ASP History of Astronomy 3

Question 1

Who first proposed the 'hypothesis of the primeval atom'—what we now call the Big Bang theory—in 1927?

Accepted Answer

Georges Lemaître

Answer

Fred Hoyle

Answer

George Gamow

Answer

Alexander Friedmann

Question 2

Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin's landmark 1925 doctoral thesis revolutionized stellar astronomy by revealing that stars are primarily composed of which element?

Accepted Answer

Hydrogen

Answer

Iron

Answer

Helium

Answer

Oxygen

Question 3

Charles Messier compiled his famous catalog of nebulae and star clusters in the 18th century. What was his original motivation for creating this list?

Accepted Answer

To avoid confusing these fuzzy objects with comets he was hunting

Answer

To catalog all known deep-sky objects for future observers

Answer

To document targets for the newly invented reflecting telescope

Answer

To create a training guide for astronomy students

Question 4

Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Antony Hewish discovered pulsars in 1967. What were pulsars initially nicknamed upon discovery due to their mysterious, extremely regular radio pulses?

Accepted Answer

LGMs (Little Green Men)

Answer

Quasars

Answer

Blazars

Answer

Magnetars

Question 5

Vera Rubin provided key observational evidence for dark matter in the 1970s by studying the rotation curves of spiral galaxies. What did her measurements reveal?

Accepted Answer

Stars at the outer edges of galaxies orbit just as fast as inner stars, implying much more mass than visible

Answer

Galaxy rotation curves decline steeply at large radii, confirming most mass is centrally concentrated

Answer

Galaxies rotate as rigid bodies with uniform angular velocity throughout

Answer

The rotation speed of outer stars slightly exceeds Kepler's prediction by 10%

Question 6

The Soviet Union's Sputnik 1, launched on October 4, 1957, marked the start of the Space Age. What was its primary scientific contribution beyond being the first artificial satellite?

Accepted Answer

It transmitted radio signals that allowed study of the ionosphere

Answer

It took the first photographs of Earth from orbit

Answer

It measured cosmic ray intensity above the atmosphere

Answer

It deployed the first space telescope

Question 7

The James Webb Space Telescope, launched in December 2021, observes primarily in which part of the electromagnetic spectrum, enabling it to see through dust clouds and observe the early universe?

Accepted Answer

Infrared

Answer

Ultraviolet

Answer

Visible light

Answer

X-ray