Astronomy 2015 Final Exam Review - Answers
Life of a Star
 Be able to identify the stages in the life cycle of a mid-size star and a massive star
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Be able to identify the stages in the life cycle of our sun. Our Sun follows the top sequence
for stars up to 1.5 solar masses in its life cycle. Our Sun’s next stage is Red Giant.
Define luminosity brightness of a star compared to the sun’s brightness
How many years does it take for a star to use up all of its hydrogen? 10 billion
Recognize and be able to read a Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram
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Most stars are in the main sequence group
What color are hot stars? blue Cool Stars? red
Sun
 What are sunspots? the darker region of the photosphere (surface) of the sun
 How does the sun spot’s temperature compared to the photosphere? (COOLER or hotter)
 What element is the Sun mainly composed of? hydrogen
 What causes aurora borealis? charged particles from the sun are trapped by the
magnetosphere
 What is the color and temperature of our Sun? yellow, 5,500°C
 Know the layer of the Earth’s atmosphere protects us from solar winds? Magnetosphere
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List the 4 problems that could occur as a result of a massive solar storm. communication
disrupted, satellite damage, airplane navigation disrupted, power outages
The Sun’s magnetic field changes every ____ years. 11
Where is the Sun’s energy generated? Core
How does the Sun create its energy? Fusing 2 hydrogens to make 1 helium (nuclear
fusion)
Galaxy
 Be able to identify galaxy categories according to the Hubble Classification System and know
what the letters mean
Edwin Hubble created this classification system for galaxies
E – elliptical, S – spiral, SO – lenticular, SB – barred spiral
Define galaxy A galaxy is a large system of stars, gas, dust and dark matter that orbits a
common center and is bound together by gravity.
 Know the classification of the Milky Way Galaxy barred spiral
 Know the location of our solar system in the Milky Way 2/3 of the way from the center in a
spiral arm
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NASA
 Date NASA was created 1958
 Date of Sputnik I launch, Which country launched this probe? 1957, Russia
 President Kennedy’s goal for America in the space race putting an American on the moon
and returning him safely to Earth by the end of the decade
 Mercury
o Purpose of mission put a man and spacecraft in orbit around the Earth and return
safely
o Name the 7 Mercury astronauts Leroy G. Cooper, Jr., Virgil I. Grissom, Donald K.
Slayton, Malcolm S. Carpenter, Alan B. Shepard, Jr., Walter M. Schirra, Jr. and
John H. Glenn.
o The Right Stuff movie
o Who was the first man in space? Yuri Gagarin
o Who was the first American in space? Alan Shepard
o What is the speed of sound in miles per hour (mph) 750 mph
 Gemini
o Who was the last American is space alone? Gordon (Gordo) Cooper
 Apollo
o Apollo 1 - what happened? Flash fire, killed all aboard
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o Apollo 11
 What happened on this mission? Landed on the moon
 What year? 1969
 Who was the first man on the Moon? Neil Armstrong
o Apollo 13
 What happened? Oxygen tank exploded and they had to return early
 Who was pulled from this mission? Ken Mattingly
 What did NASA engineers design to keep the astronauts alive? Filter to get rid
of carbon dioxide
o Which Apollo mission was the first to carry a lunar rover to the Moon? Apollo 15
Space shuttle
o Which president announced this program? Nixon
o Name the two space shuttles that blew up. Challenger & Columbia
o What telescope was put into orbit by this program? Hubble Space Telescope
Space Probes
o Name the probe that is studying Ceres and Vesta. Dawn
o Name the probe that observed Saturn and Titan. Cassini
o Name the probe that studied Mercury. Messenger
o Name the probe that will go to Pluto in 2015. New Horizons
o Name the second probe sent to Jupiter. Juno
o Name the probe sent to map the lunar surface and revealed ice on the dark side.
Clementine
o Name the space station that is an international effort among many countries.
International Space Station (ISS)
o Name the two probes sent to study comets only. Stardust & Rosetta