Exploring the Cosmos

1. Which of the following statements correctly describes the wavelength of an electromagnetic wave?

The wavelength is the distance between two consecutive peaks.

The wavelength is the distance travelled by the wave in 1 second.

The wavelength is the distance between a trough and a peak.

The wavelength is the distance travelled by the wave in a short time.

2. Why does a light ray bend when it crosses the boundary between two different media at an oblique angle?

Because the speed of light changes.

Because the amplitude is reduced.

Because the frequency increases.

Because it interferes with the surface.

3. A Newtonian telescope has

just the primary mirror

a diverging secondary mirror

a correction plate

a flat secondary mirror

4. As light passes from one medium to another, its direction of travel changes. What is the name of this effect?

Diffraction

Dispersion

Interference

Refraction

5. Diffraction gratings are used to

reduce diffraction of telescopes.

break up light into a spectrum.

increase the resolution of telescopes.

detect infrared radiation.

6. The speed of light in glass is

the same as in vacuum

reduced by approximately 1%

reduced by approximately 60%

increased by approximately 50%

7. What is the name of the Sun's visible surface?

chromosphere

lithosphere

photosphere

corona

8. Two isotopes of the same chemical have the same number of what in their nuclei?

Neutrons

Photons

Protons

Electrons

9. How does a star of spectral type A0 differ from one of spectral type A5.

It is bigger.

It is smaller.

It is cooler.

It is hotter.

10. The spectral sequence of stars in order of decreasing temperature is

OBAFGKM

FGKMOAB

ABFGKMO

OABMFGK

11. The luminosity of a star is proportional to which power of its temperature?

Fifth

Third

Second

Fourth

12. The colour index of a star is indicative of its

Distance

Luminosity

Temperature

Diameter

13. What is our Sunâ€™s spectral type?

14. What temperature range do Main Sequence stars fall into?

30K to 300K

30000K to 300000K

300K to 3000K

3000K to 30000K

15. What is the name given to the process by which elements are formed in stars?

Stellar construction

Stellar photosynthesis

Stellar nucleosynthesis

Stellar manipulation

16. Which element is the most abundant in the universe?

Hydrogen

Neon

Iron

Helium

17. Which process allows for the building up of elements heavier than iron?

Neutron capture

The alpha-proces

Helium capture

Photodisintegration

18. Which is the closest star to our own Sun?

Barnardâ€™s Star

Epsilon Eridani

Proxima Centauri

Betelgeuse

19. What is the observable universe?

The portion of the universe that our eyes can see.

All parts of the universe that are not obscured by celestial objects.

The portion of the universe from which light had enough time to travel to us.

Part of the universe that the most powerful telescopes can resolve.

20. One of Keplerâ€™s laws states that

Planets can not be more massive than the star around which they orbit.

Planetary orbits are elliptical.

Rhere is no special centre around which the universe rotates.

A planet orbits the sun with constant angular velocity.

21. The apparent brightness of stars changes with their distance (r) away from us as

1/sqrt(r)

1/r^2

1/r

22. Edwin Hubble observed that galaxies seem to be moving away from us in all directions. This means:

The universe is expanding, but it has no centre.

We are at the centre of the expanding universe.

We are close to the centre of the expanding universe.

The measurements are not accurate enough to pinpoint the centre of expansion.

23. Who of the following believed that the Sun and all of the planets orbit around the Earth?

Ptolemy

Galileo

Tycho Brahe

Copernicus

24. A closed universe

will expand forever.

is flat, like a plane.

has negative curvature, like a saddle.

has positive curvature, like a sphere.

25. Our Sun is situated

in a globular cluster in the halo of the galaxy.

in the disc of the galaxy close to the edge of the disc.

in the disc of the galaxy about two thirds of its radius from the centre.

in a globular cluster in the galactic disc about half of its radius from the centre.

26. Neutral hydrogen can be detected by astronomers because

it glows with a bright blue colour.

it forms dark clouds in the disc of a spiral galaxy.

it reflects blue light from nearby stars.

it radiates a sharp 21 cm radio signal.

27. Our Sun and solar system are

stationary in our Galaxy.

rotating about the centre of the Galaxy once every million years.

rotating around the centre of the Galaxy once every 240 million years.

moving directly towards a supermassive black hole at the centre of the Galaxy and will merge into the centre in 240 million years.

28. Recent observations have shown that there is much invisible matter in the outer regions of our Galaxy.

The observations have involved measurement of the velocities of stars in the spiral arms of the Galaxy.

The evidence has come from theoretical studies of black hole formation.

The missing invisible material is likely to be completely accounted for by a large number of planets around stars.

The current estimate is that around 50% of the mass of the Galaxy is in this invisible form.

29. The disk component of a spiral galaxy includes which of the following parts?

Spiral arms

Globular clusters

Halo

Bulge

30. By observing what astronomical objects was it first found that the Solar System is not located in the centre of the Milky Way?

Cepheids

Globular clusters

Black holes

Absorption nebulae

31. The parallax of the nearest star is of the order of

10 arc minutes

1 arc minute

1 arc second

10 arc seconds

32. The star's annular parallax is 0. 4. What is its distance?

2.5 Mpc

2.5 pc

2.5 AU

2.5 LY

33. Roughly how many stars are there in our own galaxy?

100 billion

1 billion

1 million

100 million

34. Which of the following statements is true?

The parallax of an object decreases as the distance from observer to object decreases.

The parallax of an object does not depend on the distance between observer and object.

The parallax of an object decreases as the distance from observer to object increases.

The parallax of an object increases as the distance from observer to object increases.

35. The sun's visible surface is called the

chromosphere.

corona.

lithosphere.

photosphere.

36. The surface temperature of the sun is approximately

6,000 K

10,000 K

50,000 K

3,000 K

37. The luminosity of a star is proportional to the _______ power of its temperature.

second

third

fourth

fifth

38. The colour of the H-alpha line of hydrogen is

red.

blue.

violet.

green.

39. Two isotopes of the same chemical have the same number of _____ in their nuclei.

photons

neutrons

protons

electrons

40. On the main sequence stars are powered by nuclear reactions termed ______ burning.

helium

oxygen

carbon

hydrogen

41. The hydrogen content of the average star is approximately

25%

50%

70%

42. A helium nucleus contains _____ protons.

two

four

three

one

43. A starâ€™s spectral type is most closely related to its

temperature.

mass.

luminosity.

radius.

44. A star of spectral type A0 is slightly ________ than one of spectral type A5.

hotter

cooler

smaller

bigger

45. Diffraction gratings are used for

detecting microwave radiation.

increasing the angular resolution of telescopes.

reducing the diffraction of telescopes.

analysing the light spectrum.

46. Which of the following parameters is the same for all electromagnetic waves propagating in a vacuum?

Speed

Amplitude

Colour

Wavelength

47. The sky is dark at night because

our eyes are not sensitive enough.

some stars are so far away that their light has not yet reached us.

the universe is only sparsely populated with stars.

there is dark matter in between the stars.

48. What is the observable universe?

The portion of the universe that our eyes can see.

All parts of the universe that are not obscured by celestial objects.

The portion of the universe from which light had enough time to travel to us.

Part of the universe that the most powerful telescopes can resolve.

49. Keplerâ€™s laws show that

planets can not be more massive than the star around which they orbit.

there is no special centre around which the universe rotates.

planetary orbits are elliptical.

a planet orbits the sun with constant angular velocity.

50. The red shift of light from very distant galaxies shows they are

accelerating away from us.

very far away.

formed a long time ago compared to nearby galaxies.

moving toward us.

51. Edwin Hubble observed that galaxies seem to be moving away from us in all directions. This means:

the universe is expanding, but it has no centre.

the measurements are not accurate enough to pinpoint the centre of expansion.

we are at the centre of the expanding universe.

we are close to the centre of the expanding universe.

52. The assumption of universality states that

the physics of the universe is the same everywhere and at all times.

the university looks the same at all epochs.

the universe looks the same in all directions.

the universe looks the same in all locations.

53. What was the famous and remarkable achievement of Eratosthenes in 240 BC?

He realised that the Earthâ€™s axis tilts, causing the seasons.

He measured the distance from the Earth to the Sun to within a few percent.

He measured the size of the Earth to within a few percent.

He realised that the Earth goes around the Sun.

54. Our Sun is situated

in the disc of the galaxy about two thirds of its radius from the centre.

in a globular cluster in the galactic disc about half of its radius from the centre.

in the disc of the galaxy close to the edge of the disc.

in a globular cluster in the halo of the galaxy.

55. Of the stars in our galaxy

those in the disc component move in circular orbits that have random orientations.

those in the spherical component move in circular orbits that have random orientations.

those in the nucleus orbit the centre in the opposite direction to those in the disc component.

those in the spherical component move in elliptical orbits that have a random orientation.

56. The approximate position of the centre of the Milky Way galaxy was first found, using optical telescopes, by

observing stars moving round the massive black hole in the centre.

looking for the central bulge.

measuring the position of visible open star clusters.

measuring the position of visible globular clusters.

57. The diameter of the Milky Way Galaxy is

about 25 to 30 pc.

about 250 to 300 pc.

about 25 to 30 kpc.

about 25 to 30 Mpc.

58. Population II stars are

"metal" poor and typically found in the disc of a spiral galaxy.

"metal" rich and typically found in the disc of a spiral galaxy.

"metal" poor and typically found in the nucleus and halo of a spiral galaxy.

59. Recent observations have shown that there is much invisible matter in the outer regions of our Galaxy.

The observations have involved measurement of the velocities of stars in the spiral arms of the Galaxy.

The evidence has come from theoretical studies of black hole formation.

The missing invisible material is likely to be completely accounted for by a large number of planets around stars.

The current estimate is that around 50% of the mass of the Galaxy is in this invisible form.

60. Several different measurements indicated that our galaxy is a spiral galaxy. Which of the following observations does not give evidence for the presence of spiral arms?

Location of nearby O and B stars

Infra-red measurements of the dust density in the Milky Way

Location of CO clouds within the galaxy

Location of nearby Globular clusters

61. Which of the following parameters is the same for all electromagnetic waves propagating in a vacuum?

Colour

Amplitude

Wavelength

Speed

62. Why does a light ray bend when it crosses the boundary between two different media at an oblique angle?

Because it interferes with the surface.

Because the speed of light changes.

Because the frequency increases.

Because the amplitude is reduced.

63. A Newtonian telescope has

just the primary mirror.

a flat secondary mirror.

a correction plate.

a diverging secondary mirror.

64. The Hubble telescope was placed in space in order

to not be limited by the Earthâ€™s horizon.

to be close to the stars.

to improve the magnification.

to not be limited by the Earthâ€™s atmosphere.

65. An electromagnetic wave with a wavelength of 600 nm is

visible radiation.

microwave radiation.

infrared radiation.

ultraviolet radiation.

66. Which of the following uses a grazing incidence telescope?

International Space Station.

Chandra X-ray satellite.

International Space Observatory.

International Ultraviolet Explorer.

67. The angle through which a ray of light is bent by a glass prism depends on the

wavelength of the light.

brightness of the light.

reflectivity of the prism.

photoelectric effect.

68. The focal length of an ideal mirror depends on

reflectivity of the prism.

wavelength of the light.

photoelectric effect.

brightness of the light.

69. Light can be described as having a â€œdualâ€ nature. What does this mean?

If light moves in one direction, then it moves in the opposite direction also.

Light goes slow and fast.

Light behaves like a wave and like a particle.

Light can be expressed as brightness and colour.

70. What is the angular size of the Moon?

5 degrees

0.5 degrees

0.5 arcminutes

0.5 arcseconds

71. Which of the following space-based telescopes detected water in the Orion nebula?

The International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE)

Chandra

The International Space Observatory (ISO)

Hubble

72. If the width of the objective of a telescope is doubled, what happens to its light gathering power?

The light gathering power increased by a factor of four.

The light gathering power is decreased by a factor of four.

The light gathering power remains the same.

The light gathering power is increased by a factor of two.

73. For a telescope the objective focal length is 80 cm and the eyepiece focal length is 2 cm, what is the magnification?

less than 1

160

74. To detect dim objects a telescope needs

high magnification.

large diameter.

high resolution.

a long tube.

75. A Charge Coupled Device is used in telescopes to

reduce the effect of segmentation of mirrors.

improve light gathering.

detect light.

compensate for sagging of the mirror.

76. The sun's visible surface is called the

chromosphere.

photosphere.

lithosphere.

corona

77. The luminosity of a star is proportional to the _______ power of its temperature.

second

fourth

fifth

third

78. The central temperature of the sun is approximately

1,000 K

15,000,000 K

1,000,000 K

6,000 K

79. Roughly how many stars are there in our own galaxy?

100 million

1 billion

1 million

100 billion

80. Who developed the first systematic method for naming stars in 1603?

Henry Draper

John Flamsteed

Joseph de Lalande

Johann Bayer

81. The existence of dark matter was proposed to explain...

the formation of galaxies with extremely luminous galactic centres (active galaxies).

the flat region of the rotation curve far from the galactic centre.

the observation of strong sources of x-rays and radio waves at the galactic centre.

the shape of the orbits of halo stars and globular clusters.

82. In a galaxy such as ours, extremely young Population I stars are predominantly found...

in the disc component.

in the spiral arms.

in the nuclear bulge.

in the halo.

83. Globular clusters...

are usually found in the discs of galaxies and contain population I stars.

are usually found in the halos of galaxies and contain population I stars.

are usually found in the discs of galaxies and contain population II stars.

are usually found in the halos of galaxies and contain population II stars.

84. The approximate position of the centre of the Milky Way galaxy was first found, using optical telescopes, by...

observing stars moving round the massive black hole in the centre.

measuring the position of visible globular clusters.

measuring the position of visible open star clusters.

looking for the central bulge.

85. Gas and dust in the interstellar medium (ISM) is often seen in diffuse clouds called nebulae.

Reflection nebulae show up as pink, due to the reflection by dust of light coming from nearby stars.

The Pleiades is an example of an emission nebula.

The difference in colour between emission and reflection nebulae arises from the Doppler effect and is due to their differing motion relative to us.

The gas in emission nebulae typically emits pink light when it is excited by high energy light from nearby stars.

86. The speed of stars as they orbit in a nearby spiral galaxy can be measured by...

determining their spectral class.

observing them for a long period and measuring the change in their position.

measuring the infra red spectrum from them.

using the red or blue shift of the spectrum from different parts of the disc.

87. Star clusters in our Galaxy that are...

globular clusters mainly lie in the disk region.

globular clusters mainly contain hot, young stars.

open clusters typically occupy a volume of about 1 kpc across.

open clusters typically contain up to a few thousand stars.

88. Which of the following processes does not contribute to the formation of 'metals' (elements heavier than Hydrogen and Helium)?

Planetary nebulae

Type 2 Supernovae

Type 1a Supernovae

Emission nebulae

89. Today we know that the Milky Way has two disc components. Which of the following statements is correct?

The stars in the thin disc have an iron to oxygen ratio that suggests they were formed later than the thick disk.

The stars in the thick disc have an iron to oxygen ratio that suggests they were formed later than the thin disk.

The stars of the two disc components move in opposite direction around the galactic centre.

The stars of the thin disk have a stronger oscillatory motion than stars in the thick disc.

90. Interstellar medium can be classified in four different categories, each of which has different densities. Which of the following statements is wrong?

Dark giant molecular clouds are denser than diffuse gas clouds.

Very hot coronal gases have higher density than diffuse gas clouds.

Very hot coronal gas has lower density than inter-cloud media.

Inter-cloud media have a lower density than diffuse gas clouds.

91. Which of the following parameters is the same for all electromagnetic waves propagating in a vacuum?

Colour

Amplitude

Speed

Wavelength

92. Which of the following statements correctly describes the wavelength of an electromagnetic wave?

The wavelength is the distance between two consecutive peaks.

The wavelength is the distance travelled by the wave in a short time.

The wavelength is the distance travelled by the wave in 1 second.

The wavelength is the distance between a trough and a peak.

93. Diffraction gratings are used to

reduce diffraction of telescopes.

break up light into a spectrum.

detect infrared radiation.

increase the resolution of telescopes.

94. The objective of a telescope is

the adaptor between the telescope and the human eye.

the part of it which first converges the light.

the object under observation.

the reason why that telescope has been built.

95. The speed of light in glass is

reduced by approximately 1%

the same as in vacuum

increased by approximately 50%

reduced by approximately 60%

96. An electromagnetic wave having a wavelength of 550 nm is:

infrared radiation.

gamma radiation.

visible radiation.

ultra-violet radiation.

97. Roughly how many stars are there in our own galaxy?

100 million

100 billion

1 billion

1 million

98. Which of the following statements is true?

The parallax of an object decreases as the distance from observer to object increases.

The parallax of an object decreases as the distance from observer to object decreases.

