Astronomy college course/Chasing Pluto/mirror

ChasingPluto
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ChasingPluto-v1s1
1. While close to Jupiter, New Horizons the most spectacular image was of
 * ___ a) a newly discovered moon


 * ___ b) Jupiter's rings


 * ___ c) a live volcano


 * ___ d) the great red spot

2. As New Horizon's approaches Jupiter, it was essential that
 * ___ a) avoid hitting the moons of Jupiter


 * ___ b) avoid going into the rings of Jupiter


 * ___ c) it approach Jupiter closely enough for Jupiter's gravity to pull New Horizons to a 20% higher speed

3. For most of its nine-year journey, it was asleep, but once a week, the New Horizon's spacecraft
 * ___ a) photographed PLUTO


 * ___ b) called MOM


 * ___ c) adjusted the ORBIT


 * ___ d) photographed EARTH

4. A typical average radio station uses 50,000 watts to transmit a signal. The transmitter on New Horizons used
 * ___ a) 5 thousand times less power


 * ___ b) 5 times more power


 * ___ c) almost the same amount of power


 * ___ d) 5 times less power


 * ___ e) 5 thousand times more power

5. The influence of Jupiter's gravity on Pluto is that Jupiter gradually pushes Pluto away
 * ___ a) true


 * ___ b) false

6. Energy for the New Horizon is provided by
 * ___ a) nuclear power


 * ___ b) fuel cells


 * ___ c) solar power


 * ___ d) lithium batteries

7. "Pepssi", "Rex", "Swap", "Lorri", "Alice" and "Ralf" are
 * ___ a) instruments on the New Horizon


 * ___ b) the people responsible for calculating the orbit of New Horizon


 * ___ c) named after friends of the cartoon charactor 'Pluto'


 * ___ d) Kuiper objects discovered by New Horizon


 * ___ e) asteroids discovered by New Horizon

8. The darker portions of Pluto are believe to be from "snowflakes" of
 * ___ a) water


 * ___ b) hydrocarbons


 * ___ c) silicates


 * ___ d) nitrogen

9. The Kuiper belt has been described as a ___________ made of ___________
 * ___ a) deep freeze ... rock and ice


 * ___ b) mystery band ... rock and metal


 * ___ c) mystery band ... rock and ice


 * ___ d) deep freeze ... rock and metal

10. What was the concern about taking a telescope/camera to the cold environment near Pluto?
 * ___ a) the the mirror might crack


 * ___ b) the telescope might bend


 * ___ c) the electronics might fail


 * ___ d) the plates might crack

11. The time to reach __________ was shortened from 9 days to 3 hours due to the speed of the rocket that delivered New Horizons
 * ___ a) Jupiter


 * ___ b) the asteroid belt


 * ___ c) the Moon


 * ___ d) Mars

12. A stellar occultation occurs when the north or south pole of a planet is aligned with a star
 * ___ a) true


 * ___ b) false

13. The image to the right corresponds to
 * ___ a) Pluto HST upper left.jpg


 * ___ b) Pluto HST upper right.jpg

14. Silicon carbide was used to construct the telescope LORRI because this material is
 * ___ a) light


 * ___ b) not prone to warp at low temperature


 * ___ c) strong


 * ___ d) all of these

15. The blink comparator compared
 * ___ a) the atmosphere around an object with the object itself


 * ___ b) the location of an object on two different days


 * ___ c) the size of two different objects

16. The "Chasing Pluto" video showed a stellar occultation that was observed in order to learn something about Pluto's
 * ___ a) atmosphere


 * ___ b) size


 * ___ c) mass

17. These two images of Pluto represent:
 * ___ a) a land-based telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope


 * ___ b) New Horizon near Earth and mid-way to Pluto


 * ___ c) New Horizon mid-way to Pluto and near Pluto


 * ___ d) raw and processed images


 * ___ e) New Horizon and the Hubble Space Telescope

18. Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto back in the 1930s
 * ___ a) was self educated


 * ___ b) privately funded the Lowell observatory


 * ___ c) had resigned from a position at Yale to focus his efforts on discovering "Planet X"

19. A stellar occultation occurs when a planet passes in front of a star
 * ___ a) true


 * ___ b) false

20. As New Horizon approached Jupiter, it looked for new Moons, and the ground crew was glad that
 * ___ a) there were no new moons because moons are capable of capturing spacecraft


 * ___ b) the New Horizon discovered three new moons


 * ___ c) there were no new moons because moons are debris generators

21. The influence of Jupiter's gravity on Pluto is that Jupiter gradually brings Pluto closer
 * ___ a) true


 * ___ b) false

22. As it approached Pluto, New Horizon was slightly larger than
 * ___ a) a 10 story building


 * ___ b) the Hubble Space Telescope


 * ___ c) a grand piano

23. The trip by New Horizons from Earth to Pluto took almost a
 * ___ a) week


 * ___ b) month


 * ___ c) century


 * ___ d) decade


 * ___ e) year

24. The "Chasing Pluto" video showed a stellar occultation that was observed
 * ___ a) from the 200 inch Hale Telescope in 1968


 * ___ b) from the Hubble Space Telescope in 1998


 * ___ c) from a cargo plane in 1988


 * ___ d) from the Keck Observatory in 1994

25. The image to the right corresponds to
 * ___ a) Pluto HST upper left.jpg


 * ___ b) Pluto HST upper right.jpg

26. Clyde Tombaugh's reward for discovering Pluto was
 * ___ a) a Nobel prize


 * ___ b) a college education


 * ___ c) an invitation to teach at Yale

27. Which was NOT listed as one of the three things commonly considered necessary for the formation of life?
 * ___ a) sunlight


 * ___ b) water


 * ___ c) energy


 * ___ d) organic matter

28. The atmosphere of Pluto
 * ___ a) emerges when the surface thaws due to tidal heating from Neptune


 * ___ b) emerges when the surface thaws as it approaches the Sun


 * ___ c) emerges when the surface thaws due to tidal heating from Jupiter


 * ___ d) emerges when the surface thaws due to tidal heating from the Moons


 * ___ e) is mostly oxygen

29. Stellar occultation tells something about a planet because
 * ___ a) the orientation of the planet's rotation about its axis can be precisely determined


 * ___ b) the star acts as a light source for the detection of planetary spectral lines that are emission lines


 * ___ c) blocking the nearby stars allows a better view of the planet


 * ___ d) the star acts as a light source for the detection of planetary spectral lines that are absorption lines

30. Pluto ceased to be called a planet in 2006, after the IAU defined a planet of our Sun as an object that is (1) in orbit around the Sun, (2) roughly spherical due to it's mass, and (3):
 * ___ a) lies in the same plane as the other nine planets


 * ___ b) is larger than Earth's moon


 * ___ c) has a nearly circular orbit


 * ___ d) has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.


