Exam 1: The Scale of the Cosmos: Space and Time

Using a cosmic calendar where the entire history of the universe is spread over only one day starting at 12 A.m., at about what time did the era of dinosaurs end?

The average distance from Earth to the Sun is 1 AU.

What is the implication if the distance to the nearest star is 4.2 light-years?

What is the reason for compressing the history of the universe into a single year in the cosmic calendar?

The Sun is a star in the Milky Way Galaxy.

What does a typical galaxy like our Milky Way galaxy contain?

Which of the following has the distances arranged in order from largest to smallest?

What is the name of the hazy band of light that circles our sky, produced by the glow of our galaxy?

A(n) ____________________ is the distance that light would travel in one year.

A supercluster refers to a large group of stars within the Milky Way.

Light takes about 8 minutes to travel from the Sun to Earth and about 40 minutes to travel from the Sun to Jupiter. Jupiter is about ____________________ AU from the Sun.

How is a planet different from a star?

Using a cosmic calendar where the big bang happened at midnight January 1, at what time did human civilization emerge?

What is 5.7×10⁷ the same as?

Which of the following has the distances arranged in order from smallest to largest?

If we say that an object is 1,000 light-years away, how does that affect how we see it?

How long does it take for light to cross the Milky Way galaxy?

If the distance to a star is 450 light-years, what can we conclude about the star?

How long does it take for light to travel from the Sun to Neptune?

3.49 × 10⁷ km is the same as 3.49 × 10⁴ m.