Science Questions
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Whichof the following would be the closest estimate to the number of times the Sun has orbited the galactic center?a.100b.1c.50d.10e.25
Population I stars are younger than Population II stars.
What is the correct ordering of galactic components using the new bottom-up hypothesis starting from oldest to youngest?a.galactic halo, galactic disk, average globular clustersb.galactic disk, average globular clusters, galactic halo.c.galactic halo, average globular clusters, galactic diskd.average globular clusters, galactic disk, galactic haloe.average globular clusters, galactic halo, galactic disk
O and B stars are important spiral tracers.
Harlow Shapley used observations of globular clusters to determine the position of the center of the galaxy.
Almost all of the gas and dust in the Milky Way is located in the ____.a.coronab.centerc.halod.central bulgee.disk
"Spurs" are probably the result of ____.a.spiral density wavesb.the central galactic barc.differential rotationd.self-sustaining star formatione.the short lifetime of O stars
The mass of the Milky Way galaxy is a few ____.a.million solar massesb.hundreds of millions of solar massesc.trillion solar massesd.billion solar massese.hundreds of billions of solar masses
Why is it so difficult to study the center of our galaxy?a.The center of the galaxy is too far away for radiation to be detected by telescopes.b.Light from the center is lost in the glow of emission nebulae in this direction.c.Interstellar dust blocks almost all light before it reaches Earth.d.The center of the galaxy puts out very little radiation and is too dim to study.e.The exact position of the center is not known.
The first stars formed in the Universe were composed of 90% hydrogen, 10% helium, and very little else.
A group of one hundred to a few thousand stars in a region of 25 pc in diameter that were created at the same time and our bound together by gravity is called a(n) ____.a.closed clusterb.nebular clusterc.associated clusterd.globular clustere.open cluster
The Sun orbits the center of our galaxy at a speed of about ________ km/s.a.225b.750c.500d.1250e.100
William and Caroline Herschel attempted to make a map of the Milky Way galaxy by counting the number of stars visible in different directions.
Why is it surprising that spiral arms are stable structures, lasting billions of years?a.Supernova explosions should disrupt the arms.b.Globular clusters are continuously passing through the arms.c.Differential rotation should tear the arms apart.d.Gravity should pull the arms down into the center of the galaxy.e.Gas and dust clouds should run out of material to make young stars.
Most of the light that makes the hazy band of the "milky way" visible in the night sky comes from reflection and emission nebulae.
Spiral density wave theory and self-sustaining star formation are ways to explain why ____.a.sun-like stars are evenly distributed through the disk of the galaxyb.the central bulge of the galaxy has a "bar" shapec.stars orbit the galaxy with different periods at different distances from the centerd.dark matter affects the orbit of stars outside the visible disk of the galaxye.molecular clouds are compressed forming young stars along spiral arms
Elements above hydrogen and helium come from _____.a.the collision of neutron stars and black holesb.the early stages of the Universe, before the formation of stars and galaxiesc.matter falling into supermassive black holesd.the last phases of stellar evolution and stellar "death"e.cooling and accretion of molecules in dense molecular clouds
The first astronomer to conclude that there is a relationship between period and luminosity of variable stars was _________.a.Thomas Wrightb.Caroline Herschelc.Henrietta Leavittd.Harlow Shapleye.Albert Einstein
The center of the Milky Way galaxy is in the direction of the constellation ____.a.Sagittariusb.Andromedac.Scorpiusd.Perseuse.Orion
Stars that formed in the very early stages of our galaxy's formation have high amounts of "metals."