ESS Solar System Astronomy Exam

1. Which planet has the shortest day?

A. Mercury

B. Venus

C. Mars

D. Jupiter

2. Which planet would have this view of Earth?

A. Venus

B. Mars

C. Mercury

D. Sun

3. What is the most volcanically active body in the solar system?

A. Mercury

B. Moon

C. Earth

D. Mars

E. Io

A

B

C

D

E

4. Judging by the Nebular Theory, is a supernova in the solar system’s

A.)past or B.)future? Astronomers estimate that the nebular cloud from which our solar

system formed contained about two to three times the mass of the Sun and was about 100 astronomical units (AU) across. This massive loosely-bound cloud of dust, ice particles, and gases (primarily hydrogen and helium) had some small rate of rotation due to the method in which it was formed. Over time, this nebular cloud began to collapse inward. The collapse may have itself been triggered by a supernova that sent shockwaves through the cloud causing it to compress. As the cloud compressed on itself, the gravitational attraction of the matter within increased and pulled the material in even further. The nebula continued to contract under the influence of gravity causing it to spin faster. The more the cloud contracted, the faster it rotated due to the conservation of angular momentum. The rate of contraction was greatest near the center of the cloud where a dense central core began to form. As the rate of rotation of the nebula continued to increase, centrifugal effects caused the spinning cloud to flatten into a disk with a bulge at its center.

5.Where do these bodies dwell?

A. Outside the orbit of Neptune

B. They orbit various planets as moons.

C. Between Mars & Jupiter

D. In a spherical cloud on the outskirts of our solar system

6. Of the following planets, for which one does the sun rise in the

west and set in the east?

A. Venus

B. Mars

C. Jupiter

D. Uranus

7. How are meteor showers related to comets?

A. Meteors form from Earth colliding with the comet itself.

B. Meteors form from Earth colliding with the comet’s dust trail.

C. Meteors and comets are one and the same.

D. Meteors and comets are not related in any way.

8. This would be a cross-section of which planet’s atmosphere?

A. Mercury

B. Jupiter

C. Callisto

D. Pluto

E. Chiron

9. What makes a comet’s tail?

A. Ice melting from the comet body

B. Ice sublimating from the comet body

C. Ice burning off the comet body

D. Ice forming on the comet body

10. Which of the following would be considered to be a rocky dwarf?

A. Sedna

B. Neptune

C. Mars

D. Chiron

11. Which planets can we never see in their entirety, due to their

inferior orbits?

A. Mars & Venus

B. Io & Chiron

C. Mercury & Saturn

D. Mercury & Venus

12. One Venusian year is 1.92 Venusian days long. A day on Venus is longer than its year, due to its exceedingly

slow…

A. revolution

B. rotation

C. both

D. neither

13. This shows current positions of the planets. Which planet(s) could be seen from here WITHOUT a

telescope tonight? A. Saturn

B. Uranus

C. Neptune

D. Jupiter

E. Mercury

14. Last Friday was the Autumnal Equinox. What happened astronomically?

A. The Sun reached the Tropic of Cancer

B. The Sun crossed the equator

C. The Sun reached the Tropic of Capricorn

D. The Sun was at zenith.

15. This is an analemma, which marks the path of the sun in our sky over the course of a year. Where was the sun

last Friday?

A

C

D

E

B

The Planets

A. Mercury

B. Venus

C. Earth

D. Mars

E. Jupiter

AB. Saturn

AC. Uranus

AD. Neptune

16 – 22 Match the moons with their proper planets

16.

17 18

1920 21 22

23. If planets orbit the sun in a counter-clockwise fashion when viewed from the north pole, and the sun takes about

one month to pass through each zodiacal constellation… …

what constellation is the sun presently in for September?

A.CapricornusB.LeoC.TaurusD.Aries

24. What Jovian moon is probably covered with an icy ocean of H2O?

A. Io

B. Ganymede

C. Callisto

D. Europa

25. Saturn’s rings are made of…

A. Rock

B. Ice

C. Both

D. Neither

26. What is this showing?A. Both planets

move in respect to one another.

B. Earth moves in respect to Saturn.

C. Saturn moves in respect to Earth.

D. None of the above.

27. Which planet would have this view of Earth?

A. Venus

B. Mars

C. Jupiter

D. Titan

28. Titan is like Earth in that it has…

A. Lifeforms

B. Oxygen in its soil

C. Nitrogen in its atmosphere

D. Water in its oceans

29. Which part of Uranus is currently (2011) experiencing the

longest daylength?

A. The North poleB. The South PoleC. The EquatorD. The Northern

HemisphereE. The Southern

Hemisphere

30. What gives the gas giants their colorful banded patterns?

A. Ice due to extreme temperatures

B. Rocks to tremendous mass

C. Volcanic Eruptions due to terrific tectonic forces

D. Wind Patterns due to rapid rotation

31. What is illustrated here?

A. The Kuiper Belt

B. Andromeda Galaxy

C. The Pleiades

D. Omega Centauri

E. The Oort Cloud

32. This is Comet Hyakutake. It is a long-period comet. Where was it

originally? A. Andromeda

Galaxy

B. Oort Cloud

C. Kuiper Belt

D. Omega Centauri

33. This is Comet Halley. It is a short-period comet. Where was it

originally? A. Andromeda

Galaxy

B. Oort Cloud

C. Kuiper Belt

D. Omega Centauri

34. From July 16 through July 22, 1994, pieces of an object designated as Comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with Jupiter. This is the first collision of two solar system bodies ever to be observed, and the effects of the comet impacts on Jupiter's atmosphere were simply spectacular and beyond expectations. Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 consisted of at least 21 discernable fragments with diameters estimated at up to 2 kilometers. What made the comet break up?

A. Jupiter’s windsB. Jupiter’s gravityC. Jupiter’s orbitD. Comet Shoemaker/Levy’s sublimation