 * ___ e) is more massive than Mercury

31. When the discovery of the "ninth planet" was made in 1930, the name Pluto was chosen after a cartoon that was a common childhood experience shared by most astronomers of the day
 * ___ a) true


 * ___ b) false

32. Mike Brown's search for another Pluto-like object eventually led to the discovery of Eris in 2005. What was the first clue that Eris was larger than Pluto?
 * ___ a) it had a surprisingly large influence on Pluto's orbit


 * ___ b) it was surprisingly bright for an object moving that slowly


 * ___ c) it was surprisingly bright for an object moving that quickly


 * ___ d) It was brighter in the sky than Pluto

Key to ChasingPluto-v1s1
1. While close to Jupiter, New Horizons the most spectacular image was of
 * - a) a newly discovered moon


 * - b) Jupiter's rings


 * + c) a live volcano


 * - d) the great red spot

2. As New Horizon's approaches Jupiter, it was essential that
 * - a) avoid hitting the moons of Jupiter


 * - b) avoid going into the rings of Jupiter


 * + c) it approach Jupiter closely enough for Jupiter's gravity to pull New Horizons to a 20% higher speed

3. For most of its nine-year journey, it was asleep, but once a week, the New Horizon's spacecraft
 * - a) photographed PLUTO


 * + b) called MOM


 * - c) adjusted the ORBIT


 * - d) photographed EARTH

4. A typical average radio station uses 50,000 watts to transmit a signal. The transmitter on New Horizons used
 * + a) 5 thousand times less power


 * - b) 5 times more power


 * - c) almost the same amount of power


 * - d) 5 times less power


 * - e) 5 thousand times more power

5. The influence of Jupiter's gravity on Pluto is that Jupiter gradually pushes Pluto away
 * + a) true


 * - b) false

6. Energy for the New Horizon is provided by
 * + a) nuclear power


 * - b) fuel cells


 * - c) solar power


 * - d) lithium batteries

7. "Pepssi", "Rex", "Swap", "Lorri", "Alice" and "Ralf" are
 * + a) instruments on the New Horizon


 * - b) the people responsible for calculating the orbit of New Horizon


 * - c) named after friends of the cartoon charactor 'Pluto'


 * - d) Kuiper objects discovered by New Horizon


 * - e) asteroids discovered by New Horizon

8. The darker portions of Pluto are believe to be from "snowflakes" of
 * - a) water


 * + b) hydrocarbons


 * - c) silicates


 * - d) nitrogen

9. The Kuiper belt has been described as a ___________ made of ___________
 * + a) deep freeze ... rock and ice


 * - b) mystery band ... rock and metal


 * - c) mystery band ... rock and ice


 * - d) deep freeze ... rock and metal

10. What was the concern about taking a telescope/camera to the cold environment near Pluto?
 * - a) the the mirror might crack


 * + b) the telescope might bend


 * - c) the electronics might fail


 * - d) the plates might crack

11. The time to reach __________ was shortened from 9 days to 3 hours due to the speed of the rocket that delivered New Horizons
 * - a) Jupiter


 * - b) the asteroid belt


 * + c) the Moon


 * - d) Mars

12. A stellar occultation occurs when the north or south pole of a planet is aligned with a star
 * - a) true


 * + b) false

13. The image to the right corresponds to
 * - a) Pluto HST upper left.jpg


 * + b) Pluto HST upper right.jpg

14. Silicon carbide was used to construct the telescope LORRI because this material is
 * - a) light


 * - b) not prone to warp at low temperature


 * - c) strong


 * + d) all of these

15. The blink comparator compared
 * - a) the atmosphere around an object with the object itself


 * + b) the location of an object on two different days


 * - c) the size of two different objects

16. The "Chasing Pluto" video showed a stellar occultation that was observed in order to learn something about Pluto's
 * + a) atmosphere


 * - b) size


 * - c) mass

17. These two images of Pluto represent:
 * - a) a land-based telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope


 * - b) New Horizon near Earth and mid-way to Pluto


 * - c) New Horizon mid-way to Pluto and near Pluto


 * + d) raw and processed images


 * - e) New Horizon and the Hubble Space Telescope

18. Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto back in the 1930s
 * + a) was self educated


 * - b) privately funded the Lowell observatory


 * - c) had resigned from a position at Yale to focus his efforts on discovering "Planet X"

19. A stellar occultation occurs when a planet passes in front of a star
 * + a) true


 * - b) false

20. As New Horizon approached Jupiter, it looked for new Moons, and the ground crew was glad that
 * - a) there were no new moons because moons are capable of capturing spacecraft


 * - b) the New Horizon discovered three new moons


 * + c) there were no new moons because moons are debris generators

21. The influence of Jupiter's gravity on Pluto is that Jupiter gradually brings Pluto closer
 * - a) true


 * + b) false

22. As it approached Pluto, New Horizon was slightly larger than
 * - a) a 10 story building


 * - b) the Hubble Space Telescope


 * + c) a grand piano

23. The trip by New Horizons from Earth to Pluto took almost a
 * - a) week


 * - b) month


 * - c) century


 * + d) decade


 * - e) year

24. The "Chasing Pluto" video showed a stellar occultation that was observed
 * - a) from the 200 inch Hale Telescope in 1968


 * - b) from the Hubble Space Telescope in 1998


 * + c) from a cargo plane in 1988


 * - d) from the Keck Observatory in 1994

25. The image to the right corresponds to
 * + a) Pluto HST upper left.jpg


 * - b) Pluto HST upper right.jpg

26. Clyde Tombaugh's reward for discovering Pluto was
 * - a) a Nobel prize


 * + b) a college education


 * - c) an invitation to teach at Yale

27. Which was NOT listed as one of the three things commonly considered necessary for the formation of life?
 * + a) sunlight


 * - b) water


 * - c) energy


 * - d) organic matter

28. The atmosphere of Pluto
 * - a) emerges when the surface thaws due to tidal heating from Neptune


 * + b) emerges when the surface thaws as it approaches the Sun


 * - c) emerges when the surface thaws due to tidal heating from Jupiter


 * - d) emerges when the surface thaws due to tidal heating from the Moons


 * - e) is mostly oxygen

29. Stellar occultation tells something about a planet because
 * - a) the orientation of the planet's rotation about its axis can be precisely determined


 * - b) the star acts as a light source for the detection of planetary spectral lines that are emission lines


 * - c) blocking the nearby stars allows a better view of the planet


 * + d) the star acts as a light source for the detection of planetary spectral lines that are absorption lines

30. Pluto ceased to be called a planet in 2006, after the IAU defined a planet of our Sun as an object that is (1) in orbit around the Sun, (2) roughly spherical due to it's mass, and (3):
 * - a) lies in the same plane as the other nine planets


 * - b) is larger than Earth's moon


 * - c) has a nearly circular orbit


 * + d) has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.


