THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM

70 Falmouth Street Portland, Maine 04103

43.6667° N 70.2667° W Altitude: 10 feet below sea level Founded January 1970

2021-2022: LXV

"Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better."

-Albert Einstein

THE DAILY ASTRONOMER Friday, January 14, 2022

Quiz # 15: Stars

Now that we've celebrated the arrival of another new year, we can now offer a simple astronomy quiz about well, what else, stars! You know, those luminescent pinpricks adorning our night sky. A lovely bit of astronomy to conclude our week.

Enjoy!

1. ______________ is the closest star system to the Sun

a. Sirius

b. Alpha Centauri

c. Ross 236

d. Procyon

2. _____________ is the brightest star in the night sky

a. Sirius

b. Betelgeuse

c. Alpha Centauri

d. Sun

3. Luminosity measures the amount of energy a star produces __________

a. per second

b. per minute

c. per hour

d. per year

4. Every second the Sun fuses about ____________ tons of hydrogen.

a. 10,000

b. one million

c. 50 million

d. 647 million

5. A star's absolute magnitude is directly related to the star's ___________________.

a. distance

b. luminosity

c. size

d. temperature

6. The more massive a star is at birth the_________ it will be.

a. more long lived

b. more luminous

c. redder

d. metal rich

7. If star A's radius is 3 times that of star B, how much larger is A than B in terms of volume?

a. 3 times

b. 9 times

c. 27 times

d. 81 times

8. Approximately _______________ stars are visible to the unaided eye throughout the night.

a. 2,000

b. 4,500

c. 7,100

d. 10,000

9. Approximately _____________ stars are born every second throughout the Universe.

a. 1,200

b. 2,400

c. 4,800

d. 9.600

10. In what year was the first star set into place on Hollywood's Walk of Fame?

a. 1948

b. 1953

c. 1957

d. 1960

ANSWERS

1. ______________ is the closest star system to the Sun

b. Alpha Centauri

At a distance of 4.37 light years, the triple star system Alpha Centauri is the closest star system to the Sun.

It is only visible south of the 30th north parallel.

2. _____________ is the brightest star in the night sky

a. Sirius

3. Luminosity measures the amount of energy a star produces __________

a. per second

4. Every second the Sun fuses about ____________ tons of hydrogen.

d. 647 million

5. A star's absolute magnitude is directly related to the star's ___________________.

b. luminosity

6. The more massive a star is at birth the_________ it will be.

b. more luminous

7. If star A's radius is 3 times that of star B, how much larger is A than B in terms of volume?

c. 27 times

A sphere's volume is proportional to the cube of its radius. If star A's radius is three times greater than star B, its volume will be 3 x 3 x 3 = 27 times greater than star B.

8. Approximately _______________ stars are visible to the unaided eye throughout the night.

d. 10,000

9. Approximately _____________ stars are born every second throughout the Universe.

c. 4,800

We add a night's sky worth of stars to the cosmos every 2.1 seconds

10. In what year was the first star set into place on Hollywood's Walk of Fame?

d. 1960

See you on Tuesday!

Enjoy the weekend.

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