Hubble space telescope - Exam
  • 1. When was the Hubble Space Telescope launched?
A) 1995
B) 2000
C) 1985
D) 1990
  • 2. Which space agency launched the Hubble Space Telescope?
A) NASA
B) ESA
C) Roscosmos
D) ISRO
  • 3. What type of telescope is the Hubble Space Telescope?
A) Reflecting
B) Radio
C) Refracting
D) Infrared
  • 4. Which component of the Hubble telescope captures light and directs it to the instruments?
A) Control module
B) Antennas
C) Solar panels
D) Primary mirror
  • 5. What was the main issue with Hubble's primary mirror after its launch?
A) Power failure
B) Lost contact with Earth
C) Cracks in the mirror
D) Spherical aberration
  • 6. Where is the Hubble Space Telescope's control center located?
A) Johnson Space Center
B) Kennedy Space Center
C) Goddard Space Flight Center
D) Ames Research Center
  • 7. How large is the primary mirror of the Hubble Space Telescope?
A) 2.4 meters
B) 3 meters
C) 5 meters
D) 1 meter
  • 8. Who is the telescope named after?
A) Isaac Newton
B) Edwin Hubble
C) Galileo Galilei
D) Albert Einstein
  • 9. What technology was used to correct the Hubble Space Telescope's fuzzy vision?
A) X-ray optics
B) Laser technology
C) Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement (COSTAR)
D) Digital imaging
  • 10. Which regions of the electromagnetic spectrum does Hubble observe in?
A) Microwave and radio waves
B) Visible light only
C) Infrared, X-ray, and gamma-ray
D) Ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared
  • 11. Which mission corrected the spherical aberration in Hubble's optics?
A) STS-125 in 2009
B) STS-135 in 2011
C) STS-31 in 1990
D) STS-61 in 1993
  • 12. How many Space Shuttle missions were conducted to repair and upgrade Hubble?
A) Three
B) Five
C) Six
D) Seven
  • 13. Who was the astronomer that published a paper in 1946 discussing the advantages of an extraterrestrial observatory?
A) Nancy Grace Roman
B) Hermann Oberth
C) Lyman Spitzer
D) Edwin Hubble
  • 14. What was one of the main advantages of a space-based observatory over ground-based telescopes, according to Lyman Spitzer?
A) Limitations on resolution due to atmospheric turbulence are eliminated.
B) Space telescopes can observe only visible light.
C) Space telescopes cannot observe infrared and ultraviolet light.
D) Ground-based telescopes have better angular resolution.
  • 15. What was the first space mission to obtain an ultraviolet spectrum of the Sun?
A) 1983
B) 1962
C) 1975
D) 1946
  • 16. Who is known as the 'Mother of Hubble' for her pivotal role in its development?
A) Nancy Grace Roman
B) Hermann Oberth
C) Edwin Hubble
D) Lyman Spitzer
  • 17. What was the original planned launch year for the Large Space Telescope (LST) before it became known as Hubble?
A) 1990
B) 1979
C) 1983
D) 2001
  • 18. What was the main scientific contribution of Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 (OAO-2)?
A) Ultraviolet observations of stars and galaxies from 1968 to 1972.
B) Microwave studies of cosmic microwave background radiation.
C) X-ray imaging of the Moon.
D) Gamma-ray observations of black holes.
  • 19. What program's success encouraged the astronomical community to pursue a Large Space Telescope (LST) as a major goal?
A) The ESA program
B) The LST program
C) The Hubble program
D) The OAO program
  • 20. In which year did NASA establish committees to plan the engineering and scientific goals of the space telescope project?
A) 1977
B) 1974
C) 1970
D) 1983
  • 21. What was the final approved budget by Congress in 1978 for the Hubble project?
A) $5 million
B) $100 million
C) No funding was approved.
D) $36 million
  • 22. What year did NASA aim to launch the Large Space Telescope (LST)?
A) 1990
B) 1983
C) 1974
D) 1978
  • 23. What significant scientific discovery is Edwin Hubble known for confirming?
A) The universe is expanding.
B) The structure of DNA.
C) The theory of relativity.
D) The existence of black holes.
  • 24. What percentage of observing time was guaranteed to European astronomers on Hubble?
A) 10%
B) 25%
C) At least 15%
D) 50%
  • 25. Which company was commissioned to design and build the optical telescope assembly (OTA) for Hubble?
A) Goddard Space Flight Center
B) Perkin-Elmer
C) Kodak
D) Lockheed
  • 26. What was the polishing accuracy required for Hubble's mirror?
A) 100 nanometers
B) 500 nanometers
C) 10 nanometers
D) 1 micrometer
  • 27. Which company constructed a backup mirror using traditional techniques?