 * - e) is more massive than Mercury

31. When the discovery of the "ninth planet" was made in 1930, the name Pluto was chosen after a cartoon that was a common childhood experience shared by most astronomers of the day
 * - a) true


 * + b) false

32. Mike Brown's search for another Pluto-like object eventually led to the discovery of Eris in 2005. What was the first clue that Eris was larger than Pluto?
 * - a) it had a surprisingly large influence on Pluto's orbit


 * + b) it was surprisingly bright for an object moving that slowly


 * - c) it was surprisingly bright for an object moving that quickly


 * - d) It was brighter in the sky than Pluto

ChasingPluto-v2s1
1. A stellar occultation occurs when a planet passes in front of a star
 * ___ a) true


 * ___ b) false

2. Energy for the New Horizon is provided by
 * ___ a) lithium batteries


 * ___ b) solar power


 * ___ c) fuel cells


 * ___ d) nuclear power

3. The "Chasing Pluto" video showed a stellar occultation that was observed
 * ___ a) from the 200 inch Hale Telescope in 1968


 * ___ b) from the Hubble Space Telescope in 1998


 * ___ c) from the Keck Observatory in 1994


 * ___ d) from a cargo plane in 1988

4. Which was NOT listed as one of the three things commonly considered necessary for the formation of life?
 * ___ a) sunlight


 * ___ b) energy


 * ___ c) water


 * ___ d) organic matter

5. As New Horizon approached Jupiter, it looked for new Moons, and the ground crew was glad that
 * ___ a) there were no new moons because moons are capable of capturing spacecraft


 * ___ b) there were no new moons because moons are debris generators


 * ___ c) the New Horizon discovered three new moons

6. The blink comparator compared
 * ___ a) the atmosphere around an object with the object itself


 * ___ b) the size of two different objects


 * ___ c) the location of an object on two different days

7. Silicon carbide was used to construct the telescope LORRI because this material is
 * ___ a) light


 * ___ b) all of these


 * ___ c) strong


 * ___ d) not prone to warp at low temperature

8. What was the concern about taking a telescope/camera to the cold environment near Pluto?
 * ___ a) the the mirror might crack


 * ___ b) the electronics might fail


 * ___ c) the plates might crack


 * ___ d) the telescope might bend

9. The darker portions of Pluto are believe to be from "snowflakes" of
 * ___ a) nitrogen


 * ___ b) water


 * ___ c) silicates


 * ___ d) hydrocarbons

10. Stellar occultation tells something about a planet because
 * ___ a) the orientation of the planet's rotation about its axis can be precisely determined


 * ___ b) blocking the nearby stars allows a better view of the planet


 * ___ c) the star acts as a light source for the detection of planetary spectral lines that are absorption lines


 * ___ d) the star acts as a light source for the detection of planetary spectral lines that are emission lines

11. A stellar occultation occurs when the north or south pole of a planet is aligned with a star
 * ___ a) true


 * ___ b) false

12. The "Chasing Pluto" video showed a stellar occultation that was observed in order to learn something about Pluto's
 * ___ a) size


 * ___ b) atmosphere


 * ___ c) mass

13. Mike Brown's search for another Pluto-like object eventually led to the discovery of Eris in 2005. What was the first clue that Eris was larger than Pluto?
 * ___ a) it was surprisingly bright for an object moving that quickly


 * ___ b) it was surprisingly bright for an object moving that slowly


 * ___ c) It was brighter in the sky than Pluto


 * ___ d) it had a surprisingly large influence on Pluto's orbit

14. Pluto ceased to be called a planet in 2006, after the IAU defined a planet of our Sun as an object that is (1) in orbit around the Sun, (2) roughly spherical due to it's mass, and (3):
 * ___ a) has a nearly circular orbit


 * ___ b) is larger than Earth's moon


 * ___ c) lies in the same plane as the other nine planets


 * ___ d) has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.


 * ___ e) is more massive than Mercury

15. The atmosphere of Pluto
 * ___ a) emerges when the surface thaws due to tidal heating from Neptune


 * ___ b) is mostly oxygen


 * ___ c) emerges when the surface thaws due to tidal heating from Jupiter


 * ___ d) emerges when the surface thaws as it approaches the Sun


 * ___ e) emerges when the surface thaws due to tidal heating from the Moons

16. When the discovery of the "ninth planet" was made in 1930, the name Pluto was chosen after a cartoon that was a common childhood experience shared by most astronomers of the day
 * ___ a) true


 * ___ b) false

17. The influence of Jupiter's gravity on Pluto is that Jupiter gradually pushes Pluto away
 * ___ a) true


 * ___ b) false

18. The Kuiper belt has been described as a ___________ made of ___________
 * ___ a) deep freeze ... rock and ice


 * ___ b) mystery band ... rock and ice


 * ___ c) mystery band ... rock and metal


 * ___ d) deep freeze ... rock and metal

19. The image to the right corresponds to
 * ___ a) Pluto HST upper left.jpg


 * ___ b) Pluto HST upper right.jpg

20. Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto back in the 1930s
 * ___ a) privately funded the Lowell observatory


 * ___ b) was self educated


 * ___ c) had resigned from a position at Yale to focus his efforts on discovering "Planet X"

21. A typical average radio station uses 50,000 watts to transmit a signal. The transmitter on New Horizons used
 * ___ a) 5 thousand times more power


 * ___ b) 5 thousand times less power


 * ___ c) 5 times more power


 * ___ d) almost the same amount of power


 * ___ e) 5 times less power

22. The trip by New Horizons from Earth to Pluto took almost a
 * ___ a) week


 * ___ b) month


 * ___ c) decade


 * ___ d) century


 * ___ e) year

23. "Pepssi", "Rex", "Swap", "Lorri", "Alice" and "Ralf" are
 * ___ a) the people responsible for calculating the orbit of New Horizon


 * ___ b) Kuiper objects discovered by New Horizon


 * ___ c) asteroids discovered by New Horizon


 * ___ d) instruments on the New Horizon


 * ___ e) named after friends of the cartoon charactor 'Pluto'

24. As New Horizon's approaches Jupiter, it was essential that
 * ___ a) avoid going into the rings of Jupiter


 * ___ b) avoid hitting the moons of Jupiter


 * ___ c) it approach Jupiter closely enough for Jupiter's gravity to pull New Horizons to a 20% higher speed

25. While close to Jupiter, New Horizons the most spectacular image was of
 * ___ a) the great red spot


 * ___ b) Jupiter's rings


 * ___ c) a newly discovered moon


 * ___ d) a live volcano

26. These two images of Pluto represent:
 * ___ a) New Horizon near Earth and mid-way to Pluto


 * ___ b) a land-based telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope


 * ___ c) New Horizon mid-way to Pluto and near Pluto


 * ___ d) raw and processed images


 * ___ e) New Horizon and the Hubble Space Telescope

27. As it approached Pluto, New Horizon was slightly larger than
 * ___ a) a 10 story building


 * ___ b) a grand piano


 * ___ c) the Hubble Space Telescope

28. The influence of Jupiter's gravity on Pluto is that Jupiter gradually brings Pluto closer
 * ___ a) true


 * ___ b) false

29. For most of its nine-year journey, it was asleep, but once a week, the New Horizon's spacecraft
 * ___ a) photographed PLUTO


 * ___ b) photographed EARTH


 * ___ c) called MOM


 * ___ d) adjusted the ORBIT

30. Clyde Tombaugh's reward for discovering Pluto was
 * ___ a) an invitation to teach at Yale


 * ___ b) a college education


 * ___ c) a Nobel prize

31. The time to reach __________ was shortened from 9 days to 3 hours due to the speed of the rocket that delivered New Horizons
 * ___ a) Mars


