Physics · Science General

Astronomy and Cosmology

4,450 Questions

This topic provides questions on astronomy, cosmology, and the physical universe. It covers subjects like the Hubble sequence, constellations, dark matter, and stellar evolution. These questions help build a strong foundation for general science exam sections.

Galaxies and clustersConstellations and starsStellar evolutionSpace observatories

Astronomy and Cosmology Questions

Multiple choice

Orion is a ___________.

  1. moon

  2. constellation

  3. planet

  4. solar system

  5. natural satellite
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

These are the group of the stars, which resemble with the outline of animals or some other shapes. Such groups of stars are called constellations. For example, Ursa major, Scorpio, Orion, Leo, etc. Orion is in the shape of hunter.

Multiple choice

Infrared astronomy is the detection and study of the infrared radiation (heat energy) emitted from objects in the Universe. Which of the following compounds is used in infrared imaging and infrared astronomy?

  1. Silver telluride

  2. Sodium telluride

  3. Mercury zinc telluride

  4. Mercury cadmium telluride
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Mercury zinc telluride (HgZnTe, MZT) is a telluride of mercury and zinc, an alloy of mercury telluride and zinc telluride. It is a narrow-gap semiconductor material. Mercury zinc telluride is used in infrared detectors and arrays for infrared imaging and infrared astronomy.

Multiple choice

Directions: Choose the option that is incorrect in spellings/grammar . (1) The stars mainly consist of hydrogen and helium which produce nuclear reactions and energy. (2) Experts say that carbon dioxide is ideal for doucing fires. (3) The glue of urban infrastructure holds our cities' diverse population together . (4) Only a show of kindness can persuade them.

  1. 1 & 3

  2. 4

  3. 2

  4. 2 & 3

  5. None
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Correct; the spelling of the word ' doucing' is incorrect. The correct spelling is ' dousing'.

Multiple choice

Star gazers have often looked up and seen clusters of stars in the sky whose shape resembles an animal or a mythological figure.

  1. Star gazers have often looked up and seen clusters of stars in the sky whose shape resembles

  2. Star gazers have often looked up into the sky and saw clusters of stars whose shape resembles

  3. Star gazers have often looked up in the sky and seen clusters of stars the shape of whom resembles

  4. Clusters of stars have often been seen by star gazers up in the sky whose shape resembles

  5. Star gazers have often looked up into the sky and seen clusters of stars, the shapes of which resemble those of
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

Correct; uses the right verb tense - 'resemble' to refer to a plural subject - 'clusters of stars'. Also, corrects the Error of Misplaced Modifier by referring to 'clusters of stars' as the subject the shape of which resemble 'those of' various animals or mythological figures.

Multiple choice

Directions: In each of these questions, choose the pair from the options that is similar in relationship to the one expressed in the given pair.

CONSTELLATION : STAR ::

  1. Center : Circle

  2. Earth : Moon

  3. Rain : Water

  4. Archipelago : Islands
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

A constellation is a group or collection of stars forming a pattern. Similarly, an archipelago is a group or collection of islands. The relationship is "collection : individual element". Center:Circle is part-to-whole reversed. Earth:Moon and Rain:Water don't show a collection-to-element relationship.

Multiple choice

Hubble is a/an

  1. atomic weapon

  2. musical instruments

  3. astronomical telescope

  4. star
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Hubble refers to the Hubble Space Telescope, a revolutionary astronomical observatory deployed in low Earth orbit. It has provided unprecedented images and data about distant galaxies, nebulae, and other celestial objects since its launch in 1990.

Multiple choice

Directions: Read the following information and answer the question that follows.

According to a study conducted at Birla Planetarium at Kolkata, an asteroid was discovered at the other end of Milky Way Galaxy, which defined different electromagnetic spectrum denoting different compositions at different observations and has never been observed to exhibit the same spectrum twice.

Which of the following is suggested by the above passage?