A) Perkin-Elmer
B) Kodak
C) Lockheed
D) Itek
  • 28. What was the thickness of each plate in the Hubble mirror's sandwich structure?
A) 50 mm
B) 5 mm
C) 25 mm
D) 10 mm
  • 29. What was the original launch date planned for the Hubble Space Telescope?
A) April 1985
B) October 1984
C) March 1986
D) September 1986
  • 30. What was the thickness of the aluminum reflective coating on Hubble's mirror?
A) 100 nm
B) 65 nm
C) 50 nm
D) 25 nm
  • 31. Which material was used for the protective coating on Hubble's mirror?
A) Aluminum oxide
B) Magnesium fluoride
C) Silicon dioxide
D) Titanium nitride
  • 32. What was the total project budget for the Hubble Space Telescope by 1986?
A) $1.175 billion
B) $750 million
C) $1.5 billion
D) $900 million
  • 33. What was the final launch date for the Hubble Space Telescope after multiple postponements?
A) March 1986
B) October 1984
C) September 1986
D) April 1985
  • 34. What material is used in the HST's frame to keep its parts aligned?
A) Carbon fiber
B) Titanium alloy
C) Graphite-epoxy
D) Aluminum
  • 35. What method was used to reduce the risk of ice formation on HST's instruments?
A) A nitrogen gas purge before launch
B) Heating elements were installed in the instruments.
C) Water-absorbing materials were used.
D) The telescope was coated with an anti-ice material.
  • 36. What was added to the DF-224 during Servicing Mission 1 in 1993?
A) Additional memory modules.
B) An Intel-based 80386 processor with an 80387 math co-processor
C) A new cooling system.
D) Enhanced communication hardware.
  • 37. Which microprocessor did the MAT components use?
A) Hughes Aircraft CDP1802CD
B) RCA 1802 microprocessor.
C) Westinghouse NSSC-1.
D) Intel 80386 processor.
  • 38. Which institution built the Wide Field and Planetary Camera (WF/PC)?
A) University of Wisconsin–Madison
B) European Space Agency
C) Goddard Space Flight Center
D) NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
  • 39. What was the primary function of the Wide Field and Planetary Camera (WF/PC)?
A) Infrared observations
B) High-resolution optical imaging
C) Ultraviolet spectroscopy
D) Visible light photometry
  • 40. How many CCD chips did the WF/PC contain?
A) Eight
B) Four
C) Sixteen
D) Twelve
  • 41. What type of storage facilities were initially used on the Hubble Space Telescope when it was launched?
A) Solid state data storage
B) Flash memory
C) Reel-to-reel tape drives
D) Optical discs
  • 42. What was one of the unexpected findings regarding optical surfaces in LEO from Hubble's mission?
A) They are unaffected by vacuum conditions.
B) They degrade rapidly due to radiation.
C) They require frequent replacement.
D) They can have surprisingly long lifetimes.
  • 43. What color is typically rendered for infrared channels in false-color images from Hubble?
A) Vivid yellow
B) Deep red
C) Dark blue
D) Bright green
  • 44. What was the name of the dwarf planet discovered by Hubble in 2015 as a target for New Horizons' extended mission?
A) Pluto
B) Eris
C) 486958 Arrokoth
D) Sedna
  • 45. What was replaced with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) during Servicing Mission 1?
A) Gyroscopes
B) WF/PC
C) Solar arrays
D) High Speed Photometer
  • 46. Which instrument was kept in hibernation since 2008 but could be revived if WFC3 failed?
A) ACS
B) STIS
C) NICMOS
D) COSTAR
  • 47. What technique does the Frontier Fields program use to study distant galaxies?
A) Gravitational lensing
B) Ultraviolet imaging
C) Radio wave detection
D) X-ray observation
  • 48. What term describes the unknown cause of the universe's accelerated expansion?
A) Quantum flux
B) Dunkle Materie
C) Dark energy
D) Cosmic radiation
  • 49. Who can apply to extend or reduce the proprietary period of Hubble data?
A) NASA administrators
B) Any astronomer
C) The principal investigator (PI)
D) The director of STScI
  • 50. What is the term for the automatic calibration process used on Hubble data?
A) Data compression
B) Image enhancement
C) Manual calibration
D) Pipeline reduction
  • 51. How many mission simulations occurred before Servicing Mission 1?
A) Ten
B) Three
C) Seven
D) Five
  • 52. What technique did astronomers use to partially compensate for Hubble's defective mirror?
A) They used additional lenses to correct the images.
B) Sophisticated image processing techniques such as deconvolution.
C) Astronomers manually adjusted each image.