 * ___ b) Jupiter


 * ___ c) the Moon


 * ___ d) the asteroid belt

32. The image to the right corresponds to
 * ___ a) Pluto HST upper left.jpg


 * ___ b) Pluto HST upper right.jpg

Key to ChasingPluto-v2s1
1. A stellar occultation occurs when a planet passes in front of a star
 * + a) true


 * - b) false

2. Energy for the New Horizon is provided by
 * - a) lithium batteries


 * - b) solar power


 * - c) fuel cells


 * + d) nuclear power

3. The "Chasing Pluto" video showed a stellar occultation that was observed
 * - a) from the 200 inch Hale Telescope in 1968


 * - b) from the Hubble Space Telescope in 1998


 * - c) from the Keck Observatory in 1994


 * + d) from a cargo plane in 1988

4. Which was NOT listed as one of the three things commonly considered necessary for the formation of life?
 * + a) sunlight


 * - b) energy


 * - c) water


 * - d) organic matter

5. As New Horizon approached Jupiter, it looked for new Moons, and the ground crew was glad that
 * - a) there were no new moons because moons are capable of capturing spacecraft


 * + b) there were no new moons because moons are debris generators


 * - c) the New Horizon discovered three new moons

6. The blink comparator compared
 * - a) the atmosphere around an object with the object itself


 * - b) the size of two different objects


 * + c) the location of an object on two different days

7. Silicon carbide was used to construct the telescope LORRI because this material is
 * - a) light


 * + b) all of these


 * - c) strong


 * - d) not prone to warp at low temperature

8. What was the concern about taking a telescope/camera to the cold environment near Pluto?
 * - a) the the mirror might crack


 * - b) the electronics might fail


 * - c) the plates might crack


 * + d) the telescope might bend

9. The darker portions of Pluto are believe to be from "snowflakes" of
 * - a) nitrogen


 * - b) water


 * - c) silicates


 * + d) hydrocarbons

10. Stellar occultation tells something about a planet because
 * - a) the orientation of the planet's rotation about its axis can be precisely determined


 * - b) blocking the nearby stars allows a better view of the planet


 * + c) the star acts as a light source for the detection of planetary spectral lines that are absorption lines


 * - d) the star acts as a light source for the detection of planetary spectral lines that are emission lines

11. A stellar occultation occurs when the north or south pole of a planet is aligned with a star
 * - a) true


 * + b) false

12. The "Chasing Pluto" video showed a stellar occultation that was observed in order to learn something about Pluto's
 * - a) size


 * + b) atmosphere


 * - c) mass

13. Mike Brown's search for another Pluto-like object eventually led to the discovery of Eris in 2005. What was the first clue that Eris was larger than Pluto?
 * - a) it was surprisingly bright for an object moving that quickly


 * + b) it was surprisingly bright for an object moving that slowly


 * - c) It was brighter in the sky than Pluto


 * - d) it had a surprisingly large influence on Pluto's orbit

14. Pluto ceased to be called a planet in 2006, after the IAU defined a planet of our Sun as an object that is (1) in orbit around the Sun, (2) roughly spherical due to it's mass, and (3):
 * - a) has a nearly circular orbit


 * - b) is larger than Earth's moon


 * - c) lies in the same plane as the other nine planets


 * + d) has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.


 * - e) is more massive than Mercury

15. The atmosphere of Pluto
 * - a) emerges when the surface thaws due to tidal heating from Neptune


 * - b) is mostly oxygen


 * - c) emerges when the surface thaws due to tidal heating from Jupiter


 * + d) emerges when the surface thaws as it approaches the Sun


 * - e) emerges when the surface thaws due to tidal heating from the Moons

16. When the discovery of the "ninth planet" was made in 1930, the name Pluto was chosen after a cartoon that was a common childhood experience shared by most astronomers of the day
 * - a) true


 * + b) false

17. The influence of Jupiter's gravity on Pluto is that Jupiter gradually pushes Pluto away
 * + a) true


 * - b) false

18. The Kuiper belt has been described as a ___________ made of ___________
 * + a) deep freeze ... rock and ice


 * - b) mystery band ... rock and ice


 * - c) mystery band ... rock and metal


 * - d) deep freeze ... rock and metal

19. The image to the right corresponds to
 * + a) Pluto HST upper left.jpg


 * - b) Pluto HST upper right.jpg

20. Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto back in the 1930s
 * - a) privately funded the Lowell observatory


 * + b) was self educated


 * - c) had resigned from a position at Yale to focus his efforts on discovering "Planet X"

21. A typical average radio station uses 50,000 watts to transmit a signal. The transmitter on New Horizons used
 * - a) 5 thousand times more power


 * + b) 5 thousand times less power


 * - c) 5 times more power


 * - d) almost the same amount of power


 * - e) 5 times less power

22. The trip by New Horizons from Earth to Pluto took almost a
 * - a) week


 * - b) month


 * + c) decade


 * - d) century


 * - e) year

23. "Pepssi", "Rex", "Swap", "Lorri", "Alice" and "Ralf" are
 * - a) the people responsible for calculating the orbit of New Horizon


 * - b) Kuiper objects discovered by New Horizon


 * - c) asteroids discovered by New Horizon


 * + d) instruments on the New Horizon


 * - e) named after friends of the cartoon charactor 'Pluto'

24. As New Horizon's approaches Jupiter, it was essential that
 * - a) avoid going into the rings of Jupiter


 * - b) avoid hitting the moons of Jupiter


 * + c) it approach Jupiter closely enough for Jupiter's gravity to pull New Horizons to a 20% higher speed

25. While close to Jupiter, New Horizons the most spectacular image was of
 * - a) the great red spot


 * - b) Jupiter's rings


 * - c) a newly discovered moon


 * + d) a live volcano

26. These two images of Pluto represent:
 * - a) New Horizon near Earth and mid-way to Pluto


 * - b) a land-based telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope


 * - c) New Horizon mid-way to Pluto and near Pluto


 * + d) raw and processed images


 * - e) New Horizon and the Hubble Space Telescope

27. As it approached Pluto, New Horizon was slightly larger than
 * - a) a 10 story building


 * + b) a grand piano


 * - c) the Hubble Space Telescope

28. The influence of Jupiter's gravity on Pluto is that Jupiter gradually brings Pluto closer
 * - a) true


 * + b) false

29. For most of its nine-year journey, it was asleep, but once a week, the New Horizon's spacecraft
 * - a) photographed PLUTO


 * - b) photographed EARTH


 * + c) called MOM


 * - d) adjusted the ORBIT

30. Clyde Tombaugh's reward for discovering Pluto was
 * - a) an invitation to teach at Yale


 * + b) a college education


 * - c) a Nobel prize

31. The time to reach __________ was shortened from 9 days to 3 hours due to the speed of the rocket that delivered New Horizons
 * - a) Mars


 * - b) Jupiter


 * + c) the Moon


 * - d) the asteroid belt

32. The image to the right corresponds to
 * - a) Pluto HST upper left.jpg


 * + b) Pluto HST upper right.jpg

ChasingPluto-v1s2
1. "Pepssi", "Rex", "Swap", "Lorri", "Alice" and "Ralf" are
 * ___ a) named after friends of the cartoon charactor 'Pluto'


