Test your basic knowledge |

Astronomy Basics

Subject : science
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. Any of numerous small celestial bodies composed of rock and metal that move around the sun (mainly between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter)






2. The spinning of Earth on its axis






3. A telescope that uses a curved mirror to collect and focus light






4. The apparent westward motion of the planets with respect to the stars






5. The decrease in wavelength of light due to an object moving away from the oberver






6. A spherical region of comets that surrounds the solar system






7. Space object made of dust and rock particles mixed with frozen water - methane - and ammonia that forms a bright coma as it approaches the Sun






8. Remnant of a star that is so dense that nothing - not even light - can escape its gravity field






9. Polish astronomer who produced a workable model of the solar system with the sun in the center (1473-1543)






10. An immense cloud of gas (mainly hydrogen) and dust in interstellar space






11. A galaxy shaped like a flattened ball - containing only old stars






12. A shift toward the red end of the spectrum in the observed spectral lines of stars or galaxies showing objects are moving away and that the universe is expanding






13. A large body in space that orbits a star and does not produce light of its own






14. Radiation left over from the beginning of the universe






15. A star that expands and cools once it runs out of hydrogen fuel






16. A spectrum of light in which there are no gaps - so that each region blends directly into the next






17. The theory that the universe originated 20 billion years ago from the cataclysmic explosion of a small mass of matter at extremely high density and temperature






18. Stony or metallic object that is the remains of a meteoroid that has reached the earth's surface






19. The comet discovered in 1705 that repeats itself every 76 years and last appeared in 1986.

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20. An enormously bright - distant galaxy with a giant black hole at its center






21. The blocking of sunlight to the moon that occurs when Earth is directly between the sun and the moon






22. Stony or metallic object that is the remains of a meteoroid that has reached the earth's surface






23. A group of stars that form a pattern in the sky






24. A graph relating the temperature and brightness of stars






25. A galaxy with a bulge in the middle and arms that spiral outward in a pinwheel pattern






26. One of the small asteroid-like bodies that formed the building blocks of the planets






27. Any of numerous small celestial bodies composed of rock and metal that move around the sun (mainly between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter)






28. Light distance travels in one year (9.5 trillion km)






29. A group of stars that form a pattern in the sky






30. Large group of stars - dust - and gas held together by gravity; can be elliptical - spiral - or irregular






31. The two days of the year on which neither hemisphere is tilted toward or away from the sun






32. English mathematician and physicist - discovered the law of universal gravitation






33. A star that expands and cools once it runs out of hydrogen fuel






34. The theory that the universe originated 20 billion years ago from the cataclysmic explosion of a small mass of matter at extremely high density and temperature






35. A galaxy shaped like a flattened ball - containing only old stars






36. When the moon passes between earth and the sun - blocking the sunlight from reaching earth






37. When the northern or southern most point on earth receives the most sun because the earth is tilted toward the sun






38. An extremely bright star of very large diameter and low density






39. A large cloud of dust and gas that can break apart into smaller pieces and form stars






40. The rainbow effect when light is dispersed through lens






41. The elliptical motion of a body as it orbits another body in space






42. Light distance travels in one year (9.5 trillion km)






43. A star that ejects some of its material in the form of a cloud and become more luminous in the process






44. Point in orbit that is closest to the sun - planet moves faster






45. The increase in wavelength of light due to an object moving away from the observer






46. An extremely bright star of very large diameter and low density






47. Galaxy with no particular shape - contains new & old stars






48. A large cloud of dust and gas that can break apart into smaller pieces and form stars






49. Any natural satellite of a planet






50. The study of the spectra of stars by analyzing the spectral properties of the light they give off