Measuring astronomical distances Quiz
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5 questions, one answer each
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1. A star has a parallax angle of 0.020 arcseconds. How far away is it?
- A. 0.020 pc
- B. 0.040 pc
- C. 50 pc
- D. 5.0 pc
2. What is the parallax angle if a star is 8.0 pc away?
- A. 8.0 arcseconds
- B. 0.125 arcseconds
- C. 0.25 arcseconds
- D. 64 arcseconds
3. What must be known to use a standard candle to find a distance?
- A. Its parallax angle
- B. Its radius
- C. Its surface temperature
- D. Its luminosity
4. Why is parallax unsuitable for measuring the distance to another galaxy?
- A. The parallax angle is far too small to measure
- B. Galaxies do not have a parallax angle
- C. The Earth does not move enough
- D. Galaxies are too bright
5. A standard candle has luminosity 4.0 × 10³⁰ W and gives intensity 1.0 × 10⁻¹⁰ W m⁻². What is its distance?
- A. 3.2 × 10³⁹ m
- B. 6.3 × 10¹⁹ m
- C. 1.8 × 10¹⁹ m
- D. 4.0 × 10⁴⁰ m