Correct responses in BOLDFACE. 1. Galaxy collisions can a. trigger high rates of star formation b. perturb the planets orbiting stars in the colliding galaxies c. drag most of the interstellar gas out of the galaxies d. destroy the bulges of the galaxies e. tear the galaxies apart so there is nothing left 2. Star formation a. occurs equally at all places in the disks of spiral galaxies b. tends to be enhanced where peaks in the local density compress the molecular clouds c. occurs wherever there is atomic hydrogen d. occurs where halo stars collide with the disk e. occurs in formations that spread into spiral arms due to the flat rotation curves of these galaxies 3. Ring-shaped galaxies and galaxies with tails of stars are evidence for a. galaxies forming from intergalactic matter b. nuclear activity in galaxies c. explosions across the face of previously normal galaxies d. galaxies taking part in the expansion of the Universe e. galaxy collisions 4. Our own galaxy a. is "safe" from colliding with other galaxies for the foreseeable future b. is pulling apart some nearby galaxies and will eventually consume them c. is being pulled apart by the Andromeda Galaxy d. is highly distorted due to a very recent collision with a large galaxy e. we cannot tell if it is undergoing a collision with a galaxy because of the obscuration by interstellar dust 5. Galaxies undergoing starbursts a. are full of bursting stars b. are usually ellipticals c. were identified through clusters of stars bursting out from them d. are forming massive stars rapidly and in exceptionally large numbers e. have less dark matter than other galaxies 6. The Galactic Center was hidden from astronomers for many years because a. it only emits in the radio and infrared b. it is a very diffuse region that is hard to pinpoint c. there were looking in the wrong places d. the Milky Way has a peculiar, atypical structure that made it hard to find e. it is hidden in the visible by clouds of interstellar dust 7. In comparison with the black holes in some other galaxies, the one in the Galactic Center is curious because a. it is far less massive b. it is harder to study in any detail c. it seems to be making very little energy d. it occasionally has a huge outburst e. it is spinning rapidly 8. The rapid variability in the outputs of quasars and other active nuclei shows that a. they are exploding b. they are moving very fast c. the nuclear sources are very small d. stars are blowing up in these regions e. the apparent variability is an effect of gravitational lensing M. Rieke 1
9. An active nucleus can be identified by a. bright and broad emission lines b. radio jets emerging from the nucleus c. a bright source that varies rapidly d. strong X-ray emission e. all of the above 10. We see where the young stars are in a galaxy most easily when we look in a. the visible and near infrared b. the ultraviolet and far infrared c. the X-ray and ultraviolet d. the radio and gamma ray e. the visible and X-ray 11. The Milky Way most closely resembles which of these galaxies? a. b. c. d. 12. In the collection of pictures above, which galaxy is an elliptical galaxy? b. M. Rieke 2
13. Active galaxy nuclei are powered by a. matter falling into a very massive black hole b. lots of star formation c. energy left over from when the galaxy formed d. radio jets extending out into space e. galaxy mergers 14. The nature of quasars was initially confusing because a. their emission lines were at peculiar wavelengths b. they were radio sources c. they varied rapidly d. they were very luminous e. they looked like stars 15. In very deep images that let us detect very distant and hence young galaxies, we find them to be a. very similar to nearby ones b. generally to be smaller and with less regular structure compared with nearby ones c. mostly to be ellipticals since bulges formed first d. all very obscured by the dust in their interstellar matter e. we cannot get a good enough sense of their nature to describe them well 16. We know about the black hole in the Galactic Center because a. it glows brightly b. Shapley found it c. of use of Newton's and Kepler's laws d. we see a dark spot where it bends the light away e. we have seen things get sucked into it Brightness 17. Look at the graph at the left. What is the period for this star? a. 9 days b. 1 day c. 5.5 days d. 4.5 days e. need more information 18. The various types of galaxy a. show a sequence that evolves with age from