8.8B - STAAR Science Tutorial 35 TEK 8.8B: The Sun

What is the distance of Proxima Centauri, the next nearest star to Earth (other than our Sun), in light years?

• About 4.2 light years

• About 263,000 light years

• About 10 light years

• About 0.000016 light years

How many times brighter can giant and supergiant stars near the end of their life become compared to our Sun?

• Up to 500,000 times brighter

• Up to 10,000 times brighter

• Up to 1,000 times brighter

• Up to 50 times brighter

What is the approximate surface temperature of our Sun?

• 5,500°C

• 3,000°C

• 30,000°C

• 10,000°C

What will happen to the Sun when all of its hydrogen has been fused into helium?

• It will expand to become a red giant

• It will shrink into a white dwarf

• It will explode into a supernova

• It will remain the same

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-1

What is unusual about our Sun compared to other stars?

• It is part of a binary star system

• It is the only star with planets

• It is not part of a binary or multiple-star system

• It is the smallest star in the galaxy

How old is the Sun currently?

• About 10 billion years

• About 4.6 billion years

• About 1 billion years

• About 15 million years

What is the overall diameter of the Milky Way Galaxy?

• About 10,000 light-years

• About 100,000 light-years

• About 1,000 light-years

• About 1,000,000 light-years

How many billion stars are estimated to be in the Milky Way?

• About 20 to 40 billion stars

• About 200 to 400 million stars

• About 200 to 400 billion stars

• About 2 to 4 billion stars

What is the name of the band of stars that is visible from Earth on very clear, dark nights away from city lights?

• The Andromeda Strip

• The Milky Way

• The Orion Belt

• The Solar Stream

How much further away is the next closest star to Earth compared to the Sun?

• 4 times further away

• 40 times further away

• 400 times further away

• 4000 times further away