Space Measurements

A light-year is a measure of -

• time.

• distance.

• speed.

• velocity.

How are objects located on the celestial sphere?

• longitude and latitude

• declination and parallax

• declination and righ ascension

• left ascension and right ascension

Approximately how many astronomical units are equivalent to one light-year?

• 63,000 AU

• 150,000 AU

• 300,000 AU

• 150,000 million AU

Tags

CCSS.HSN.Q.A.1

How do scientists define an astronomical unit?

• the distance between Earth and the moon

• the distance between Earth and the Sun

• the distance from one end of the solar system to the other

• the distance from one end of the Milky Way galaxy to the other

An astronomical unit is equivalent to ______________.

• 150,000 miles

• 150,000 kilometers

• 150 million miles

• 150 million kilometers

Tags

CCSS.HSN.Q.A.1

Which of the following models is most similar to the celestial sphere?

• Place an overturned glass bowl on a table, and place a piece of paper on top of the bowl. Use a marker to draw stars on the paper. The glass bowl represents Earth and the paper represents the celestial sphere.

• Place a marble on a table, and place an overturned glass bowl over the marble. Use a marker to draw stars on the surface of the glass bowl. The marble represents Earth and the bowl represents the celestial sphere.

• Place a marble on a table, and place an overturned coffee mug over the marble. Use a marker to draw stars on the surface of the mug. The marble represents Earth and the mug represents the celestial sphere.

• Place a marble on a table, and place an overturned glass bowl over the marble. Place a smaller marble on top of the glass bowl. The smaller marble represents Earth, the larger marble represents the Sun, and the bowl represents the celestial sphere.

Tags

CCSS.6.G.A.4

What is necessary to calculate a star's distance from Earth?

• the parallax angle

• the position of the star observed twice, six months apart

• the distance between the two points of observation

• all of the above

How do light-years help astronomers to determine the ages of distant objects in space?

• To calculate an object's age in years, astronomers must first know the object's distance from Earth in light-years.

• To calculate an object's distance from Earth in light-years, astronomers must first know the object's age in years.

• Light in space travels approximately 9.5 trillion km per year. Therefore, an object's distance from Earth in light-years is equivalent to the object's age in years.

• Light in space travels approximately 9.5 trillion km per year. Therefore, the images that astronomers see of distant objects actually show what those objects looked like long ago.

A star is located approximately 500 million light-years from Earth. Can a student determine the star's distance by calculating its parallax angle?

• No. Parallax cannot be used to calculate the distances of objects more than approximately 300 light-years away.

• Yes. Parallax enables astronomers to calculate the distances of objects fewer than 1 billion light-years away.

• The student cannot use the parallax angle alone to determine the star's distance; the student must also know the star's age.

• The student cannot use the parallax angle alone to determine the star's distance; the student must also know the star's size.

What is parallax?

• the average distance between a celestial object and Earth

• the angle formed by Earth and two celestial bodies located in different directions from Earth

• the apparent difference in the position of an object when viewed at the same time each year

• the apparent difference in the position of an object when viewed from different lines of sight

Tags

CCSS.HSG.SRT.D.11