one to the other b. include spirals, ellipticals, and irregulars c. are a result of different distances to them and the resulting limits to the amount of detail we can see d. are only apparent in the visible spectral range e. show they are made of different types of matter Time (days) 19. Comets are comprised mainly of a. ice b. rocks c. gas d. hydrogen e. materials like earth's crust 20. Spiral arms are prominent in some galaxies because a. they mark where the dust is thin and we can see the stars better b. they show where young and bright stars have formed c. they represent bright blobs that have been wound into the spiral shape by the galaxy rotation d. Population III stars make them bright e. they mark where material has been ejected by the nucleus 21. The biggest change in our view of our place in the Universe compared with the view 100 years ago is a. then, we thought that the "Universe" was just the Milky Way b. then, we believed the earth was at center of the solar system c. then, we believed we were off at one edge of the Milky Way d. then, we believed that Milky Way was less than 10,000 years old, from the accounts of years in the Bible e. then, we thought stars made their energy by chemical burning 22. If all the asteroids in the asteroid belt were assembled into a planet, it would be a. 1 Earth mass. b. less than 1/1,000 of Earth's mass c. 10 Earth masses d. 50% of Earth's mass M. Rieke 3
23. Astronomers have found that there is a relationship between the mass of stars in a galaxy and the mass of the black hole in the galaxy s center. a. this is surprising because the black hole would seem to be too small to influence all the stars b. this is expected because a black hole in the center can cause stars to form c. this is surprising because the black hole is much more massive than any single star d. is neither surprising nor expected 24. Galaxies are distributed a. uniformly through space b. in vast sheets and filaments that make a structure a little like soap bubbles c. in clusters and groups d. in rings around the Milky Way e. both b. and c. 25. We think that either dark matter is in the form of low mass brown dwarfs and wandering planets, or a. Newton's Law of gravitation is wrong b. the Universe is filled with an undetected type of nuclear particle c. the galaxy rotation curves are distorted d. we are overestimating the accuracy of the velocity measurements in galaxies e. the spectral lines suffer gravitational redshift due to Einstein's law of relativity 26. That "spiral nebulae" were other galaxies like the Milky Way was first established when a. we sent a spaceship to them b. the new 100-inch telescope was used to resolve some of them into stars c. from spectra that showed they had emission lines like the ones from the Milky Way d. because they avoid the plane of the Milky Way e. maps of the Milky Way in the HI line showed it to have spiral arms too 27. Galaxy distances are determined a. just by using Cepheid variables b. by measuring supernovae c. with parallax d. using the cosmic redshift e. by a large variety of techniques that have to be used together, depending on the circumstances 28. Distance measurements to the galaxies around us show that a. the Milky Way is isolated in space b. the Milky Way belongs to a group of only three galaxies, including M31 and M33 c. the Milky Way is part of a galaxy group in which it and M31 are surrounded by many small galaxies d. we are moving rapidly toward a certain point in space, leaving the nearby galaxies behind e. the Milky Way is orbiting the Magellanic Clouds and slowly falling into them 29. You have measured the period of a Cepheid variable and found that it is 5 days. From the graph at left, what is the luminosity of this star? a. 10 4 L Sun b. 10 3 L Sun c. 10 2 L Sun d. cannot tell without more information 30. A star may be a variable star because a. it alternately expands and contracts b. planets fall into it and block the light c. it makes more or less dust d. its mass changes e. stars don't vary M. Rieke 4
