Name: Date: Science Quiz: Happy Birthday, Hubble!Science ...

[Pages:3]Name: ______________________________ Date: ____________________

Science Quiz: Happy Birthday, Hubble!

1. Why is the Hubble Space Telescope important?

a. It represents the "greatest advancement in astronomy since Galileo." b. It allows astronomers to look farthest into space and deepest in time. c. It is an amazing technological achievement. d. Its position in orbit gives it capabilities that telescopes on Earth do not. e. All of the above.

2. Dr. Lyman Spitzer, who is recognized as "Hubble's intellectual and political father," proposed in 1954 that a telescope in space could take photographs without interference from Earth's _________, which distorts images and blocks portions of the _________, including ultraviolet and infrared radiation.

a. magnetic field / polar auroras b. cloud cover / visible spectrum c. atmosphere / electromagnetic spectrum d. curvature / science spectrum e. ozone layer / electromagnetic spectrum

3. After 12 years in planning and development, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched into orbit in 1990. Soon after, astronomers discovered that a manufacturing error in one of the telescope's main __________ made the telescope unable to __________ incoming light, rendering the wide-field and planetary camera unusable.

a. lenses / refract b. instruments / capture c. mirrors / reflect d. mirrors / focus e. instrument / sense

4. The Hubble Space Telescope, sometimes called the People's Telescope, is best known for its amazing images, nicknamed ______________.

a. space pics b. Hub shots c. Spacebook updates d. iphotos e. cosmic postcards

5. When the space shuttle __________ blasted off in May 2009 for the last repair mission to Hubble, it carried with it a special 575-pound IMAX camera used to record footage for "Hubble 3-D," which was released into theatres on March 19, 2010.

a. Atlantis b. Challenger c. Apollo d. Discovery e. Endeavor

6. This image () of a _____________ galaxy, taken with the Hubble's main camera, is six million ___________ away, located in the constellation Ursa Major.

a. spiral / astronomical units b. barred spiral / light-years c. elliptical / light-years d. irregular / miles e. barred spiral / kilometers

7. One way astronomers use evidence from the Hubble Space Telescope is to seek an elusive number known as the Hubble Constant, also named after Edwin Hubble. With the units "kilometers per second per megaparsec," the Hubble Constant is the measurement of ________.

a. the total mass of the universe b. the rate of expansion of the universe c. the speed of light d. the acceleration of the expansion of the universe e. the distance from Earth to the Sun

8. Look at these two photos: . The top image, taken in _______ light, shows the pillar of gas and dust that makes up the Carina Nebula as your eye might envision it. The bottom image shows the same object but taken in _________ light, sometimes called heat radiation, rendering visible the infant star obscured by the dust.

a. infrared / visible b. ultraviolet / visible c. visible / ultraviolet d. ultraviolet / infrared e. visible / infrared

9. In May 2009, along with his duties as a Hubble repairman, astronaut Dr. Michael J. Massimino also became the first person to send a(n) _____________ from space.

a. photograph b. e-mail c. tweet d. video recording e. text message

10. Since the addition of the new Wide Field Camera 3, the Hubble Space Telescope has recorded images of some of the oldest and most distant galaxies ever seen, some about 600 million years after the Big Bang. Given that cosmologists agree that the universe is about 13.7 billion years old, this means that the light from these galaxies has been on its way to us for about __________ years.

a. 600 million b. 1 billion c. 6 billion d. 13 billion e. 13.7 billion

11. The newly repaired Hubble was used to snap a photo of Jupiter's new "black eye," which appeared on the planet in July 2009 after _____________.

a. an unknown change took place b. scientists landed a rover on the planet c. a small comet or other object crashed into the giant planet d. a huge storm in the planet's atmosphere picked up speed e. an eruption of volcanic ash occurred on the planet

12. With the final repairs to Hubble in 2009 a major success, astronomers expect the telescope to remain in excellent condition until at least __________, when its successor, the James Webb Space Telescope, should be in orbit.

a. 2012 b. 2014 c. 2020 d. 2025 e. 2050

Answers and hints:

1. Answer: e Hints: The overview on the Times Topics page on the Hubble Space Telescope () and the articles "Images Reveal Deepest Glance Into Universe" () and "Hubble, NASA's Comeback Kid, Survives to See a New Dawn" ()

2. Answer: c Hints: The overview on the Times Topics page on the Hubble Space Telescope () and the 1997 obituary "Lyman Spitzer Jr. Dies at 82; Inspired Hubble Telescope" ()

3. Answer: d Hint: The 1990 article "Hubble Telescope Loses Large Part of Optical Ability" ()

4. Answer: e Hint: The article "After Hubble Repair, New Images From Space" ()

5. Answer: a Hint: The article "Seeing What the Hubble Sees, in Imax and 3-D" ()

6. Answer: b Hint: The slide show "The Universe, In High Definition" ()

7. Answer: b Hint: The article "The Struggle to Measure Cosmic Expansion" ()

8. Answer: e Hint: The slide show "The Universe, In High Definition" ()

9. Answer: c Hint: The article "Seeing What the Hubble Sees, in Imax and 3-D" ()

10. Answer: d Hint: The article "With Updated Hubble Telescope, Reaching Farther Back in Time" ()

11. Answer: c Hint: The article "Hubble Takes Snapshot of Jupiter's `Black Eye'" ()

12. Answer: b Hint: The overview on the Times Topics page on the Hubble Space Telescope ()

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