The parallax of an object does not depend on the distance between observer and object.

The parallax of an object increases as the distance from observer to object increases.

99. Which star has the greatest observed proper motion?

Betelgeuse

Epsilon Eridani

Proxima Centauri

Barnard

100. How much bigger, approximately, is the mass of the Sun in comparison to the mass of the Earth?

3,300 times bigger

330 times bigger

33,000 times bigger

330,000 times bigger

101. Which of the following regions of our Sun is the hottest?

Photosphere

Convection zone

Chromosphere

Corona

102. Who developed the first systematic method for naming stars in 1603?

Henry Draper

Joseph de Lalande

Johann Bayer

John Flamsteed

103. The amount of solar energy reaching the surface of the Earth

14,000 Wm^-2

1,400,000 Wm^-2

140,000 Wm^-2

1,400 Wm^-2

104. The presence of which element in stars provides direct evidence that heavy elements really do form in the cores of stars?

Thorium-232

Bismuth-209

Technitium-99

Pluotnium-242

105. Which element is the second most abundant in our universe?

Silicon

Helium

Hydrogen

Iron

106. How does a star of spectral type A0 compare to one of spectral type A5?

It is slightly bigger.

It is slightly hotter.

It is slightly smaller.

It is slightly cooler.

107. The colour index of a star is indicative of its

luminosity.

distance.

temperature.

diameter.

108. What is the approximate temperature of the photosphere of our Sun?

15 million K

10,000 K

5,800 K

2 million K

109. The sky is dark at night because

our eyes are not sensitive enough.

there is dark matter in between the stars.

the universe is only sparsely populated with stars.

some stars are so far away that their light has not yet reached us.

110. What is the observable universe?

Part of the universe that the most powerful telescopes can resolve.

The portion of the universe that our eyes can see.

All parts of the universe that are not obscured by celestial objects.

The portion of the universe from which light had enough time to travel to us.

111. We know distant galaxies are receding because

the light from these galaxies gets dimmer over time.

the wavelength of light from these galaxies gets longer.

modern telescopes allow us to measure distance accurately.

these galaxies appear smaller and smaller.

112. Far away stars and galaxies are older. Is this true or false, and why?

True, because distance and time are interchangeable variables in cosmology.

True, because light from these takes longer to reach us.

False, because the universe started at the same time.

False, the age of stars and galaxies does not depend on their distance from us.

113. A closed universe

will expand forever.

is flat, like a plane.

has positive curvature, like a sphere.

has negative curvature, like a saddle.

114. If galaxy A is four times more distant than galaxy B, then according to the Hubble Law, galaxy A will recede ___________ than galaxy B.

2 times faster

16 times faster

0.25 times faster

4 times faster

115. Population I stars in our galaxy are

typically found in regions with little new star formation and are "metal" rich.

typically found in regions with new star formation and are "metal" rich.

typically found in regions with little new star formation and are "metal" poor.

typically found in regions with new star formation and are "metal" poor.

116. The density wave theory is a mechanism used to explain

the merger of elliptical galaxies.

the formation of new stars in the arms of a spiral galaxies.

the behaviour of Cepheid variables.

the very large scale structures seen in the Universe such as the Great Wall.

117. Neutral hydrogen can be detected by astronomers because

it forms dark clouds in the disc of a spiral galaxy.

it glows with a bright blue colour.

it reflects blue light from nearby stars.

it radiates a sharp 21 cm radio signal.

118. Of the stars in our galaxy

those in the spherical component move in circular orbits that have random orientations.

those in the disc component move in circular orbits that have random orientations.

those in the spherical component move in elliptical orbits that have a random orientation.

those in the nucleus orbit the centre in the opposite direction to those in the disc component.

119. Our Sun and solar system are

stationary in our Galaxy.

rotating around the centre of the Galaxy once every 240 million years.

rotating about the centre of the Galaxy once every million years.

moving directly towards a supermassive black hole at the centre of the Galaxy and will merge into the centre in 240 million years.

120. In our galaxy, dense concentrations gas and dust are found

everywhere in the disc.

in the thin disc.

in the central bulge.

everywhere in the galaxy.

121. How did Johan Bayer name the stars in the sky? He named them

in the order he found them.

in terms of their relative brightness within constellations.

in terms of their co-ordinates in the sky.

based on their colour.

122. If a star's annular parallax is 0.4, what is the distance?

2.5 LY

2.5 Mpc

2.5 AU

2.5 pc

123. The surface temperature of our Sun is roughly

60,000 K

3,000 K

6,000 K

30,000 K

124. Two isotopes of the same chemical have the same number of what in their nuclei?

electrons

neutrons

photons

protons

125. Which of the following types of stars are most abundant in the universe?

Red giants

Red dwarfs

Blue giants

White dwarfs

126. At roughly what distance is the nearest star to our own?

43 parsecs

43 lightyears

4.3 lightyears

4.3 parsecs

127. Which process allows for the building up of elements heavier than iron?

Photodisintegration.

Helium capture.

Neutron capture.

The alpha-process.

128. What is the name given to the process by which elements are formed in stars?

Stellar manipulation

Stellar photosynthesis

Stellar construction

Stellar nucleosynthesis

129. Which of the following regions of our Sun is the hottest?

Chromosphere

Corona

Photosphere

Convection zone

130. What temperature range do Main Sequence stars fall into?

300 K to 3,000 K

3,000 K to 30,000 K

30,000 K to 300,000 K

30 K to 300 K

131. Roughly how many stars are there in our own galaxy?

100 million

1 billion

1 million

100 billion

132. A hydrogen nucleus contains how many protons?

133. Which of the following parameters is the same for all electromagnetic waves propagating in a vacuum?

Wavelength

Colour

Amplitude

Speed

134. Why does a light ray bend when it crosses the boundary between two different media at an oblique angle?

Because the amplitude is reduced.

Because the speed of light changes.

Because it interferes with the surface.

Because the frequency increases.

135. A spectrograph orders electromagnetic waves with respect to which of the following?

Their amplitude.

Their source.

Their wavelength.

The number of photons in the waves.

136. Diffraction gratings are used to

increase the resolution of telescopes.

break up light into a spectrum.

detect infrared radiation.

reduce diffraction of telescopes.

137. The focal length of an ideal mirror depends on the

curvature of the mirror.

colour of the incident light.

diameter of the mirror.

thickness of the mirror.

138. If the width of the objective of a telescope is doubled, what happens to its light gathering power?

The light gathering power is increased by a factor of two.

The light gathering power remains the same.

The light gathering power is decreased by a factor of four.

The light gathering power increased by a factor of four.

139. How old is the universe?

About 6 thousand years.

About 14 billion years.

About 50 billion years.

The universe is infinitely old.

140. The sky is dark at night because

the universe is so young that light from faraway stars has not yet reached us.

the universe is only sparsely populated with stars.

our eyes are not sensitive enough.

there is dark matter in between the stars.

141. What is the observable universe?

The portion of the universe from which light had enough time to travel to us.

All parts of the universe that are not obscured by celestial objects.

Parts of the universe that the most powerful telescopes can resolve.

The portion of the universe that our eyes can see.

142. Ptolemy believed that

Newton was the greatest scientist of all time.

some of the planets orbit around the Sun.

everything must move along one simple perfect circle.

all the stars were on a celestial sphere.

143. Einstein's special theory of relativity implies that

nothing can travel faster than the speed of light.

everything is relative.

all motion is relative to the centre of the universe.

nothing is relative.

144. Kepler's Laws show that

there is no special centre around which the universe rotates.

a planet orbits the sun with constant speed.

planetary orbits are elliptical.

planets cannot be more massive than the star around which they orbit.

145. Globular clusters are usually found in the

discs of galaxies and contain population I stars.

halos of galaxies and contain population II stars.

discs of galaxies and contain population II stars.

halos of galaxies and contain population I stars.

146. Our Sun is situated in

the disc of the galaxy close to the edge of the disc.

a globular cluster in the halo of the galaxy.

the disc of the galaxy about two thirds of its radius from the centre.

a globular cluster in the galactic disc about half of its radius from the centre.

147. Neutral hydrogen can be detected by astronomers because it

glows with a bright blue colour.

radiates a sharp 21 cm radio signal.

forms dark clouds in the disc of a spiral galaxy.

reflects blue light from nearby stars.

148. The approximate position of the centre of the Milky Way galaxy was first found, using optical telescopes, by

measuring the position of visible globular clusters.

looking for the central bulge.

measuring the position of visible open star clusters.

observing stars moving round the massive black hole in the centre.

149. The diameter of the Milky Way Galaxy is about

25 to 30 pc.

25 to 30 kpc.

25 to 30 Mpc.

250 to 300 pc.

150. Of the stars in a spiral galaxy,

all the stars in the disk move with the same angular velocity, like a rigid turntable.

those in the outer reaches of the disk are slowly spiralling inwards due the presence of dark matter in the galaxy.

those in the disc component move in nearly circular orbits in the plane of the disc and around the galactic centre.

those in the spherical component move in circular orbits with random orientations around the galactic centre.

151. Long Baseline Interferometry is a technique often used in radio astronomy to

image neutrinos.

reduce the effect of light pollution in urban skies.

remove the effect of Cerenkov radiation.

improve the resolution of objects.

152. Karl Jansky was the pioneer of

UV astronomy.

optical astronomy

radio astronomy.

infra-red astronomy.

153. The LIGO gravitational wave detectors

are bar detectors.

are currently under construction.

have arm lengths of 4 km.

have arm lengths of 600 m.

154. Cerenkov radiation is given off when

an electron recombines with an ionised atom

a particle is travelling faster than the speed of light in a medium

a particle is travelling slower than the speed of light in a medium

an electron is ionised from an atom

155. The energy of a photon emitted as a result of an atomic transition is proportional to its

frequency.

wavelength.

frequency squared.

wavelength squared.

156. The spectral sequence of stars in order of decreasing temperature is

OBAFGKM

ABFGKMO

OABMFGK

FGKMOAB

157. Under favourable conditions the faintest stars visible to the naked eye are of magnitude

-6

158. The absolute magnitude of a star is the magnitude it would have if it was at a distance of

100 parsecs

1 AU

1 parsec

10 parsecs

159. If star A is magnitude 2, and star B is magnitude 3, by how many times is star A brighter than star B?

25 times

100 times

10 times

2.5 times

160. The apparent brightness of a star decreases in proportion to the _____ power of its distance.

first

third

second

forth

161. Eclipsing binaries can be regarded as a sub-class of ______ binaries.

visual

spectroscopic

X-ray

astrometric

162. What type of binary star typically has the longest period?

Visual

Photometric

Spectroscopic

Eclipsing

163. Which is the closest star to our own Sun?

Epsilon Eridani

Barnardâ€™s Star

Betelgeuse

Proxima Centauri

164. What is the rough distance from our star to the closest star to our star?

43 parsecs

43 lightyears

4.3 lightyears

4.3 parsecs

165. In the Universe

galaxies tend to occur in super-clusters which, in turn, form even larger structures which stretch across much of the known universe.

galaxies tend to occur in clusters which occur randomly in space.

galaxies occur randomly in space.

galaxies tend to occur in super-clusters which occur randomly in space.

166. The correct order of the distance ladder from close to far is

Spectroscopic parallax, Cepheid Variables, Hubbleâ€™s Law, Supernovae 1a.

Supernovae 1a, Hubbleâ€™s Law, Spectroscopic parallax, Cepheid Variables.

Spectroscopic parallax, Supernovae 1a, Cepheid Variables, Hubbleâ€™s Law.

Spectroscopic parallax, Cepheid Variables, Supernovae 1a, Hubbleâ€™s Law.

167. A type Sb galaxy is

a disc shaped galaxy with little gas and almost no new star formation.

a barred spiral galaxy with very open arms.

a barred spiral galaxy with moderately tightly wound arms.

a spiral galaxy with moderately tightly wound arms.

168. A Seyfert galaxy is

a galaxy that has been distorted by a close encounter with another galaxy so that there is a high rate of formation of new stars.

a galaxy that does not have a black hole at its centre and is free to radiate large amounts of energy.

a galaxy that is emitting an unusually large amount of energy due to a black hole at its centre.

another name for a type SO galaxy.

169. Cepheid variable stars are important for distance measurements because

their brightness pulsates in a well defined way that allows them to be identified and their average brightness is independent of their size.

they emit radio waves whose frequency allows the calculation of their distance.

from their pulsation rate of their brightness, we can deduce their rotational speed.

from their pulsation rate of their brightness, we can deduce their intrinsic average brightness.

170. An S0 galaxy is

a galaxy with intense star formation due to a collision with another galaxy.

a spiral galaxy with many arms.

a galaxy with a nucleus and a disc but little dust and gas.

a very elongated elliptical galaxy.

171. A possible explanation of the formation of a giant elliptical galaxy is

a giant spiral galaxy used up the gas and dust in its disc so that the generation of new stars ceased and the arms slowly broke up.

it has a giant black hole at its centre that attracts many stars.

a giant spiral galaxy evolved into an elliptical galaxy.

it was formed by the merger of two or more galaxies.

172. Which of the following is not a characteristic of rich galaxy clusters?

Contains a large fraction of spiral galaxies.

High density of galaxies.

Collisions of galaxies are likely to happen.

The cluster at the centre is often formed by one or more giant elliptical galaxies.

173. The size of the observable universe is

not known.

13.7 billion light years.

infinite.

93 billion light years.

174. The cosmological principle states that

time is relative to the observerâ€™s frame of reference.

planets move in elliptical orbits.

if viewed on sufficiently large scales, the properties of the Universe are the same for all observers.

the universe is expanding.

175. The sky is dark at night because

dust obscures the light from far away stars.

far away stars don't emit light in the visible spectrum.

the light from very distant stars has not had time to reach us.

the universe is expanding.

176. Light from distant stars is shifted to the red end of the spectrum becauseâ€¦

the stars are moving away from us.

the galaxy is rotating.

these stars are very old.

it must pass through intervening dust clouds.

177. The Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation is

radio interference caused by roosting pigeons.

caused by cosmic rays in the upper atmosphere.

light emitted from binary pulsars.

light emitted from the surface of last scattering.

178. Eudoxus created a system of 27 concentric spheres to carry heavenly bodies in order to explain

retrograde motion.

the tides.

the phases of the moon.

the lack of annual parallax in the celestial sphere.

179. Aristotle believed that

Jupiter has moons.

the Earth is at the centre of the solar system.

the Sun is at the centre of the solar system.

the stars are Suns just like our own.

180. Newton's Theory of Gravity explains

sun-spots.

the force of magnetism.

the motion of Cepheid variable stars.

Keplerâ€™s Laws.

181. The spectral sequence of stars in order of decreasing temperature is

ABFGKMO

OABMFGK

FGKMOAB

OBAFGKM

182. The sun is a star of luminosity class

III.

IV.

II.

183. A first magnitude star is _________ than a second magnitude star.

fainter

brighter

smaller

larger

184. What kind of binary was Sirius classified as when its binary nature was first established?

Spectroscopic

Visual

Photometric

Astrometric

185. Eclipsing binaries can be regarded as a sub-class of ______ binaries.

visual

astrometric

X-ray

spectroscopic

186. Globular clusters in our galaxy consist of groups of

newly born stars.

burnt out stars.

very old stars.

very large stars.

187. An open cluster consists of stars which are all

the same mass.

around the same age.

the same temperature.

on the main sequence.

188. Which of the following elements makes up a large fraction of a main sequence star?

Helium

Carbon

Iron

Oxygen

189. T Tauri stars are

remnant cores of dead stars.

frequently strong infrared sources.

optically visible in their cocoon.

standard candles.

190. The Sun generates heat by converting

helium to carbon through the triple alpha reaction.

hydrogen to helium through the triple alpha reaction.

hydrogen to helium through the proton-proton chain.

helium to carbon through the CNO cycle.

191. Why is the colour of the sun during sunset red?

The diffraction of light is different. Blue light is more strongly diffracted.

The scattering of blue light is stronger than red light.

The sun changes its colour in 24 h from blue to red and back to blue.

The refraction of light is different. Blue light is more strongly refracted.

192. Which of the following processes is responsible for the absorption of Infra-Red radiation?

Breaking of the chemical bonds.

Splitting of the atomic nuclei.

Excitation of vibrational modes of molecules.

Infra-Red radiation is not absorbed.

193. The ISO satellite is sensitive to

Gamma rays.

UV.

X-rays.

IR.

194. The objective of a telescope is

the adaptor between the telescope and the human eye.

the object under observation.

the part of it which first converges the light.

the reason why that telescope has been buil

195. As light passes from one medium to another, its direction of travel changes. What is the name of this effect?

Dispersion

Interference

Refraction

Diffraction

196. Which of the following statements regarding the Grand Unified Theory is correct?

The GUT is a theory that shows physical laws are obeyed everywhere in the universe.

