Telescopes and space missions

Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   The spectrum from radio to gamma rays with the air's open and blocked bands.

2. 1.

   Which kind of light does Earth's air block, so it must be studied from space, by Bo's reading (NASA)?

   • Radio waves
   • Visible light
   • X-rays
   • Red light
3. 2.

   Which kind of light reaches the ground well, even on cloudy days, by Kira's reading (NASA)?

   • Gamma rays
   • Ultraviolet light
   • Radio waves
   • X-rays

4. 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.

5. 3.

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

   • Around Earth, about 560 km up, like Hubble
   • On the Moon's surface
   • Inside the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter
   • Around the Sun, about 1.5 million km from Earth
6. 4.

   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
   • Hubble's is wider
   • Webb has no mirror
   • They are the same width
7. 5.

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

   • Moves the telescope closer to its target
   • Makes the telescope lighter to launch
   • Collects more light, so fainter objects can be seen
   • Blocks X-rays
8. 6.

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

   • An orbiter
   • A rover
   • A lander
   • A flyby
9. 7.

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

   • An orbiter
   • A flyby
   • A space telescope
   • A rover
10. 8.

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

    • A rover
    • A lander
    • A ground telescope
    • A flyby
11. 9.

    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
    • No time; radio is instant
    • About one year
    • About one day
12. 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