Question 1

Which of the following statements about the tails of comets is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

A)   the tail always points away from the Sun
B)   some comets have both a gas tail and a dust tail
C)   the tail of a comet can sometimes be ahead of the comet in its orbit
D)   a comet always has a nice long tail, even when it is far from the Sun
E)   the Earth can pass through the tail of a comet without suffering any harmF) B) and D)
G) All of the above

Question 2

One of the key reasons that professional astronomers (as opposed to the public)  are interested in comets is that they

Accepted Answer

A)   are beautiful to look at
B)   are always omens of disaster
C)   are icy pieces left over from the time that our solar system formed that can give us clues about that early time
D)   are pieces splintered off one of the giant planets, so they can provide us with samples of their composition
E)   are all visitors from other star systems, which can tell us about what conditions are like in distant reaches of the Milky Way GalaxyF) A) and D)
G) B) and E)

Question 3

When larger fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 crashed into Jupiter in 1994,

Accepted Answer

A)   they exploded in Jupiter's atmosphere, releasing energy equal to millions of megatons of TNT
B)   they changed the motion of Jupiter, making its orbit larger
C)   they produced vast plumes of material that changed the color of Jupiter's inner moons
D)   they reassured scientists on Earth that this kind of comet impact could NEVER happen to Earth
E)   they produced no visible effect whatsoever on the giant planet JupiterF) B) and D)
G) B) and E)

Question 4

In 2012, NASA's Spaceguard Survey concluded that astronomers had now identified 90% of the asteroids with diameters greater than 1 km. How could astronomers know that they had reached this goal?

Accepted Answer

A)   Asteroids larger than 1 km are so rare and so big, they have always been easy to keep track of
B)   NASA is now able to keep track of everything in the solar system out to Pluto with great precision; nothing remains to be discovered in that region
C)   Most of the near-Earth objects that big are comets, and they all have big tails which are easy to see
D)   The people doing the survey began to find the same objects over again, indicating they were reaching the limits of their survey
E)   This was fake news; in fact, we can't ever know if we have found 90% of the larger near-Earth objectsF) B) and D)
G) A) and E)

Question 5

More than 75% of the known asteroids:

Accepted Answer

A)   cross the Earth's orbit at least once as they revolve around the Sun
B)   are made of icy material that is highly reflective
C)   were once part of a planet as large as Jupiter
D)   lie farther out from the Sun than the orbit of Saturn
E)   can be found in a belt between Mars and JupiterF) B) and E)
G) C) and D)

Question 6

How have astronomers learned what different asteroids are made of?

Accepted Answer

A)   The only way is to send a spacecraft to each asteroid and bring a chunk of it home
B)   They measure the x-rays that all asteroids give off
C)   They wait until the asteroid has a tail of gas behind it and measure that tail
D)   They examine the spectrum of the sunlight that reflects from the asteroid
E)   There is no way at the present time to know what asteroids are made ofF) C) and D)
G) B) and C)

Question 7

In 2013, a small stony asteroid collided with the Earth above the Russian city of Chelyabinsk. What was the result?

Accepted Answer

A)   A large earthquake was felt all over Europe and Asia
B)   A fireball briefly brighter than the Sun could be seen in the sky
C)   It broke apart and large pieces of rock fell from the sky, killing thousands of innocent people
D)   The Earth's orbit around the Sun changed in a measurable way
E)   It burned up so high in the atmosphere, absolutely nothing could be felt or seen on the groundF) C) and E)
G) B) and D)

Question 8

The two asteroids from which close-up images and data have been returned by the Galileo spacecraft are:

Accepted Answer

A)   Ida and Gaspra
B)   Vesta and Ceres
C)   Eros and Toutatis
D)   Chiron and Pholus
E)   you can't fool me, we have no close-up views of any asteroids except possibly for the moons of MarsF) A) and D)
G) B) and E)

Question 9

The Shoemaker-NEAR spacecraft explored two asteroids, Mathilde and Eros. A big difference between them is that:

Accepted Answer

A)   Mathilde appears to be pile of "rubble" (a collection of separate rocks)  while Eros is solid
B)   Mathilde is a "real" asteroid, while Eros is a comet that has lost some of its ice
C)   Mathilde is always inside the orbit of the Earth, while Eros is always outside our planet's orbit
D)   Mathilde is going to impact the Earth, while Eros will never come near our planet
E)   you can't fool me, the two asteroids have exactly the same properties; that's why the same spacecraft could explore themF) C) and D)
G) D) and E)

Question 10

A main difference between asteroids and comets is that asteroids are mostly made of rock and comets are mostly made of

Accepted Answer

A)   metals
B)   carbon compounds
C)   ice
D)   vapor (gas) 
E)   you can't fool me, astronomers don't really know what comets are made ofF) A) and B)
G) B) and C)

Question 11

Comets get significantly brighter in our skies as they approach the Sun because

Accepted Answer

A)   they reflect more sunlight as they get closer to the source of light
B)   they get bigger as the ice evaporates
C)   they get closer to the Earth than when they were outside the orbit of Mars
D)   they move faster and faster
E)   more than one of the aboveF) C) and E)
G) A) and B)

