Division C Team #: ________

3
Astronomy

UGA Division C Invitational

Written by: Rasmit Devkota

School Name:____________________________________________________________
Participant Name (s):_____________________________________________________
Team Letter (Circle one) : A or B
 UGA Science Olympiad Div C Invitational 2023
Astronomy Exam
Section A - General Questions
1. (1 point) Which of the following correctly lists the stellar classes of the Morgan-Keenan system in
order from smallest to largest main-sequence radius?
a. ABFGKMO
b. AOMBFKG
c. OBAFGKM
d. MKGFABO
2. (4 points) Which of the following conditions are not necessary for a star to form? Select all that
apply.
a. Mass exceeding the TOV-limit
b. Temperature below 1000 K
c. Uniform magnetic field
d. Presence of heavy elements
3. (2 points) True or False - Galaxy mergers inhibit star formation because of the chaotic flow of dust
and gas.
a. True
b. False
4. (2 points) True or False - Active galactic nuclei indicate high planetary formation rates.
a. False
b. True
5. (2 points) If you were to spot a Type 1a supernova, which of the following objects could you, with
the most certainty, assume to be located most closely to the supernova.
a. A red giant
b. A white dwarf
c. A neutron star
d. A black hole
6. (4 points) A molecular cloud at a distance of 140 kpc with a diameter of 5 pc. What angular
diameter would you expect to observe?
a. 0.737 × 101 arcsecs
b. 0.737 × 102 arcsecs
c. 0.737 × 103 arcsecs
d. 0.737 × 104 arcsecs
7. (4 points) Which of the following could be inferred about a star with a debris disk?
a. There are no planets forming around it
b. There is at least one planet forming around it
c. There is at least one planet which has already formed around it
d. There was a failed proto-planet which could not fully form around it
 UGA Science Olympiad Div C Invitational 2023
Astronomy Exam

The next three questions are regarding the following scenario: You spend a night in the desert observing a
star which appears to be blue.

8. (3 points) You want to measure its hydrogen lines to perform stellar classification of the star. How
would this be done?
a. Plot the light curve with respect to each wavelength of light
b. Measure the amount of variation in luminosity over time
c. Plot the intensity of light of different wavelengths
d. Use the luminosity and temperature to calculate the peak wavelength
9. (3 points) You observe weak hydrogen lines in the star’s spectrum. Which of the following spectral
classes does it most likely fall into?
a. A
b. F
c. M
d. O
10. (4 points) Select all of the following statements which could be true about this star.
a. It appears in the upper left corner of a traditional Hertzsprung-Russell diagram.
b. All stars evolve into this star’s class at some point in their lifetimes.
c. This star is relatively dim compared to other stellar classes.
d. This star hosts at least one planet.

