy is a ma jor component of the universe? |
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Definition
| The universe is flat and regular matter doesn’t contribute enough energy density. |
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Term
| When examining a spectrum of a particular galaxy, an astronomer notices that the spectral lines are shifted toward shorter wavelengths. What does this mean? |
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Definition
| the galaxy is very likely to be one of the nearest galaxies to the Milky Way |
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Term
| Why can’t we see back the whole way to the Big Bang? |
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Definition
| The radiation scatters off matter frequently so the Universe is opaque. |
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Term
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Definition
|
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Term
| What type of boson is responsible for the electromagnetic force? |
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Definition
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Term
| An up quark has charge +2/3, a down quark has charge -1/3, and a strange quark has charge -1/3. The Sigma0 particle is formed by a combination of two down quarks and one strange quark. What is its charge? |
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Definition
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Term
| Which of the following is TRUE? |
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Definition
| We see distant galaxies as they were billions or even tens of billions of years ago. |
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Term
| Among these choices, which is the first thing that happens in the history of the universe? |
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Definition
| formation of nuclei of helium |
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Term
| Which of the following statements is definitely FALSE? |
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Definition
| There is an absence of space beyond the boundaries of our observable universe. |
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Term
| What do quasars look like? |
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Definition
| Individual stars in the Milky Way. |
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Term
| Does the existence of quasars imply that radiation can escape a black hole? |
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Definition
| No, the emission of radiation occurs before material falls in through the event horizon. |
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Term
| Which of the following makes a meson? |
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Definition
| an up quark and an anti-down quark |
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Term
| What property of dark matter leads to it keeping galaxy clusters together? |
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Definition
| It produces gravity due to its mass. |
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Term
| What did the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) measure? |
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Definition
| differences in the temperature of radiation coming from the Big Bang from different directions |
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Term
| What fraction of the energy density of the universe consists of dark matter? |
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Definition
|
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Term
| Compared to spiral galaxies, elliptical galaxies have... |
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Definition
| ...less gas, less dust, and less new star formation. |
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Term
| What happens to the planets in a galaxy when that galaxy collides with another galaxy? |
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Definition
| Nothing, because the spaces between stellar systems in a galaxy is much larger than their size. |
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Term
| If extra dimensions do exist, why wouldn’t we see obvious evidence for them in everyday life? |
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Definition
| They would be quite small and hard to detect. |
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Term
| How do astronomers measure the mass of a supermassive black hole? |
|
Definition
| by measuring the speed at which stars move in its vicinity |
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Term
| What produces the afterglow of a gamma-ray burst? |
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Definition
| Collision of expanding stellar material with gas and dust in the interstellar medium. |
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