P-dog's blog: boring but important: astronomy current events question

Showing posts with label astronomy current events question. Show all posts

20200313

Astronomy current events question: short orbital period exoplanet NGTS-10b

Astronomy 210L, spring semester 2020
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Students are assigned to read online articles on current astronomy events, and take a short current events quiz during the first 10 minutes of lab. (This motivates students to show up promptly to lab, as the time cut-off for the quiz is strictly enforced!)

Tom Frew and Peter Thorley, "18-hour Year Planet on Edge of Destruction" (February 20, 2020)
warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/18-hour_year_planet

Exoplanet NGTS-10b, which has an orbital period of only 18 hours, was discovered as it __________ its star.
(A) collided with.
(B) escaped from.
(C) formed around.
(D) passed in front of.
(E) magnetically interfered with.

Correct answer: (B)

Student responses
Sections 30679, 30680
(A) : 3 students
(B) : 1 student
(C) : 0 students
(D) : 23 students
(E) : 0 students

Astronomy current events question: Breakthrough Listen data related

Robert Sanders, "Breakthrough Listen's Search for Intelligent Life (SETI) Releases Unprecedented Data Survey of Milky Way’s Galactic Center, Earth Transit Zone and Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov" (February 14, 2020)
breakthroughinitiatives.org/news/28

The Breakthrough Listen Initiative publicly released for analysis __________ data from scanning our Milky Way galaxy. (A) cosmic string.
(B) dark matter.
(C) gravitational wave.
(D) archived photographic.
(E) radio emission.

Correct answer: (E)

Student responses
Sections 30679, 30680
(A) : 1 student
(B) : 0 students
(C) : 21 students
(D) : 1 student
(E) : 4 students

Astronomy current events question: modeling Mars' interior composition

News release, "Journey to the Center of Mars" (February 10, 2020)
tohoku.ac.jp/en/press/journey_to_the_center_of_mars.html

Researchers used analysis of rocks and satellite images to generate a model for Mars':
(A) seismic activity.
(B) climate history.
(C) magnetic dynamo.
(D) volcanic output.
(E) interior composition.

Correct answer: (E)

Student responses
Sections 30679, 30680
(A) : 5 students
(B) : 1 student
(C) : 0 students
(D) : 0 students
(E) : 21 students

20200306

Astronomy current events question: planet-forming disks around protostars

Valeria Foncea, Iris Nijman, Bárbara Ferreira, and Masaaki Hiramatsu, "How Newborn Stars Prepare for the Birth of Planets" (February 20, 2020)
almaobservatory.org/en/press-release/how-newborn-stars-prepare-for-the-birth-of-planets/

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array and Very Large Array radio telescopes made detailed images of ___________ forming around infant stars.
(A) dark matter.
(B) protoplanets.
(C) cosmic strings.
(D) supernovae remnants.
(E) cosmic background radiation.

Correct answer: (B)

Student responses
Sections 30679, 30680
(A) : 0 students
(B) : 23 students
(C) : 4 students
(D) : 2 students
(E) : 2 students

Astronomy current events question: Planet Finder validates mini-Neptune exoplanet

Rebecca Johnson and Samuel Sholtis, "Planet Finder Validates Its First Habitable-Zone Exoplanet, a Mini Neptune" (February 21, 2020)
news.utexas.edu/2020/02/21/planet-finder-validates-its-first-habitable-zone-exoplanet-a-mini-neptune/

The Habitable Zone Planet Finder instrument on the Hobby-Eberly Telescope eliminated the possibility that exoplanet G 9-40b could be a:
(A) debris ring.
(B) imaging artifact.
(C) companion star.
(D) solar flare remnant.
(E) matter-antimatter pocket.

Correct answer: (C)

Student responses
Sections 30679, 30680
(A) : 5 students
(B) : 4 students
(C) : 18 students
(D) : 3 students
(E) : 1 student

Astronomy current events question: red dwarf "super-flare"

Gianrico Filacchione, Beate Stelzer, Andrea De Luca, and Norbert Schartel, "XMM-Newton Reveals Giant Flare from a Tiny Star" (February 20, 2020)
esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/XMM-Newton_reveals_giant_flare_from_a_tiny_star

The European Space Agency's XMM-Newton X-ray space telescope detected a "super-flare" of x-rays released from the collapsing magnetic fields of a:
(A) pulsar.
(B) sunspot.
(C) red dwarf.
(D) black hole.
(E) supergiant.

Correct answer: (C)

Student responses
Sections 30679, 30680
(A) : 2 students
(B) : 1 student
(C) : 27 students
(D) : 0 students
(E) : 2 students

20200228

Astronomy current events question: comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko color changes

Gianrico Filacchione, Fabrizio Capaccioni, and Matt Taylor, "Rosetta and the Chameleon Comet" (February 5, 2020)
esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/Rosetta/Rosetta_and_the_chameleon_comet

The European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft images show how comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko changed __________ as it passed near the sun.
(A) colors.
(B) density.
(C) trajectory.
(D) solar flares.
(E) rotation rate.

