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The significant feature of a Cepheid variable is that there is a relationship between two intrinsic parameters, one of which can be easily measured, while knowledge of the other parameter is required. These parameters are


A) period of brightness variation and spectral color.
B) variation of spectral color and distance to the star.
C) period of brightness variation and luminosity.
D) amplitude of brightness variation and luminosity.

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The Milky Way, the galaxy in which the Sun resides, is an example of which type of galaxy?


A) spiral (a regular pattern of spiral arms)
B) elliptical (a smooth star distribution lacking spiral arms)
C) The Milky Way is not a galaxy at all but a large cluster of stars.
D) irregular (possible clumps of stars but no overall pattern)

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Which of these properties is NOT characteristic of the center of the Milky Way Galaxy?


A) synchrotron (nonthermal) radiation produced by electrons spiraling in a powerful magnetic field
B) huge filaments of gas similar in structure to solar prominences
C) rapidly fluctuating emissions from a gigantic millisecond pulsar
D) halo of lobes of hot, ionized X-ray-emitting gas

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The famous Shapley-Curtis debate in 1920 concerned which fundamental astronomical question in astronomy?


A) whether all stars were like the Sun or fundamentally different
B) whether the spiral "nebulae" were part of the Milky Way Galaxy or more distant, separate entities
C) whether the universe was expanding outward in all directions
D) whether the Sun was at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy

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What important role do Cepheid variables stars have in astronomy?


A) distance measurements to galaxies
B) determination of stellar luminosities
C) determination of speeds of stars in galactic arms from the Doppler shift of their spectra
D) keeping of accurate time

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The first suggestion that there were collections of stars beyond the Milky Way in the universe was made by


A) Edwin Hubble in 1923.
B) Immanuel Kant in 1755.
C) William Parsons, Earl of Rosse, in 1845.
D) Sir Isaac Newton in 1690.

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Where do black holes with masses more than 100 times the mass of the Sun occur in the Milky Way Galaxy?


A) nowhere
B) only in the galactic center
C) in the galactic center and within some globular clusters
D) in the galactic center, within some globular clusters, and in several locations between the spiral arms

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If the Sun were traveling around the galactic center along with companion stars (all in circular orbits) as depicted in Figure 16-19 from the text, from which of these stars would one measure the largest Doppler shift of their light? If the Sun were traveling around the galactic center along with companion stars (all in circular orbits)  as depicted in Figure 16-19 from the text, from which of these stars would one measure the largest Doppler shift of their light?   A)  stars at the same orbital distance as the Sun B)  stars in directions 45° from the Sun's direction of motion C)  All the companion stars are moving along with the Sun and have no relative velocity with respect to it. D)  stars directly between the Sun and the galactic center


A) stars at the same orbital distance as the Sun
B) stars in directions 45° from the Sun's direction of motion
C) All the companion stars are moving along with the Sun and have no relative velocity with respect to it.
D) stars directly between the Sun and the galactic center

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Which of these do astronomers NOT find in orbit around the galactic center?


A) isolated field stars
B) globular clusters
C) small dwarf galaxies
D) large spiral galaxies

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When a hydrogen atom is excited by some addition of energy and it responds with electron transitions between electron energy levels, the radiation it emits is usually in which regions of the electromagnetic spectrum?


A) visible and infrared
B) visible and ultraviolet
C) radio
D) microwave

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Which of these observations was key to estimating the size of Sagittarius A*?


A) an X-ray flare that faded over a few hours
B) synchrotron radiation from the surrounding magnetic fields
C) the Doppler shifts of stars orbiting the black hole
D) the rate gas falls onto the black hole

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Why is it that astronomers rely upon the 21-centimeter line associated with the spin flip in hydrogen and not the more familiar hydrogen Balmer lines to gather information from the far side of the galactic plane?


A) The Balmer lines are associated with neutral hydrogen, and most of the hydrogen astronomers need to observe is molecular hydrogen.
B) The Balmer lines are associated with molecular hydrogen, and most of the hydrogen astronomers need to observe is neutral hydrogen.
C) The Balmer lines are in the visible and ultraviolet regions of the spectrum, and these do not penetrate the gas and dust clouds easily.
D) Photons released in the spin-flip transition have much more energy than those that come from the Balmer transitions.