Question 12

The first asteroid to be discovered (which is also the largest one)  is called

Accepted Answer

A)   Ceres
B)   Gaspra
C)   Davida
D)   Eros
E)   FraknoiF) A) and B)
G) A) and E)

Question 13

Halley's Comet was given that name because Edmond Halley was

Accepted Answer

A)   the first person to ever see that comet
B)   the scientist who pointed out that the orbit of the comet was such that it should return every 76 years or so
C)   the chief scientist who designed the probe that flew by the comet
D)   the first person to be hurt by pieces falling off the comet
E)   prime minister of England at the time the comet was discoveredF) C) and D)
G) B) and D)

Question 14

The first asteroid confirmed to have a satellite (moon)  was

Accepted Answer

A)   Vesta
B)   Eros
C)   Toutatis
D)   Chiron
E)   IdaF) C) and D)
G) B) and D)

Question 15

The fact that some asteroids cluster in what are called asteroid families is probably the result of:

Accepted Answer

A)   resonances with the jovian planets
B)   collisions which broke up larger bodies into a number of smaller ones
C)   comets which pass through the asteroid belt and attract asteroids to them
D)   strong magnetic fields found in some asteroids
E)   random chanceF) D) and E)
G) A) and D)

Question 16

Which of the following statements about the unusual object Chiron is FALSE?

Accepted Answer

A)   it is one of the largest asteroids, just a little smaller than Vesta
B)   its path around the Sun carries it from just inside Saturn's orbit almost out to Uranus' orbit
C)   it shows some characteristics of an asteroid and some characteristics of a comet
D)   in 1988, as it came closest to the Sun, it was seen to brighten by a factor of two
E)   its orbit does not appear to be stableF) None of the above
G) B) and E)

Question 17

Which part of a comet is the DENSEST?

Accepted Answer

A)   the nucleus
B)   the atmosphere (coma) 
C)   the dust tail
D)   the gas tail
E)   the hydrogen cloudF) A) and B)
G) B) and E)

Question 18

The scientist who first proposed that comet nuclei were "dirty snowballs" was:

Accepted Answer

A)   Edmond Halley
B)   Fred Whipple
C)   Eugene Shoemaker
D)   Isaac Newton
E)   Jan OortF) B) and C)
G) None of the above

Question 19

One reason we know more about the surface composition of the asteroid Vesta than about most other members of the asteroid belt is that

Accepted Answer

A)   Vesta's volcanoes still spew out a lot of material that goes into orbit around Vesta
B)   Vesta's surface is made of water ice and is extremely reflective
C)   pieces of Vesta have landed on Earth as meteorites
D)   Vesta's orbit crosses the Earth's orbit roughly once a century
E)   Vesta's surface markings happen to resemble a human face and thus have intrigued astronomers ever since this large asteroid was discoveredF) C) and E)
G) None of the above

Question 20

Two small moons in the solar system, known since the 19th century, turn out to be captured asteroids. These two moons are:

Accepted Answer

A)   Io and Europa around Jupiter
B)   Dione and Titan around Saturn
C)   the Earth's moon and antimoon
D)   Phobos and Deimos around Mars
E)   none of the aboveF) B) and E)
G) A) and C)

Exam 13: Comets and Asteroids: Debris of the Solar System

One of the key reasons that professional astronomers (as opposed to the public) are interested in comets is that they

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which part of a comet is the DENSEST?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Comets get significantly brighter in our skies as they approach the Sun because

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

In 2012, NASA's Spaceguard Survey concluded that astronomers had now identified 90% of the asteroids with diameters greater than 1 km. How could astronomers know that they had reached this goal?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The Shoemaker-NEAR spacecraft explored two asteroids, Mathilde and Eros. A big difference between them is that:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

A main difference between asteroids and comets is that asteroids are mostly made of rock and comets are mostly made of

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

One reason we know more about the surface composition of the asteroid Vesta than about most other members of the asteroid belt is that

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Two small moons in the solar system, known since the 19th century, turn out to be captured asteroids. These two moons are:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following statements about the tails of comets is FALSE?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The fact that some asteroids cluster in what are called asteroid families is probably the result of:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following statements about the unusual object Chiron is FALSE?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The two asteroids from which close-up images and data have been returned by the Galileo spacecraft are:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The first asteroid to be discovered (which is also the largest one) is called

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

In 2013, a small stony asteroid collided with the Earth above the Russian city of Chelyabinsk. What was the result?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The scientist who first proposed that comet nuclei were "dirty snowballs" was:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

How have astronomers learned what different asteroids are made of?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

More than 75% of the known asteroids:

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Halley's Comet was given that name because Edmond Halley was

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

When larger fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 crashed into Jupiter in 1994,

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The first asteroid confirmed to have a satellite (moon) was

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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Two small moons in the solar system, known since the 19^th century, turn out to be captured asteroids. These two moons are:

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