Question 1

The Deep Impact mission sent an impactor crashing into Comet Tempel 1. What happened?

Accepted Answer

A)  The impactor disappeared into the rubble and regolith covering the comet's nucleus without leaving a trace. 
B)  The impactor incinerated in the comet's coma and never reached the nucleus. 
C)  The comet was shattered into many small fragments. 
D)  The collision caused a huge cloud of debris, but 90% of it was pulled back to the surface by the nucleus' gravity. 
A)  The impactor disappeared into the rubble and regolith covering the comet's nucleus without leaving a trace. 
B)  The impactor incinerated in the comet's coma and never reached the nucleus. 
C)  The comet was shattered into many small fragments. 
D)  The collision caused a huge cloud of debris, but 90% of it was pulled back to the surface by the nucleus' gravity.

Question 2

Fullerenes ("buckeyballs") are spherical molecules composed exclusively of carbon atoms. What is their connection with meteoric impacts?

Accepted Answer

A)  Fullerenes are not produced naturally on Earth, so any fullerenes found here must have been carried here from space. 
B)  Fullerenes are not produced naturally on Earth, but they can be created in the tremendous heat and compression of a large meteoric impact. 
C)  Fullerenes with gas molecules trapped inside could only have been produced in supernova explosions. 
D)  Fullerenes with gas molecules trapped inside could only have been produced in the tremendous heat and compression of a large meteoric impact. 
A)  Fullerenes are not produced naturally on Earth, so any fullerenes found here must have been carried here from space. 
B)  Fullerenes are not produced naturally on Earth, but they can be created in the tremendous heat and compression of a large meteoric impact. 
C)  Fullerenes with gas molecules trapped inside could only have been produced in supernova explosions. 
D)  Fullerenes with gas molecules trapped inside could only have been produced in the tremendous heat and compression of a large meteoric impact.

Question 3

Each one of these is an attribute of Comet Halley. Which is NOT typical of an object originating in the Kuiper belt?

Accepted Answer

A)  It has a period of about 76 years. 
B)  Its orbit is inclined only slightly (18 degrees) from the ecliptic. 
C)  Its orbit is retrograde. 
D)  Its aphelion is at about 35 au. 
A)  It has a period of about 76 years. 
B)  Its orbit is inclined only slightly (18 degrees) from the ecliptic. 
C)  Its orbit is retrograde. 
D)  Its aphelion is at about 35 au.

Question 4

The dust tail of a comet has which group of characteristics?

Accepted Answer

A)  spherical, very large, and of low brightness, centered on the comet nucleus, showing up only on UV photographs 
B)  curved, wide, and without structure, but thin and transparent to starlight 
C)  long, straight, structured, and pointed directly away from the Sun 
D)  narrow and straight and pointed directly at the Sun at all times 
A)  spherical, very large, and of low brightness, centered on the comet nucleus, showing up only on UV photographs 
B)  curved, wide, and without structure, but thin and transparent to starlight 
C)  long, straight, structured, and pointed directly away from the Sun 
D)  narrow and straight and pointed directly at the Sun at all times

Question 5

What was the purpose of the Genesis spacecraft?

Accepted Answer

A)  to land on an asteroid 
B)  to move alongside a bright comet nucleus 
C)  to collect some of the solar wind and return to Earth 
D)  to collect several small asteroids and return to Earth 
A)  to land on an asteroid 
B)  to move alongside a bright comet nucleus 
C)  to collect some of the solar wind and return to Earth 
D)  to collect several small asteroids and return to Earth

Question 6

The Oort cloud of comets surrounding the solar system at a distance of about 50,000 au is believed to be

Accepted Answer

A)  material flung outward by the gravity of the newly formed giant planets early in the history of the solar system. 
B)  an interstellar cloud through which the Sun and planets happen to be passing but is not otherwise connected to the solar system. 
C)  debris left behind at that distance by the collapse of the interstellar cloud that formed the Sun and planets. 
D)  material captured from interstellar space by the Sun's gravity. 
A)  material flung outward by the gravity of the newly formed giant planets early in the history of the solar system. 
B)  an interstellar cloud through which the Sun and planets happen to be passing but is not otherwise connected to the solar system. 
C)  debris left behind at that distance by the collapse of the interstellar cloud that formed the Sun and planets. 
D)  material captured from interstellar space by the Sun's gravity.