11. (3 points) Planet A is located d meters away from its star and receives light with an intensity of J
W/m2. What would the intensity of light received be for another planet in this same system, Planet
B, which is located twice as far from the star?
a. 4J
b. 2J
c. J/2
d. J/4
12. (4 points) What is the intensity of light received at a point on a planet located 1 AU away from its
central star, which has half the radius and and twice the surface temperature of our Sun?
a. 5.49 × 101 W/m2
b. 5.49 × 102 W/m2
c. 5.49 × 103 W/m2
d. 5.49 × 104 W/m2
 UGA Science Olympiad Div C Invitational 2023
Astronomy Exam
13. (3 points) You spot a variable light source through your telescope and hypothesize that it’s due to a
planet orbiting a star. Which of the following visualizations would be most useful in determining
the period of this orbit?
a. Hertzsprung-Russell diagram
b. Emission spectrum
c. Absorption spectrum
d. Light curve
14. (2 points) You fly a rocket ship to a distance of 10 parsecs away from a star and measure its apparent
magnitude to be 7.38. What is the absolute magnitude of this star?
a. 73.8
b. 7.38
c. -7.38
d. 0.738
15. (4 points) A planet is orbiting a star approximately circularly with a velocity of 3.14 × 105 m/s.
What velocity would the planet need to escape the star’s gravitational pull?
a. 2.22 × 105 m/s
b. 4.44 × 105 m/s
c. 6.28 × 105 m/s
d. 1.26 × 106 m/s
16. (4 points) Approximating planets to be black bodies, what is the minimum peak wavelength you
would expect to observe from a planet which can sustain water in liquid form? Hint: Think about
the radiation laws!
a. 7.76 × 10-4 meters
b. 7.76 × 10-5 meters
c. 7.76 × 10-6 meters
d. 7.76 × 10-7 meters
17. (4 points) You estimate that a certain planet, located approximately 3 Mpc away from Earth, orbits
a star with an average angular separation of 6 × 10-6 arcseconds. Based on this measurement, what is
their average separation in AU?
a. 7.66 × 1019 AU
b. 7.66 × 1010 AU
c. 7.66 × 1011 AU
d. 7.66 × 1012 AU
 UGA Science Olympiad Div C Invitational 2023
Astronomy Exam
18. (4 points) Which of the following is not true of the direct imaging method for detecting
exoplanets? Select all that apply.
a. Attaining practical image quality requires one to be located very close to the system of
interest, making it most useful for studying our solar system.
b. Collecting sufficient data for analysis can take many months or even years since you need to
plot the system’s light curve over at least one period.
c. The resolving power of the telescope must be very high to distinguish an exoplanet located
far away.
d. You must know the distance to the system of interest to ignore the effects of cosmological
redshift.
19. (2 points) True or False - The indirect methods for detecting exoplanets are more powerful than the
direct method for the purpose of producing images of exoplanets.
a. True
b. False
20. (4 points) You are studying the below transit photometry curve you generated using data from a
distant star system. Which of the following conclusions could be true based on this curve alone?
a. This system contains only two planets.
b. This system contains more than two planets.
c. The planets in this system are equal in size.
d. This system contains more than one central star.
21. (2 points) Which one of the following physical phenomena is used in the radial velocity method for
detecting exoplanets?
a. Doppler Effect
b. Stefan-Boltzmann Law
c. Stellar Parallax
d. Wien’s Law
22. (2 points) Which of the following best matches the definition of a hot Jupiter?
a. A very small star (not much more massive than Jupiter) but hot enough to be classified as a
star
b. A gas giant (like Jupiter) whose surface fluid temperature exceeds 100 degrees Celsius,
allowing for evaporation into the atmosphere
c. A very small star (not much more massive than Jupiter)
d. A gas giant (like Jupiter) with a much, much larger high orbital velocity around its central
star
 UGA Science Olympiad Div C Invitational 2023
Astronomy Exam
Answer the following questions on the open response answer sheet. Please make sure your school name and team
number (C__) are on the answer sheet!

23. (2 points) Explain the distinction between a quasar and a blazar.

24. (3 points) Could a white dwarf collapse into a black hole? If so, explain how it could occur. If not,
explain why this cannot occur.
a. Bonus (1 point): What fundamental physical principle would a white dwarf theoretically
have to overcome for this to occur, whether it is possible or not?
25. (4 points) True or False - A planet whose surface is similar to that of Earth (such as land and water
distribution) but is larger than the Earth. If this statement is false, modify it to make it true.
26. (6 points) Explain with appropriate detail (3-4 sentences or bullet points) how a planetary system
forms.
Section B - Deep-Sky Objects (DSOs)
27. (3 points) Identify the below DSO.

a. TW Hya
b. HH 7-11
c. AB Aurigae
d. HD 169142
 UGA Science Olympiad Div C Invitational 2023
Astronomy Exam
28. (3 points) Identify the below DSO.

a. Carina Nebula
b. NGC 1333
c. V830 Tau b
d. V 1298 Tau b

29. (3 points) Identify the below DSO.

a. HD 169142
b. Herbig Haro 7-11
c. Alpha Pictoris
d. TW Hydrae
 UGA Science Olympiad Div C Invitational 2023
Astronomy Exam
30. (3 points) Identify the below DSO.

a. NGC 1333
b. Beta Pictoris
c. Carina Nebula
d. Luhman 16
31. (3 points) Which of the descriptions most accurately classifies the DSO depicted below?

a. Hot Neptune planet

b. Type II supernova
c. T-Tauri star system
d. Supermassive black hole
32. (3 points) Which of the DSOs listed below is the most massive?
a. WASP-18b
b. WASP-39b
c. WASP-43b
d. TRAPPIST-1
 UGA Science Olympiad Div C Invitational 2023
Astronomy Exam
33. (4 points) Which of the DSOs listed below could be a planetary system or a part of one? Select all
that apply.
a. HR 8799
b. WASP-39b
c. Beta Pictoris
d. TRAPPIST-1
34. (3 points) Of the letters of the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram below, which would the DSO 2M
107A be plotted closest to?

a. The letter A
b. The letter B
c. The letter C
d. This DSO appears on a Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram but not near one of the letters
e. This DSO would not appear on a Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram at all