Chapter 1
If a mile equals 1.609 km and the Titan is 3,200 miles in diameter, what is its diameter in
kilometers? Choose the best answer.
5,149
Light from the sun takes 8 minutes to reach Earth. How long in minutes does it take to
reach Venus? Venus is about 0.7 AU from the sun. Choose the best answer.
5.6
A particular galaxy is about 2.1 million light-years away. Light travels at 6 trillion miles
per year. How many miles distant is the galaxy?
12,600,000,000,000,000,000 miles
North is up in this figure. Can we tell whether the daylight and darkness line at the right is
the sunset line or the sunrise line?
It is the sunset line because Earth rotates counterclockwise when viewed from above Earth’s
north pole.
What is the definition of the astronomical unit (AU)?
the average distance between Earth and the sun
Which of the following lists is in order of increasing size?
Consider the Earth-moon system, the solar system, the Galaxy and the universe. Which is
largest?
the universe
Which is a grouping of many stars?
a galaxy
Consider the two figures below.
Note that Pluto was recently designated as a “dwarf planet” by astronomers.
solar system < Milky Way Galaxy < universe
Which outer solar system object has the most elliptical orbit?
Pluto
Consider the figures below.
Note that Pluto was recently designated as a “dwarf planet” by astronomers.
Is it possible that the outermost solar system object in the figure was different in a pre-1999