Question 7

"Meteoroid" is the term used to describe a solid particle, smaller than 10 meters or so in diameter, that

Accepted Answer

A)  is drifting around in space. 
B)  has fallen to Earth from space. 
C)  burns up as it falls through Earth's atmosphere. 
D)  originated on the Moon but was knocked onto Earth by a massive impact. 
A)  is drifting around in space. 
B)  has fallen to Earth from space. 
C)  burns up as it falls through Earth's atmosphere. 
D)  originated on the Moon but was knocked onto Earth by a massive impact.

Question 8

Why do the meteors that are seen in the sky in a particular meteor shower appear to come from one specific direction in the sky?

Accepted Answer

A)  The meteors only appear to come from a specific direction because of Earth's orbital motion. 
B)  The meteors appear this way because the direction is that of the orbit of the comet that disintegrated to produce the shower. 
C)  This direction is always along the ecliptic plane because meteor showers occur when Earth catches up with a collection of particles moving in its orbit. 
D)  This direction is the one along which objects pass on being attracted to the Sun from outer space by the Sun's gravity. 
A)  The meteors only appear to come from a specific direction because of Earth's orbital motion. 
B)  The meteors appear this way because the direction is that of the orbit of the comet that disintegrated to produce the shower. 
C)  This direction is always along the ecliptic plane because meteor showers occur when Earth catches up with a collection of particles moving in its orbit. 
D)  This direction is the one along which objects pass on being attracted to the Sun from outer space by the Sun's gravity.

Question 9

Visible comets originating in the Oort cloud do NOT have orbits that are

Accepted Answer

A)  circular. 
B)  highly elliptical. 
C)  parabolic. 
D)  slightly hyperbolic. 
A)  circular. 
B)  highly elliptical. 
C)  parabolic. 
D)  slightly hyperbolic.

Question 10

What mechanism controls the direction in which a comet's ion tail is aligned in space?

Accepted Answer

A)  gravitational attraction of the tail material toward the giant planet Jupiter 
B)  flow of solar wind past the comet's head 
C)  tail's direction of motion because the tail simply trails behind the comet in its orbit 
D)  gravitational attraction of the tail material toward the Sun 
A)  gravitational attraction of the tail material toward the giant planet Jupiter 
B)  flow of solar wind past the comet's head 
C)  tail's direction of motion because the tail simply trails behind the comet in its orbit 
D)  gravitational attraction of the tail material toward the Sun

Question 11

The aphelia (farthest distances from the Sun) of the orbits of periodic comets are

Accepted Answer

A)  all located far beyond the orbit of Pluto. 
B)  mostly confined to the region between Mars and Jupiter, although some comets have orbits that reach beyond the orbit of Pluto. 
C)  always closer to the Sun than the orbit of Pluto. 
D)  located anywhere from inside the orbit of Pluto to as far as 100,000 au from the Sun. 
A)  all located far beyond the orbit of Pluto. 
B)  mostly confined to the region between Mars and Jupiter, although some comets have orbits that reach beyond the orbit of Pluto. 
C)  always closer to the Sun than the orbit of Pluto. 
D)  located anywhere from inside the orbit of Pluto to as far as 100,000 au from the Sun.

Question 12

Pluto was discovered in

Accepted Answer

A)  1930. 
B)  1846. 
C)  1609. 
D)  1781. 
A)  1930. 
B)  1846. 
C)  1609. 
D)  1781.

Question 13

One of the Kirkwood gaps in the asteroid belt is described as "3/7 of Jupiter's orbital period." What does this mean?

Accepted Answer

A)  This location corresponds to the radius where an asteroid would complete 3 solar orbits in the same time Jupiter completes 7 solar orbits. 
B)  This location corresponds to the radius where an asteroid would complete 7 solar orbits in the same time Jupiter completes 3 solar orbits. 
C)  This location corresponds to a radius that is 3/7 of the orbital radius of Jupiter. 
D)  The asteroids are apparently the remnants of material that never formed into a larger body. If that body had orbited at this location it would have had 3/7 of Jupiter's mass. 
A)  This location corresponds to the radius where an asteroid would complete 3 solar orbits in the same time Jupiter completes 7 solar orbits. 
B)  This location corresponds to the radius where an asteroid would complete 7 solar orbits in the same time Jupiter completes 3 solar orbits. 
C)  This location corresponds to a radius that is 3/7 of the orbital radius of Jupiter. 
D)  The asteroids are apparently the remnants of material that never formed into a larger body. If that body had orbited at this location it would have had 3/7 of Jupiter's mass.

Question 14

Why are carbonaceous chondrites thought to be original material that formed in the early solar nebula?