Correct answer: (A)

Student responses
Sections 30679, 30680
(A) : 36 students
(B) : 1 student
(C) : 0 students
(D) : 1 student
(E) : 0 students

Astronomy current events question: atom probe tomography of moon dust grain

Natalie Dalea, "One Small Grain of Moon Dust, One Giant Leap for Lunar Studies" (February 4, 2020)
fieldmuseum.org/about/press/one-small-grain-moon-dust-one-giant-leap-lunar-studies

Atom probe tomography analyzed moon dust composition, using a __________ to release atoms one-by-one into a detector.
(A) laser.
(B) water jet.
(C) magnet.
(D) vacuum pump.
(E) spark generator.

Correct answer: (A)

Student responses
Sections 30679, 30680
(A) : 26 students
(B) : 1 student
(C) : 5 students
(D) : 3 students
(E) : 2 students

Astronomy current events question: Pluto's "icy winds"

Lauren Lipuma, "Pluto's Icy Heart makes Winds Blow" (February 4, 2020)
news.agu.org/press-release/plutos-icy-heart-makes-winds-blow/

Computer models explain how __________ on Pluto's heart-shaped Tombaugh Region may affect regional wind patterns.
(A) ice volcanoes.
(B) vapor geysers.
(C) methane pools.
(D) frozen nitrogen.
(E) erosion canyons.

Correct answer: (D)

Student responses
Sections 30679, 30680
(A) : 2 students
(B) : 1 student
(C) : 0 students
(D) : 35 students
(E) : 0 students

20200221

Astronomy current events question: Betelgeuse dimming

Bob King, "Betelgeuse is Dimming...Why?" (December 31, 2019)
skyandtelescope.com/observing/fainting-betelgeuse/

The red supergiant Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion is currently at a "superminimum" brightness as it:
(A) collapses into a black hole.
(B) depletes its heavy elements.
(C) points its axis away from Earth.
(D) passes behind its binary companion.
(E) expands and contracts its atmosphere.

Correct answer: (E)

Student responses
Sections 30679, 30680
(A) : 7 students
(B) : 4 students
(C) : 1 student
(D) : 0 students
(E) : 23 students

Astronomy current events question: oxygen extraction from lunar material?

News release, "ESA Opens Oxygen Plant--Making Air Out of Moondust" (January 17, 2020)
esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Engineering_Technology/ESA_opens_oxygen_plant_making_air_out_of_moondust

The European Space Agency demonstrated that a molten salt electrolysis process could extract __________ from material on the moon.
(A) gold.
(B) oxygen.
(C) helium-3.
(D) salt water.
(E) amino acids.

Correct answer: (B)

Student responses
Sections 30679, 30680
(A) : 0 students
(B) : 31 students
(C) : 1 student
(D) : 1 student
(E) : 2 students

Astronomy current events question: planet formation around red dwarfs

Rachel Atkinson, "UCLan Astronomers Find a Way to Form 'Fast and Furious' Planets Around Tiny Stars" (January 21, 2020)
uclan.ac.uk/news/uclan-astronomers-find-way-to-form-planets-around-tiny-stars.php

Researchers propose that giant planets can rapidly form around red dwarf stars, based on:
(A) solar flare activity.
(B) gravitational waves.
(C) computer simulations.
(D) interstellar dust samples.
(E) planetary ring compositions.

Correct answer: (C)

Student responses
Sections 30679, 30680
(A) : 2 students
(B) : 4 students
(C) : 15 students
(D) : 7 students
(E) : 6 students

20200207

Astronomy current events question: black hole mapped with x-ray echoes

News release, "XMM-Newton Uses Light Echoes to Map Dynamic Black Hole" (January 20, 2020)
bristol.ac.uk/news/2020/january/light-echoes-black-hole.html

The central area of galaxy IRAS 13224–3809 was mapped using __________ generated by gases falling into its supermassive black hole.
(A) x-ray echoes.
(B) sound waves.
(C) gravitational waves.
(D) strong magnetic fields.
(E) matter and antimatter pockets.

Correct answer: (A)

Student responses
Sections 30679, 30680
(A) : 28 students
(B) : 2 students
(C) : 5 students
(D) : 2 students
(E) : 2 students

Astronomy current events question: oldest rock on Earth found on the moon

Press release, "Earth's Oldest Rock Found on the Moon" (January 24, 2020)
solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/820/earths-oldest-rock-found-on-the-moon/

__________ provides evidence that a rock brought back from the moon was launched 4 billion years ago from Earth by a large impacting asteroid or comet.
(A) Chemical analysis.
(B) Fossilized bacteria.
(C) Radiocarbon dating.
(D) Magnetized iron grains.
(E) Shockwave-induced crystals.