D) The telescope was recalibrated using ground-based observations.
  • 53. How many countries are involved in the COSMOS collaboration?
A) Five
B) Twenty
C) Two
D) A dozen
  • 54. When did NASA declare the first servicing mission a complete success?
A) January 13, 1994
B) February 14, 1994
C) March 1, 1994
D) December 31, 1993
  • 55. How many papers based on Hubble data had been published in peer-reviewed journals by 2025?
A) About 10,000
B) Approximately 15,000
C) Nearly 30,000
D) Over 22,000
  • 56. What was installed during Servicing Mission 3A to prevent battery overcharging?
A) Heat sink of solid nitrogen.
B) Voltage/temperature Improvement Kit (VIK).
C) New thermal insulation blankets.
D) Solid State Recorder.
  • 57. Which instrument was built by the University of Wisconsin–Madison?
A) Faint Object Camera (FOC)
B) Wide Field and Planetary Camera (WF/PC)
C) Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS)
D) High Speed Photometer (HSP)
  • 58. Where is the Faint Object Camera (FOC) displayed?
A) NASA's Johnson Space Center
B) Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
C) Dornier museum, Germany
D) Space Place at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
  • 59. What is the approximate altitude of Hubble's orbit?
A) 700 kilometers (435 mi)
B) 350 kilometers (217 mi)
C) 1000 kilometers (621 mi)
D) 540 kilometers (340 mi)
  • 60. How many spectral lines could the WF/PC isolate using its set of filters?
A) 96
B) 12
C) 24
D) 48
  • 61. What was considered more accurate but led to the error in Hubble's mirror?
A) Manual measurements.
B) The custom-built reflective null corrector.
C) Computer simulations.
D) Conventional refractive null correctors.
  • 62. Which observatory is coordinated with Hubble for some research projects?
A) Kepler Space Telescope
B) Chandra X-ray Observatory
C) Spitzer Space Telescope
D) James Webb Space Telescope
  • 63. Which astronaut was assigned to Servicing Mission 1 due to their experience in satellite repair procedures since 1976?
A) Buzz Aldrin
B) Story Musgrave
C) Neil Armstrong
D) Yuri Gagarin
  • 64. What event caused the postponement of the Hubble Space Telescope's launch originally planned for October 1986?
A) Delays in manufacturing parts
B) Technical issues with the telescope
C) The Challenger disaster
D) Budget cuts in NASA funding
  • 65. What was one study conducted by amateur astronomers using the Hubble Telescope?
A) Observation of exoplanets
B) Study of black holes
C) "Transition Comets – UV Search for OH"
D) Analysis of Earth's climate
  • 66. What significant discovery was made with Hubble's help in 2016?
A) A new solar system within our galaxy
B) The farthest confirmed galaxy, GN-z11
C) A new type of black hole
D) An Earth-like planet in the habitable zone
  • 67. What type of detectors did the FOC, FOS, and GHRS use?
A) Photon-counting digicons
B) Infrared sensors
C) Charge-coupled devices (CCDs)
D) Photomultiplier tubes
  • 68. How many orbits were used to map the southern half of Andromeda in the PHAST program?
A) 1000 orbits.
B) 500 orbits.
C) 195 orbits.
D) 828 orbits.
  • 69. What technique had obtained higher-resolution optical and infrared images than Hubble before its launch?
A) Radio astronomy
B) Aperture masking interferometry
C) Spectroscopy
D) X-ray imaging
  • 70. What was the resolution accuracy achieved by Hubble's Fine Guidance Sensors (FGS) for astrometry?
A) Within 0.0003 arcseconds
B) Within 0.001 arcseconds
C) Within 0.01 arcseconds
D) Within 1 arcsecond
  • 71. Which Space Shuttle mission successfully launched the Hubble Space Telescope on April 24, 1990?
A) STS-31
B) STS-28
C) STS-26
D) STS-41-C
  • 72. What is the solar avoidance angle for Hubble's observations?
A) 30°
B) About 50°
C) 90°
D) 70°
  • 73. Who headed the commission that investigated the error with the Hubble Space Telescope's mirror?
A) Edwin Hubble
B) Neil Armstrong
C) Carl Sagan
D) Lew Allen
  • 74. What is the estimated mass of comet C/2014 UN271's nucleus compared to other known comets?
A) Twice the mass
B) The same as other known comets
C) Ten times the mass
D) Fifty times the mass
  • 75. How many scientists are involved in the COSMOS collaboration?
A) Exactly 100
B) More than 200
C) Less than 50
D) About 500
  • 76. What was the main issue found by the Allen Commission regarding the Hubble's mirror?
A) A reflective null corrector had been incorrectly assembled.
B) The mirror was made of incorrect material.