The GUT is a theory that unifies 3 out of the 4 forces of nature.

The GUT can tell us what happened at the moment of birth of the universe.

The GUT is a theory of everything.

197. Which of the following statements is true?

Photons are Fermions.

Photons and electrons exert an attractive force

Photons can only be created by annihilating electrons with positrons.

Photons mediate the electromagnetic force.

198. During the electroweak era, there were

bosons, atoms and anti atoms.

positrons, neutrinos and leptons

photons, quarks and protons.

gravitons, electrons and nuclei.

199. "Cosmic inflation" refers to

the increase in temperature as we approach, backward in time, the Big Bang.

the increase of the wavelength of light as we look deeper into space.

the very early universe undergoing a sudden and massive expansion.

the fact that the expansion of the universe seems to be accelerating.

200. The electron is an example of a

gluon.

lepton.

quark.

boson.

201. Which force is the weakest in nuclei?

The strong force.

Electromagnetism.

Gravity.

The weak nuclear force.

202. What binds protons and neutrons into nuclei?

Surface tension.

Gravity.

The strong force.

The weak nuclear force.

203. Which of the following eras came earliest in the history of the universe?

The electroweak era.

The era of nucleosynthesis.

The era of galaxies.

The era of atoms.

204. A super-massive black hole would be most likely found in our galaxy

in one of its arms.

at the centre of a globular cluster.

in one of the open clusters of stars.

in the nucleus.

205. Astronomers have been able to measure the speeds of stars near the centre of our galaxy using

radio telescopes.

infrared telescopes.

X-ray telescopes.

modern optical telescopes.

206. A bright red region observed round a bright star in our galaxy is usually

coloured dust ejected by a nearby supernova.

a region in which hydrogen atoms in a gas cloud are being excited and ionised by the very luminous nearby star and are emitting the red light.

a dust cloud that is absorbing the blue part of the light from the very luminous star and allowing only the red light to pass.

a dust cloud scattering the light of a red giant star.

207. Population II stars are

metal poor and typically found in the spiral arms of a galaxy.

metal poor and typically found in the nucleus and halo of a galaxy.

metal rich and typically found in the nucleus and halo of a galaxy.

metal rich and typically found in the spiral arms of a galaxy.

208. On average the density of gas in the interstellar medium (ISM) is

in the region of 1 hydrogen atom per cubic metre.

in the region of 1 hydrogen atom per cubic centimetre.

similar to that in the Earth's atmosphere.

similar to that at the surface of the Sun.

209. Which of the following comprise the oldest members of the Milky Way?

The Sun and other solar mass stars.

Globular clusters.

Red giant stars in spiral arms.

Type O stars.

210. What can cause a galactic fountain?

A supernova occurring in the halo.

The combined effect of spiral density waves.

Winds and jets from newly-formed protostars.

Multiple supernovae occurring together.

211. How does an infrared telescope make detections?

By monitoring the number of electrons released by incident photons.

By directly detecting the number of incident photons.

By monitoring changes in temperature caused by incident photons.

By detecting oscillating electric signals generated by incident photons.

212. Which of the following processes is responsible for absorption of infrared radiation by the atmosphere?

The excitation of the vibrational modes of water vapour molecules.

Interaction of the radiation with the nuclei of atoms in the atmosphere.

Conduction in an upper part of the atmosphere.

The breaking of chemical bonds in ozone.

213. The twinkling of the stars is due to

scattering.

refraction.

diffusion.

absorption.

214. A Charge Coupled Device is used in telescopes to

improve light gathering.

compensate for sagging of the mirror.

reduce the effect of segmentation of mirrors.

detect light.

215. The Spitzer satellite uses

a grazing incidence mirror

a Cassegrain design

a Schmidt-Cassegrain design

a prime focus arrangement

216. The ISO satellite is sensitive to

IR.

Gamma rays.

UV.

X-rays.

217. The sun is a star of luminosity class

III.

II.

IV.

218. The star Algol is a famous example of a binary system which is

X-ray.

astrometric.

eclipsing.

spectroscopic.

219. The luminosity of a star is proportional to its temperature raised to what power?

Second (i.e. T^2)

Fifth (i.e. T^5)

Third (i.e. T^3)

Forth (i.e. T^4)

220. A magnitude 5 star is how many times brighter than a magnitude 10 star?

10000.

100.

1000.

10.

221. Roughly what percentage of observed stars are classed as white dwarfs?

10%

99%

50%

222. The longest period binaries are likely to be of which type?

Eclipsing

Spectroscopic

Visual

Photometric

223. Main sequence stars with higher luminosity than the Sun

must be red giants.

have a shorter lifetime than the Sun.

are only observed in globular clusters.

have a lower surface temperature than the Sun.

224. Globular clusters mainly consist of groups of

newly born stars.

very old stars.

very large stars.

black holes.

225. T Tauri stars are

frequently strong infrared sources.

optically visible in their cocoon.

remnant cores of dead stars.

standard candles.

226. Open clusters

are metal poor.

have a smaller density of stars than globular clusters.

contain the oldest stars in our galaxy.

are only found in distant galaxies.

227. Stars in a single cluster differ widely in

distance.

chemical composition.

mass.

age.

228. Bok globules are

dense dust clouds out of which stars form.

small star clusters.

Herbig Haro objects.

T Tauri stars.

229. Which of the following observations is evidence of the presence of dark matter?

Some stars appear to be moving towards us.

Galaxies are spinning faster than expected.

Distant galaxies are moving faster away from us.

Distant supernovae appear dimmer.

230. Which of the following statements is false?

The antiparticle of a photon is a phonon.

The antiparticle of a gluon is a gluon.

The mass of a particle is exactly the same as that of its antiparticle.

The antiparticle of an electron is a positron.

231. The gravitational lensing effect is

the bending of light rays by a massive object.

why objects behind a strong gravitational field appear closer.

lenses formed when a thin layer of fluid over an aperture sinks under its own weight.

large telescopic lenses being formed using gravity.

232. Which of the following correctly ranks the forces in ascending order of relative strength?

Electromagnetism, weak, strong.

Weak, strong, gravity.

Gravity, weak, electromagnetism.

Weak, strong, electromagnetism.

233. The electron is an example of a

gluon.

lepton.

boson.

quark.

234. When was the microwave background radiation created?

The era of nuclei.

The era of atoms.

The era of Nucleosynthesis

The Grand Unified Theory era.

235. Today we know that the Milky Way has two disk components. Which of the following statements is correct?

The stars in the thin disc have an iron to oxygen ratio that suggests they were formed later than the thick disk.

The stars of the two disc components move in opposite direction around the galactic centre.

The stars of the thin disk have a stronger oscillatory motion than stars in the thick disc.

The stars in the thick disc have an iron to oxygen ratio that suggests they were formed later than the thin disk.

236. An S0 galaxy can evolve into which of the following galaxy types?

SBb

Galaxies cannot evolve from one type into another.

237. Which part of our galaxy features strong star formation?

Central bulge

Spiral arms

Globular clusters

Halo

238. Which of the following statements is not correct?

Open clusters are mainly found in the disk.

The central bulge is thicker than the galactic disk.

Our Galaxy has two disks.

The halo components move in nearly circular orbit around the centre of the galaxy.

239. Which of the following characteristics is true for elliptical Galaxies?

In elliptical galaxies there is very little active star formation.

Lots of interstellar medium is present in elliptical galaxies.

Elliptical galaxies often rotate fast.

Elliptical galaxies mainly feature Population I stars.

240. Which of the following galaxy types belongs to the barred spiral galaxies?

SBa

241. Primordial elements were created early on

in the history of the Universe.

in the life of planets like Earth.

in all of the above.

in the life of stars.

242. In the proton-proton chain, how many hydrogen nuclei are necessary to produce a helium nucleus by nuclear fusion reactions?

Two

Sixteen

Eight

Four

243. Why are conditions ideal for neutron capture deep inside evolved stars?

Heavy nuclei are rich in neutrons and tend to attract more neutrons than light nuclei.

Neutrons are a by-product of many nuclear reactions, so there are many free neutrons available to interact with nuclei.

The temperature is high enough to overcome repulsive forces between nuclei and free neutrons.

Hydrogen nuclei are the most abundant deep inside stars and can capture neutrons very easily.

244. The Crab Nebula is of interest because it

is in the centre of the constellation Cancer.

contains a black hole.

surrounds the supernova SN1987A.

contains a pulsar.

245. A globular cluster in our Galaxy is

a group of very young stars.

an asterism like the Pleiades.

a group of very old stars.

a constellation such as Orion.

246. Type I and II supernovae

will occur in stars less massive than the Sun.

are both standard candles.

will occur in stars more massive than the Sun.

can reoccur.

247. The main sequence is

a line on a graph of luminosity against temperature.

OBAFGKMRN.

the succession of stages in the life of a star.

a nuclear reaction in very hot stars.

248. An open cluster in our Galaxy is

a group of newly formed stars.

a group like the Pleiades.

a constellation such as Orion.

most likely to be found in the galactic halo.

249. White dwarfs

are very small in number.

are very hot.

are the remains of stars much less massive than the Sun.

are low magnitude stars.

250. Hydrogen burning in stars

can occur in the proton-proton chain reaction.

is a nuclear reaction only occurring in the hottest stars.

is a reaction in which hydrogen fuses with oxygen.

produces water vapour in interstellar space.

251. One element not expected to be produced in the core of stars is

silicon.

gold.

carbon.

helium.

252. Gas clouds contract to form stars because of

nuclear forces.

internal pressure.

electrical attraction.

gravity.

253. Stars in a single cluster differ widely in

distance.

chemical composition.

age.

mass.

254. Which of the following elements is not expected to be common in the core of a white dwarf?

Oxygen

Silicon

Carbon

Hydrogen

255. The CNO cycle is a nuclear reaction which

occurs in stars with cores hotter than the Sun.

causes the helium flash.

occurs in carbon white dwarfs.

produces 'metals'.

256. The final state of a star depends mainly on its

magnitude.

chemical composition.

mass.

degeneracy.

257. T Tauri stars are

remnant cores of dead stars.

frequently strong infrared sources.

standard candles.

optically visible in their cocoon.

258. Given that the radius of the Sun is about 700,000 km

energy from fusion appears almost instantly at the photosphere.

energy from fusion takes about 1 million years to travel this distance.

it takes a few hours for light to travel from the core to the photosphere.

light takes 2 to 3 seconds to travel from the core to the photosphere.

259. Protostars heat up mostly due to

nuclear fission.

radioactivity.

gravitational contraction.

nuclear fusion.

260. If 4 hydrogen nuclei fuse to form a helium nucleus

the mass is conserved.

energy is absorbed.

the mass drops by about 1%.

the mass-energy increases by about 1%.

261. Your mass mainly arises from the interactions of

the Higgs boson.

gravity.

electromagnetism.

the strong force.

262. Einsteinâ€™s Theory of General Relativity is a

theory of gravity.

a description of photon interactions.

the quantum theory of space-time.

the origin of the Cosmic Microwave Background.

263. A unified theory of physics at the Planck scale is known as

an Ultimate Theory.

a Grand Unified Theory.

Quintessence.

a Theory of Everything.

264. The Cosmic Microwave Background is due to

photons emitted from the Surface of Last Scattering.

electrons emitted from the Surface of Last Scattering.

photons emitted by Dark Matter.

the scattering of Cosmic Rays.

265. The energy density of the universe is dominated by

the Higgs Boson.

atoms.

Dark Energy.

Dark Matter.

266. Which of the following is NOT evidence for Dark Matter?

The baryon asymmetry of the universe.

The Lyman-alpha forest.

Large Scale Structure Formation.

The Cosmic Microwave Background.

267. The Heat Death of the universe would be caused by

gravitational waves.

Dark Matter.

increasing entropy.

a metastable vacuum.

268. In the future the universe will

continue to expand at an ever increasing rate.

evolve in a way that is impossible to predict without understanding Dark Energy.

collapse to a Big Crunch.

continue to expand but at an ever decreasing rate.

269. CP Violation is the term used to describe

the decay of a Dark Matter particle.

the irregularities in the Cosmic Microwave Background.

the lack of magnetic monopoles in the universe.

an asymmetry between the laws of physics for matter and anti-matter.

270. The spatial geometry of a universe with critical density (Ω=1) is

cylindrical.

curled up like a ball.

flat.

shaped like a saddle.

271. The Chandrasekhar limit is

the maximum radius of a red giant.

the maximum mass of a white dwarf.

the radius of a black hole.

around ten times the solar mass.

272. Type I and II supernovae

are both standard candles.

will occur in stars less massive than the Sun.

can reoccur.

will occur in stars more massive than the Sun.

273. Type Ia supernovae are

are thought to be exploding white dwarfs.

have strong H lines.

caused by stars collapsing upon themselves.

very bright, newly-formed stars.

274. When the Sun becomes a Red Giant

hydrogen fusion in its core will have ceased.

it will eventually become a supernova.

it will produce iron and heavier elements in its core.

its surface will become hotter than it is now.

275. Which of the following elements is not expected to be common in the core of a white dwarf?

Hydrogen

Carbon

Silicon

Oxygen

276. The triple-alpha reaction is

a nuclear reaction in which helium fuses to form carbon.

an intermediate stage in the proton-proton chain reaction.

responsible for the formation of globular clusters.

an intermediate stage in the Carbon-Oxygen-Nitrogen cycle.

277. The supernova SN1987A

was at the same position as a previously catalogued star.

was seen in the nearby Andromeda galaxy.

is the most distant supernova seen until now.

emitted gravitational radiation which was detected on Earth.

278. One element not expected to be produced in the core of stars is

carbon.

gold.

helium.

silicon.

279. Why are neutrinos so hard to detect in astronomical observatories?

Neutrinos are absorbed in the upper atmosphere.

The neutrinos interact only weakly.

There are no astronomical sources of neutrinos.

The neutrinos decay before reaching the Earth.

280. The Chandra Observatory is an observatory for

Radio astronomy.

Infra-red astronomy.

X-Ray astronomy.

Neutrino astronomy.

281. Why are astronomers interested in different parts of the spectrum?

The results would otherwise interfere destructively.

The different colours are nice.

At some locations at the sky certain detectors do not work.

Different parts of the spectrum contain different information.

282. An electromagnetic wave having a wavelength of 550 nm is:

gamma radiation.

ultra-violet radiation.

visible radiation.

infrared radiation.

283. Karl Jansky was the pioneer of

UV astronomy.

radio astronomy.

infra-red astronomy.

optical astronomy.

284. A grazing incidence mirror is used to focus

x-rays.

gamma rays.

gravitational waves.

visible light.

285. Modern observatories are placed on mountains

to get closer to the stars

to be able to observe X-rays

to reduce the amount of turbulent atmosphere

because it is cheaper to build them on mountains

286. The Super Kamiokande Neutrino observatory

is a future planned detector in Japan

is located in the Mediterranean sea

is located underground in the USA

is located underground in Japan

287. Which of the following observations is evidence of the presence of dark matter?

Distant galaxies are moving faster away from us.

Distant supernovae appear dimmer.

Galaxies are spinning faster than expected.

Some stars appear to be moving towards us.

288. The red shift of light from very distant galaxies shows they are

accelerating away from us.

very far away.

formed a long time ago compared to nearby galaxies.

moving toward us.

289. The flatness problem is concerned with the following question:

Why is there a microwave background?

Why is the density of the universe as close to the critical density as it is?

Why is the universe expanding?

Why is there more matter than antimatter in the universe?

290. "Inflation" in cosmology refers to

an era in the early Universe when the whole Universe suddenly expanded extremely rapidly.

the expansion of the Universe that began with the Big Bang and continues today.

the process by which matter clusters gravitationally to form galaxies.

the unending expansion of an open universe.

291. The currently most viable dark matter candidate is

Interstellar dust

neutrinos

weakly interacting massive particles

Brown dwarf stars

292. Dark matter (excluding dark energy) is close to what percent of the total mass of the universe?

100%

75%

20%

293. "The Big Freeze" is

the Big Bang happening in reverse.

what happens to a low mass star at the end of its life.

the cold of space in the interstellar void.

the ultimate fate of a universe that expands forever.

294. Two stars, A and B, have the same intrinsic brightness. The distance to A is two-thirds of the distance to B. Compared to B, A will appear to be

as bright as B.

1.5 times brighter than B.

two-thirds as bright as B.

2.25 (or 9/4) times brighter than B.

295. The Great Wall is

a dense concentration of galaxies that stretches across much of the visible universe.

a dense concentration of galaxies in the nearby Virgo cluster.

a mechanism that explains the formation of the density waves that cause the creation of new stars in a spiral galaxy.

an unusually dense concentration of stars, gas and dust in a nearby spiral arm of our galaxy.

