< Radiation astronomy < Standard candles
The images show a standard candle. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/M. Marengo (Iowa State).

Standard candles is a lecture about an optical astronomy technique for estimating distances beyond the capability of trigonometric parallax. It is also a mini-lecture for a quiz section as part of the department of radiation astronomy course on the principles of radiation astronomy.

You are free to take this quiz based on standard candles at any time.

To improve your score, read and study the lecture, the links contained within, listed under See also, External links, and in the {{principles of radiation astronomy}} template. This should give you adequate background to get 100 %.

As a "learning by doing" resource, this quiz helps you to assess your knowledge and understanding of the information, and it is a quiz you may take over and over as a learning resource to improve your knowledge, understanding, test-taking skills, and your score.

Suggestion: Have the lecture available in a separate window.

To master the information and use only your memory while taking the quiz, try rewriting the information from more familiar points of view, or be creative with association.

Enjoy learning by doing!

Quiz

  

1 Which of the following are associated with planetary nebula as a standard candle?

observations made through a narrow band 5007 filter
internal extinction
star forming regions
relatively dust-free environments
found in galaxies of all Hubble types
almost as luminous as the brightest red supergiants

2 Supernovae of Type Ia lack hydrogen lines and helium lines in their optical spectra; during the first month after maximum light they do have a strong absorption feature produced by the red doublet (λ6347, λ6371 Å) of singly ionized?

.

3 Which of the following are associated with surface brightness fluctuations as a standard candle?

characteristic mottling
discreteness of the stars
measurable bumpiness in surface brightness
incipient resolution
MMRDs
easy to recognize

4 True or False, The global HI 21-cm line-width corrected for projection is used as a measure of a galaxy's rotational velocity.

TRUE
FALSE

5 Which of the following are associated with red clump stars as a standard candle?

many examples within reach of parallax measurements
internal extinction
star forming regions
sufficiently bright
local group galaxies
almost as luminous as the brightest red supergiants

6 True or False, The most frequently preferred standard candle for distances to galaxies is the Type-II supernova.

TRUE
FALSE

7 Which of the following are associated with Type-Ia supernovae as a standard candle?

lack silicon lines
lack hydrogen lines
lack helium lines
lack lithium lines
expanding photosphere method
almost as luminous as the brightest red supergiants

8 True or False, Delta Cephei is a standard candle that is expanding.

TRUE
FALSE

9 AGNs may be used as standard candles because?

they are extremely luminous
can be observed at very large distances
they emit their own light signature
GeV gamma rays
reverberation mapping
tight relationship between the luminosity of an AGN and the radius of its broad line region

10 True or False, Messier 31 is a planetary nebula.

TRUE
FALSE

11 Which of the following are associated with globular clusters as a standard candle?

characteristic mottling
luminosity functions
turnover point
incipient resolution
dispersion of the distribution
easy to recognize
log-normal function

12 True or False, Betelgeuse is a standard candle.

TRUE
FALSE

13 Which of the following are associated with standard candles?

Cepheid variables
Type Ia supernovae
the Sun
stellar spectral type
absolute magnitude
Tully-Fisher relation

14 Yes or No, Stars whose distances have been accurately determined with trigonometric parallax can be used as standard candles.

Yes
No

15 Which of the following are associated with classical Cepheids as a standard candle?

characteristic mottling
young, disk objects
recent star formation
incipient resolution
pulsation phenomenon
easy to recognize
correction for absorption

16 Complete the text:

The empirical relationship between the luminosity of a spiral/irregular galaxy and its

, known as the luminosity-line-width or

, has become one of the most widely used

distance indicators.

17 Which of the following are associated with elliptical galaxies as a standard candle?

observations made through a narrow band 5007 filter
luminous galaxies
star forming regions
the Faber-Jackson relation
relationship between luminosity and central velocity dispersion
quantitative techniques based on Fourier or cross correlation methods
strongly clustered
single dominant young stellar population

18 Complete the text:

Match up the standard candle with a representative image:
Tully-Fisher relation - A
surface brightness fluctuations - B
absolute magnitude - C
globular clusters - D
active galactic nuclei - E
Type Ia supernova - F
classical Cepheid variable - G
novae - H
planetary nebula - I
65Cyb-LB3-apmag.jpg

Maximum magnitude-rate of decline for novae.gif

.
B-, R-, I-, and H-band Tully-Fisher relations.gif

.
Blackbody spectral density.gif

.
SN2005ke labels.jpg

.
A further away schematic galaxy.gif

.
1-agnsasanewst.jpg

.
Planetary nebulae H-R.gif

Luminosity function for globular clusters.gif

.

19 Which of the following are associated with novae as a standard candle?

luminous
old stellar population
amount of Cherenkov light
relatively dust-free environments
MMRDs
easy to recognize

Hypotheses

  1. A size independent standard candle is a better type of standard candle.

See also

{{Radiation astronomy resources}}

This article is issued from Wikiversity. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.