 * ___ b) the people responsible for calculating the orbit of New Horizon


 * ___ c) instruments on the New Horizon


 * ___ d) asteroids discovered by New Horizon


 * ___ e) Kuiper objects discovered by New Horizon

2. The trip by New Horizons from Earth to Pluto took almost a
 * ___ a) week


 * ___ b) year


 * ___ c) month


 * ___ d) century


 * ___ e) decade

3. Clyde Tombaugh's reward for discovering Pluto was
 * ___ a) an invitation to teach at Yale


 * ___ b) a college education


 * ___ c) a Nobel prize

4. Mike Brown's search for another Pluto-like object eventually led to the discovery of Eris in 2005. What was the first clue that Eris was larger than Pluto?
 * ___ a) it was surprisingly bright for an object moving that quickly


 * ___ b) it was surprisingly bright for an object moving that slowly


 * ___ c) It was brighter in the sky than Pluto


 * ___ d) it had a surprisingly large influence on Pluto's orbit

5. The Kuiper belt has been described as a ___________ made of ___________
 * ___ a) deep freeze ... rock and metal


 * ___ b) mystery band ... rock and metal


 * ___ c) mystery band ... rock and ice


 * ___ d) deep freeze ... rock and ice

6. Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto back in the 1930s
 * ___ a) was self educated


 * ___ b) privately funded the Lowell observatory


 * ___ c) had resigned from a position at Yale to focus his efforts on discovering "Planet X"

7. The influence of Jupiter's gravity on Pluto is that Jupiter gradually pushes Pluto away
 * ___ a) true


 * ___ b) false

8. As New Horizon approached Jupiter, it looked for new Moons, and the ground crew was glad that
 * ___ a) there were no new moons because moons are debris generators


 * ___ b) the New Horizon discovered three new moons


 * ___ c) there were no new moons because moons are capable of capturing spacecraft

9. The time to reach __________ was shortened from 9 days to 3 hours due to the speed of the rocket that delivered New Horizons
 * ___ a) the Moon


 * ___ b) the asteroid belt


 * ___ c) Mars


 * ___ d) Jupiter

10. Energy for the New Horizon is provided by
 * ___ a) nuclear power


 * ___ b) fuel cells


 * ___ c) lithium batteries


 * ___ d) solar power

11. The image to the right corresponds to
 * ___ a) Pluto HST upper left.jpg


 * ___ b) Pluto HST upper right.jpg

12. These two images of Pluto represent:
 * ___ a) New Horizon near Earth and mid-way to Pluto


 * ___ b) New Horizon and the Hubble Space Telescope


 * ___ c) raw and processed images


 * ___ d) a land-based telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope


 * ___ e) New Horizon mid-way to Pluto and near Pluto

13. The "Chasing Pluto" video showed a stellar occultation that was observed
 * ___ a) from the Hubble Space Telescope in 1998


 * ___ b) from the 200 inch Hale Telescope in 1968


 * ___ c) from the Keck Observatory in 1994


 * ___ d) from a cargo plane in 1988

14. What was the concern about taking a telescope/camera to the cold environment near Pluto?
 * ___ a) the telescope might bend


 * ___ b) the electronics might fail


 * ___ c) the the mirror might crack


 * ___ d) the plates might crack

15. The atmosphere of Pluto
 * ___ a) emerges when the surface thaws as it approaches the Sun


 * ___ b) is mostly oxygen


 * ___ c) emerges when the surface thaws due to tidal heating from the Moons


 * ___ d) emerges when the surface thaws due to tidal heating from Jupiter


 * ___ e) emerges when the surface thaws due to tidal heating from Neptune

16. As New Horizon's approaches Jupiter, it was essential that
 * ___ a) it approach Jupiter closely enough for Jupiter's gravity to pull New Horizons to a 20% higher speed


 * ___ b) avoid hitting the moons of Jupiter


 * ___ c) avoid going into the rings of Jupiter

17. As it approached Pluto, New Horizon was slightly larger than
 * ___ a) a grand piano


 * ___ b) a 10 story building


 * ___ c) the Hubble Space Telescope

18. A typical average radio station uses 50,000 watts to transmit a signal. The transmitter on New Horizons used
 * ___ a) 5 thousand times less power


 * ___ b) 5 times more power


 * ___ c) 5 thousand times more power


 * ___ d) almost the same amount of power


 * ___ e) 5 times less power

19. Pluto ceased to be called a planet in 2006, after the IAU defined a planet of our Sun as an object that is (1) in orbit around the Sun, (2) roughly spherical due to it's mass, and (3):
 * ___ a) lies in the same plane as the other nine planets


 * ___ b) is larger than Earth's moon


 * ___ c) is more massive than Mercury


 * ___ d) has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.


 * ___ e) has a nearly circular orbit

20. The image to the right corresponds to
 * ___ a) Pluto HST upper left.jpg


 * ___ b) Pluto HST upper right.jpg

21. A stellar occultation occurs when the north or south pole of a planet is aligned with a star
 * ___ a) true


 * ___ b) false

22. A stellar occultation occurs when a planet passes in front of a star
 * ___ a) true


 * ___ b) false

23. The darker portions of Pluto are believe to be from "snowflakes" of
 * ___ a) water


 * ___ b) nitrogen


 * ___ c) silicates


 * ___ d) hydrocarbons

24. The "Chasing Pluto" video showed a stellar occultation that was observed in order to learn something about Pluto's
 * ___ a) mass


 * ___ b) atmosphere


 * ___ c) size

25. While close to Jupiter, New Horizons the most spectacular image was of
 * ___ a) a live volcano


 * ___ b) a newly discovered moon


 * ___ c) the great red spot


 * ___ d) Jupiter's rings

26. For most of its nine-year journey, it was asleep, but once a week, the New Horizon's spacecraft
 * ___ a) photographed EARTH


 * ___ b) photographed PLUTO


 * ___ c) adjusted the ORBIT


 * ___ d) called MOM

27. The blink comparator compared
 * ___ a) the location of an object on two different days


 * ___ b) the size of two different objects


 * ___ c) the atmosphere around an object with the object itself

28. The influence of Jupiter's gravity on Pluto is that Jupiter gradually brings Pluto closer
 * ___ a) true


 * ___ b) false

29. When the discovery of the "ninth planet" was made in 1930, the name Pluto was chosen after a cartoon that was a common childhood experience shared by most astronomers of the day
 * ___ a) true


 * ___ b) false

30. Stellar occultation tells something about a planet because
 * ___ a) the star acts as a light source for the detection of planetary spectral lines that are absorption lines


 * ___ b) blocking the nearby stars allows a better view of the planet


 * ___ c) the star acts as a light source for the detection of planetary spectral lines that are emission lines


 * ___ d) the orientation of the planet's rotation about its axis can be precisely determined

31. Silicon carbide was used to construct the telescope LORRI because this material is
 * ___ a) strong


 * ___ b) not prone to warp at low temperature


 * ___ c) light


 * ___ d) all of these

32. Which was NOT listed as one of the three things commonly considered necessary for the formation of life?
 * ___ a) water


