ANSWER KEY
ASTRONOMY – STUDY GUIDE
PART A: THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Name the 4 Inner/Terrestrial Planets: MERCURY, VENUS, EARTH, MARS
Name the 4 Outer/Jovian Planets: JUPITER, SATURN, URANUS, NEPTUNE
Write the name of the planet (or dwarf planet) that correctly completes each statement on the line at the left.
VENUS
1. Because of similar size / mass, _____ is called Earth’s “sister planet”.
MERCURY
2. _____ has a surface that is heavily cratered like the moon.
SATURN
3. The planet with the most visible ring system is _____.
VENUS
4. A planet that is very hot because of the greenhouse effect is _____.
MARS
5. _____ is covered in red sand because of the rust in the soil.
MERCURY
6. The planet that travels around the sun the fastest in 88 days is _____.
JUPITER
7. The Great Red Spot is a continuous storm found on _____.
PLUTO
8. _____could also be called a Kuiper Belt Object.
MARS
9. The largest known volcano in the solar system is an extinct volcano, known as
Olympus Mons, found on the planet _____.
URANUS
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
ASTEROIDS
11. Most _____ orbit the sun and lie between Mars and Jupiter.
METEOROIDS
12. The leftover debris of a comet are called _____ which are small rocks in space.
METEORITES
13. Pieces of space rock that actually hit Earth’s surface are called _____.
METEORS
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.
TAIL
NUCLEUS
COMA
PART B: THE SUN
CORONA
15. The outer most layer of the sun’s atmosphere called the _____ can only be seen during a solar
eclipse.
FUSION
16. The _____ reaction in the sun’s core produces the sun’s energy.
HYDROGEN
17. The sun is composed mostly of ________ and helium.
PHOTOSPHERE 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. CORE
20. PHOTOSPHERE
21. CHROMOSPHERE
22. CORONA
23. SOLAR FLARE
24. PROMINENCE
25. SUNSPOT
26. SOLAR WIND
26.
.
23.
25.
6.
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.
In the diagrams below, label the type of eclipse
solar or lunar.
27. NEAP
31. LUNAR ECLIPSE
30. SPRING
28. SPRING
29. NEAP
32. SOLAR ECLIPSE
REGOLITH
33. Lunar soil or ______ , is made up primarily of dust and rock fragments.
MARIA
34. The dark spots on the moon are _____ which are plains covered in volcanic rock.
IMPACT
35. The most accepted theory of the moon’s origin is called the _____ Theory.
27.3
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. NEW MOON
C
B. WAXING CRESCENT
B
D
C. 1ST QUARTER
D. WAXING GIBBOUS
A
E
E. FULL MOON
F. WANING GIBBOUS
F
G. 3RD QUARTER
H. WANING CRESCENT
H
G
PART D: THE STARS & GALAXIES
AWAY FROM
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.
VISIBLE LIGHT 42. The part of the electromagnetic spectrum that can be separated into colors of
(WHITE)
the rainbow is _____.
LIGHT YEAR
43. The unit most used by astronomers to express the distance to other galaxies is a ____
STAR A
44. Stars A and B are the same size but Star A is hotter. Which one is brighter?
BLUE
45. The color of the hottest stars is _____.
APPARENT
46. The brightness of a star as we view it from Earth is the star’s ______ magnitude.
SHAPE
47. Galaxies are classified by their _____.
BIG BANG
48. What is the most accepted theory for the origin of the universe?
SPIRAL (BARRED)
49. What type of galaxy is the Milky Way galaxy?
SPECTROSCOPE
51. By using a tool called _____ astronomers can identify the elements in a star.
RED GIANT
52. What is the next stage in the life cycle of the sun?
BLACK HOLE
53. A _____ is the densest object in the universe, and no light escapes.
ABSOLUTE
54. The _____ magnitude is a measurement that compares the true brightness of stars.
CONTINUOUS
55. What kind of spectrum comes from white light?
CONSTELLATION
56. There are 88 known ____ which are patterns of stars in the night sky.
GAS & DUST
57. A stellar nebula is composed of _____ and _____.
SUPERNOVA
58. The explosion of a massive star at the end of its life is called a _____
URSA MAJOR (BIG DIPPER)
-2
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.
RIGEL & BETELGEUSE
62. Which star is hotter, Vega or Capella?
VEGA
63. Which group of stars is the dimmest?
WHITE DWARFS
64. What group of stars does Arcturus belong to?
RED GIANTS
65. In the diagram below, circle the letter in the position where we would find our solar system.
Bright