296. What two observable properties of a Cepheid variable are directly related to one another?

The period between its peaks of brightness and its distance.

Its mass and its distance.

Its luminosity and its mass.

The period between its peaks of brightness and its luminosity.

297. Which of the following terms does not refer to one of the major galaxy classes?

Elliptical

Spiral

Barred Spiral

Barred Elliptical

298. Which of the following conditions can be responsible for the creation of an irregular galaxy?

Collision of two galaxies

A quasar in the centre of the galaxy

Continuous inflow of atomic Hydrogen from outside the galaxy

A super-massive black hole in the centre of the galaxy

299. Which of the following characteristics is true for elliptical Galaxies?

Elliptical galaxies often rotate fast.

In elliptical galaxies there is very little active star formation.

Elliptical galaxies mainly feature Population I stars.

Lots of interstellar medium is present in elliptical galaxies.

300. An S0 galaxy can evolve into which of the following galaxy types?

SBb

Galaxies cannot evolve from one type into another

301. Cerenkov radiation is given off when

a particle is travelling slower than the speed of light in a medium

an electron is ionised from an atom

an electron recombines with an ionised atom

a particle is travelling faster than the speed of light in a medium

302. The typical sensitivity of interferometric gravitational wave detectors is of the order

1 attometer

1 millimeter

1 nanometer

1 micrometer

303. The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory

has imaging CCDis

has grazing incidence mirrors to focus the high energy gamma rays

uses a large tank of water as a scintillation detector

has instruments to look at multiple energy bands

304. Radio telescopes

require a very smooth surface.

operate only at night.

need to be cooled.

do not require a very smooth surface.

305. LIGO is an acronym for:

Light Incident Gravitational Observation.

Laser Incoming Ground Observation.

Laser Interferometric Gravitational-wave Observatory.

Light Ingoing Ground Observations.

306. Long Baseline Interferometry is a technique often used in radio astronomy to

improve the resolution of objects.

image neutrinos.

reduce the effect of light pollution in urban skies.

remove the effect of Cerenkov radiation.

307. The supernova SN1987A

was seen in the nearby Andromeda galaxy.

is the most distant supernova seen until now.

emitted gravitational radiation which was detected on Earth.

was at the same position as a previously catalogued star.

308. The Chandrasekhar limit is

around ten times the solar mass.

the maximum mass of a white dwarf.

the maximum radius of a red giant.

the radius of a black hole.

309. Black holes

are detected as dark clouds at the centre of galaxies.

are caused absorption of light in cold, dense nebulae.

are the final stages of stars like the Sun.

cannot be directly observed.

310. The Schwarzschild radius gives

the radius of the observable Universe.

the size of a neutron star.

the size of a black hole.

the maximum size of a white dwarf.

311. Type I and II supernovae

can reoccur.

are both standard candles.

will occur in stars more massive than the Sun.

will occur in stars less massive than the Sun.

312. The Pauli Exclusion Principle explains

why white dwarfs are stable.

the solar neutrino problem.

supernovae.

why neutron stars collapse.

313. The final state of a star depends mainly on its

degeneracy.

magnitude.

chemical composition.

mass.

314. One element not expected to be produced in the core of stars is

carbon.

helium.

silicon.

gold.

315. The position of white dwarfs on a HR diagram is

to the right of the main sequence.

to the lower left of the main sequence.

on the upper part of the main sequence.

at random points on the diagram.

316. When the Sun becomes a Red Giant

it will eventually become a supernova.

it will produce iron and heavier elements in its core.

its surface will become hotter than it is now.

hydrogen fusion in its core will have ceased.

317. The CNO cycle is a nuclear reaction which

occurs in stars with cores hotter than the Sun.

causes the helium flash.

occurs in carbon white dwarfs.

produces 'metals'.

318. Black holes

exert a strong gravitational pull.

are also called accretion disks.

are massive neutron stars.

can only exist at the centres of galaxies.

319. "Cosmic inflation" refers to

the increase of the wavelength of light as we look deeper into space.

the very early universe undergoing a sudden and massive expansion.

the fact that the expansion of the universe seems to be accelerating.

the increase in temperature as we approach, backward in time, the Big Bang.

320. The "smoothness problem" refers to the fact that

overall variation of the microwave background radiation is very small.

the geometry of the universe is very close to being flat.

the rotation curves for spiral galaxies have a smooth tail far beyond the edge of the luminous region.

galaxies are moving away from us in all directions.

321. The flatness problem is concerned with the following question:

Why is the density of the universe as close to the critical density as it is?

Why is there more matter than antimatter in the universe?

Why is the universe expanding?

Why is there a microwave background?

322. Large-scale structure is

spectral lines seen in the light from galaxies in the Local Group.

the structure of the galactic halo.

the main piece of evidence that the universe is close to critical density.

the clumping of galaxies into sheets spanning hundreds of millions of light-years.

323. The Observable Universe refers to the portion of the Universe

that is made up of ordinary matter.

able to be resolved by the most powerful telescope.

visible to an observer on the surface of the Earth.

from which light has had time to reach the Earth.

324. The 'structure problem' is best described as

the fact that the universe is expanding at the same rate in all directions

the fact that matter is clumped into galaxies

the lack of variation in the cosmic microwave background

the fact that the universe is surprisingly close to critical density

325. What two observable properties of a Cepheid variable are directly related to one another?

Its mass and its distance.

Its luminosity and its mass.

The period between its peaks of brightness and its distance.

The period between its peaks of brightness and its luminosity.

326. What can cause a galactic fountain?

The combined effect of spiral density waves.

A supernova occurring in the halo.

Multiple supernovae occurring together.

Winds and jets from newly-formed protostars.

327. Quasars are seen to be unusual because they are very

small stars with an extremely low luminosity because their mass is so small the almost failed to become stars.

small bright objects whose large red shift indicates that they are very distant.

bright stars near the centre of our galaxy whose light is very red-shifted by the intense gravitational field from the super-massive black hole at the centre.

compact distant galaxies with a large red shift that have many bright O type stars that makes them very luminous.

328. A Seyfert galaxy is a

disc shaped galaxy with a central bulge, little gas and dust and a low rate of generation of new stars.

spiral galaxy with a high rate of creation of new stars.

large elliptical galaxy with jets of matter that are ejected at high speed from its centre.

spiral galaxy whose nucleus is a very strong emitter of radio waves and sometimes X-rays.

329. Elliptical galaxies are believed to have been formed by

the very rapid collapse of a super-massive cloud of dust and gas.

the merger of two or more elliptical or other types of galaxies.

matter that collected round a very massive black hole.

the collapse of a very large spiral galaxy.

330. The "Local Group" of galaxies

has our Galaxy as one of the smaller members.

consists of about 200 galaxies.

contains galaxies that are spread in a volume that is nearly 10 million light years in diameter.

contains the galaxies of the Virgo cluster.

331. Chromatic aberration can occur in a telescope because

the telescope is not stable.

light of diï¬€erent wavelengths are reï¬‚ected to diï¬€erent positions.

light of diï¬€erent wavelengths are focussed to diï¬€erent positions.

the atmosphere is not stable.

332. The speed of light in a vacuum is approximately

30 thousand metres per second.

300 thousand metres per second.

300 million metres per second.

30 million metres per second.

333. The term 'refraction' is used to describe when light

bends around the edges of objects.

changes direction when transmitting through different media.

changes frequency when transmitting through different media.

waves add together to produce brighter light.

334. For an astronomical source, the focal length of a mirror is

the distance from the mirror to an object.

the diameter of the mirror.

the distance from the mirror to the focal point.

the thickness of the mirror.

335. Light can be described as having a "dual" nature. What does this mean?

It can go fast and slow.

It has brightness and wavelength.

It behaves like a wave and a particle.

It travels in two directions at the same time.

336. A Newtonian telescope is

a Cassegrain telescope.

a refracting telescope.

a reï¬‚ecting telescope.

a prime focus telescope.

337. Astronomers hope to discover gravitational waves by

using laser interferometers.

placing radio telescopes in space.

detecting high-energy gamma rays.

using highly-sensitive CCD sensors.

338. During the day the sky appears blue because

the atmosphere reï¬‚ects more red light from the Sun during the day.

the scattering of blue light is stronger than red light.

the Sun changes colour over a period of 24 hours.

blue light is refracted less than red light.

339. Atmospheric absorption causes

the stars to twinkle in appearance.

the scattering of light with large wavelengths.

the light from stars to appear stronger than it should.

dimming or extinction of certain wavelengths of light.

340. The resolving power of a radio telescope can be increased by

making observations during the night.

decreasing the diameter of the primary mirror.

increasing the diameter of the primary mirror.

putting the telescope on a mountain.

341. A Hertzsprung-Russell diagram is a plot of stars'

absolute magnitudes as a function of their spectral types.

mass as a function of their absolute magnitudes.

distances as a function of their mass.

spectral types as a function of their distances.

342. The study of typical light curves from Type Ia supernovae indicates that

these occur only in distant galaxies.

they originate from solar-like stars.

radioactive nuclei form as a result of the explosion.

vast amounts of neutrinos are emitted in the explosion.

343. Primordial elements were created in

the Big Bang.

supernovae.

stellar cores.

nuclear experiments on Earth.

344. In the modern deï¬nition of the magnitude scale, a change of 5 in the magnitude of an object corresponds to a change in apparent brightness of exactly a factor of

100

345. The Sun is the brightest object in the sky and has an apparent magnitude of

-26.7

-1

26.7

346. Spectroscopic parallax is a technique allowing astronomers to

infer the mass of relatively far-away stars.

determine the temperature of relatively far-away stars.

measure distances to relatively far-away stars.

estimate the size of relatively far-away stars.

347. The apparent brightness of a star is

inversely proportional to the square of its luminosity and proportional to its distance.

proportional to its luminosity and inversely proportional to the square of its distance.

proportional to the square of its luminosity and inversely proportional to its distance.

inversely proportional to its luminosity and proportional to the square of its distance.

348. A starâ€™s luminosity class is determined by

its eï¬€ective temperature.

the abundance of heavy elements in its atmosphere.

the width of its spectral lines.

its apparent brightness.

349. The lifetime of a main-sequence star that is twice as massive as the Sun is

10 times shorter than our Sunâ€™s lifetime.

the same as our Sunâ€™s lifetime.

10 times longer than our Sunâ€™s lifetime.

unknown unless we know its chemical composition.

350. A spectroscopic binary is a pair of stars that

are distant from each other but share the same spectral features.

are very close to each other but can be seen separately with a telescope.

appear by chance to be close to each other but in reality are distant from each other.

are so close to each other that they cannot be seen separately with a telescope.

351. Electron degeneracy

prevents the Sun from collapsing within a few years.

causes pulsars to have a strong magnetic ï¬eld.

prevents neutron star formation in solar-like stars.

prevents black hole formation in massive stars.

352. Globular clusters

are probably the largest clusters of stars in the Universe.

are recently formed collections of approximately 10^6 stars.

contain mainly stars of low metallicity.

are found in elliptical but not spiral galaxies.

353. Black holes

can never be observed.

have never been observed.

are often observed by their tidal eï¬€ect on the Earth.

are often observed due to their tidal eï¬€ect on nearby matter.

354. Neutrinos

cause massive stars to collapse.

are too weak to have any eï¬€ect.

are mainly associated with type Ia supernovae.

carry most of the energy away from a type-II supernova.

355. A main-sequence star 10 times as massive as the Sun

obtains most of its energy by the triple alpha process.

has a core temperature that is much higher than that of the Sun.

is much denser than the Sun so has roughly the same diameter.

has about 10 times the amount of hydrogen and so burns approximately 10 times longer than the Sun.

356. Analysis of the H-R diagram for a cluster is a good means to

count the number of stars in the cluster.

estimate the mass of dust in the cluster.

estimate the distance to the cluster.

estimate the age of the cluster.

357. Neutron stars

are very dense and so cannot rotate faster than about once an hour.

contain most of the neutrinos in the known Universe.

are about the same density as white dwarfs, but made of nuclear material.

can rotate at a rate of more than 100 revolutions per second.

358. Open clusters are

several stars weakly bound by gravity.

several galaxies weakly bound by gravity.

any number of stars in a group.

an unnamed constellation.

359. T Tauri stars, EGGs and Bok globules are associated with

star death.

main sequence stars.

star birth.

most pulsars.

360. Pulsars

are known to be nearly perfect spheres.

pulse uniformly over their whole surface in a perfectly synchronised manner.

have not yet been detected.

are made of neutrons and so have zero electric and magnetic ï¬eld.

361. Which class of galaxies predominantly contains Population II stars and little or no gas and dust?

Barred spirals.

Elliptical galaxies.

Spirals.

Seyfert galaxies.

362. If a galaxyâ€™s disc rotates in the direction opposite to the rotational direction of the core, this is a likely indication of

a spiral galaxy.

a galaxy with a large recessional velocity.

a supermassive black hole in the centre of the galaxy.

a merger of two galaxies.

363. The existence of dark matter was proposed to explain

the observation of strong sources of X-rays and radio waves at the galactic centre.

the formation of active galaxies.

the shape of the orbits of halo stars and globular clusters.

the ï¬‚at region of the rotation curve far from the galactic centre.

364. Rich clusters typically contain a high fraction of

Sa, Sb and Sc galaxies.

SBa, SBb and SBc galaxies.

grand design galaxies.

elliptical (E) and S0-type galaxies.

365. Assuming a value of H0 = 70km/s/Mpc for the Hubble constant, and a measured recessional velocity of a galaxy of v = 350km/s, what is the distance to this galaxy according to Hubbleâ€™s law?

none of the above

5Mpc

0.2Mpc

24.5Gpc

366. The distance to a Cepheid variable star can be determined by using the relation between

its mass and its luminosity.

its pulsation period and its luminosity.

its mass and its velocity.

its pulsation period and its velocity.

367. The theory of density waves explains the structure of

ï¬‚occulent galaxies.

grand design galaxies.

elliptical galaxies.

Seyfert galaxies.

368. Galaxies of type Sa have

a small nucleus and loosely wound spiral arms.

a large nucleus and tightly wound spiral arms.

a small nucleus and tightly wound spiral arms.

a large nucleus and loosely wound spiral arms.

369. In a galaxy such as ours, extremely young Population I stars are predominantly found

in the nuclear bulge.

in the disc component.

in the halo.

in the spiral arms.

370. Which of the following properties does not apply to typical Type I Seyfert galaxies?

The emission spectra show broad spectral lines of highly ionized atoms.

The sources of the emitted radiation, the active galactic nuclei, are extremely large.

The velocity of matter near their centres is much higher than in normal galaxies.

The galactic centres are strong emitters of x-rays and ultraviolet radiation.

371. Olberâ€™s paradox involves which of the following observations?

Some of the planets display retrograde motion.

The rotation curves of galaxies become ï¬‚at at large distances.

Matter clumps into galaxies and large scale structures.

The sky is dark at night.

372. Hubbleâ€™s Law tells us that

the planets move in elliptical orbits.

entropy is always increasing.

the universe is expanding.

nothing can travel faster than light.

373. Inside the proton are

electrons held together by photons.

quarks held together by gluons.

electrons held together by gluons.

quarks held together by photons.

374. The mediating particles of the weak interaction include

the neutrino.

the graviton.

the Z boson.

the Y boson.

375. In 2012 the Large Hadron Collider discovered

the top quark.

Gravitational Waves.

the Higgs boson.

supersymmetry.

376. A WIMP is a

Weakly Interacting Massless Particle.

Weakly Interacting Massive Particle.

Weakly Interacting Mono-Pole.

Weakly Interacting Majorana Particle.

377. The Bullet Cluster provides evidence for which phenomenon?

Hubbleâ€™s Law.

Dark Energy.

Massive neutrinos.

Dark Matter.

378. The Heat Death of the Universe would be a consequence of

quantum tunnelling.

the Sachs-Wolfe eï¬€ect.

quintessence.

the second law of thermodynamics.

379. The Universe appears to contain much more matter than antimatter. This observation is known as

the Exotic Relic Problem.

the Flatness Problem.

the Baryon Asymmetry Problem.

the Horizon Problem.

380. Which Greek Astronomer ï¬rst reasoned that the Earth is a sphere from seeing the Earthâ€™s shadow on the Moon at a lunar eclipse?

Aristotle.

Pythagoras.

Eudoxus.

Eratosthenes.

381. Stars in the Milky Way

are fixed.

orbit around the Sun.

move randomly.

orbit around the Galactic centre.

382. The annual movement of the stars across the sky as seen from Earth and corrected for parallax is known as

annual motion.

proper motion.

apparent motion.

regular motion.

383. The region of the Sun where most of its visible radiation is released is called

the visible region.

the heliosphere.

the photosphere.

the radiative zone.

