Galaxy Quiz

Stars in the giant branch of the H-R diagram that pulsate in brightness because of the expansion and contraction of their layers are known as:

• Cepheid variables

• Luminosity

• RR Lyrae variables

• Sagittarius

The direction of the center of the Milky Way is toward which constellation?

• Orion

• Sagittarius

• Andromeda

• Cassiopeia

Radio waves are used to map the Milky Way because they can:

• Travel faster than light

• Penetrate interstellar gas and dust

• Reflect off planets

• Heat up the atmosphere

The Milky Way’s galactic nucleus is surrounded by:

• A nuclear bulge

• A black hole

• A ring of fire

• A cloud of gas

In its 5-billion-year life, the Sun has orbited the galaxy approximately how many times?

• 50 times

• 100 times

• 150 times

• 200 times

What is the estimated number of stars within the disk of the Milky Way galaxy?

• 2.6 million

• 100 billion

• 10 million

• 500 billion

What term is used to describe the unseen mass in the outer galaxy?

• Halo

• Dark matter

• Supermassive black hole

• Stellar remnants

What is Sagittarius A believed to be?

• Galaxy

• Halo

• Supermassive black hole

• Stellar remnants

What does the type of stars found in the halo and bulge indicate?

• The presence of young stars

• The presence of old stars

• The presence of metal-rich stars

• The presence of rapidly rotating stars

The question about other objects existing in the sky was answered by Edwin Hubble in 1924. What did he discover in the Great Nebula in the Andromeda constellation?

• Cepheid variable stars

• a supernova

• RR Lyrae variables

• a black hole