Astronomy Quiz

Which explanation of the solar system best fits the observations of the planets and how they began orbiting the sun?

• The gravity of a large, massive star passing the sun ripped off blobs of material from it that formed the planets.

• A comet hit the sun and sent off fragments that became the planets.

• The sun and planets formed from a collapsing, spinning cloud of gas and dust.

• The planets formed at the center of a collapsing, spinning cloud of gas and dust.

Which of the following was formed from leftovers in the solar system?

• the moons

• the planets

• the sun

• a comet

Which of the following are found in orbit between Mars and Jupiter?

• Meteorites

• meteors

• asteroids

• comets

Which planet is most massive?

• Earth

• Mercury

• Jupiter

• Neptune

Which of the following is true for both gas planets and terrestrial planets?

• They both have an ice core

• They have rings

• They all have multiple moons

• They are round

What does a massive (not a red-giant) star turn into at the end of its life cycle?

• neutron star or black hole

• white dwarf

• black dwarf

• supernova

Which is the correct path of light through a reflecting telescope?

• eyepiece→primary mirror→secondary mirror→eye

• secondary mirror→primary mirror→eye→eyepiece

• primary mirror→eyepiece→secondary mirror→eye

• primary mirror→secondary mirror→eyepiece→eye

Which of the following would you expect to see in the death of a star that isis the same size or smaller than the Sun?

• supernova

• planetary nebula

• red giant

• white dwarf

When a sunlike star's hydrogen runs out, at first it expands into which of the following?

• a star like the sun

• a supernova

• a red giant

• a white dwarf

What type of galaxy is the milky way?

• regular

• barred spiral

• irregular

• elliptical