  1. The new asteroid can be eventually expected to have definite composition.

  2. The new asteroid is different from all asteroids previously known.

  3. The Birla Planetarium is not a reliable source of information about the new asteroids.

  4. The new asteroid can be identified on the basis of some characteristics other than its spectrum.

  5. None of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

If the newly discovered asteroid has been identified in several spectra, it can be inferred that (4) there must be some other way besides spectrum to identify this asteroid. If this were not the case, the scientists wouldn’t know that it was the same asteroid they were observing when it exhibited different spectra.

Multiple choice

Which is an example of star?

  1. Sun

  2. Moon

  3. Earth

  4. None of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The Sun is a star - specifically a G-type main-sequence star (yellow dwarf) located at the center of our solar system. It generates energy through nuclear fusion in its core, converting hydrogen into helium. This distinguishes it from planets like Earth and moons like our Moon, which reflect light rather than produce it.

Multiple choice

A group of stars is called _________.

  1. galaxy

  2. planetoid

  3. meteorite

  4. asteroid

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

A galaxy is a gravitationally bound system of stars, gas, dust, and dark matter. Our Milky Way contains 100-400 billion stars. Asteroids and meteorites are rocky bodies, while planetoids are small planets.

Multiple choice

Pole star is the/a _______ star.

  1. farthest

  2. closest

  3. stationary

  4. shooting
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The Pole Star (Polaris) appears stationary from Earth's perspective because it lies almost exactly above Earth's rotational axis (north celestial pole). While other stars appear to move across the sky due to Earth's rotation, Polaris remains fixed in the same position, making it useful for navigation.

Multiple choice

Which star is the nearest to the earth

  1. Sun

  2. Polaris

  3. Sirius

  4. Alpha Centauri

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The Sun is the closest star to Earth at about 150 million kilometers away. While Sirius and Alpha Centauri are bright stars, they are much farther from our solar system than the Sun.

Multiple choice

What is a dense, hot, tiny star reaching its final stage called?

  1. Red Giant

  2. Red Dwarf

  3. White Dwarf

  4. Black Dwarf
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

A white dwarf is the final evolutionary stage of low to medium mass stars. After the red giant phase, the star sheds its outer layers and leaves behind an extremely dense, hot core about the size of Earth.

Multiple choice

The authors propose all of the following as possibly contributing to the “missing matter” in spiral galaxies Except

Directions: Read the passage and answer the following question:

            After evidence was obtained in the 1920s that the universe is expanding, it became reasonable to ask: will the universe continue to expand indefinitely, or is there enough mass in it for the mutual attraction of its constituents to bring this expansion to a halt? It can be calculated that the critical density of matter needed to break the expansion and “close” the universe, is equivalent to three hydrogen atoms per cubic metre. But the density of the observable universe-luminous matter in the form of galaxies-comes to only a fraction of this. If the expansion of the universe is to stop, there must be enough invisible matter in the universe to exceed the luminous matter in density by a factor of roughly 70.
            Our contribution to the search for this “missing matter” has been to study the rotational velocity of galaxies at various distances from their centre of rotation. It has been known for some time that outside the bright nucleus of typical spiral galaxy luminosity falls off rapidly with distance from the centre. If luminosity is a true indicator of mass, most of the mass would be concentrated toward the centre. Outside the nucleus the rotational velocity would decrease geometrically with the distance from the centre, in conformity with Kepler’s law. Instead we have found that the rotational velocity in spiral galaxies either remains constant with increasing distance from the centre or increases slightly. This unexpected result indicates that the falloff in luminous mass with distance from the centre is balanced by an increase in nonluminous mass.
            Our findings suggest that as much as 90 percent of the mass of the universe is not radiating at any wavelength with enough intensity to be detected on the Earth. Such dark matter could be in the form of extremely dim stars of low mass of large planets like Jupiter, or of black holes, either small of massive. While it has not yet been determined whether this mass is sufficient to “close” the universe, some physicists consider it significant that estimates are converging on the critical value.

  1. Small, dim stars

  2. Massive stars

  3. Massive black holes

  4. Large planets
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Massive stars is not mentioned in the passage.