ESS Solar System Astronomy
Exam
1. Which planet has the shortest
day?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Mercury
Venus
Mars
Jupiter
2. Which planet would have this
view of Earth?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Venus
Mars
Mercury
Sun
3. What is the most volcanically
active body in the solar system?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Mercury
Moon
Earth
Mars
Io
B
A
C
D
E
4. Judging by the Nebular Theory,
is a supernova in the solar system’s
A.)past or B.)future?
Astronomers estimate that the nebular cloud from which our solar
system formed contained about two to three times the mass of the
Sun and was about 100 astronomical units (AU) across. This
massive loosely-bound cloud of dust, ice particles, and gases
(primarily hydrogen and helium) had some small rate of rotation due
to the method in which it was formed. Over time, this nebular cloud
began to collapse inward. The collapse may have itself been
triggered by a supernova that sent shockwaves through the cloud
causing it to compress. As the cloud compressed on itself, the
gravitational attraction of the matter within increased and pulled the
material in even further. The nebula continued to contract under the
influence of gravity causing it to spin faster. The more the cloud
contracted, the faster it rotated due to the conservation of angular
momentum. The rate of contraction was greatest near the center of
the cloud where a dense central core began to form. As the rate of
rotation of the nebula continued to increase, centrifugal effects
caused the spinning cloud to flatten into a disk with a bulge at its
center.
5.Where do these bodies dwell?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Outside the orbit of Neptune
They orbit various planets as moons.
Between Mars & Jupiter
In a spherical cloud on the outskirts of
our solar system
6. Of the following planets, for
which one does the sun rise in the
west and set in the east?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Venus
Mars
Jupiter
Uranus
7. How are meteor showers related
to comets?
A. Meteors form from
Earth colliding with
the comet itself.
B. Meteors form from
Earth colliding with
the comet’s dust
trail.
C. Meteors and
comets are one and
the same.
D. Meteors and
comets are not
related in any way.
8. This would be a cross-section of
which planet’s atmosphere?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Mercury
Jupiter
Callisto
Pluto
Chiron
9. What makes a comet’s tail?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Ice melting from the
comet body
Ice sublimating
from the comet
body
Ice burning off the
comet body
Ice forming on the
comet body
10. Which of the following would be
considered to be a rocky dwarf?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Sedna
Neptune
Mars
Chiron
11. Which planets can we never
see in their entirety, due to their
inferior orbits?
A. Mars & Venus
B. Io & Chiron
C. Mercury &
Saturn
D. Mercury &
Venus
12. One Venusian year is 1.92 Venusian
days long. A day on Venus is longer than
its year, due to its exceedingly slow…
A.
B.
C.
D.
revolution
rotation
both
neither
13. This shows current positions of the planets. Which
planet(s) could be seen from here WITHOUT a
telescope tonight?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Jupiter
Mercury
14. Last Friday was the Autumnal Equinox.
What happened astronomically?
A. The Sun reached the Tropic of Cancer
B. The Sun crossed the equator
C. The Sun reached the Tropic of Capricorn
D. The Sun was at zenith.
15. This is an analemma, which marks the path of the sun
in our sky over the course of a year. Where was the sun
last Friday?
D
C
B
E
A
The Planets
A.
B.
C.
D.
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
E. Jupiter
AB. Saturn
AC. Uranus
AD. Neptune
16 – 22 Match the moons with their
proper planets
16.
19
17
18
20
21
22
23. If planets orbit the sun in a counter-clockwise fashion
when viewed from the north pole, and the sun takes about
one month to pass through each zodiacal constellation…
…what constellation is the sun presently in for September?
A.Capricornus
B.Leo
C.Taurus
D.Aries
24. What Jovian moon is probably
covered with an icy ocean of H2O?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Io
Ganymede
Callisto
Europa
25. Saturn’s rings are made of…
A.
B.
C.
D.
Rock
Ice
Both
Neither
26. What is this showing?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Both planets
move in
respect to
one another.
Earth moves
in respect to
Saturn.
Saturn moves
in respect to
Earth.
None of the
above.
27. Which planet would have this
view of Earth?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Venus
Mars
Jupiter
Titan
28. Titan is like Earth in that it
has…
A.
B.
C.
D.
Lifeforms
Oxygen in its soil
Nitrogen in its atmosphere
Water in its oceans
29. Which part of Uranus is
currently (2011) experiencing the
longest daylength?
A.
B.
C.
D.
The North pole
The South Pole
The Equator
The Northern
Hemisphere
E. The Southern
Hemisphere
30. What gives the gas giants their
colorful banded patterns?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Ice due to
extreme
temperatures
Rocks to
tremendous
mass
Volcanic
Eruptions due to
terrific tectonic
forces
Wind Patterns
due to rapid
rotation
31. What is illustrated here?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
The Kuiper Belt
Andromeda Galaxy
The Pleiades
Omega Centauri
The Oort Cloud
32. This is Comet Hyakutake. It is a
long-period comet. Where was it
originally?
A. Andromeda
Galaxy
B. Oort Cloud
C. Kuiper Belt
D. Omega
Centauri
33. This is Comet Halley. It is a
short-period comet. Where was it
originally?
A. Andromeda
Galaxy
B. Oort Cloud
C. Kuiper Belt
D. Omega
Centauri
34. From July 16 through July 22, 1994, pieces of an object designated as
Comet P/Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with Jupiter. This is the first collision
of two solar system bodies ever to be observed, and the effects of the
comet impacts on Jupiter's atmosphere were simply spectacular and
beyond expectations. Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 consisted of at least 21
discernable fragments with diameters estimated at up to 2 kilometers.
What made the comet break up?
A. Jupiter’s winds
B. Jupiter’s gravity
C. Jupiter’s orbit
D. Comet Shoemaker/Levy’s sublimation