384. Stars produce energy during most of their lifetime by

nuclear fission.

fusing light nuclei.

gravitational contraction.

breaking heavy nuclei.

385. Neutron capture is a process in which

bound neutrons in heavy nuclei are captured by surrounding nuclei.

neutron stars are formed.

free neutrons are captured by nuclei.

photons are scattered by neutrons.

386. As the temperature of a blackbody increases, the peak of intensity occurs

at a higher frequency.

none of the above: the peak of intensity is not affected by the temperature of the blackbody.

at a higher wavelength.

at a higher pressure.

387. When comparing colours of main-sequence stars, those stars which appear red in colour are

older than those which appear blue.

younger than those which appear blue.

cooler than those which appear blue.

hotter than those which appear blue.

388. The apparent brightness of a star is

proportional to its luminosity and proportional to the square of its distance from the observer.

inversely proportional to its luminosity and inversely proportional to the square of its distance from the observer.

inversely proportional to its luminosity and proportional to the square of its distance from the observer.

proportional to its luminosity and inversely proportional to the square of its distance from the observer.

389. In a spectroscopic binary system, some information about stellar masses can be obtained by studying

a periodically variable Doppler shift in the observed spectrum.

the proper motion of the stars.

the relative emissions of the stars in the V and B bands.

the relative sizes of the stars.

390. The lifetime of a massive star

is longer than that of a less massive star.

cannot be compared to that of a less massive star.

is the same as that of a less massive star.

is shorter than that of a less massive star.

391. Open clusters within the Galaxy

are never surrounded by dust clouds.

often contain metal-rich stars.

contain about 1 million stars in a sphere of typically 25 parsecs diameter.

usually contain only very old stars which have then spread apart.

392. White dwarfs are

about as hot as the Sun but typically smaller.

typically hot enough to be strong X-rays emitters and about the size of the Earth.

so hot that IR radiation dominates, but smaller than the Sun.

cold and tiny compared to the Sun.

393. The crab pulsar is seen to pulse brightly

nearly 30,000 times each second.

only very rarely.

about 30 times each second.

about once a day.

394. Protostars are normally visible in which two bands of the electromagnetic spectrum?

Radio and visible.

IR and x-ray.

UV and gamma.

visible and UV.

395. The helium flash occurs

when a 1 solar mass black hole forms from a white dwarf.

in the few seconds before a supernova explosion in a 10 solar mass star.

in a star of 1 solar mass near the end of the main sequence stage.

when fusion begins in a proto-star of about 1 solar mass.

396. Pulsars are

too hard to detect to be able to make any clear statements about them.

seen in all the main observing bands within the EM spectrum.

always observed as optical objects.

never observed as gamma-ray objects.

397. Supermassive stars

are too large to form black holes.

live longer than all other types of star, as they have a greater store of fuel.

form iron cores in the final stages of their development

are the usual precursors of white dwarfs.

398. Type II supernovae

are rare but exceedingly bright night-sky objects lasting many years.

are thought to be due to gravitational collapse of a white dwarf.

typically show hydrogen lines in their spectra.

are well-recognised standard candles.

399. Sirius B is

a black hole that is difficult to observe because it is so close to Sirius a which is a very bright star.

the "dog star"

a star slightly heavier than Sirius A that causes Sirius A to wobble.

a white dwarf close to Sirius A.

400. Neutron degeneracy

prevents neutron stars from collapsing to form black holes.

prevents white dwarfs from collapsing to form neutron stars.

determines the size of black holes smaller than 3 solar masses.

affects how neutrons react within the proton-proton chain.

401. The spectra of Seyfert galaxies show:

broad emission lines from highly ionised atoms.

narrow absorption lines from highly ionised atoms.

broad absorption lines from highly ionised molecules,

narrow emission lines from highly ionised atoms.

402. Which of the following statements about quasars is wrong?

Spectra from quasars are strongly red-shifted.

In the radio band, quasars look like single stars.

Optically, quasars seem to be a single star.

Quasars are very distant galaxies.

403. The period of Cepheid variable stars is about

1 to 60 seconds.

1 to 60 days.

1 to 60 minutes.

1 to 60 weeks.

404. Which of the following objects is usually not used as a standard candle?

0 class stars.

Planetary nebulae

Supernovae Ia.

Seyfert galaxies.

405. The Tully-Fisher relation relates

the rotation rate of a galaxy to its intrinsic luminosity.

the rotation direction of a galaxy to its apparent luminosity.

the rotation rate of a galaxy to its apparent luminosity.

the rotation direction of a galaxy to its intrinsic luminosity.

406. The correct order of the distance ladder from close to far is

Supernovae 1a, Hubbleâ€™s Law, Spectroscopic parallax, Cepheid Variables.

Spectroscopic parallax, Cepheid Variables, Hubbleâ€™s Law, Supernovae 1a.

Spectroscopic parallax, Supernovae 1a, Cepheid Variables, Hubbleâ€™s Law.

Spectroscopic parallax, Cepheid Variables, Supernovae 1a, Hubbleâ€™s Law.

407. Interstellar medium can be classified in four different categories, each of which has different densities. Which of the following statements is wrong?

Very hot coronal gas has lower density than inter-cloud media.

Dark giant molecular clouds are denser than diffuse gas clouds.

Very hot coronal gases have higher density than diffuse gas clouds.

Inter-cloud media have a lower density than diffuse gas clouds.

408. What evidence supports the hypothesis that a super-massive black hole is in the centre of the galaxy?

Black holes regularly swallow stars close to the centre of the Milky Way.

We can directly see the black hole using infrared telescopes.

We can directly observe the black hole by detecting the gravitational waves it emits.

The stars close to the centre of the Milky Way move at very high speed.

409. The Milky Way features two discs. Which of the following statements is wrong?

The stars in the thick disc have more circular orbits than the ones in the thin disc.

New stars are formed mainly in the thin disc.

The stars in the thin disc have more circular orbits than the ones in the thick disc.

The stars in the thin disc are younger than ones in the thick disc.

410. Which of the following four objects does not contribute to the production of metals?

Supernovae Type 1a

Supernovae Type 2

Planetary Nebulae

Quasars

411. A Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope is one that has?

Only mirrors.

Only lenses.

A corrector plate, a primary mirror and a secondary mirror.

A corrector plate and a primary mirror only.

412. Why are astronomers interested in measuring light at different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum?

Stars emit mainly ultraviolet radiation.

Because visible light is hard to detect on Earth.

Because in vacuum light travels at different speeds at different wavelengths.

Different parts of the spectrum provide different information.

413. What does the frequency of light mean?

The distance from one maximum to another.

The number of times the wave cycle repeats every second.

The distance it will travel in 1 second.

How bright the light will be.

414. The energy of a photon can be expressed by

E=hc.

E=hf.

E=cλ.

E=f/λ.

415. What is the purpose of the objective lens in a refracting telescope?

To interfere the incoming light.

To diffract the incoming light.

To focus the incoming light.

To change the speed of the incoming light.

416. If a refracting telescope has an objective lens with a focal length of 300cm and has an eyepiece with a focal length of 3cm, the magnification is?

M = 3/300.

M = 300.

M = 1/100.

M = 100.

417. Active optics is used in modern telescopes to

change the shape of the primary mirror to correct for atmospheric disturbances.

change the focal length of the primary mirror for different astronomical objects.

change the detector sensitivity for measuring different wavelengths.

maximise the light gathering power of the telescope.

418. The Earthâ€™s atmosphere is responsible for which three phenomena in observational astronomy?

Atmospheric scattering, Spherical aberration, and Atmospheric refraction.

Atmospheric refraction, Atmospheric scattering, and Atmospheric absorption.

Wave particle duality, Atmospheric scattering, and Atmospheric absorption.

Atmospheric diffraction, Chromatic aberration, and Atmospheric scattering.

419. For what reason is interferometry used when using multiple telescopes to observe astronomical objects?

To measure different frequencies of light simultaneously.

To reduce the magnification.

To increase the resolving power of the detector.

To remove the effect of light pollution.

420. Gravitational wave detectors aim to measure the radiation emitted by accelerating masses by

using the James Webb Space Telescope.

detecting Cherenkov radiation with photomultiplier tubes.

using multiple radio telescopes around the world.

using long-baseline laser interferometers.

421. Which of the following is NOT evidence for the Big Bang?

Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation.

Hubble's Law.

Dark Matter.

The abundance of light elements in the universe.

422. The electron is a

force-mediating particle.

boson.

fermion.

composite particle.

423. What is Eratosthenes famous for?

His heliocentric model of the solar system.

His observatory.

He measured the circumference of the Earth.

The first scientific theory of the universe.

424. Which of the following is an assertion of Kepler's Laws?

The planets move in ellipses with the Sun at one focus.

The planets move in circles centred on the Sun.

The force of gravity keeps the planets in their orbits.

The universe is expanding.

425. Which of the following forces is NOT described by the Standard Model.

Gravity.

The strong nuclear force.

Electromagnetism.

The weak nuclear force.

426. Which of the following does NOT provide evidence for Dark Matter?

Gravitational Lensing.

The Michelson-Morley Experiment.

Galactic Rotation Curves.

The Cosmic Microwave Background.

427. Which of the following is its own antiparticle?

The photon.

The electron.

The proton.

The charm quark.

428. Which observation won Penzias and Wilson the Nobel Prize?

Discovery of Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation.

The first observation of Cepheid Variable Stars.

The first observation of Gravitational Lensing.

The expansion of the universe is accelerating.

429. How long ago did the Big Bang happen?

600 Billion years ago.

6000 years ago.

93 Billion years ago.

13.7 Billion years ago.

430. What is the Large Hadron Collider?

A system of colliding galaxies.

A particle accelerator that collides electrons and positrons.

A space telescope.

A particle accelerator that collides protons.

431. If an object is measured to have a parallax of 1'', how far away is it?

10 parsecs

100 parsecs

1000 parsecs

1 parsec

432. How much faster does the Sun spin on its axis, at its equator, than the Earth does?

10 times

36 times

25 times

50 times

433. Which of the following lists the elements Carbon, Helium, Hydrogen and Oxygen in descending order of abundance in our universe?

Oxygen, Hydrogen, Carbon, Helium

Hydrogen, Oxygen, Carbon, Helium

Carbon, Helium, Hydrogen, Oxygen

Hydrogen, Helium, Carbon, Oxygen

434. The luminosity of a star is dependent on which of the following combinations of stellar radius (r) and surface temperature (T)?

r^2 * T^2

r^2 * T^4

rT^2

435. The two-step process of the photodisintegration of elements, and the direct capture of helium nuclei, is known as what?

The triple-alpha process.

The alpha process.

The neutron capture process.

The Helium capture process.

436. Blackbody curves are drawn from two stars, A and B. If the peak emission frequency of star A is higher than that of star B, what can we infer about the relative temperatures of the stars?

It is not possible to infer anything about the two stars temperature without knowing the mass of the star.

The two stars are at the same temperature.

Star B is colder than star A.

Star A is colder than star B.

437. Which spectral class of stars shows strong levels of ionised helium in their spectra?

438. Which of the following lists the spectral classes of stars in order of increasing temperature?

ABFGKMO

OBAFGKM

MABFGOK

MKGFABO

439. Which of the following statements about the apparent brightness of a star is correct?

Increasing the distance between star and observer increases the apparent brightness.

Increasing the luminosity increases the apparent brightness.

Changes in luminosity and distance do not affect the apparent brightness.

Decreasing the luminosity increases the apparent brightness.

440. To which stellar luminosity class do Giant stars belong?

III

441. Synchrotron radiation is

caused by radioactive decay in a Type-II supernova.

a pulsed source of radio interference.

a feature of the heat from a red giant.

a feature of radiation from a neutron star.

442. Supermassive black holes are

only found in distant galaxies.

usually violent sources of energy that can destroy galaxies.

found at the centre of nearly every galaxy.

thought to be very rare in the universe.

443. The best evidence of black holes comes from

direct observation of black areas in space.

x-ray sources which are always black holes.

evidence of their extreme magnetic fields.

signs of the effect of strong gravitational fields.

444. Pulsars typically spin

about once a day.

many times per second.

many thousands of times per second.

about once a year.

445. Neutron degeneracy

leads to the formation of heavy metals like gold in supernovae.

causes supernova explosions.

stops collapse in a supernova.

prevents the collapse of a white dwarf in a supernova.

446. An emission nebula is

internally heated by stars.

red as it scatters the light from stars.

usually dark as it blocks the light from stars.

blue as it scatters the light from stars.

447. A protostar forms due to

changes in the early stage of a main sequence star.

collapse of a high density region of gas.

collapse of a low density region containing hydrogen.

gravitational attraction due to a nearby star.

448. Main sequence stars

are continuously contracting.

are continuously cooling.

stay approximately constant in size.

are hydro-dynamically unstable.

449. If 4 hydrogen nuclei fuse to form a helium nucleus

the mass-energy increases by about 1 %.

the mass drops by about 1 %.

energy is absorbed.

the mass is conserved.

450. Given that the radius of the Sun is about 700,000 km

light takes 2 to 3 seconds to travel from the core to the photosphere.

it takes a few hours for light to travel from the core to the photosphere.

energy from fusion appears almost instantly at the photosphere.

energy from fusion takes about 1 million years to travel this distance.

451. Which of the following is not a characteristic of Population I stars

Population I stars often have a bluish colour.

Population I stars are 'metal poor'.

Population I stars are often found in open clusters.

Population I stars are 'metal rich'.

452. Which of the following items can be explained by the density wave theory?

Irregular galaxies

Grand design galaxies

Flocculent galaxies

Elliptical galaxies

453. Which of the following statements is correct?

Our galaxy has never been active.

Our galaxy is currently not active, but has been active in the past.

Our galaxy currently shows features of being an active Seyfert galaxy.

Our galaxy can be classified as a quasar.

454. Which of the following is not a characteristic of rich galaxy clusters?

Contains a large fraction of spiral galaxies.

Collisions of galaxies are likely to happen.

High density of galaxies.

The cluster at the centre is often formed by one or more giant elliptical galaxies.

455. Which of the following objects cannot be used as a standard candle for measuring distances?

Cepheids

Supernovae, Type Ia

Supernovae, Type II

RR Lyrae

456. Which of the following is the correct sorting for distance measurement methods from far to near?

Spectrospic parallax, Hubbleâ€™s law, parallax method, Tully Fisher.

Hubbleâ€™s law, Spectrospic parallax, parallax method, Tully Fisher.

Hubbleâ€™s law, Tully Fisher, Spectrospic parallax, parallax method.

Tully Fisher, Hubbleâ€™s law , Spectrospic parallax, parallax method.

457. Which of the following is a characteristic of elliptical galaxies?

Contains Population I and II stars.

Active stellar recycling.

Relatively strong emission of the 21cm line.

Relatively weak emission of the 21cm line.

458. Which of the following statements is correct?

Spiral galaxies are more common than elliptical galaxies.

Spiral galaxies are more common than irregular galaxies.

Elliptical galaxies are as common as spiral galaxies.

Spiral galaxies are as common as irregular galaxies.

459. Which of the following galaxy types features no disc?

Sba

460. Which of the following statements is incorrect?

Stars close to the galactic centre feature velocities of about 3 million miles per hour.

The super massive black hole at the galactic centre swallows on average 30 stars per year.

Star orbits around the galactic centre with a period as low as 15 years have been observed.

In the centre of our galaxy sits a super massive black hole of 2.6 million solar masses.

461. Which of the following statements is false?

Light is both a wave and a particle.

Red light has a longer wavelength than blue light.

Light is a wave of varying electric and magnetic fields.

Light travels faster in glass than in a vacuum.

462. A Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope uses which of the following components?

A diffraction grating.

Only lenses.

Both lenses and mirrors.

Only mirrors.

463. If a telescope has an objective with a focal length of 90 cm and an eyepiece with focal length of 3 cm, what is the magnification of the telescope?

270

1/30

464. What are the three important qualities of a telescope?

Diffractive Power, Light Gathering Power, Resolving Power.

Magnification, Diffractive Power, Resolving Power.

Magnification, Light Gathering Power, Resolving Power.

Magnification, Diffractive Power, Light Gathering Power.

465. What causes the twinkling of stars?

Atmospheric Dispersion.

Atmospheric refraction.

The variation in intensity of light emitted by the star.

Impurities in the lens of the telescope or eye.

466. On a cloudless day, why does the sky look blue?

Because red light is scattered more than blue light.

Because the sky reflects the blue colour of the sea.

Because the red light is absorbed by the atmosphere.

Because blue light is scattered more than red light.

467. Grazing incidence mirrors are used to focus light in what type of telescope?

Radio telescopes.

X-Ray telescopes.

Infra-red telescopes.

Optical telescopes.

468. By what method are radio telescopes able to obtain high-resolution images?

By using computer grinding to construct very smooth mirrors.

By having a large field of view.