31. What is the evidence there is dark matter beyond the disks of spiral galaxies? a. inner disk stars orbit faster than the mass due to stars and gas can explain b. infrared telescopes detect mass beyond the galaxy disks c. the stellar mass distribution does not account for the rotation curve of the galaxies d. disk stars orbit faster than stars in the galactic centers e. regions outside the disks obscure the light of galaxies behind them 32. Gravitational lenses in galaxy clusters are used a. to search for distant planets b. to study the theory of relativity c. to improve our determination of Hubble's Law d. to get a better view of the Big Bang e. to confirm that the clusters have huge amounts of dark matter 33. The Shapley-Curtis debate a. was important philosophically because the topics touched on our place in the Universe b. was decisively won by Shapley c. was decisively won by Curtis d. was an argument about the role of star formation in affecting our view of the cosmos e. had to do with the superiority of Harvard College Observatory 34. No full-sized planet formed between Mars and Jupiter because a. there wasn't room b. the material available had the wrong mix of elements to make a planet c. forming planets is pretty chancy and it just didn't happen d. Jupiter's gravity kept stirring things up so no large object was safe from big collisions e. it would have contradicted Bode's Law 35. A meteor shower results when a. the earth passes through the asteroid belt b. the earth passes through the Kuiper belt c. the earth passes through the remnants of a comet d. the sun erupts e. two asteroids collide 36. Pluto is likely one of the largest members of a. the Oort cloud b. the asteroid belt c.the meteor belt d. the Kuiper belt e. the comet zone 37. Comets originate a. from cloud surrounding the Solar System b. from the asteroid belt c. from Jupiter d. from the sun e. from icy moons 38. We have determined the surface compositions of asteroids by a. finding pieces of them on the ground b. studying spectra of sunlight reflected from them c. monitoring their motions d. seeing what happens when they collide e. both a. and b. 39. The New Horizons spacecraft revealed that Pluto a. has a surface like a smooth ball b. has no atmosphere c. has surprisingly complex surface d. resembles Venus 40. A key ingredient in discovering Pluto was a. fly-by mission b. comparison of photographs taken at different times c. use of modern electronic detectors d. Kepler's Third Law e. using a computer 41. This moon of Jupiter has a relatively smooth icy surface suggesting an underlying ocean. a. Ganymede b. Amalthea c. Europa d. Io e. Callisto M. Rieke 5
42. Saturn s rings are much more visible than other rings because a. they are a solid wheel surrounding Saturn b. they are small particles largely of ice c. they are dark sooty particles d. they are magnetic needles that align to reflect the sunlight efficiently e. we have little idea 43. The densest of Jupiter's large moons are found a. far from Jupiter b. close to Jupiter c. in retrograde orbits d. in highly elliptical orbits e. distributed throughout the Jovian moon system 44. Prior to the Cassini mission, we had not made a good map of the surface features on Titan because a. it has a relatively opaque atmosphere b. its surface is liquid c. it is so far away d. it is so icy e. we can't see it from Earth 45. Moons that come too close to a planet a. will disintegrate b. will heat up c. will have magnetic fields d. will gain mass e. will sweep up some of the planet's atmosphere 46. Uranus is very similar to a. Venus b. Jupiter c. Neptune d. Pluto e. all of these 47. The poles and equator on Jupiter do not rotate at the same rate, implying that a. Jupiter is made of rocks b. Jupiter's visible surface is made of liquid or gas c. Jupiter has strong plate tectonics d. Jupiter's composition is like the earth's e. Jupiter's surface is covered with rivers 48. The high level of motions and activity in Jupiter's atmosphere results from a. Stirring by comets and asteroids drawn into the planet b. Convection driven in part by the interior heat of the planet c. Chemical reactions that change the atmospheric pressure d. Gravitational effects from the inner Jovian moons e. effects of the planet's strong magnetic field 49. The thermal emission from several giant planets a. is larger than would be predicted from the amount of sunlight absorbed by the planets b. is smaller than would be predicted from the amount of sunlight absorbed by the planets c. indicates that the blackbody law is in error d. indicates that these planets are comprised largely of ice e. is only indicative of their distances from the sun 50. The metallic hydrogen in Jupiter's interior contributes to a. its rapid rotation b. its extreme temperature c. its extreme weather patterns d. its strong magnetic field e. its colorful atmosphere M. Rieke 6