WorksheetsModern Astronomy
Total questions: 23
Worksheet time: 7mins
Name
Class
Date
1.
The Modern Period of astronomy took place when?
a)
Before 500 BC
b)
500 BC to 1400 AD
c)
1400-1650
d)
1650-Present Day
2.
The Modern Period of astronomy is known for which of the following?
a)
Building monuments that aligned with the movement of the Sun, Moon, and stars
b)
Observing the night sky with instruments, and using mathematics and models
c)
Using telescopes to peer deep into the solar system and observe other galaxies
d)
Building of powerful, space-based telescopes that can look back nearly to the beginning of time
3.
What is a comet?
a)
A round celestial body orbiting in an ellipse, which has cleared its own path around a star
b)
celestial objects made up of icy rock that exhibit a blazing tail as they move toward the Sun
c)
An enormous, luminous celestial object
d)
Minor rocky celestial objects of irregular shapes found within the inner solar system
4.
Who was the first man to ever predict the return of a short-period comet (sighted every 74-79 years)
a)
William Herschel
b)
Charles Messier
c)
Edwin Hubble
d)
Edmond Halley
5.
Who was the French Astronomer who cataloged over 100 "nebulae", or fuzzy patches in the sky, over his lifetime?
a)
William Herschel
b)
Charles Messier
c)
Edwin Hubble
d)
Edmond Halley
6.
These "nebulae" were thought by all scientists at the time as being within the Milky Way galaxy.
a)
True
b)
False
7.
The Andromeda galaxy is our closest galactic neighbor, and it will collide with the Milky Way in about 5 billion years.
a)
True
b)
False
8.
The Andromeda galaxy is also known as M21.
a)
True
b)
False
9.
Caroline Herschel discovered Uranus.
a)
True
b)
False
10.
How should you pronounce Uranus, the planet that William Herschel discovered in 1781?
a)
you-RAIN-us
b)
your-AIN-us
c)
YOUR-ann-us
d)
OOH-rhan-OOS
11.
What is a true nebula?
a)
A round celestial body orbiting in an ellipse, which has cleared its own path around a star
b)
celestial objects made up of icy rock that exhibit a blazing tail as they move toward the Sun
c)
An enormous, luminous celestial object
d)
A massive cloud of gas and dust where new star formation occurs
12.
What is a star cluster?
a)
A group of gravitationally bound stars
b)
celestial objects made up of icy rock that exhibit a blazing tail as they move toward the Sun
c)
A recognizable pattern of stars in the night sky used for navigation
d)
A massive cloud of gas and dust where new star formation occurs
13.
Star clusters can be either open or closed.
a)
True
b)
False
14.
She was the Harvard "computer" who discovered the correlation between the pulse rate of a cepheid variable star and its brightness?
a)
Caroline Herschel
b)
Kitty Oppenheimer
c)
Henrietta Swan Leavitt
d)
Angela Marie Barnes
15.
Oppenheimer once said about this colleague, "A physicist, a natural philosopher, the greatest of our time!" (He was also a vegetarian.)
a)
Albert Einstein
b)
Edwin Hubble
c)
Frank Drake
d)
Carl Sagan
16.
The Theory of General Relativity states the following:
a)
the laws of physics are the same for all non-accelerating observers
b)
what we perceive as the force of gravity in fact arises from the curvature of space and time
c)
neither of these
d)
both of these
17.
The Theory of Special Relativity was developed before the Theory of General Relativity.
a)
True
b)
False
18.
Who is known as "The Father of Astronomy"?
a)
William Herschel
b)
Charles Messier
c)
Edwin Hubble
d)
Edmond Halley
19.
What is a galaxy?
a)
A group of gravitationally bound stars
b)
A group of billions of stars and other celestial objects, bound by gravity, orbiting a supermassive black hole
c)
A recognizable pattern of stars in the night sky used for navigation
d)
A massive cloud of gas and dust where new star formation occurs
20.
The Milky Way and Andromeda are examples of what type of galaxy?
a)
Irregular
b)
Spiral
c)
Elliptical
d)
Lenticular
21.
What does SETI stand for, the organization founded by Frank Drake and others?
a)
Science Earth Telescope Institute
b)
Scientific Entropy Theory I
c)
Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
d)
Search for Entanglement Theory Investigators
22.
This man brought astronomy and an understanding of the universe to the masses in the 1980's with his wit and charm and overall groovy nature.
a)
Stephen Hawking
b)
Frank Drake
c)
Albert Einstein
d)
Carl Sagan
23.
No man in history has brought more knowledge and understanding to the study of cosmology than this individual.
a)
Stephen Hawking
b)
Edwin Hubble
c)
Albert Einstein
d)
Charles Messier
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