C) The mirror was not polished enough.
D) The telescope's software was faulty.
  • 77. What significant discovery was made using Hubble data in the Orion Nebula?
A) Dark matter
B) Black holes
C) Proto-planetary disks (proplyds)
D) Quasars
  • 78. What percentage of the Universe's age do the galaxies in COSMOS span?
A) 50%
B) 90%
C) 100%
D) 75%
  • 79. Which instrument was operational from 1990 to 2002 and replaced by ACS in 2002?
A) Cosmic Origins Spectrograph
B) Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph
C) Fine Guidance Sensor
D) Faint Object Camera (FOC)
  • 80. How many hours per cycle were allocated to amateur astronomers by Riccardo Giacconi?
A) The entire cycle
B) No specific allocation
C) Half of the telescope's time
D) Only a few hours
  • 81. What is the proprietary period for Hubble data before it becomes publicly available?
A) Immediately upon collection
B) Twelve months
C) Six months
D) Twenty-four months
  • 82. What is the nickname of the farthest individual star detected by Hubble in 2022?
A) Betelgeuse
B) Rigel
C) Sirius
D) Earendel
  • 83. What is used to create color images from Hubble's monochromatic data?
A) Direct color imaging sensors
B) Post-processing with artificial intelligence
C) Combining separate monochrome images through different filters
D) Using a single wide-spectrum filter
  • 84. What does the Frontier Fields program aim to provide for galaxies at z > 5?
A) Observations of young stars
B) Ultraviolet imaging
C) Data on outer planets' atmospheres
D) The first statistically meaningful morphological characterization
  • 85. What problem did Servicing Mission 3B resolve for NICMOS?
A) Replaced its main mirror.
B) Upgraded its data-handling unit.
C) Installed a closed-cycle cooler.
D) Installed new solar arrays.
  • 86. What was the intended conic constant for Hubble's mirror?
A) -0.90000
B) -1.01390±0.0002
C) -1.50000
D) -1.00230
  • 87. In which decade did NASA and STScI convene panels to discuss key projects for the Hubble Space Telescope?
A) The early 1980s
B) The early 2000s
C) The mid-1990s
D) The late 1970s
  • 88. How many orbits were used to map the northern half of Andromeda in the PHAT program?
A) 500 orbits.
B) 195 orbits.
C) 828 orbits.
D) 1000 orbits.
  • 89. Which instrument was primarily used for keeping the telescope accurately pointed during observations?
A) Fine Guidance Sensors (FGS)
B) Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS)
C) Wide Field and Planetary Camera (WF/PC)
D) High Speed Photometer (HSP)
  • 90. What was the impact of the Columbia disaster on Hubble's servicing missions?
A) Servicing Mission 4 was postponed indefinitely.
B) It led to immediate repairs being made to Hubble.
C) Future crewed service missions were canceled.
D) NASA decided to launch the James Webb Space Telescope earlier.
  • 91. Which format is used to store all data in the Hubble archive for astronomical analysis?
A) TIFF format
B) FITS format
C) PNG format
D) JPEG format
  • 92. Which galaxy observed by Hubble using gravitational lensing subverted expectations about star formation?
A) MACS 2129-1
B) Whirlpool Galaxy
C) Andromeda Galaxy
D) Sombrero Galaxy
  • 93. Which instrument was operational from 1990 to 1997 and is now displayed in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum?
A) Faint Object Spectrograph (FOS)
B) Fine Guidance Sensor
C) Cosmic Origins Spectrograph
D) Wide Field Camera 3
  • 94. Which Space Shuttle flew the first servicing mission in December 1993?
A) Columbia
B) Atlantis
C) Endeavour
D) Discovery
  • 95. How often are calls for proposals issued for the Hubble Space Telescope?
A) Roughly annually
B) Monthly
C) Biannually
D) Every two years
  • 96. In what year was the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) launched?
A) 2020
B) 1998
C) 2006
D) 2010
  • 97. What was one of the improvements made to Hubble during its delay after the Challenger disaster?
A) Replacing all instruments
B) Reducing the telescope's size
C) Swapping out a possibly failure-prone battery
D) Eliminating the need for ground software
  • 98. Which moon of Jupiter was found to have a subsurface ocean by Hubble in 2015?
A) Europa
B) Io
C) Ganymede
D) Callisto
  • 99. In what year did astronomers use Hubble to determine the size of comet C/2014 UN271's nucleus?
A) 2015
B) 2019
C) 2022
D) 2018
  • 100. Which instrument replaced the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) in 2009?
A) Fine Guidance Sensors
B) Advanced Camera for Surveys
C) Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3)
D) Cosmic Origins Spectrograph
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