By using the interference of signals from many radio telescopes.

By using laser guide adaptive optics.

469. Super-Kamiokande is an experiment designed to detect what?

Gamma rays.

Earth-like planets.

Gravitational waves.

Neutrinos.

470. The James Webb telescope is intended to replace what?

The Chandra observatory.

The Infra Red Astronomical Satellite.

The Compton Gamma Ray observatory.

The Hubble Space telescope.

471. What is the fundamental particle that the LHC is hunting for?

The Z boson

The neutrino

The proton

The Higgs boson

472. If a source of waves starts moving towards you, how does the frequency of the waves measured in your frame of reference compare to what was observed when the source was not moving?

The frequency will increase.

The frequency will decrease.

The frequency will stay the same.

The frequency will become negative

473. Which of the following is not true of Tycho Brahe?

He claimed that planets travel along elliptical paths.

He developed equipment for making the most precise astronomical observations of his time.

He did not believe in the Copernican system.

He observed a supernova in 1572 and concluded that the celestial sphere is not immutable.

474. In the Standard Model of particle physics, which of the following is NOT its own antiparticle?

The gluon.

The Z boson.

The neutron.

The photon.

475. The cosmic microwave background was created when the universe was roughly how old?

300 000 years old.

13.7 billion years old.

3 minutes old.

10âˆ’10 seconds old.

476. Our present best understanding of gravitational lensing comes from which of the following?

Keplerâ€™s third law

Newtonâ€™s Law of Gravity

Einsteinâ€™s theory of General Relativity

Quantum Chromodynamics

477. In the scenario of inflation, the inhomogeneity in the distribution of galaxies is due to what?

Quantum fluctuations in the very early universe.

Primordial nucleosynthesis.

Quark confinement.

The cosmic microwave background.

478. Which one of the following particles interacts only weakly?

The neutrino.

The electron.

The up quark.

The gluon.

479. Which of the following is not one of Keplerâ€™s Laws?

The planets follow elliptical orbits.

The gravitational force between the sun and a planet is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

The period of a planetâ€™s orbit squared equals the average radius of the orbit cubed.

The speed of a planet varies depending on where it is in its orbit, so that it sweeps out equal area in equal time.

480. According to our best current understanding, most of the matter-energy in the universe is in what form?

Dark matter

Dark energy

Interstellar dust

Stars

481. The alpha process of element building in stars ends at which element?

Hydrogen

Technicium

Uranium

Iron

482. Certain elements are more abundant in stars than others due to the high levels of which other element?

Helium

Boron

Oxygen

Neon

483. Which of the following statements is true?

Two isotopes of an element will have no protons or neutrons in their atoms.

Two isotopes of an element will have the same numbers of protons and neutrons in their atoms.

Two isotopes of an element will have the same numbers of protons, but different number of neutrons, in their atoms.

Two isotopes of an element will have the same numbers of neutrons, but different number of protons, in their atoms.

484. What is the largest baseline that Earth-based telescopes can have for stellar parallax observations?

8 AU

4 AU

2 AU

1 AU

485. If, observed from Earth, an object has a parallactic angle of 1'', how far away is it from us?

1 AU

1 parsec

1 lightyear

1 km

486. Barnardâ€™s Star exhibits the largest observed proper motion. Roughly how fast is this motion?

9 000 kms^-1

9 000 000 000 kms^-1

9 000 000 kms^-1

90 kms^-1

487. If the density of the Earth is 1, what is the density of our Sun?

0.25

100

488. Main sequence stars correspond to which group on the luminosity classification scheme?

III

489. How much of the Sun's energy arrives at the Earth every second?

14 000 Wm^-2

140 Wm^-2

140 000 Wm^-2

1 400 Wm^-2

490. As the temperature of a blackbody emitter falls, what happens to its peak emission frequency?

It is not possible to determine what happens to the frequency without knowing the mass of the star.

As temperature falls, the peak frequency falls.

As temperature falls, the peak frequency is unchanged.

As temperature falls, the peak frequency increases.

491. Which of the following is Betelgeuse?

A nova

A constellation

A cluster

A star

492. The Hertzprung-Russell diagram relates which two properties of a star?

Luminosity and temperature

Luminosity and time

Time and temperature

Time and distance

493. The surface temperature of a type G2 star is about what?

58 000 K

8 200 K

5 800 K

820 K

494. If the core temperature of a main sequence star increases, what happens to it?

The star shrinks and heats.

The star expands and heats.

The star shrinks and cools.

The star expands and cools.

495. Which of the following tends to escape the core of a star?

Neutrons

Neutrinos

Positrons

Protons

496. A planetary nebula is associated with which of the following?

Supernovae

Red giants

White dwarfs

Asteroids

497. The light curve of a type-II supernova has

H-lines and no plateau.

H-lines and a plateau.

no H-lines and no plateau.

no H-lines and a plateau.

498. The Chandrasekhar limit is

due to boson degeneracy.

caused by electrons being fermions.

the minimum mass of a black hole.

2.8 solar masses

499. Neutron stars are approximately as dense as which of the following?

Water

The mass of the Earth squashed into a thimble.

A mountain squashed into a thimble.

The mass of the Sun squashed into the volume of the Earth.

500. Jocelyn Bell-Burnell discovered

black holes

pulsars

supernovae

novae

501. Which of the following is a characteristic of Population I stars?

Population I stars often have a reddish colour.

Population I stars are 'metal poor'.

Population I stars are 'metal rich'.

Population I stars are often found in globular clusters.

502. Which of the following is a source of heavy elements?

Dark nebulae.

Reflection nebulae.

Planetary nebulae.

Emission nebulae.

503. Which of the following galaxy types belongs to the barred spiral galaxies?

SBa

504. Which of the following parts of our Galaxy can we not observe using visible light?

Spiral arms

Galactic centre

Globular clusters

Open clusters

505. Which of the following characteristics is true for elliptical Galaxies?

Lots of interstellar medium is present in elliptical galaxies.

Elliptical galaxies often rotate fast.

In elliptical galaxies there is very little active star formation.

Elliptical galaxies mainly feature Population I stars.

506. Which part of our galaxy features strong star formation?

Globular clusters

Central bulge

Halo

Spiral arms

507. An S0 galaxy can evolve into which of the following galaxy types?

SBb

Galaxies cannot evolve from one type into another.

508. Which of the following are not active galaxies?

Quasars

Infrared galaxies

Seyfert galaxies

Radio galaxies

509. Which of the following statements is not correct?

The halo components move in nearly circular orbit around the centre of the galaxy.

Open clusters are mainly found in the disk.

The central bulge is thicker than the galactic disk.

Our Galaxy has two disks.

510. Which of the following statements is correct?

The position of the solar system within our galaxy was first determined using the position of globular clusters.

The position of the solar system within our galaxy was first determined using the position of open clusters.

The position of the solar system within our galaxy was first determined using the position of nearby O and B stars.

The position of the solar system within our galaxy was first determined using the 21 cm line.

511. Which of the following is a true statement?

Light is both a wave and a particle.

Light is a wave, but not a particle.

Light is neither a wave nor a particle.

Light is a particle, but not a wave.

512. Which of the following describes waves whose wavelength is approximately 1 mm?

Visible red light.

X-Rays.

Microwaves.

Radio waves.

513. What is the phenomenon where the velocity of light in a medium depends on its wavelength?

Interference

Dispersion

Refraction

Diffraction

514. Newton's telescope was a

Cassegrain telescope.

prime focus telescope.

reflecting telescope.

refracting telescope.

515. Modern telescopes use CCDs to capture the light. What does the acronym CCD stand for?

Charge Coupled Diode.

Count Collecting Device.

Charge Coupled Device.

Charge Collecting Diode.

516. Ultra-Violet (UV) radiation is emitted by objects of temperature around

10 K

1 000 000 K

500 K

10,000 K

517. The Chandra Observatory is an observatory for

Neutrino astronomy.

Infra-red astronomy.

Radio astronomy.

X-Ray astronomy.

518. Why can X-Rays penetrate inside solids?

They are very non-reactive.

They have very small wavelengths.

They are out of phase with ordinary matter.

They are of very small frequency.

519. Why are neutrinos so hard to detect in astronomical observatories?

The neutrinos decay before reaching the Earth.

The neutrinos interact only weakly.

There are no astronomical sources of neutrinos.

Neutrinos are absorbed in the upper atmosphere.

520. Which of the following is NOT a good source of gravitational waves?

Pulsars.

Supernova explosions.

Magellanic clouds.

Black Hole binary systems.

521. Which assumption leading to Olber's paradox is known to be incorrect?

The amount of light reaching us from a star decreases as the inverse square of the distance to the star.

The universe is infinite in size.

The universe is eternal.

The universe is uniformly filled with stars.

522. Hubbleâ€™s Law states that

the speed at which a galaxy recedes from us is proportional to the distance from us.

the speed at which a galaxy recedes from us is inversely proportional to the distance from us.

the observable universe is finite in size.

nothing can travel faster than the speed of light.

523. Which of the following is not true of the Copernican system?

The distance between the sun and the Earth is small compared to the distance to the stars.

Mercury and Venus orbit the sun, which in turn orbits the Earth.

Retrograde motion is explained by Earthâ€™s motion around the sun.

The sun is at the centre of the universe.

524. Which of the following is not true according to the theory of special relativity?

No signal can travel faster than the speed of light.

Moving clocks run faster than stationary clocks.

Objects are contracted in their direction of motion.

Motion with constant velocity is always relative.

525. A proton is comprised of

An electron, a muon, and a neutrino.

Two down quarks and an electron.

Two up quarks and a down quark.

Two down quarks and an up quark.

526. Which type of particle mediates the interaction that is responsible for holding quarks together in hadrons?

Photon

Gluon

Neutrino

Graviton

527. How old was the universe when primordial nucleosynthesis ended?

10^-10 seconds

three minutes

10^-43 seconds

300 000 years

528. Today the cosmic microwave background has a temperature of about

3 K

300 K

3000 K

0.003 K

529. Dark matter (excluding dark energy) is close to what percent of the total mass of the universe?

75 %

20 %

100 %

5 %

530. A possible scenario that can explain the smoothness and flatness problems in the universe is called

CP violation

retrograde motion

special relativity

inflation

531. Roughly how much wider is our Sun to the Earth?

10 times wider

1000 times wider

100 times wider

10 000 times wider

532. Into which spectral classification group does our Sun fall into?

533. What is the range of surface temperatures of stars on the Main Sequence of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram?

30 000 to 300 000 K

300 to 3 000 K

3 000 to 30 000 K

300 000 to 3 000 000 K

534. Which luminosity class corresponds to Main Sequence stars?

III

535. Which of the following correctly lists the spectral classifications of stars in order of decreasing surface temperature.

OMAKFGB

OBAFGKM

OFABGKM

OGAFKBM

536. What is the most abundant element in our universe?

Hydrogen

Iron

Helium

Oxygen

537. What name is given to the process by which carbon atoms are formed from helium atoms?

Triple-alpha process

Primordial nucleosynthesis process

Helium capture process

Photodisintegration process

538. Which of the following is NOT a type of binary star?

Transverse

Spectroscopic

Astrometric

Visual

539. What is the approximate temperature of the corona of our Sun?

10 000 K

5 800 K

2 million K

15 million K

540. 61 Cygni gets its name from the system introduced by John Flamsteed in the 18th century. How was this name derived?

It was discovered in 1861.

It was the 61st star Flamsteed discovered.

It can be seen 61 degrees up from the horizon.

It was the 61st star from the west in its constellation.

541. Which one of the following statements is TRUE?

Extinction nebulae can only be formed by black holes.

Bok globules often emit infrared radiation.

Reflection nebulae emit light from ionising hydrogen.

Emission nebulae appear blue.

542. A nebula is a

cluster of galaxies.

star about to collapse.

cluster of small stars

cloud of gas and dust.

543. Hydrogen burning in stars

produces water vapour in interstellar space.

can occur via the proton-proton chain reaction.

is a nuclear reaction only occurring in the most massive stars.

is a reaction in which hydrogen fuses with oxygen.

544. The Sun generates heat by converting

helium to carbon through the triple alpha reaction.

hydrogen to helium through the proton-proton chain.

helium to carbon through the CNO cycle.

hydrogen to helium through the triple alpha reaction.

545. When the Sun becomes a Red Giant

its surface will become hotter than it is now.

hydrogen fusion in its core will have ceased.

it will eventually become a supernova.

it will produce iron and heavier elements in its core.

546. Type I and II supernovae

will occur in stars less massive than the Sun.

will occur in stars more massive than the Sun.

can reoccur.

are both standard candles.

547. White dwarfs are

low magnitude stars.

very hot.

the remains of stars much less massive than the Sun.

very small in number.

548. Neutrinos are

particles of about the same mass as protons.

derived from Neutrons.

produced in the centre of stars.

dangerous to human health.

549. Black holes

are also called accretion disks.

exert a strong gravitational pull.

can only exist at the centres of galaxies.

are massive neutron stars.

550. The Schwarzschild radius gives the

size of a black hole.

maximum size of a white dwarf.

size of a neutron star.

radius of the observable Universe.

551. How does the solar system move with respect to the galactic centre?

It moves in a strongly elliptical orbit around the galactic centre

It is spiralling inwards to the galactic centre

It does not move in respect to the galactic centre

It moves in a nearly circular orbit around the galactic centre

552. Which of the following is a characteristic of Population II stars?

Population II stars are 'metal poor'

Population II stars are 'metal rich'

Population II stars are often O or B class stars

Population II stars are usually very young

553. Which of the following processes does not contribute to the creation of 'metals' (elements heavier than Hydrogen and Helium)?

Supernova, Type 1a

Planetary nebulae

Emission nebulae

Supernova, Type 2

554. By observing what astronomical objects was it first found that the Solar System is not located in the centre of the Milky Way?

Globular clusters

Absorption nebulae

Black holes

Cepheids

555. Which of the following terms does not refer to one of the major galaxy classes?

Barred Elliptical

Spiral

Barred Spiral

Elliptical

556. Which of the following characteristics is true for Spiral Galaxies?

Spiral Galaxies feature Population II stars as well as Population I stars

Spiral Galaxies mainly feature Population II stars.

In spiral galaxies there is very little active star formation

Very little interstellar medium is present in spiral galaxies

557. Several different measurements indicated that our galaxy is a spiral galaxy. Which of the following observations does not give evidence for the presence of spiral arms?

Location of nearby O and B stars

Infra-red measurements of the dust density in the Milky Way

Location of nearby Globular clusters

Location of CO clouds within the galaxy

558. Which of the following conditions can be responsible for the creation of an irregular galaxy?

A super-massive black hole in the centre of the galaxy

Collision of two galaxies

Continuous inflow of atomic Hydrogen from outside the galaxy

A quasar in the centre of the galaxy

559. Which of the following Galaxy types does not belong to the Spiral Galaxies?

SBb

560. Today we know that the Milky Way has two disk components. Which of the following statements is correct?

The stars of the two disc components move in opposite direction around the galactic centre.

The stars of the thin disk have a stronger oscillatory motion than stars in the thick disc.

The stars in the thin disc have an iron to oxygen ratio that suggests they were formed later than the thick disk.

The stars in the thick disc have an iron to oxygen ratio that suggests they were formed later than the thin disk.

561. A reflective diffraction grating is separating the light colours and creates a spectrum. What happens if the incoming light is changed from blue to red?

The outcoming light stays blue.

The red light is transmitted through the grating because only blue light is scattered.

Nothing. Diffraction is wavelength-independent.

The angle between the diffraction orders becomes larger.

562. Which statement is wrong?

Light travels always with a constant speed.

The energy of photons is just dependent on the frequency.

Light has a constant speed in vacuum.

Light travels with different speeds depending on the material.

563. Why are most of the modern telescopes for visible light reflecting telescopes?

Mirrors are easier to make and to mount.

They have no aberration.

It is not possible to melt enough glass to fabricate a large lens.

Lenses cannot be used for visible light.

564. Why are astronomers interested in different parts of the spectrum?

The different colours are nice.

Different parts of the spectrum contain different information.

At some locations at the sky certain detectors do not work.

The results would otherwise interfere destructively.

565. A Cassegrain telescope may have a focal length of 100 cm. The diameter of the mirror shall be 25 cm. The eyepiece used in this configuration has a focal length of 1 cm and a diameter of 0.5 cm. What magnification is achieved?

A magnification of 25.

A magnification of 50.

A magnification of 100.

It is not possible to calculate the magnification with these parameters.

566. Why is the colour of the sun during sunset red?

The scattering of blue light is stronger than red light.

The sun changes its colour in 24 h from blue to red and back to blue.

The diffraction of light is different. Blue light is more strongly diffracted.

The refraction of light is different. Blue light is more strongly refracted.