 * ___ b) organic matter


 * ___ c) sunlight


 * ___ d) energy

Key to ChasingPluto-v1s2
1. "Pepssi", "Rex", "Swap", "Lorri", "Alice" and "Ralf" are
 * - a) named after friends of the cartoon charactor 'Pluto'


 * - b) the people responsible for calculating the orbit of New Horizon


 * + c) instruments on the New Horizon


 * - d) asteroids discovered by New Horizon


 * - e) Kuiper objects discovered by New Horizon

2. The trip by New Horizons from Earth to Pluto took almost a
 * - a) week


 * - b) year


 * - c) month


 * - d) century


 * + e) decade

3. Clyde Tombaugh's reward for discovering Pluto was
 * - a) an invitation to teach at Yale


 * + b) a college education


 * - c) a Nobel prize

4. Mike Brown's search for another Pluto-like object eventually led to the discovery of Eris in 2005. What was the first clue that Eris was larger than Pluto?
 * - a) it was surprisingly bright for an object moving that quickly


 * + b) it was surprisingly bright for an object moving that slowly


 * - c) It was brighter in the sky than Pluto


 * - d) it had a surprisingly large influence on Pluto's orbit

5. The Kuiper belt has been described as a ___________ made of ___________
 * - a) deep freeze ... rock and metal


 * - b) mystery band ... rock and metal


 * - c) mystery band ... rock and ice


 * + d) deep freeze ... rock and ice

6. Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto back in the 1930s
 * + a) was self educated


 * - b) privately funded the Lowell observatory


 * - c) had resigned from a position at Yale to focus his efforts on discovering "Planet X"

7. The influence of Jupiter's gravity on Pluto is that Jupiter gradually pushes Pluto away
 * + a) true


 * - b) false

8. As New Horizon approached Jupiter, it looked for new Moons, and the ground crew was glad that
 * + a) there were no new moons because moons are debris generators


 * - b) the New Horizon discovered three new moons


 * - c) there were no new moons because moons are capable of capturing spacecraft

9. The time to reach __________ was shortened from 9 days to 3 hours due to the speed of the rocket that delivered New Horizons
 * + a) the Moon


 * - b) the asteroid belt


 * - c) Mars


 * - d) Jupiter

10. Energy for the New Horizon is provided by
 * + a) nuclear power


 * - b) fuel cells


 * - c) lithium batteries


 * - d) solar power

11. The image to the right corresponds to
 * - a) Pluto HST upper left.jpg


 * + b) Pluto HST upper right.jpg

12. These two images of Pluto represent:
 * - a) New Horizon near Earth and mid-way to Pluto


 * - b) New Horizon and the Hubble Space Telescope


 * + c) raw and processed images


 * - d) a land-based telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope


 * - e) New Horizon mid-way to Pluto and near Pluto

13. The "Chasing Pluto" video showed a stellar occultation that was observed
 * - a) from the Hubble Space Telescope in 1998


 * - b) from the 200 inch Hale Telescope in 1968


 * - c) from the Keck Observatory in 1994


 * + d) from a cargo plane in 1988

14. What was the concern about taking a telescope/camera to the cold environment near Pluto?
 * + a) the telescope might bend


 * - b) the electronics might fail


 * - c) the the mirror might crack


 * - d) the plates might crack

15. The atmosphere of Pluto
 * + a) emerges when the surface thaws as it approaches the Sun


 * - b) is mostly oxygen


 * - c) emerges when the surface thaws due to tidal heating from the Moons


 * - d) emerges when the surface thaws due to tidal heating from Jupiter


 * - e) emerges when the surface thaws due to tidal heating from Neptune

16. As New Horizon's approaches Jupiter, it was essential that
 * + a) it approach Jupiter closely enough for Jupiter's gravity to pull New Horizons to a 20% higher speed


 * - b) avoid hitting the moons of Jupiter


 * - c) avoid going into the rings of Jupiter

17. As it approached Pluto, New Horizon was slightly larger than
 * + a) a grand piano


 * - b) a 10 story building


 * - c) the Hubble Space Telescope

18. A typical average radio station uses 50,000 watts to transmit a signal. The transmitter on New Horizons used
 * + a) 5 thousand times less power


 * - b) 5 times more power


 * - c) 5 thousand times more power


 * - d) almost the same amount of power


 * - e) 5 times less power

19. Pluto ceased to be called a planet in 2006, after the IAU defined a planet of our Sun as an object that is (1) in orbit around the Sun, (2) roughly spherical due to it's mass, and (3):
 * - a) lies in the same plane as the other nine planets


 * - b) is larger than Earth's moon


 * - c) is more massive than Mercury


 * + d) has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.


 * - e) has a nearly circular orbit

20. The image to the right corresponds to
 * + a) Pluto HST upper left.jpg


 * - b) Pluto HST upper right.jpg

21. A stellar occultation occurs when the north or south pole of a planet is aligned with a star
 * - a) true


 * + b) false

22. A stellar occultation occurs when a planet passes in front of a star
 * + a) true


 * - b) false

23. The darker portions of Pluto are believe to be from "snowflakes" of
 * - a) water


 * - b) nitrogen


 * - c) silicates


 * + d) hydrocarbons

24. The "Chasing Pluto" video showed a stellar occultation that was observed in order to learn something about Pluto's
 * - a) mass


 * + b) atmosphere


 * - c) size

25. While close to Jupiter, New Horizons the most spectacular image was of
 * + a) a live volcano


 * - b) a newly discovered moon


 * - c) the great red spot


 * - d) Jupiter's rings

26. For most of its nine-year journey, it was asleep, but once a week, the New Horizon's spacecraft
 * - a) photographed EARTH


 * - b) photographed PLUTO


 * - c) adjusted the ORBIT


 * + d) called MOM

27. The blink comparator compared
 * + a) the location of an object on two different days


 * - b) the size of two different objects


 * - c) the atmosphere around an object with the object itself

28. The influence of Jupiter's gravity on Pluto is that Jupiter gradually brings Pluto closer
 * - a) true


 * + b) false

29. When the discovery of the "ninth planet" was made in 1930, the name Pluto was chosen after a cartoon that was a common childhood experience shared by most astronomers of the day
 * - a) true


 * + b) false

30. Stellar occultation tells something about a planet because
 * + a) the star acts as a light source for the detection of planetary spectral lines that are absorption lines


 * - b) blocking the nearby stars allows a better view of the planet


 * - c) the star acts as a light source for the detection of planetary spectral lines that are emission lines


 * - d) the orientation of the planet's rotation about its axis can be precisely determined

31. Silicon carbide was used to construct the telescope LORRI because this material is
 * - a) strong


 * - b) not prone to warp at low temperature


 * - c) light


 * + d) all of these

32. Which was NOT listed as one of the three things commonly considered necessary for the formation of life?
 * - a) water


 * - b) organic matter


 * + c) sunlight


 * - d) energy

ChasingPluto-v2s2
1. The influence of Jupiter's gravity on Pluto is that Jupiter gradually brings Pluto closer
 * ___ a) true


