Measurements in Space Lesson Review

What characteristic of stars is measured by luminosity?

• brightness

• temperature

• distance from Earth

• size

Answer explanation

The correct answer is brightness. Luminosity refers to the total amount of energy that a star emits per unit of time. It is a measure of how bright a star is. While luminosity can be influenced by a star's size and temperature, it specifically refers to brightness. A star can be large or hot and still not be very luminous if it's not very bright. Similarly, a star's distance from Earth can affect how bright it appears to us, but this does not affect the star's inherent luminosity.

Scientists use the light-year to describe the relationships between objects in space. What does a light-year measure?

• 1. The number of years it takes light to travel to Earth

• 1. The brightness of light that travels through space

• The time it takes light to travel 1 million kilometers

• The distance that light can travel in one year

1. Scientists use different units of different types of measurements. A light year is the unit that astronomers use to measure the distance between which objects?

• distances between planets in our solar system

• 1. distance between the Sun, the moon, and asteroids

• distances between stars, galaxies, and other structures in space

• 1. distance between a satellite and Earth

1. Which unit of measurement is used to measure distances within our solar system?

• inches

• kilometers

• miles

• astronomical unit

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-3

1. If a star is 3 light years away from Earth, how long does it take light from that star to reach Earth?

• 3 seconds

• 3 years

• 3 hours

• 3 minutes

What is an astronomical unit?

• the distance from the Sun to the Kuiper Belt

• the distance from the Sun to Earth

• The distance from the Sun to Mercury

• 1 light year

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-3

1. The apparent shift in the position of an object when viewed from different locations is called

• astronomical units

• parallax

• lights years

• parsecs

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-3

1. Which of the following scenarios would we use light years to determine distance, instead of astronomical units?

• Distance from  Mercury to Saturn

• 1. Distance from Earth to Sun

• Distance from Sun to Neptune

• Distance from asteroid belt to Betelgeuse

Which of the following scenarios would we use parsecs to determine distance?

• distance from the Sun to a dwarf planet

• distance between Earth and an astroid

• distance between the Sun and Proxima Centauri (the next closest star)

• distance from Earth to a comet

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-4

1. a unit of angle, equal to an angle at the center of a circle whose arc is equal in length to the radius.

• radian

• radii

• circumference

• diameter