Telescopes and space missions

Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. 1.

   The spectrum from radio to gamma rays with the air's open and blocked bands. Which kind of light does Earth's air block, so it must be studied from space, by Bo's reading (NASA)?

   • X-rays
   • Radio waves
   • Visible light
   • Red light

2. Read this first

   Table, Two space telescopes (NASA), with columns Telescope, Mirror diameter, Where it is

   Hubble, 2.4 m, orbiting Earth, about 560 km up; Webb, 6.5 m, orbiting the Sun, 1.5 million km from Earth.

3. 2.

   Where does the Webb telescope orbit, by Jun's reading (NASA)?

   • Around Earth, about 560 km up, like Hubble
   • Around the Sun, about 1.5 million km from Earth
   • Inside the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter
   • On the Moon's surface
4. 3.

   How wide is Webb's main mirror compared with Hubble's, by Luz's reading?

   • Webb's is wider: 6.5 m against 2.4 m
   • Webb has no mirror
   • They are the same width
   • Hubble's is wider
5. 4.

   What does a bigger telescope mirror mainly do, by Milo's reading (NASA)?

   • Moves the telescope closer to its target
   • Collects more light, so fainter objects can be seen
   • Makes the telescope lighter to launch
   • Blocks X-rays
6. 5.

   A spacecraft passes a planet without stopping. What kind of mission is it, by Noah's reading?

   • A lander
   • A rover
   • A flyby
   • An orbiter
7. 6.

   NASA's Perseverance drives across Mars's surface. What kind of mission is it, by Pia's reading?

   • A flyby
   • A space telescope
   • A rover
   • An orbiter
8. 7.

   NASA's New Horizons flew past Pluto on July 14, 2015. What kind of mission was that, by Ren's reading?

   • A flyby
   • A rover
   • A ground telescope
   • A lander
9. 8.

   Radio signals travel at the speed of light. How long does a signal take from a spacecraft one light-day away, by Tala's reading?

   • About one second
   • About one year
   • No time; radio is instant
   • About one day
10. 9.

    NASA's Voyager 1 launched in 1977 and entered interstellar space in August 2012. About how many years after launch was that, by Zee's math?

    • About 35 years
    • About 77 years
    • About 3.5 years
    • About 12 years
11. 10.

    Hubble orbits Earth a few hundred kilometers up. Why does that not bring stars noticeably closer, by Esme's reading?

    • Hubble flies out to the stars
    • Stars are just a few thousand km away
    • A few hundred km is tiny next to star distances
    • It does; that is why it was launched