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Basic Astronomy Quiz
Test Your Astronomy Knowledge
So you think you know a lot about astronomy? Take this little test and find out. Do not scroll down to the answers until you have answered all five questions.
Question #1: One of the following is NOT a type of telescope. Which one?
A. Herschelian
B. Copernican
C. Gregorian
D. Newtonian
Question #2: What would be the magnification of a refractor telescope if the main objective lens had a focal length of 1200mm and the eyepiece had a focal length of 30mm?
A. 36x
B. 400x
C. 360x
D. 40x
Question #3: Only one of the following is a type of eye piece design. Which one?
A. Monocentric
B. Planocentric
C. Egocentric
D. Orthocentric
Question #4: You cannot see the Aurora Borealis in the Southern Hemisphere. True or False?
Question #5: If you are going to take extended exposure photographs of the sky, which mount is the best one to use?
A. Transit
B. Altazimuth
C. Equatorial
D. Dobsonian
Test Answers:
Question #1: The correct answer is B, Copernican. Nicolaus Copernicus was an astronomer, but no telescope was named after him.
Question #2: The correct answer is D, 40x. You calculate the magnification of a telescope by dividing the focal length of the lens or mirror by the focal length of the eye piece.
Question #3: The correct answer is A, Monocentric. Three glass elements are cemented together to make a monocentric eye piece.
Question #4: The correct answer is true. The word "Borealis" means northern. In the southern hemisphere, Aurora Australis is visible.
Question #5: The correct answer is C, Equatorial. An equatorial has to be driven by only one axis to track stars as the earth rotates.
So how did you do on this little test? If you answered three of the five questions correctly, you beat the average. If you answered fewer than three questions correctly, perhaps you should either study or take up another hobby.
See Also:
Neptune - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Planet Neptune
The Stars
Our sun is a star. It is one of the billions of stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. On a clear night, when you look up at the sky, you can see thousands of stars with your naked eye. If you have a pair of binoculars or a telescope, you can see more stars than you could ever hope to count.
Each star is unique, but they all share things in common as well. Stars are born from interstellar gas clouds, nuclear fusion causes them to shine and stars die. Sometimes the death of a star is a very dramatic event.
Cold interstellar clouds or nebula, like the Orion Nebula and the Eagle Nebula, are the incubators and nurseries from which stars are born. An extremely simplified description is that gravitational collapse happens and forms a rotating gas globule. The resulting globule spins faster and faster. The central core becomes a star while the other material becomes planets or asteroids.
The life of a star begins and ends with a battle between two forces: gravity and pressure. It takes energy for a star to live, and this energy comes almost entirely from nuclear fusion of lighter elements into heavier elements. This is the energy through which a star can shine for millions or billions of years.
Stars fuse hydrogen to helium for most of their lifetime. This is referred to as the "main sequence" of a star's life. Our sun, Vega, Sirius, and Spica are all stars that are in their main sequence. Once the hydrogen in the core of a star has been used up, the star becomes a red giant like Betelguese, Arcturus, Aldebaran and Antares.
A star's life is limited because the hydrogen at the core is not self-replenishing and will eventually be used up. A star cannot depend upon thermal energy to resist the pull of gravity forever, and a star's final fate depends on whether something other than thermal pressure manages to halt the relentless crush of gravity. |
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Inspired by Maria Mitchell
Generations of women scientists in all of the scientific disciplines have been inspired by Maria Mitchell. Ms. Mitchell was a woman ahead of her time who left an indelible mark on science and the role that women play in scientific research and discovery.
Maria Mitchell was born in 1818. A Quaker couple, William and Lydia Mitchell, had 10 children; Maria was the third child. She attended Cyrus Peirce's School for Young Ladies in her early years, then was taught mostly by her father. After that she was mostly self-educated, but she was the first woman to ever have an advanced degree awarded. It was awarded by Indiana Hanover College in 1853 after she had already discovered a comet, which is named after her. She was also the first woman ever appointed to the Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Maria Mitchell was the most famous American scientist of either sex in the nineteenth century. She was a most remarkable woman who left her mark on astronomy long before women gained the right to vote. In 1847, Maria discovered what we know today as the Comet Mitchell 1847VI, and that was just the first in a long list of accomplishments.
Maria Mitchell is still inspiring young astronomers today. The Maria Mitchell Observatory was established next to her home in Nantucket, Massachusetts, in 1908, and it is still very much operational. There is an extensive public education program, and the observatory sponsors research by undergraduate students. The Maria Mitchell Observatory is funded by the National Science Foundation.
The Maria Mitchell Observatory is also home to over 8,000 historic photographic glass plates. The plates were taken by observatory astronomers and students between 1910 and 1995 and span nearly a century of the Nantucket night skies.
Related Topics: Our Sun's Twin,
Careers in Astronomy, Mirrors and Lenses
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