 * ___ b) false

2. A stellar occultation occurs when the north or south pole of a planet is aligned with a star
 * ___ a) true


 * ___ b) false

3. The image to the right corresponds to
 * ___ a) Pluto HST upper left.jpg


 * ___ b) Pluto HST upper right.jpg

4. For most of its nine-year journey, it was asleep, but once a week, the New Horizon's spacecraft
 * ___ a) called MOM


 * ___ b) photographed EARTH


 * ___ c) photographed PLUTO


 * ___ d) adjusted the ORBIT

5. The Kuiper belt has been described as a ___________ made of ___________
 * ___ a) deep freeze ... rock and ice


 * ___ b) mystery band ... rock and ice


 * ___ c) deep freeze ... rock and metal


 * ___ d) mystery band ... rock and metal

6. While close to Jupiter, New Horizons the most spectacular image was of
 * ___ a) a live volcano


 * ___ b) Jupiter's rings


 * ___ c) the great red spot


 * ___ d) a newly discovered moon

7. The influence of Jupiter's gravity on Pluto is that Jupiter gradually pushes Pluto away
 * ___ a) true


 * ___ b) false

8. The "Chasing Pluto" video showed a stellar occultation that was observed in order to learn something about Pluto's
 * ___ a) atmosphere


 * ___ b) size


 * ___ c) mass

9. "Pepssi", "Rex", "Swap", "Lorri", "Alice" and "Ralf" are
 * ___ a) instruments on the New Horizon


 * ___ b) asteroids discovered by New Horizon


 * ___ c) Kuiper objects discovered by New Horizon


 * ___ d) the people responsible for calculating the orbit of New Horizon


 * ___ e) named after friends of the cartoon charactor 'Pluto'

10. The darker portions of Pluto are believe to be from "snowflakes" of
 * ___ a) water


 * ___ b) hydrocarbons


 * ___ c) silicates


 * ___ d) nitrogen

11. The trip by New Horizons from Earth to Pluto took almost a
 * ___ a) century


 * ___ b) decade


 * ___ c) year


 * ___ d) month


 * ___ e) week

12. Which was NOT listed as one of the three things commonly considered necessary for the formation of life?
 * ___ a) water


 * ___ b) sunlight


 * ___ c) organic matter


 * ___ d) energy

13. As it approached Pluto, New Horizon was slightly larger than
 * ___ a) a grand piano


 * ___ b) the Hubble Space Telescope


 * ___ c) a 10 story building

14. When the discovery of the "ninth planet" was made in 1930, the name Pluto was chosen after a cartoon that was a common childhood experience shared by most astronomers of the day
 * ___ a) true


 * ___ b) false

15. The time to reach __________ was shortened from 9 days to 3 hours due to the speed of the rocket that delivered New Horizons
 * ___ a) the asteroid belt


 * ___ b) Jupiter


 * ___ c) the Moon


 * ___ d) Mars

16. As New Horizon approached Jupiter, it looked for new Moons, and the ground crew was glad that
 * ___ a) the New Horizon discovered three new moons


 * ___ b) there were no new moons because moons are capable of capturing spacecraft


 * ___ c) there were no new moons because moons are debris generators

17. The atmosphere of Pluto
 * ___ a) emerges when the surface thaws as it approaches the Sun


 * ___ b) emerges when the surface thaws due to tidal heating from Neptune


 * ___ c) emerges when the surface thaws due to tidal heating from the Moons


 * ___ d) emerges when the surface thaws due to tidal heating from Jupiter


 * ___ e) is mostly oxygen

18. A stellar occultation occurs when a planet passes in front of a star
 * ___ a) true


 * ___ b) false

19. As New Horizon's approaches Jupiter, it was essential that
 * ___ a) it approach Jupiter closely enough for Jupiter's gravity to pull New Horizons to a 20% higher speed


 * ___ b) avoid hitting the moons of Jupiter


 * ___ c) avoid going into the rings of Jupiter

20. The "Chasing Pluto" video showed a stellar occultation that was observed
 * ___ a) from the 200 inch Hale Telescope in 1968


 * ___ b) from the Hubble Space Telescope in 1998


 * ___ c) from the Keck Observatory in 1994


 * ___ d) from a cargo plane in 1988

21. Clyde Tombaugh's reward for discovering Pluto was
 * ___ a) a Nobel prize


 * ___ b) a college education


 * ___ c) an invitation to teach at Yale

22. Mike Brown's search for another Pluto-like object eventually led to the discovery of Eris in 2005. What was the first clue that Eris was larger than Pluto?
 * ___ a) it was surprisingly bright for an object moving that quickly


 * ___ b) it had a surprisingly large influence on Pluto's orbit


 * ___ c) It was brighter in the sky than Pluto


 * ___ d) it was surprisingly bright for an object moving that slowly

23. These two images of Pluto represent:
 * ___ a) New Horizon mid-way to Pluto and near Pluto


 * ___ b) raw and processed images


 * ___ c) New Horizon and the Hubble Space Telescope


 * ___ d) New Horizon near Earth and mid-way to Pluto


 * ___ e) a land-based telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope

24. Stellar occultation tells something about a planet because
 * ___ a) the orientation of the planet's rotation about its axis can be precisely determined


 * ___ b) the star acts as a light source for the detection of planetary spectral lines that are absorption lines


 * ___ c) the star acts as a light source for the detection of planetary spectral lines that are emission lines


 * ___ d) blocking the nearby stars allows a better view of the planet

25. The blink comparator compared
 * ___ a) the atmosphere around an object with the object itself


 * ___ b) the location of an object on two different days


 * ___ c) the size of two different objects

26. A typical average radio station uses 50,000 watts to transmit a signal. The transmitter on New Horizons used
 * ___ a) 5 thousand times more power


 * ___ b) 5 times more power


 * ___ c) 5 thousand times less power


 * ___ d) almost the same amount of power


 * ___ e) 5 times less power

27. The image to the right corresponds to
 * ___ a) Pluto HST upper left.jpg


 * ___ b) Pluto HST upper right.jpg

28. Energy for the New Horizon is provided by
 * ___ a) fuel cells


 * ___ b) lithium batteries


 * ___ c) solar power


 * ___ d) nuclear power

29. Pluto ceased to be called a planet in 2006, after the IAU defined a planet of our Sun as an object that is (1) in orbit around the Sun, (2) roughly spherical due to it's mass, and (3):
 * ___ a) has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.