Accepted Answer

A)  Carbonaceous chondrites show a Widmanstätten pattern, which indicates slow condensation from gaseous material. 
B)  The minerals of a carbonaceous chondrite contain up to 20% water, which would have evaporated away if the chondrite had been strongly heated. 
C)  Carbonaceous chondrites consist mostly of carbon, which was the dominant substance condensing in the outer solar nebula. 
D)  Carbonaceous chondrites consist almost entirely of ice, which would have sublimed away by now if this were not the first time the chondrite was passing close to the Sun. 
A)  Carbonaceous chondrites show a Widmanstätten pattern, which indicates slow condensation from gaseous material. 
B)  The minerals of a carbonaceous chondrite contain up to 20% water, which would have evaporated away if the chondrite had been strongly heated. 
C)  Carbonaceous chondrites consist mostly of carbon, which was the dominant substance condensing in the outer solar nebula. 
D)  Carbonaceous chondrites consist almost entirely of ice, which would have sublimed away by now if this were not the first time the chondrite was passing close to the Sun.

Question 15

Refer to Figures 10-17, 10-23a, and 10-24 in the text. The surfaces of Ida, Mathilde, and Eros, asteroids photographed by the Galileo and NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft are

Accepted Answer

A)  densely covered with ancient large and small overlapping craters, similar to the surface of the highland areas of the Moon. 
B)  irregular, somewhat rounded, and moderately cratered. 
C)  covered with ice that is crisscrossed with cracks and systems of parallel grooves. 
D)  covered with young, sharp, jagged protrusions, due to fragmentation by collision with other asteroids, and few craters. 
A)  densely covered with ancient large and small overlapping craters, similar to the surface of the highland areas of the Moon. 
B)  irregular, somewhat rounded, and moderately cratered. 
C)  covered with ice that is crisscrossed with cracks and systems of parallel grooves. 
D)  covered with young, sharp, jagged protrusions, due to fragmentation by collision with other asteroids, and few craters.

Question 16

Which of these was NOT found by the Stardust probe during its visit to Comet Wild 2?

Accepted Answer

A)  craters 
B)  gas jets 
C)  possible fossilized life-forms like those found in the Mars meteorites 
D)  amino acids 
A)  craters 
B)  gas jets 
C)  possible fossilized life-forms like those found in the Mars meteorites 
D)  amino acids

Question 17

Stony iron meteorites are believed to

Accepted Answer

A)  have been ejected by volcanoes on Mars. 
B)  originate from differentiated asteroids (in which iron sank to the center). 
C)  be pieces of primordial solar system material, unaltered since the solar system formed. 
D)  originate from undifferentiated asteroids (same composition throughout). 
A)  have been ejected by volcanoes on Mars. 
B)  originate from differentiated asteroids (in which iron sank to the center). 
C)  be pieces of primordial solar system material, unaltered since the solar system formed. 
D)  originate from undifferentiated asteroids (same composition throughout).

Question 18

Which one of these is a small solar system body?

Accepted Answer

A)  Rhea, a moon of Saturn 
B)  Pluto 
C)  Ceres (an asteroid) 
D)  Mathilde (an asteroid) 
A)  Rhea, a moon of Saturn 
B)  Pluto 
C)  Ceres (an asteroid) 
D)  Mathilde (an asteroid)

Question 19

Compared with the coma, or the visible fuzzy ball, of a comet 106 km in diameter, the diameter of the nucleus of a typical comet is

Accepted Answer

A)  about 1/100, or 10,000 km. 
B)  about the size of the largest asteroid, 1/1000, or 1000 km. 
C)  extremely small, 1/108, or 10 m. 
D)  very small, about 1/105, or 10 km. 
A)  about 1/100, or 10,000 km. 
B)  about the size of the largest asteroid, 1/1000, or 1000 km. 
C)  extremely small, 1/108, or 10 m. 
D)  very small, about 1/105, or 10 km.

Question 20

Dust grains released by the melting and sublimation of ice in a comet nucleus

Accepted Answer

A)  drift away from the Sun along magnetic field lines, outlining the structure of the field. 
B)  become a straight, highly structured, and very variable tail blown away from the comet by the solar wind. 
C)  become a cloud around the nucleus, the coma, scattering sunlight very efficiently at blue wavelengths. 
D)  become a uniform, curved tail moving away from the comet under radiation pressure from sunlight. 
A)  drift away from the Sun along magnetic field lines, outlining the structure of the field. 
B)  become a straight, highly structured, and very variable tail blown away from the comet by the solar wind. 
C)  become a cloud around the nucleus, the coma, scattering sunlight very efficiently at blue wavelengths. 
D)  become a uniform, curved tail moving away from the comet under radiation pressure from sunlight.

The Deep Impact mission sent an impactor crashing into Comet Tempel 1. What happened?