567. What is true for an IR detector used in astronomy?

Light is absorbed and the temperature increase is measured. Therefore, it is good to cool them.

The electrons in the detector need to get some additional energy to be used for detection. Thus, these detectors need to be heated.

They are based on the photoelectric effect: light kicks out electrons from the material.

They are not used. The IR part of the spectrum does not contain any information.

568. What is the reason why X-ray telescopes are so much different from telescopes for the visible part of the spectrum?

It is too dangerous to observe X-rays from astronomical objects.

Materials used in these telescopes change the colour of the light. It is complicated to compensate this effect.

It is hard to find materials that can be used under X-ray irradiation.

Materials are nearly transparent in the X-ray band. Standard optical configurations cannot be used.

569. What can be observed with radio astronomy?

Radio broadcast of other civilizations in the universe.

Wavelengths that are in the region of cm.

The moon.

Wavelengths that are shorter than the visible light.

570. Gravitational wave astronomy is called a new window to the universe. Why?

Gravitational waves will allow a very high resolution when combining a gravitational wave telescope with a CCD.

They need to be observed from space.

Gravitational waves have only a weak interaction with matter. They are carrying information from objects that cannot be observed by studying their emitted electromagnetic radiation.

Gravitational waves can be observed with a simple refractive telescope. Therefore, it would be easier to observe astronomical objects.

571. The Large Hadron Collider has been constructed with the hope of discovering which particle?

Higgs boson

neutrino

photon

Z boson

572. An epicycle is:

A circular orbit around the Earth, but with the Earth not exactly at the center

An elliptical orbit

Any type of periodic orbit

A smaller circular orbit around the path of a larger circular orbit

573. Which of the following provides supporting evidence for the big bang theory?

The presence of a cosmic microwave background

The red-shift of distant galaxies

All of the above

The observed abundance of elements in the universe

574. Which of the following is NOT implied by Einstein's theory of relativity?

Clocks moving relative to us run more slowly

Moving objects are shortened in the direction of motion

Nothing can accelerate slower than some minimum acceleration

Nothing can travel faster than the speed of light

575. Neutrinos interact via

The strong nuclear force

The weak nuclear force

The electromagnetic force

None of the above

576. The currently most viable dark matter candidate is

Brown dwarf stars

neutrinos

Interstellar dust

weakly interacting massive particles

577. What idea was introduced to solve the flatness and smoothness problems in cosmology?

Gravitational lensing

Relativity

Inflation

The existence of antimatter

578.
Which combination of the following three statements is true if the universe is open?

I. Gravity is not strong enough to stop the expansion in a finite time.
II. The density of the universe is greater than the critical density.
III. The universe is infinite.

I, II, & III

II & III

I & III

I & II

579. Who among the following believed that the Earth and planets orbited the sun?

Tycho Brahe

Ptolemy

Eudoxus

Kepler

580. Most of the visible mass in the universe is believed to come fro

the Higgs boson

quarks and gluons

gravity

photons

581. Which of the following is not an observational class of binary star?

Photometric

Parallactic

Visual

Spectroscopic

582. The sum of the masses of a binary pair is proportional to what power of their orbital period, T?

1/T^3

1/T^2

1/T

1/T^4

583. How does the apparent brightness of a star vary with its luminosity?

The apparent brightness of a star cannot be measured.

The apparent brightness of a star decreases when its luminosity increases.

The apparent brightness is not related to its luminosity.

The apparent brightness of a star increases when its luminosity increases.

584. What value does our Sun have on the apparent magnitude scale?

-12.5

-26.7

+30

585. Which spectral classification corresponds to the hottest stars?

586. How many elements are there currently in the periodic table?

154

113

587. What is the name of the process by which carbon atoms are created from the fusion of helium atoms?

The double alpha process.

Neutron capture.

The alpha process.

The triple alpha process.

588. Which of the following correctly lists the regions of the Sun, starting at its centre and working outwards.

Core, Photosphere, Convection Zone, Radiation Zone

Core, Radiation Zone, Photosphere, Convection Zone

Core, Radiation Zone, Convection Zone, Photosphere

Core, Photosphere, Radiation Zone, Convection Zone

589. What is the approximate temperature of the photosphere of our Sun?

2 million K

10 000 K

15 million K

5 800 K

590. How did Johan Bayer name the stars in the sky? He named them

in terms of their co-ordinates in the sky.

based on their colour.

in the order he found them.

in terms of their relative brightness within constellations.

591. Stars in the same cluster differ widely in

mass

distance

chemical composition

age

592. A globular cluster in our Galaxy is

a group of very young stars.

an asterism like the Pleiades.

a constellation such as Orion.

a group of very old stars.

593. Stars of ten times the solar mass

shine for longer than the Sun.

burn out more quickly than the Sun.

are more common than stars like the Sun.

are only found in globular clusters.

594. Interstellar gas is

mostly hydrogen.

mostly carbon monoxide.

all at a temperature close to absolute zero.

of little importance astronomically.

595. The Chandrasekhar limit is

the maximum radius of a red giant.

the maximum mass of a white dwarf.

the radius of a black hole.

around ten times the solar mass.

596. A red giant

is hotter than a white dwarf.

fuses hydrogen in its core.

looks very large through a telescope.

is a stage in the life of our Sun.

597. The CNO cycle is a nuclear reaction which

occurs mainly in stars with cores hotter than the Sun.

occurs mainly in carbon white dwarfs.

causes the helium flash.

produces 'metals'.

598. The Crab Nebula is of interest because it

contains a pulsar.

is in the centre of the constellation Cancer.

contains a black hole.

surrounds the supernova SN1987A.

599. Pulsars are

very large stars.

rotating neutron stars.

stars that periodically expand and contract.

rotating white dwarfs.

600. The final state of a star depends on its

mass

degeneracy

chemical composition

magnitude

601. Which of the following comprise the oldest members of the Milky Way?

Globular clusters.

The Sun and other solar mass stars.

Type O stars.

Red giant stars in spiral arms.

602. What makes up the interstellar medium?

Gas and dust

K and M stars

O and B stars

Open clusters

603. How does the interstellar medium obscure our view of most of the galaxy?

It absorbs visible, ultraviolet, and some infrared light.

It produces so much visible light that it is opaque and blocks our view of anything beyond it.

It absorbs all wavelengths of light.

It reflects most light from far distances of the galaxy away from our line of sight.

604. How can we see through the interstellar medium?

By observing at high-energy wavelengths such as X rays and long wavelengths of light such as radio waves.

By observing only the brightest visible sources.

By using telescopes above the Earthâ€™s atmosphere.

By using only the biggest telescopes.

605. Where are heavy elements made?

In none of the above.

In stars and supernovae.

In the Big Bang, when the universe first began.

In the interstellar medium.

606. What can cause a galactic fountain?

Multiple supernovae occurring together.

The combined effect of spiral density waves.

A supernova occurring in the halo.

Winds and jets from newly-formed protostars.

607. Compared with our Sun, most stars in the halo are

young, blue, and bright and have much more heavy element material.

old, red, and dim and have fewer heavy elements.

young, red, and dim and have fewer heavy elements.

old, red, and dim and have much more heavy element material.

608. The disk component of a spiral galaxy includes which of the following parts?

Spiral arms

Globular clusters

Halo

Bulge

609. What evidence suggests that the protogalactic cloud that formed the Milky Way resulted from several collisions among smaller clouds?

The stars in the halo of the Milky Way are organized into several dense clusters arranged throughout the halo.

The bulge of the Milky Way is surrounded by many globular clusters, just as elliptical galaxies are.

The Milky Way resembles an elliptical galaxy more than other spirals do.

Halo stars differ in age and heavy-element content, but these variations do not seem to depend on the starsâ€™ distance from the galactic centre.

610. What two observable properties of a Cepheid variable are directly related to one another?

Its luminosity and its mass.

The period between its peaks of brightness and its distance.

Its mass and its distance.

The period between its peaks of brightness and its luminosity.

611. Adaptive optics is a technique that reduces the effect of atmospheric turbulence by

bending the telescope mirror.

adjusting the eyepiece position

evacuating the telescope tube.

varying the mirror reflectivity.

612. The angular size of the Moon is

5 degrees.

0.5 degree.

0.1 degree

50 degrees.

613. Which of the following uses a grazing incidence telescope?

Spitzer.

International Ultraviolet Explorer.

Chandra.

Hubble Space telescope.

614. Modern observatories mostly use

observatories at low altitude.

photographic film.

CCD detectors.

refractive objectives.

615. LIGO is an acronym for:

Laser Incoming Ground Observation.

Light Incident Gravitational Observation.

Laser Interferometric Gravitational-wave Observatory.

Light Ingoing Ground Observations.

616. If the diameter of the objective of a telescope is doubled, what happens to its light gathering power? The light gathering power

is increased by a factor of two.

is increased by a factor of three.

is increased by a factor of four.

remains the same.

617. Which of the following processes is responsible for the absorption of Infra-Red radiation?

Breaking of the chemical bonds.

Splitting of the atomic nuclei.

Infra-Red radiation is not absorbed.

Excitation of vibrational modes of molecules.

618. Long Baseline Interferometry is a technique often used in radio astronomy to

improve the resolution of objects.

image neutrinos.

reduce the effect of light pollution in urban skies.

remove the effect of Cerenkov radiation.

619. An electromagnetic wave having a wavelength of 550 nm is:

visible radiation.

infrared radiation.

ultra-violet radiation.

gamma radiation.

620. In a diffraction grating the angle between the zero order (white fringe) and first order (coloured fringe) depends on the

intensity of the light.

speed of the light.

wavelength of the light.

brightness of the light.

621. In the Geocentric view of the Universe, what are the stars?

Objects reflecting the light of the Sun.

Perfect celestial objects.

Far away bright objects.

Symbols of the gods.

622. We now reject the Geocentric view of the Universe. What is the main objection?

It cannot explain the Retrograde motion.

It does not fit the observed data.

It does not provide any physical understanding.

The model is too contrived.

623. Keplerâ€™s laws state that the

speed of the planets changes over time.

planets rotate about their own axis of rotation.

planets follow circular orbits.

Sun is at the centre of the Universe.

624. The Observable Universe refers to the portion of the Universe

from which light has had time to reach the Earth.

able to be resolved by the most powerful telescope.

that is made up of ordinary matter.

visible to an observer on the surface of the Earth.

625. In a uniformly expanding Universe

the speed of travel of all the objects are uniform.

all the objects will move away from each other at uniform speed.

objects at the edge of the Universe will, in fact, expand less.

the further the object the faster they move away.

626. If the cosmological (density) parameter of the Universe is greater than 1, then we

still donâ€™t know the shape because density and shape are independent parameters.

live in a closed universe.

live in a flat universe.

live in an open universe.

627. The String Theory postulates that the Universe

progresses from one event to the next as if moving along a stretched string.

started with the Big Bang.

is just one manifestation of many, like the notes on a vibrating string.

is made up of lots of tiny strings.

628. In the Big Bang theory as we approach the beginning of time the temperature

remains the same.

decreases.

increases.

becomes a meaningless concept.

629. How can measurements of the rotation of galaxies detect the presence of dark matter?

Dark matter does not move. So, it slows down the rotation of galaxies.

The presence of dark matter will distort the rotation path of a galaxy.

As galaxies rotate, dark matter can periodically obscure parts of a galaxy.

The rate of rotation of a galaxy tells us what is its mass.

630. The smoothness problem in Big Bang cosmology refers to the problem of the

Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation being not as smooth as expected.

geometry of the Universe being almost flat.

older parts of the Universe appearing to be smooth.

celestial bodies appearing to be less smooth as the theory predicts.

631. The age of our galaxy is about

100 to 150 million years.

1.0 to 1.5 million million years.

10 to 15 thousand million years.

100 to 150 thousand million years.

632. Our Sun is

in one of the arms of the disc of our galaxy about a third of the distance in from its edge.

in one of the arms of the disc of our galaxy, close to its edge.

a halo star in the disc of our galaxy about a third of the distance in from its edge.

in a globular cluster in the spherical component of our galaxy.

633. In our galaxy, dense concentrations gas and dust are found

everywhere in the disc.

in the central bulge.

everywhere in the galaxy.

in the thin disc.

634. Population I stars are found in the

spherical component of a spiral galaxy and have strong absorption lines in their spectra.

spherical component of a spiral galaxy and have weak absorption lines in their spectra.

arms of a spiral galaxy and have strong absorption lines in their spectra.

arms of a spiral galaxy and have weak absorption lines in their spectra.

635. Elliptical galaxies are believed to have been formed by

the collapse of a very large spiral galaxy.

matter that collected round a very massive black hole.

the merger of two or more elliptical or other types of galaxies.

the very rapid collapse of a super-massive cloud of dust and gas.

636. A Seyfert galaxy is a

spiral galaxy with a high rate of creation of new stars.

disc shaped galaxy with a central bulge, little gas and dust and a low rate of generation of new stars.

spiral galaxy whose nucleus is a very strong emitter of radio waves and sometimes X-rays.

large elliptical galaxy with jets of matter that are ejected at high speed from its centre.

637. In elliptical galaxies

there is much formation of new stars that is triggered by the formation of the galaxy in a collision of two or more galaxies.

there is a disc and a central bulge but little generation of new stars due to a lack of gas and dust.

the star move round the centre on random orbits, there is little gas and dust and very little formation of new stars.

the stars move round the centre on random orbits, there is much gas and dust but very little formation of new stars due to the lack of a disc structure.

638. Two stars, A and B, have the same intrinsic brightness. The distance to A is twothirds of the distance to B. Compared to B, A will appear to be

as bright as B.

1.5 times brighter than B.

two-thirds as bright as B.

2.25 (or 9/4) times brighter than B.

639. The Great Wall is

a dense concentration of galaxies that stretches across much of the visible universe.

an unusually dense concentration of stars, gas and dust in a nearby spiral arm of our galaxy.

a mechanism that explains the formation of the density waves that cause the creation of new stars in a spiral galaxy.

a dense concentration of galaxies in the nearby Virgo cluster.

640. Quasars are seen to be unusual because they are very

bright stars near the centre of our galaxy whose light is very red-shifted by the intense gravitational field from the super-massive black hole at the centre.

small bright objects whose large red shift indicates that they are very distant.

compact distant galaxies with a large red shift that have many bright O type stars that makes them very luminous.

small stars with an extremely low luminosity because their mass is so small the almost failed to become stars.

641. A Cassegrain telescope

is not a widely used optical design.

is a common optical design used at modern observatories.

has a short focal length.

has a wide field of view.

642. Infra red detectors can work by measuring

energetic charged particles.

the temperature rise in a material.

Cerenkov radiation.

radioactive particles.

643. Wave particle-duality relates to

all of the above.

infra-red radiation.

UV radiation.

visible radiation.

644. The International Ultraviolet Explorer (IUE) experiment

is currently being built.

is currently in orbit.

has since finished operation.

is not a space mission.

645. Scintillation detectors can be made from

aluminium.

water.

stainless steel.

wood.

646. The typical wavelength of an X-ray photon is

50 nm.

600 nm.

1.5 µm.

0.1 nm.

647. A light wave with large amplitude has a

high frequency.

high brightness.

long wavelength.

low brightness.

648. Radio telescopes

do not require a very smooth surface.

operate only at night.

require a very smooth surface.

need to be cooled.

649. The ISO satellite is sensitive to

X-rays.

Gamma rays.

IR.

UV.

650. A Newtonian telescope utilises a

lens.

corrector plate.

curved secondary mirror.

flat secondary mirror.

651. Which is the closest star to our own Sun?

Barnard's Star

Betelgeuse

Epsilon Eridani

Proxima Centauri

652. At roughly what distance is the closest star to our own?

43 parsecs

4.3 lightyears

4.3 parsecs

43 lightyears

653. A star's luminosity is proportional to its surface temperature raised to what power?

Second

Fourth

First

Third

654. Which element is the second most abundant in our universe?

Hydrogen

Iron

Helium

Silicon

655. Which of the following types of stars are most abundant in the universe?

Red dwarfs

Blue giants

Red giants

White dwarfs

656. Which of the following statements is false?

Hydrogen lines are strong in stars with surface temperatures below 4 000 K.

Hydrogen absorption lines in the spectra of very hot stars are relatively weak.

Hydrogen lines are strongest in stars with surface temperatures around 10 000 K.

Spectra of stars with surface temperatures greater than 25 000 K usually show strong absorption lines of singly ionised helium.

657. Which of the following correctly lists the spectral stellar classes in order of descending temperature?

OBAMFGK

OBAFGKM

OBAKMGF

OBAGFKM

658. How is our Sun classed on the spectral classification scale?

659. Which of the following statements is true?

The apparent brightness of a star is unaffected by the distance from which it is observed.

The apparent brightness of a star increases as its luminosity increases.

The apparent brightness of a star increases as the distance it is being observed at increases.

