Name: _____________________________________ Date: ______________________ Block: _________
ASTRONOMY – STUDY GUIDE
PART A: THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Name the 4 Inner/Terrestrial Planets: _________________________________________________________________
Name the 4 Outer/Jovian Planets: ____________________________________________________________________
Write the name of the planet (or dwarf planet) that correctly completes each statement on the line at the left.
____________________________ 1. Because of similar size / mass, _____ is called Earth’s “sister planet”.
____________________________ 2. _____ has a surface that is heavily cratered like the moon.
____________________________ 3. The planet with the most visible ring system is _____.
____________________________ 4. A planet that is very hot because of the greenhouse effect is _____.
____________________________ 5. _____ is covered in red sand because of the rust in the soil.
____________________________ 6. The planet that travels around the sun the fastest in 88 days is _____.
____________________________ 7. The Great Red Spot is a continuous storm found on _____.
____________________________ 8. _____could also be called a Kuiper Belt Object.
____________________________ 9. The largest known volcano in the solar system is an extinct volcano, known as
Olympus Mons, found on the planet _____.
____________________________ 10. _____’s axis of rotation is unusual because it is tipped over so it spins on its side.
Use the terms following terms to complete each sentence: ASTEROIDS, METEORS, METEORITES, or METEOROIDS
____________________________ 11. Most _____ orbit the sun and lie between Mars and Jupiter.
____________________________ 12. The leftover debris of a comet are called _____ which are small rocks in space.
____________________________ 13. Pieces of space rock that actually hit Earth’s surface are called _____.
____________________________ 14. More commonly known as “shooting stars” _____ are small pieces of rock that
burn up after entering the earth’s atmosphere.
Sketch the comet’s tail from the nucleus at positions A, B, C, D, E, F, & G
in the appropriate direction in relation to the sun.
Label the parts of a comet.
PART B: THE SUN
____________________________ 15. The outer most layer of the sun’s atmosphere called the _____ can only be seen
during a solar eclipse.
____________________________ 16. The _____ reaction in the sun’s core produces the sun’s energy.
____________________________ 17. The sun is composed mostly of ________ and helium.
____________________________ 18. The apparent yellow surface of the sun is called the _____.
22.
19.
20.
21.
Name the layers and features of the sun labeled on the diagram.
19. _________________________ 20. _________________________
26.
.
21. _________________________ 22. _________________________
23. _________________________ 24. _________________________
25. _________________________ 26. _________________________
23.
24.
PART C: THE MOON
In the diagram below, label the type of tide, spring or neap,
that would occur at the following moon phases.
25.
6.
In the diagrams below, label the type of eclipse
solar or lunar.
_____________ 27.
_________________________ 31.
___________ 28.
___________ 30.
_____________ 29.
_________________________ 32.
_________________________ 33. Lunar soil or ______ , is made up primarily of dust and rock fragments.
_________________________ 34. The dark spots on the moon are _____ which are plains covered in volcanic rock.
_________________________ 35. The most accepted theory of the moon’s origin is called the _____ Theory.
_________________________ 36. The moon completes one revolution around Earth every _____ days.
Draw in the moon phases listed below.
.
37. New Moon
39. 1st Quarter
38. Waxing Crescent
40. Waxing Gibbous
Label the phases of the moon in the diagram below. Notice the position of the sun’s rays.
A. ____________________________
C
B. ____________________________
B
D
C. ____________________________
D. ____________________________
E. ____________________________
A
E
F. ____________________________
G. ____________________________
F
H. ____________________________
H
G
PART D: THE STARS & GALAXIES
_________________________ 41. If a star’s spectral lines are shifted towards the red end of the spectrum, then the
star is moving [ towards / away from ] the Earth.
_________________________ 42. The part of the electromagnetic spectrum that can be separated into colors of
the rainbow is _____.
_________________________ 43. The unit most used by astronomers to express the distance to other galaxies is a ____
_________________________ 44. Stars A and B are the same size but Star A is hotter. Which one is brighter?
_________________________ 45. The color of the hottest stars is _____.
_________________________ 46. The brightness of a star as we view it from Earth is the star’s ______ magnitude.
_________________________ 47. Galaxies are classified by their _____.
_________________________ 48. What is the most accepted theory for the origin of the universe?
_________________________ 49. What type of galaxy is the Milky Way galaxy?
_________________________ 51. By using a tool called _____ astronomers can identify the elements in a star.
_________________________ 52. What is the next stage in the life cycle of the sun?
_________________________ 53. A _____ is the densest object in the universe, and no light escapes.
_________________________ 54. The _____ magnitude is a measurement that compares the true brightness of stars.
_________________________ 55. What kind of spectrum comes from white light?
_________________________ 56. There are 88 known ____ which are patterns of stars in the night sky.
_________________________ 57. A stellar nebula is composed of _____ and _____.
_________________________ 58. The explosion of a massive star at the end of its life is called a _____
_________________________ 59. The constellation that contains the “pointer stars” used to find Polaris is _____.
_________________________ 60. Which star will appear brighter in the night sky, a star with an apparent magnitude of
-2 or a star with an apparent magnitude of +1?
Use the HR diagram to answer the following questions:
61. Name the two brightest stars labeled.
______________________________________
62. Which star is hotter, Vega or Capella?
______________________________________
63. Which group of stars is the dimmest?
______________________________________
64. What group of stars does Arcturus belong to?
______________________________________
65. In the diagram below, circle the letter in the position where we would find our solar system.
Bright