Question 1. On a clear, dark, moonless night, approximately how many stars can be seen with the naked eye?
(A) 10,000
(B) 3,000
(C) 1,000
(D) 300
Question 2. The same side of the moon always faces the Earth because ______________.
(A) The moon’s magnetic poles keep aligned with the Earth’s magnetic field
(B) Tidal forces keep the moon’s rotation and orbiting motion in sync with each other
(C) The moon’s motion was fixed at its creation by the laws of inertia
(D) The moon is not rotating about its axis
Question 3. What is the most distant object in the sky that the human eye can see without optical instruments?
(A) The Aurora Borealis
(B) The Sagittarius Constellation
(C) The Andromeda Galaxy
(D) The Horsehead Nebula
Question 4. A starlike object with a very large redshift is a ______________.
(A) Supernova
(B) Quasar
(C) Nova
(D) Neutron star
Question 5. The moon was closer to earth in March 1993 than it has been for a dozen years. This near distance was about?
(A) 240,000 miles
(B) 231,000 miles
(C) 216,000 miles
(D) 200,000 miles
Question 6. In 1995, the Galileo spacecraft is scheduled to go into orbit about which planet?
(A) Jupiter
(B) Mars
(C) Neptune
(D) Earth
Question 7. What is the HOTTEST region of the sun?
(A) The corona
(B) The chromosphere
(C) The photosphere
(D) The core
Question 8. On which planet can one find the solar system’s largest volcano?
(A) Jupiter
(B) Mars
(C) Neptune
(D) Earth
Question 9. When originally discovered, how were planets such as Pluto distinguished from the multitude of stars in the sky?
(A) The planets are close to the ecliptic
(B) The planets move relative to the stars
(C) The planets are brighter than most stars
(D) The planets appear to be bigger than stars
Question 10. Why do we see lunar eclipses much more often than solar eclipses?
(A) The moon is closer to the Earth than the sun
(B) The lunar eclipse is visible to much more of the Earth than a solar eclipse
(C) Lunar eclipses last longer than solar eclipses
(D) Lunar eclipses occur more often than solar eclipses
Question 11. The Giotto spacecraft set a new record last July for the closest visit yet to ______________.
(A) The rings of Saturn
(B) An active solar flare
(C) The red spot of Jupiter
(D) The core of a comet
Question 12. Which civilization developed and implemented the first solar calendar?
(A) Aztec
(B) Egyptian
(C) Greek
(D) Babylonian
Question 13. What process produces a star’s energy?
(A) Nuclear fission
(B) Neutron beta decay
(C) Nuclear fusion
(D) Hydrogen and oxygen combustion
Question 14. A coordinate system based on the ecliptic system is especially useful for the studies of?
(A) Galaxies
(B) The Milky Way
(C) Stars
(D) Planets
Question 15. Which of the following planets is NOT a terrestrial planet?
(A) Mercury
(B) Mars
(C) Jupiter
(D) Earth
Question 16. The determination of stellar parallax is important because it allows the determination of ______________.
(A) Velocity
(B) Distance
(C) Diameter
(D) Mass
Question 17. The solitary moon of Pluto is named after the boatman of Greek mythology who ferries the dead across the River Styx. Its name is?
(A) Persephone
(B) Nox
(C) Charon
(D) Erebus
Question 18. The mean distance of the earth from the sun in astronomical units is ______________.
(A) 101
(B) 1
(C) 10
(D) 3.7
Question 19. The Van Allen belts are ______________.
(A) Caused by precession
(B) Caused by the reflection of polar snow
(C) Charged particles trapped in the Earth’s magnetic field
(D) Caused by the refraction of sunlight like rainbows
Question 20. Which one of the following planets has less mass than the Earth?
(A) Pluto
(B) Uranus
(C) Saturn
(D) Jupiter
Question 21. The resolving power of a telescope depends on the ______________.
(A) Focal length
(B) Magnification
(C) Diameter of the objective
(D) Focal ratio
Question 22. Name the planet that has the greatest number of known moons ______________.
(A) Mars
(B) Jupiter
(C) Saturn
(D) Earth
Question 23. What is the name of the spacecraft that recently used Jupiter’s gravitational field to redirect its course toward the Sun’s polar regions?
(A) Challenger
(B) Galileo
(C) Ulysses
(D) Magellan
Question 24. The apparent magnitude of an object in the sky describes its ______________.
(A) Distance
(B) Brightness
(C) Magnification
(D) Size
Question 25. Identify the ripples in the overall geometry of space produced by the acceleration of moving objects.
(A) Elongation
(B) Gravitational waves
(C) Granulation
(D) Doppler effect