The apparent brightness of a star decreases as its luminosity increases.

660. If star A is magnitude 2, and star B is magnitude 3, by how many times is star A brighter than star B?

2.5 times

100 times

10 times

25 times

661. A globular cluster in our Galaxy is

an asterism like the Pleiades.

a group of very old stars.

a constellation such as Orion.

a group of very young stars.

662. T Tauri stars are

optically visible in their cocoon.

standard candles.

remnant cores of dead stars.

frequently strong infrared sources.

663. The Chandrasekhar limit is

the maximum mass of a white dwarf.

the maximum radius of a red giant.

the radius of a black hole.

around ten times the solar mass.

664. Protostars

are most easily observed by the IR radiation emitted.

are stars with abnormally high proton content.

are Population I stars.

usually emit pulses observable in radio waves.

665. Stars on the lower left part of the main sequence on a HR diagram are

red giants.

blue giants.

red dwarfs.

white dwarfs.

666. The Crab Nebula is of interest because it

surrounds the supernova SN1987A.

contains a pulsar.

contains a black hole.

is in the centre of the constellation Cancer.

667. Red giants

are a stage in the life of our Sun.

have nuclear reactions in their interior.

are very hot.

look very large through a telescope.

668. The Pauli exclusion principle explains

the solar neutrino problem.

why white dwarfs are stable.

why neutron stars collapse.

supernovae.

669. Type I and II supernovae

will occur in stars less massive than the Sun.

are both standard candles.

will occur in stars more massive than the Sun.

can reoccur.

670. The final state of a star depends mainly on its

magnitude.

degeneracy.

mass.

chemical composition.

671. Hubble expansion refers to the discovery in the 1920s and 1930s by Edwin Hubble that

the universe is expanding.

the speed at which galaxies are moving is a function of their distance from us.

far away galaxies are older.

stars are moving away from us wherever he looked.

672. The age of the universe

can be determined from observation of the stars in the heavens.

is unknown and unknowable.

can be estimated from the age of the Milky Way.

is the same as that of the Sun.

673. The horizon of the observable universe refers to the

newest bits of the universe only just become possible to be observed.

edge of the universe which one can observe at any one time.

furthest part of the universe our telescope is able to resolve.

horizon of the sky.

674. Which of the following Galileo did not observe through his telescope?

Venus has phases.

Sun spots.

The moon is not made of perfect celestial material.

Other planets can have moons.

675. In Ptolemy's model of the universe, the stars

are just like the sun.

orbit around the sun.

have epicycles

are features on the surface of a perfect sphere.

676. Kepler's laws show that

planetary orbits are elliptical.

forces acting on the planets must balance with the forces acting on the star.

planets are held by the gravitational force of the star around which they orbit.

the Earth is not the centre of the universe.

677. The fundamental particles are

fermions and bosons.

neutrinos and gluons.

quarks and electrons.

waves not particles.

678. Which of the following is ranked in descending order of temperature?

Planck era, Particle era, Era of atoms.

Particle era, Era of atoms, Planck era.

Planck era, Era of atoms, Particle era.

Particle era, Planck era, Era of atoms.

679. Dark matter

is made up of black holes.

can potentially be detected on earth.

can not be seen.

is dark and absorbs all light incident upon it.

680. The "flatness problem" in cosmology refers to the fact that

three space dimensions are "flattened" to two in the space-time diagram.

the universe is very close to the critical density.

because the universe is flat, we will never see parts of the universe.

if we squash the universe flat, it will be no denser than the density of paper.

681. A prime focus telescope represents a feasible optical configuration

when interference is used.

when the focal length is very long.

for amateur telescopes.

when the diameter of the prime mirror is very large.

682. Which of the following parameters is the same for all electromagnetic waves propagating in a vacuum?

Amplitude

Colour

Speed

Wavelength

683. Which of the following statements correctly describes the wavelength of an electromagnetic wave?

The wavelength is the distance between a trough and a peak.

The wavelength is the distance travelled by the wave in a short time.

The wavelength is the distance between two consecutive peaks.

The wavelength is the distance travelled by the wave in 1 second.

684. Interference between the light coming from different telescopes is used to

improve the light spectrum.

improve the resolution.

improve the light gathering.

improve the magnification.

685. Why does a light ray bend when it crosses the boundary between two different media at an oblique angle?

Because the frequency increases.

Because it interferes with the surface.

Because the speed of light changes.

Because the amplitude is reduced.

686. A Newtonian telescope has

a diverging secondary mirror

a flat secondary mirror

a correction plate

just the primary mirror

687. With respect to a dim light, a bright light emits

more photons.

photons with shorter wavelength.

photons with higher amplitude.

photons with longer wavelength.

688. The Hubble telescope was placed in space in order

to improve the magnification.

to not be limited by the Earthâ€™s horizon.

to be close to the stars.

to not be limited by the Earthâ€™s atmosphere.

689. An electromagnetic wave with a wavelength of 100 nm is

microwave radiation.

UV radiation.

visible radiation.

IR radiation.

690. The angular size of the Moon is

1 800 arcseconds

18 degrees

1.8 degrees

1 800 arcminutes

691. The Lyman series of hydrogen lines are in the __________ part of the spectrum.

X-ray

visible

infrared

ultraviolet

692. A star's spectral type is most closely related to its

luminosity

temperature

radius

mass

693. The sun's visible surface is called the

photosphere.

chromosphere.

lithosphere.

corona.

694. Hydrogen burning converts slightly less than __________ of the rest mass into energy.

15%

10%

695. A typical stellar velocity with respect to the sun would be of order

2 km per second.

2 000 km per second.

20 km per second.

200 km per second.

696. The sun's angular diameter is approximately

30 radians.

30 degrees.

30 arcseconds.

30 arcminutes.

697. The sun is a star of luminosity class

III

698. Short period binaries are almost always

astrometric

spectroscopic

visual

eclipsing

699. The star Algol is a famous example of a binary system which is

astrometric

eclipsing

spectroscopic

X-ray

700. The luminosity of a main sequence star increases with its mass approximately to the power

2.5

3.5

4.5

1.5

701. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

Emission nebulae appear blue.

Reflection nebulae emit light from ionising hydrogen.

Bok globules often emit infrared radiation.

Extinction nebulae can only be formed by black holes.

702. Stars in an open cluster are assumed to be

of the same spectral type.

moving away from each other.

of the same mass.

of the same surface temperature.

703. Hydrogen burning in stars

is a nuclear reaction only occurring in the most massive stars.

is a reaction in which hydrogen fuses with oxygen.

can occur via the proton-proton chain reaction.

produces water vapour in interstellar space.

704. Protostars heat up mostly due to

nuclear fusion.

nuclear fission.

gravitational contraction.

radioactivity.

705. Main sequence stars with higher luminosity than the Sun

are only observed in globular clusters.

have a lower surface temperature than the Sun.

have a shorter lifetime than the Sun.

must be red giants.

706. The triple alpha reaction is a nuclear reaction which

only occurs in stars more massive than the Sun.

produces helium nuclei.

will occur in red giants.

produces hydrogen nuclei.

707. SN1987A

is a faint white dwarf companion of the star SN1987.

was a nova which occurred in 1987.

was a star which exploded in 1987.

is a binary star found in 1987 which emitted X-rays.

708. The Chandrasekhar limit is

the radius of a black hole.

around ten times the solar mass.

the maximum radius of a red giant.

the maximum mass of a white dwarf.

709. Neutron stars

are prevented from collapse by electron degeneracy pressure.

are generally thought to have a strong magnetic field.

are detected by the neutrons they emit.

emit a steady beam of neutrinos.

710. Black holes

cannot be directly observed.

are detected as dark clouds at the centre of galaxies.

are the final stages of stars like the Sun.

are caused absorption of light in cold, dense nebulae.

711. How old is the universe?

About 3 times older than our solar system.

50 billion years.

The same age as our sun.

The universe is infinitely old.

712. Which of the following observations is evidence of the presence of dark matter?

Galaxies are spinning faster than expected.

Some stars appear to be moving towards us.

Distant galaxies are moving faster away from us.

Distant supernovae appear dimmer.

713. Which of the following statements regarding the Grand Unified Theory is correct?

The GUT is a theory of everything.

The GUT is a theory that shows physical laws are obeyed everywhere in the universe.

The GUT can tell us what happened at the moment of birth of the universe.

The GUT is a theory that unifies 3 out of the 4 forces of nature.

714. The sky is dark at night because

there is dark matter in between the stars.

the universe is only sparsely populated with stars.

our eyes are not sensitive enough.

some stars are so far away that their light has not yet reached us.

715. What is the observable universe?

The portion of the universe that our eyes can see.

All parts of the universe that are not obscured by celestial objects.

The portion of the universe from which light had enough time to travel to us.

Part of the universe that the most powerful telescopes can resolve.

716. Ptolemy believed that

some of the planets orbit around the Sun.

all the stars were on a celestial sphere.

everything must move along one simple perfect circle.

the planets must follow circular orbits centred on the Earth.

717. Einstein's special theory of relativity states that:

nothing is relative.

all motion is relative to the centre of the universe.

everything is relative.

the speed of light is constant.

718. Which of the following statements is true?

Photons mediate the electromagnetic force.

Photons are Fermions.

Photons can only be created by annihilating electrons with positrons.

Photons and electrons exert an attractive force on each other.

719. Which of the following statement is false?

The antiparticle of a electron is a positron.

The antiparticle of a gluon is a gluon.

The antiparticle of a photon is a phonon.

The mass of a particle is exactly the same as that of its antiparticle.

720. Which of the following statement about supernovae is false?

They are only visible for a few weeks.

They are a source of heavy elements.

They always appear to have the same brightness.

Supernovae derive their energy from gravity.

721. Our galaxy

is a grand design galaxy with the Solar System between a half and two thirds the way out from the centre to the edge of the nucleus.

is a grand design galaxy with the Solar System between a half and two thirds the way out from the centre to the visible edge of the disc.

is a barred spiral galaxy with the Solar System between a half and two thirds the way out from the centre towards the edge of the nucleus.

is a barred spiral galaxy with the Solar System between a half and two thirds the way out towards the visible edge of the disc.

722. A type Sb galaxy is

a spiral galaxy with moderately tightly wound arms.

a barred spiral galaxy with very open arms.

a barred spiral galaxy with moderately tightly wound arms.

a barred spiral galaxy with very open arms.

723. Globular clusters

are usually found in the discs of galaxies and contain population II stars.

are usually found in the halos of galaxies and contain population II stars.

are usually found in the halos of galaxies and contain population I stars.

are usually found in the discs of galaxies and contain population I stars.

724. Cepheid variable stars are important for distance measurements because

from their pulsation rate of their brightness, we can deduce their rotational speed.

they emit radio waves whose frequency allows the calculation of their distance.

their brightness pulsates in a well defined way that allows them to be identified and their average brightness is independent of their size.

from their pulsation rate of their brightness, we can deduce their intrinsic average brightness.

725. The inverse square law of light propagation means that a star that is half the distance of another identical star will appear to be

a quarter as bright as the other star.

four times as bright as the other star.

two times as bright as the other star.

equally as bright as the other star.

726. Population I stars in our galaxy are

typically found in regions with new star formation and are "metal" rich.

typically found in regions with little new star formation and are "metal" poor.

typically found in regions with little new star formation and are "metal" rich.

typically found in regions with new star formation and are "metal" poor.

727. Spiral galaxies are more easily seen than other types of galaxy because

they are free of dust which obscures the light from stars in other galaxies.

they have a very large and prominent nucleus that contains bright O and B stars.

they are much bigger than any other kind of galaxy.

they have bright O and B stars in their arms.

728. The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are

irregular galaxies close to our own galaxy.

reflection nebulae in Orion.

dark dust clouds obscuring part of the Milky Way.

emission nebulae in the disc of our galaxy.

729. A "starburst" galaxy is

one with unusually intense new star formation due to the collision of two of its spiral arms.

one in which stars are colliding.

one in which the stars are being thrown outwards, away from the centre.

one with intense new star formation due to a close interaction with another galaxy.

730. The distance to very remote galaxies can be measured by

measuring the angular size of their globular clusters and then by using trigonometry.

identifying the spectral classes of their stars and then using spectral parallax.

measuring the period and apparent brightness of their Cepheid variables.

measuring the apparent brightness of a type 1a supernova in them and / or measuring the red shift of the light from them.

731. Hello

World

Exploring the Cosmos

1. Which of the following statements correctly describes the wavelength of an electromagnetic wave?

2. Why does a light ray bend when it crosses the boundary between two different media at an oblique angle?

3. A Newtonian telescope has

4. As light passes from one medium to another, its direction of travel changes. What is the name of this effect?

5. Diffraction gratings are used to

6. The speed of light in glass is

7. What is the name of the Sun's visible surface?

8. Two isotopes of the same chemical have the same number of what in their nuclei?

9. How does a star of spectral type A0 differ from one of spectral type A5.

10. The spectral sequence of stars in order of decreasing temperature is

11. The luminosity of a star is proportional to which power of its temperature?

12. The colour index of a star is indicative of its

13. What is our Sunâ€™s spectral type?

14. What temperature range do Main Sequence stars fall into?

15. What is the name given to the process by which elements are formed in stars?

16. Which element is the most abundant in the universe?

17. Which process allows for the building up of elements heavier than iron?

18. Which is the closest star to our own Sun?

19. What is the observable universe?

20. One of Keplerâ€™s laws states that

21. The apparent brightness of stars changes with their distance (r) away from us as

22. Edwin Hubble observed that galaxies seem to be moving away from us in all directions. This means:

23. Who of the following believed that the Sun and all of the planets orbit around the Earth?

24. A closed universe

25. Our Sun is situated

26. Neutral hydrogen can be detected by astronomers because

27. Our Sun and solar system are

28. Recent observations have shown that there is much invisible matter in the outer regions of our Galaxy.

29. The disk component of a spiral galaxy includes which of the following parts?

30. By observing what astronomical objects was it first found that the Solar System is not located in the centre of the Milky Way?

31. The parallax of the nearest star is of the order of

32. The star's annular parallax is 0. 4. What is its distance?

33. Roughly how many stars are there in our own galaxy?

34. Which of the following statements is true?

35. The sun's visible surface is called the

36. The surface temperature of the sun is approximately

37. The luminosity of a star is proportional to the _______ power of its temperature.

38. The colour of the H-alpha line of hydrogen is

39. Two isotopes of the same chemical have the same number of _____ in their nuclei.

40. On the main sequence stars are powered by nuclear reactions termed ______ burning.

41. The hydrogen content of the average star is approximately

42. A helium nucleus contains _____ protons.

43. A starâ€™s spectral type is most closely related to its

44. A star of spectral type A0 is slightly ________ than one of spectral type A5.

45. Diffraction gratings are used for

46. Which of the following parameters is the same for all electromagnetic waves propagating in a vacuum?

47. The sky is dark at night because

48. What is the observable universe?

49. Keplerâ€™s laws show that

50. The red shift of light from very distant galaxies shows they are

51. Edwin Hubble observed that galaxies seem to be moving away from us in all directions. This means:

52. The assumption of universality states that

53. What was the famous and remarkable achievement of Eratosthenes in 240 BC?

54. Our Sun is situated

55. Of the stars in our galaxy

56. The approximate position of the centre of the Milky Way galaxy was first found, using optical telescopes, by

57. The diameter of the Milky Way Galaxy is

58. Population II stars are

59. Recent observations have shown that there is much invisible matter in the outer regions of our Galaxy.

60. Several different measurements indicated that our galaxy is a spiral galaxy. Which of the following observations does not give evidence for the presence of spiral arms?

61. Which of the following parameters is the same for all electromagnetic waves propagating in a vacuum?

62. Why does a light ray bend when it crosses the boundary between two different media at an oblique angle?

63. A Newtonian telescope has

64. The Hubble telescope was placed in space in order

65. An electromagnetic wave with a wavelength of 600 nm is

66. Which of the following uses a grazing incidence telescope?

67. The angle through which a ray of light is bent by a glass prism depends on the

68. The focal length of an ideal mirror depends on

69. Light can be described as having a â€œdualâ€ nature. What does this mean?

70. What is the angular size of the Moon?

71. Which of the following space-based telescopes detected water in the Orion nebula?

72. If the width of the objective of a telescope is doubled, what happens to its light gathering power?

73. For a telescope the objective focal length is 80 cm and the eyepiece focal length is 2 cm, what is the magnification?

74. To detect dim objects a telescope needs

75. A Charge Coupled Device is used in telescopes to

76. The sun's visible surface is called the

77. The luminosity of a star is proportional to the _______ power of its temperature.

78. The central temperature of the sun is approximately

79. Roughly how many stars are there in our own galaxy?

69. Light can be described as having a â€œdualâ€ nature. What does this mean?