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Astronomers aim a radio telescope at a distant region of the Milky Way Galaxy and detect 21-cm radio waves with no Doppler shift. Which one of these possible explanations is NOT correct?


A) The neutral hydrogen in this region is not moving relative to Earth.
B) The neutral hydrogen in this region is moving perpendicularly across the line of sight.
C) The neutral hydrogen in this region is in a circular orbit around the galactic center at the same radius as the solar system.
D) The neutral hydrogen in this region is moving away from Earth instead of toward Earth.

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The method used by Harlow Shapley in 1917 to estimate the Sun's location in the Milky Way Galaxy was the measurement of the


A) locations of globular clusters around the Galaxy.
B) density of stars in different directions along the Milky Way.
C) distances to open star clusters and H II regions in the disk of the Galaxy.
D) structure of the Andromeda Galaxy and a comparison of it with the structure of the Milky Way.

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The galactic halo contains outer and inner shells of stars. How does the outer shell compare to the inner shell?


A) The two shells are virtually identical except for their distance from the galactic nucleus.
B) The stars of the outer shell are much younger than those of the shell layer.
C) The stars of the outer shell are relatively metal-rich.
D) The stars of the outer shell orbit in the opposite sense from those of the inner shell.

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The spiral-arm structure of the Milky Way Galaxy has been measured and evaluated MOST effectively by observations of


A) globular clusters in the halo of the Galaxy.
B) Balmer emission lines of visible radiation from hydrogen.
C) 21-cm radiation from interstellar hydrogen and the distribution of young stars.
D) Lyman UV radiation from hot hydrogen gas.

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In which constellation in the Earth's sky is the center of the Milky Way Galaxy located?


A) Sagittarius
B) Lyra
C) Hercules
D) Ursa Major

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A rotation curve is a plot of the rotational velocity of a galaxy as a function of the distance away from the galactic center. What does the rotation curve of the Milky Way Galaxy look like?


A) The curve is a straight line, slanted upward, suggesting that the velocity increases linearly with radius.
B) The curve rises steeply, levels off, and then experiences the "Keplerian falloff" expected from Kepler's third law.
C) The curve rises steeply and then oscillates up and down showing the effect of the spiral arms.
D) The curve rises steeply, and then levels off or rises gradually until well beyond the edge of the visible galaxy.

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Henrietta Leavitt worked out the period-luminosity relation for the Type I (or classical) Cepheids found in the Small Magellanic Cloud. Later, Cepheids were discovered in globular clusters, and these were assumed to be Type I Cepheids, and the distances to these clusters were calculated accordingly. However, it was later discovered that these were dimmer Type II Cepheids. Refer to Figure 13-28 from the text. Did this require a recalculation of the distances to these Cepheids? Henrietta Leavitt worked out the period-luminosity relation for the Type I (or classical)  Cepheids found in the Small Magellanic Cloud. Later, Cepheids were discovered in globular clusters, and these were assumed to be Type I Cepheids, and the distances to these clusters were calculated accordingly. However, it was later discovered that these were dimmer Type II Cepheids. Refer to Figure 13-28 from the text. Did this require a recalculation of the distances to these Cepheids?   A)  No. The distances were still correct. B)  Yes. For a given Cepheid period, the new distances were smaller than those originally calculated. C)  Yes. For a given Cepheid period, the new distances were larger than those originally calculated. D)  Yes. New distances had to be calculated, which could be larger or smaller than the original calculation.


A) No. The distances were still correct.
B) Yes. For a given Cepheid period, the new distances were smaller than those originally calculated.
C) Yes. For a given Cepheid period, the new distances were larger than those originally calculated.
D) Yes. New distances had to be calculated, which could be larger or smaller than the original calculation.

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The observation by Hubble that demonstrated for the first time that the Andromeda "nebula" was at a very large distance from the Sun and outside the Milky Way Galaxy was that


A) Cepheid variable stars appeared to be very faint in the "nebula."
B) the "nebula" appeared to be rotating night by night around a center that was not the center of the Milky Way.
C) stars with characteristics similar to those of the Sun appeared to be absent in the "nebula."
D) globular clusters appeared to be distributed in a halo around the "nebula," a sure sign of a separate galaxy.

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