Question 1

What are the three major components of the Milky Way galaxy?

Accepted Answer

The disk,h...

Question 2

What force provided the initial impetus for a primordial gas cloud to form the Milky Way?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What force provided the initial impetus for...

Question 3

How did astronomers obtain the first direct evidence of spiral structure within the Milky Way?

Accepted Answer

A)   associations of young stars
B)   molecular emission lines
C)   emission from neutral hydrogen
D)   dust lanes

Question 4

How do the orbits of globular clusters differ from those of stars in the Milky Way's disk?

Accepted Answer

Globular clusters tend to have...

Question 5

What happened to most of the stars of small galaxies that collided with the Milky Way?

Accepted Answer

A)   They collided with stars in the Milky Way, destroying themselves.
B)   They were incorporated into the Milky Way's disk.
C)   They were incorporated into the black hole at the center of the Milky Way.
D)   They were incorporated into the Milky Way's stellar halo.

Question 6

What is a WIMP?

Accepted Answer

A weakly interacting...

Question 7

How did William and Caroline Herschel measure the size and shape of the Milky Way?

Accepted Answer

By counting stars in different...

Question 8

Within the Milky Way,which region has the highest density of stars?

Accepted Answer

A)   the Galactic center
B)   the bar
C)   the spiral arms
D)   none of the above

Question 9

Which of the following provides evidence for past collisions between the Milky Way and its satellite galaxies?

Accepted Answer

A)   the large number of satellite galaxies
B)   the lack of young stars in the satellite galaxies
C)   streams of stars in the halo
D)   all of the above

Question 10

Which of the four fundamental forces of nature could dark matter experience?

Accepted Answer

A)   gravity and the weak nuclear force
B)   gravity, the strong nuclear force, and the weak nuclear force
C)   gravity and the strong nuclear force
D)   gravity only

Question 11

In which of the following ways are the bulge and halo of the Milky Way most similar?

Accepted Answer

A)   gas content
B)   the typical stellar metallicity
C)   dust content
D)   stellar velocities

Question 12

In the gas cloud that would eventually become the Milky Way,how might an observer identify the gas that would eventually make up our galaxy's bulge?

Accepted Answer

A)   material outside the central plane of the cloud
B)   material with a small orbital velocity
C)   material in the central plane of the cloud
D)   material with a large orbital velocity

Question 13

Baade's window is one of the few regions of the sky where astronomers can study the galactic bulge in the optical band.What makes it special in this way?

Accepted Answer

There is very little...

Question 14

Which of the following provides evidence for a black hole at the center of our galaxy?

Accepted Answer

A)   optical flashes from the galactic center
B)   high-energy gamma-ray emission from the galactic center
C)   strong magnetic fields near the galactic center
D)   tidal effects on stars surrounding the galactic center

Question 15

Which of the following astronomers first mapped the Milky Way as a disk?

Accepted Answer

A)   Galileo
B)   Newton
C)   Shapley
D)   Herschel

Question 16

Which component of the Milky Way is primarily composed of old stars?

Accepted Answer

A)   disk
B)   halo
C)   bulge
D)   bar

Question 17

Which component contains most of the mass in the Milky Way?

Accepted Answer

A)   stars in the disk
B)   stars in the bulge and halo
C)   dark matter
D)   gas and dust

Question 18

What is the "conundrum of old age" to an astronomer?

Accepted Answer

The lack of highly e...

Question 19

What is most likely to cause Sagittarius A* to increase its luminosity suddenly?

Accepted Answer

A)   the infall of a nearby gas cloud
B)   a change in its spin
C)   the formation of a new spiral arm in the Milky Way
D)   gravitational interactions with globular clusters

Question 20

The figure below shows a sketch of the Milky Way.Label the three components marked A,B,and C.

Accepted Answer

A is the bulge,B is ...

Exam 15: Our City of Stars: the Milky Way

Which of the following provides evidence for a black hole at the center of our galaxy?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

In the gas cloud that would eventually become the Milky Way,how might an observer identify the gas that would eventually make up our galaxy's bulge?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

In which of the following ways are the bulge and halo of the Milky Way most similar?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Baade's window is one of the few regions of the sky where astronomers can study the galactic bulge in the optical band.What makes it special in this way?

Correct AnswerverifiedThere is very little...View AnswerShow Answer

How do the orbits of globular clusters differ from those of stars in the Milky Way's disk?

Correct AnswerverifiedGlobular clusters tend to have...View AnswerShow Answer

Which of the following astronomers first mapped the Milky Way as a disk?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the four fundamental forces of nature could dark matter experience?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What force provided the initial impetus for a primordial gas cloud to form the Milky Way?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The figure below shows a sketch of the Milky Way.Label the three components marked A,B,and C.

Correct AnswerverifiedA is the bulge,B is ...View AnswerShow Answer

Which component contains most of the mass in the Milky Way?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

How did William and Caroline Herschel measure the size and shape of the Milky Way?

Correct AnswerverifiedBy counting stars in different...View AnswerShow Answer

Which of the following provides evidence for past collisions between the Milky Way and its satellite galaxies?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What happened to most of the stars of small galaxies that collided with the Milky Way?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Within the Milky Way,which region has the highest density of stars?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which component of the Milky Way is primarily composed of old stars?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What is a WIMP?

Correct AnswerverifiedA weakly interacting...View AnswerShow Answer

What is the "conundrum of old age" to an astronomer?

Correct AnswerverifiedThe lack of highly e...View AnswerShow Answer

What are the three major components of the Milky Way galaxy?

Correct AnswerverifiedThe disk,h...View AnswerShow Answer

How did astronomers obtain the first direct evidence of spiral structure within the Milky Way?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What is most likely to cause Sagittarius A* to increase its luminosity suddenly?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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There is very little...
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Globular clusters tend to have...
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A is the bulge,B is ...
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By counting stars in different...
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A weakly interacting...
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The lack of highly e...
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The disk,h...
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Correct Answer
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