 * ___ b) lies in the same plane as the other nine planets


 * ___ c) is larger than Earth's moon


 * ___ d) is more massive than Mercury


 * ___ e) has a nearly circular orbit

30. What was the concern about taking a telescope/camera to the cold environment near Pluto?
 * ___ a) the electronics might fail


 * ___ b) the the mirror might crack


 * ___ c) the telescope might bend


 * ___ d) the plates might crack

31. Silicon carbide was used to construct the telescope LORRI because this material is
 * ___ a) strong


 * ___ b) all of these


 * ___ c) not prone to warp at low temperature


 * ___ d) light

32. Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto back in the 1930s
 * ___ a) was self educated


 * ___ b) had resigned from a position at Yale to focus his efforts on discovering "Planet X"


 * ___ c) privately funded the Lowell observatory

Key to ChasingPluto-v2s2
1. The influence of Jupiter's gravity on Pluto is that Jupiter gradually brings Pluto closer
 * - a) true


 * + b) false

2. A stellar occultation occurs when the north or south pole of a planet is aligned with a star
 * - a) true


 * + b) false

3. The image to the right corresponds to
 * + a) Pluto HST upper left.jpg


 * - b) Pluto HST upper right.jpg

4. For most of its nine-year journey, it was asleep, but once a week, the New Horizon's spacecraft
 * + a) called MOM


 * - b) photographed EARTH


 * - c) photographed PLUTO


 * - d) adjusted the ORBIT

5. The Kuiper belt has been described as a ___________ made of ___________
 * + a) deep freeze ... rock and ice


 * - b) mystery band ... rock and ice


 * - c) deep freeze ... rock and metal


 * - d) mystery band ... rock and metal

6. While close to Jupiter, New Horizons the most spectacular image was of
 * + a) a live volcano


 * - b) Jupiter's rings


 * - c) the great red spot


 * - d) a newly discovered moon

7. The influence of Jupiter's gravity on Pluto is that Jupiter gradually pushes Pluto away
 * + a) true


 * - b) false

8. The "Chasing Pluto" video showed a stellar occultation that was observed in order to learn something about Pluto's
 * + a) atmosphere


 * - b) size


 * - c) mass

9. "Pepssi", "Rex", "Swap", "Lorri", "Alice" and "Ralf" are
 * + a) instruments on the New Horizon


 * - b) asteroids discovered by New Horizon


 * - c) Kuiper objects discovered by New Horizon


 * - d) the people responsible for calculating the orbit of New Horizon


 * - e) named after friends of the cartoon charactor 'Pluto'

10. The darker portions of Pluto are believe to be from "snowflakes" of
 * - a) water


 * + b) hydrocarbons


 * - c) silicates


 * - d) nitrogen

11. The trip by New Horizons from Earth to Pluto took almost a
 * - a) century


 * + b) decade


 * - c) year


 * - d) month


 * - e) week

12. Which was NOT listed as one of the three things commonly considered necessary for the formation of life?
 * - a) water


 * + b) sunlight


 * - c) organic matter


 * - d) energy

13. As it approached Pluto, New Horizon was slightly larger than
 * + a) a grand piano


 * - b) the Hubble Space Telescope


 * - c) a 10 story building

14. When the discovery of the "ninth planet" was made in 1930, the name Pluto was chosen after a cartoon that was a common childhood experience shared by most astronomers of the day
 * - a) true


 * + b) false

15. The time to reach __________ was shortened from 9 days to 3 hours due to the speed of the rocket that delivered New Horizons
 * - a) the asteroid belt


 * - b) Jupiter


 * + c) the Moon


 * - d) Mars

16. As New Horizon approached Jupiter, it looked for new Moons, and the ground crew was glad that
 * - a) the New Horizon discovered three new moons


 * - b) there were no new moons because moons are capable of capturing spacecraft


 * + c) there were no new moons because moons are debris generators

17. The atmosphere of Pluto
 * + a) emerges when the surface thaws as it approaches the Sun


 * - b) emerges when the surface thaws due to tidal heating from Neptune


 * - c) emerges when the surface thaws due to tidal heating from the Moons


 * - d) emerges when the surface thaws due to tidal heating from Jupiter


 * - e) is mostly oxygen

18. A stellar occultation occurs when a planet passes in front of a star
 * + a) true


 * - b) false

19. As New Horizon's approaches Jupiter, it was essential that
 * + a) it approach Jupiter closely enough for Jupiter's gravity to pull New Horizons to a 20% higher speed


 * - b) avoid hitting the moons of Jupiter


 * - c) avoid going into the rings of Jupiter

20. The "Chasing Pluto" video showed a stellar occultation that was observed
 * - a) from the 200 inch Hale Telescope in 1968


 * - b) from the Hubble Space Telescope in 1998


 * - c) from the Keck Observatory in 1994


 * + d) from a cargo plane in 1988

21. Clyde Tombaugh's reward for discovering Pluto was
 * - a) a Nobel prize


 * + b) a college education


 * - c) an invitation to teach at Yale

22. Mike Brown's search for another Pluto-like object eventually led to the discovery of Eris in 2005. What was the first clue that Eris was larger than Pluto?
 * - a) it was surprisingly bright for an object moving that quickly


 * - b) it had a surprisingly large influence on Pluto's orbit


 * - c) It was brighter in the sky than Pluto


 * + d) it was surprisingly bright for an object moving that slowly

23. These two images of Pluto represent:
 * - a) New Horizon mid-way to Pluto and near Pluto


 * + b) raw and processed images


 * - c) New Horizon and the Hubble Space Telescope


 * - d) New Horizon near Earth and mid-way to Pluto


 * - e) a land-based telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope

24. Stellar occultation tells something about a planet because
 * - a) the orientation of the planet's rotation about its axis can be precisely determined


 * + b) the star acts as a light source for the detection of planetary spectral lines that are absorption lines


 * - c) the star acts as a light source for the detection of planetary spectral lines that are emission lines


 * - d) blocking the nearby stars allows a better view of the planet

25. The blink comparator compared
 * - a) the atmosphere around an object with the object itself


 * + b) the location of an object on two different days


 * - c) the size of two different objects

26. A typical average radio station uses 50,000 watts to transmit a signal. The transmitter on New Horizons used
 * - a) 5 thousand times more power


 * - b) 5 times more power


 * + c) 5 thousand times less power


 * - d) almost the same amount of power


 * - e) 5 times less power

27. The image to the right corresponds to
 * - a) Pluto HST upper left.jpg


 * + b) Pluto HST upper right.jpg

28. Energy for the New Horizon is provided by
 * - a) fuel cells


 * - b) lithium batteries


 * - c) solar power


 * + d) nuclear power

29. Pluto ceased to be called a planet in 2006, after the IAU defined a planet of our Sun as an object that is (1) in orbit around the Sun, (2) roughly spherical due to it's mass, and (3):
 * + a) has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit.


 * - b) lies in the same plane as the other nine planets


 * - c) is larger than Earth's moon


 * - d) is more massive than Mercury


 * - e) has a nearly circular orbit

30. What was the concern about taking a telescope/camera to the cold environment near Pluto?
 * - a) the electronics might fail


 * - b) the the mirror might crack


 * + c) the telescope might bend


 * - d) the plates might crack

31. Silicon carbide was used to construct the telescope LORRI because this material is
 * - a) strong


 * + b) all of these


 * - c) not prone to warp at low temperature


 * - d) light

32. Clyde Tombaugh, who discovered Pluto back in the 1930s
 * + a) was self educated


 * - b) had resigned from a position at Yale to focus his efforts on discovering "Planet X"


 * - c) privately funded the Lowell observatory


 * Attribution (for quiz questions) under CC-by-SA license
 * Editing Astronomy college course/Chasing Pluto
 * Study guide
 * http://video.pbs.org/program/nova/