Lesson 1 - The Night Sky

Question 1

What planets are visible from Earth? (Hint: 5)

Answer 1

Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn

Question 2

A rock climber feels the force of gravity.

In which way does gravity pull on the climber.

A) Gravity pulls the climber towards the ground
B) Gravity pulls the climber the surface of the Earth
C) Gravity pulls the climber towards the centre of the Earth
D) Gravity pulls the climber the upright.

Answer 2

C) Gravity pulls the climber towards the centre of the Earth.

Question 3

If the astronaut drops a hammer, will it float next to her on the moon?

Answer 3

No, as the moon still has some gravity. However, it will not fall as rapidly as it would on Earth.

Question 4

What is ‘the region in which only a portion of the light source is obscured by the occluding body’? (Answer is one word)

Answer 4

Penumbra

Question 5

What is the key term for ‘something that is related to the Earth’? (Answer is only one word)

Answer 5

Terrestrial

Question 6

True or false, galaxies are not evenly distibuted.

Answer 6

True

Question 7

True or false, there is NOT any amount of invisible matter in space?

Answer 7

False

Question 8

Any object that orbits a planet, star, or moon is called a ______?

Answer 8

Satellite

Question 9

True or false, the moon is the Earth’s only natural satellite

Answer 9

True

Question 10

How long does it take for light to travel from the moon to Earth?

Answer 10

1.26 seconds (1.3 seconds rounded)

Question 11

How long does it take for light to go from the Sun to the Earth in light minutes?

Answer 11

8.3 light minutes

Question 12

What is an asteroid?

Answer 12

Chunks of rock that were not big enough to become planets.

Question 13

What is the difference between meteors and meteorites?

Answer 13

Meteors are small parts of rock and meteorites are meteors that manage to hit the Earth.

Question 14

What is a comet?

Answer 14

Part of an asteroid, they are like cosmic snowballs. They are made of gases, rock and dust that orbit the Sun. They mostly come from the Oort Cloud.

Question 15

What are stars madde of? (Specifically our star - the Sun)

Answer 15

Hydrogen and helium gas.

Question 16

What is our galaxy called?

Answer 16

The Milky Way

Question 17

What force holds a galaxy together?

Answer 17

Gravity

Question 18

What is the term for: Spheres of gas held together by its own gravity?

Answer 18

Stars.

Question 19

What are galaxies?

Answer 19

Galaxies are huge collections of gas, dust, and billions of stars and their solar system, all held together by gravity.