Fullerenes ("buckeyballs") are spherical molecules composed exclusively of carbon atoms. What is their connection with meteoric impacts?

Each one of these is an attribute of Comet Halley. Which is NOT typical of an object originating in the Kuiper belt?

The dust tail of a comet has which group of characteristics?

What was the purpose of the Genesis spacecraft?

The Oort cloud of comets surrounding the solar system at a distance of about 50,000 au is believed to be

"Meteoroid" is the term used to describe a solid particle, smaller than 10 meters or so in diameter, that

Why do the meteors that are seen in the sky in a particular meteor shower appear to come from one specific direction in the sky?

Visible comets originating in the Oort cloud do NOT have orbits that are

What mechanism controls the direction in which a comet's ion tail is aligned in space?

The aphelia (farthest distances from the Sun) of the orbits of periodic comets are

Pluto was discovered in

One of the Kirkwood gaps in the asteroid belt is described as "3/7 of Jupiter's orbital period." What does this mean?

Why are carbonaceous chondrites thought to be original material that formed in the early solar nebula?

Refer to Figures 10-17, 10-23a, and 10-24 in the text. The surfaces of Ida, Mathilde, and Eros, asteroids photographed by the Galileo and NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft are

Which of these was NOT found by the Stardust probe during its visit to Comet Wild 2?

Stony iron meteorites are believed to

Which one of these is a small solar system body?

Compared with the coma, or the visible fuzzy ball, of a comet 10⁶ km in diameter, the diameter of the nucleus of a typical comet is

Dust grains released by the melting and sublimation of ice in a comet nucleus

Discovering the Night Sky

Gravitation and the Motion of the Planets

Light and Telescopes

Atomic Physics and Spectra

Exoplanets and the Formation of Planetary Systems

Formation of the Solar System

Earth and the Moon

The Other Terrestrial Planets

The Outer Planets

The Sun: Our Extraordinary Star

Characterizing Stars

The Lives of Stars From Birth Through Middle Age

The Death of Stars

Black Holes: Matters of Gravity

The Milky Way Galaxy

Galaxies

Quasars and Other Active Galaxies

Cosmology

Astrobiology

Filters

Exam 10: Vagabonds of the Solar System

The Deep Impact mission sent an impactor crashing into Comet Tempel 1. What happened?

Fullerenes ("buckeyballs") are spherical molecules composed exclusively of carbon atoms. What is their connection with meteoric impacts?

Each one of these is an attribute of Comet Halley. Which is NOT typical of an object originating in the Kuiper belt?

The dust tail of a comet has which group of characteristics?

What was the purpose of the Genesis spacecraft?

The Oort cloud of comets surrounding the solar system at a distance of about 50,000 au is believed to be

"Meteoroid" is the term used to describe a solid particle, smaller than 10 meters or so in diameter, that

Why do the meteors that are seen in the sky in a particular meteor shower appear to come from one specific direction in the sky?

Visible comets originating in the Oort cloud do NOT have orbits that are

What mechanism controls the direction in which a comet's ion tail is aligned in space?

The aphelia (farthest distances from the Sun) of the orbits of periodic comets are

Pluto was discovered in

One of the Kirkwood gaps in the asteroid belt is described as "3/7 of Jupiter's orbital period." What does this mean?

Why are carbonaceous chondrites thought to be original material that formed in the early solar nebula?

Refer to Figures 10-17, 10-23a, and 10-24 in the text. The surfaces of Ida, Mathilde, and Eros, asteroids photographed by the Galileo and NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft are

Which of these was NOT found by the Stardust probe during its visit to Comet Wild 2?

Stony iron meteorites are believed to

Which one of these is a small solar system body?

Compared with the coma, or the visible fuzzy ball, of a comet 106 km in diameter, the diameter of the nucleus of a typical comet is

Dust grains released by the melting and sublimation of ice in a comet nucleus

Discovering the Night Sky

Gravitation and the Motion of the Planets

Light and Telescopes

Atomic Physics and Spectra

Exoplanets and the Formation of Planetary Systems

Formation of the Solar System

Earth and the Moon

The Other Terrestrial Planets

The Outer Planets

The Sun: Our Extraordinary Star

Characterizing Stars

The Lives of Stars From Birth Through Middle Age

The Death of Stars

Black Holes: Matters of Gravity

The Milky Way Galaxy

Galaxies

Quasars and Other Active Galaxies

Cosmology

Astrobiology

Filters

Compared with the coma, or the visible fuzzy ball, of a comet 10⁶ km in diameter, the diameter of the nucleus of a typical comet is