50 Questions
What is the initial stage of star formation?
dense interstellar cloud
What causes a cloud to collapse under its own gravity?
instability or disturbance
What is the process by which a protostar evolves onto the main sequence?
contraction and following the Hayashi track
What is the dominant fusion process in lower-mass stars?
proton-proton (p-p) chain
What is the dominant fusion process in higher-mass stars?
CNO Cycle
What is the condition known as the helium flash?
a runaway condition of rapid helium fusion
What is the frequency range of gamma rays?
1020 Hz - 1024 Hz
What is the frequency range of x-rays?
1017 Hz - 1020 Hz
What is the wavelength range of visible light?
400 nm - 750 nm
What is the wavelength range of infrared radiation?
2.5 μm - 750 nm
What is the wavelength range of microwaves?
1 mm - 25 μm
What is the wavelength range of radio waves?
1 mm
What happens when a low-mass star runs out of helium?
The core compresses further into a white dwarf, and the outer shell expands into a planetary nebula.
What happens when the core of a high-mass star is depleted of hydrogen?
The star expands into a red supergiant.
What is the spectral classification order based on?
The spectral classification order is based on decreasing surface temperature.
What are the seven main luminosity classes in the Yerkes Spectral Classification?
Type Ia: Bright Supergiants, Type Ib: Normal Supergiants, Type II: Bright Giant, Type III: Normal Giant, Type IV: Sub-Giants, Type V: Main Sequence, Type VI: Sub-Dwarf, Type VII: White Dwarf
What are the radiation laws?
The radiation laws show relationships between stellar temperature, radius, and luminosity. They are Wien's Law and Stefan's Law.
What does the apparent magnitude represent?
The apparent magnitude represents the brightness of a celestial object as seen by an observer on Earth.
What is the inverse square law?
The inverse square law states that a certain quantity is inversely proportional to the square of the distance relating to that quantity.
What are the three main types of galaxies?
The three main types of galaxies are spiral, elliptical, and irregular.
What is the difference between spiral and barred-spiral galaxies?
Barred-spiral galaxies have a central bar, while spiral galaxies do not.
What is a lenticular galaxy?
A lenticular galaxy is intermediate between spiral and elliptical galaxies, containing a large scale disk but no spiral arms.
What are elliptical galaxies?
Elliptical galaxies are elliptical/spherical in shape and contain mostly old Population II stars with a low rate of star formation.
What are irregular galaxies?
Irregular galaxies have no definite shape and are often formed from the deformation of spiral or elliptical galaxies by external forces.
What are the different types of light used in astronomy and what information do they provide?
Radio waves and microwaves allow scientists to see the motion of cold gas. Infrared light is used to see through dust, study warm gas and dust, and detect molecules in atmospheres. Visible light allows us to see the color of stars and their temperature. Ultraviolet light traces the hot glow of stellar nurseries and identifies the hottest stars. X-rays come from superheated gas and gamma rays have the highest energy and shortest wavelengths.
What does the color of a star indicate?
The color of a star indicates its temperature. Hotter stars emit higher energy light, so blue stars are hotter and red stars are cooler.
What is the Milky Way?
The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy about 100,000 light-years across, consisting of at least 100 billion stars. Our Sun is one of these stars.
What is the estimated mass of the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way?
The supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way is estimated to be four million times as massive as our Sun.
How far is the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way from Earth?
The supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way is approximately 28,000 light-years away from Earth.
What is the Sun's core temperature in degrees Fahrenheit and Celsius?
The Sun's core temperature is approximately 27 million degrees Fahrenheit (15 million degrees Celsius).
During the Cenozoic era, the ______ of mammals occurred
Age
The Holocene extinction is also known as the ______
Anthropocene
The Holocene extinction was caused by human ______
activity
The disappearance of large land animals known as megafauna occurred during the ______ extinction
Holocene
The rise of Homo Sapiens occurred during the ______ period
Middle
The La Brea Tar Pits are located in ______
LA
The earliest humans appeared ______ MY ago
2
The start of Antarctica glaciation occurred ______ MY ago
33.9
The Paleogene period is part of the ______ era
Cenozoic
The first modern horse appeared ______ MY ago
56.0
During the Permian period, there was widespread volcanic activity across Siberia which acidified the ocean and caused wildfires. This resulted in a ________ mass extinction of life at the end of the period.
WORST
The Carboniferous period is also known as the Age of ________ and the Age of ________.
Insects, Amphibians
During the Devonian period, there was a diversification of ________.
fishes
The first reptiles appeared during the ________ period.
Carboniferous
The ________ period is known as the Age of Invertebrates.
Ordovician
The Cambrian period is also known as the Age of ________.
Invertebrates
The ________ explosion of life occurred during the Cambrian period.
Cambrian
The first fish appeared during the ________ period.
Cambrian
The Proterozoic eon is characterized by the earliest ________.
eukaryotes
The Archean eon is characterized by the origin of ________.
life
Test your knowledge of the inverse square law and absolute bolometric magnitude with this quiz! Learn about the relationship between distance and quantity in scientific measurements.
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