Correct answer: (A)

Student responses
Sections 30679, 30680
(A) : 11 students
(B) : 3 students
(C) : 12 students
(D) : 1 students
(E) : 2 students

Astronomy current events question: merged binary stars near central supermassive black hoe

Stuart Wolpert, "Astronomers Discover Class of Strange Objects Near Our Galaxy's Enormous Black Hole" (January 15, 2020)
newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/astronomy-strange-objects-galaxy-black-hole

Researchers propose that __________ fluctuate between compact and gaseous behavior near the Milky Way's supermassive black hole.
(A) wormholes.
(B) cosmic string loops.
(C) dark matter vortices.
(D) merged binary stars.
(E) matter and antimatter pockets.

Correct answer: (D)

Student responses
Sections 30679, 30680
(A) : 2 students
(B) : 3 students
(C) : 2 students
(D) : 19 students
(E) : 3 students

20200131

Astronomy current events question: habitable zone exoplanet TOI 700 d

Jeanette Kazmierczak, "NASA Planet Hunter Finds its First Earth-Size Habitable-Zone World" (January 6, 2020)
nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/nasa-planet-hunter-finds-its-1st-earth-size-habitable-zone-world

NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) discovered an Earth-size exoplanet in a star's habitable zone, where this exoplanet may have _________ on its surface: (A) liquid water. (B) microbial mats. (C) active volcanoes. (D) phosphate-rich soils. (E) carbon-rich deposits.

Correct answer: (A)

Student responses
Sections 30679, 30680
(A) : 31 students
(B) : 4 students
(C) : 2 students
(D) : 4 students
(E) : 2 students

Astronomy current events question: Venus' active volcanoes?

News release, "Scientists Find Evidence that Venus May Have Active Volcanoes" (January 3, 2020)
lpi.usra.edu/features/010320/venus/

Venus may currently have active volcanoes, based on laboratory experiments of how __________ may have affected minerals over time.
(A) solar storms.
(B) ancient oceans.
(C) meteor impacts.
(D) strong magnetic fields.
(E) atmospheric conditions.

Correct answer: (E)

Student responses
Sections 30679, 30680
(A) : 2 students
(B) : 1 student
(C) : 3 students
(D) : 7 students
(E) : 27 students

Astronomy current events question: exoplanet evaporating around white dwarf WDJ0914+1914

News release, "First Giant Planet around White Dwarf Found" (December 4, 2019)
eso.org/public/news/eso1919/

The white dwarf WDJ0914+1914 is orbited by an evaporating __________, based on analyzing the gases in its surrounding disk. (A) comet belt.
(B) ring system.
(C) antimatter cloud.
(D) Hawking black hole.
(E) Neptune-like exoplanet.

Correct answer: (E)

Student responses
Sections 30679, 30680
(A) : 3 students
(B) : 3 students
(C) : 10 students
(D) : 4 students
(E) : 21 students

20191206

Astronomy current events question: giant exoplanet orbit computer simulation

Astronomy 210L, fall semester 2019
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Students are assigned to read online articles on current astronomy events, and take a short current events quiz during the first 10 minutes of lab. (This motivates students to show up promptly to lab, as the time cut-off for the quiz is strictly enforced!)

Tim Stephens, "Simulations Explain Giant Exoplanets with Eccentric, Close-in Orbits" (October 30, 2019)
news.ucsc.edu/2019/10/giant-planets.html

The close-in, eccentric orbits of gas giant exoplanets may be due to planetary collisions and ejections, based on:
(A) look-back time.
(B) far-infrared imaging.
(C) computer simulations.
(D) gravity wave detectors.
(E) lack of solar flare activity.

Correct answer: (C)

Student responses
Sections 70178, 70186
(A) : 4 students
(B) : 5 students
(C) : 24 students
(D) : 1 student
(E) : 0 students

Astronomy current events question: multiple Sunburst Arc galaxy images

Martina d'Angelo, "Astronomers Observe a Sunburst from the Early Universe--in 12 Copies" (November 8, 2019)
titan.uio.no/node/3518

Multiple zoomed-in images of early star formation in the Sunburst Arc galaxy were produced by:
(A) antimatter fields.
(B) neutrino emissions.
(C) gravitational lensing.
(D) radio interferometry.
(E) scanning old photographic plates.

Correct answer: (C)

Student responses
Sections 70178, 70186
(A) : 1 student
(B) : 9 students
(C) : 16 students
(D) : 4 students
(E) : 3 students

P-dog's blog: boring but important