1. The well-known naked eye double stars Alcor and Mizar are in what constellation? (a) Gemini (b) Lyra (c) Perseus (d) Ursa Major
2. The reason that a pulsar is seen to "pulse" is (a) its beamed energy sweeps over us as it rotates (b) its surface is vibrating like a drum (c) its magnetic field is being switched on and off (d) it has a dark companion that occults it repeatedly
3. An astrolabe is a medieval astronomical instrument that is a predecessor of what modern device? (a) focuser (b) orrery (c) planisphere (d) setting circle
4. The Tropic of Capricorn is a (a) line of latitude in the northern hemisphere (b) line of latitude in the southern hemisphere (c) meridian line in the eastern hemisphere (d) meridian line in the western hemisphere
5. Which of these is not the English name of a constellation? (a) The Little Bear (b) The Little Dog (c) The Little Fish (d) The Little Lion
6. A globular cluster contains (a) thousands of stars but little dust (b) thousands of stars and thousands of small dust clouds (c) thousands of stars and one large dust cloud (d) few stars and one large dust cloud
7. What does the constellation Puppus represent? (a) a puppy (b) the poop deck of a ship (c) a puppet (d) the pupil of an eye
8. The gaps in Saturn's rings are indicative of (a) warmer regions where all the ice has melted (b) gravitational "wells" where heavier, darker material has collected (c) regions where Saturn's magnetic field interacts with the solar wind (d) regions where gravitational resonances with Saturn's moons have cleared away the ring material
9. The Sun is classified as a (a) yellow dwarf (b) yellow giant (c) yellow supergiant (d) yellow hypergiant
10. Local sidereal time is the same as the right ascension of (a) the Sun (b) the Moon (c) a point on the local meridian (d) a point where the ecliptic crosses the celestial equator
11. Olympus Mons is the name of a volcano on (a) Ganymede (b) Jupiter (c) Mars (d) Saturn
12. A variable star might change its brightness because of (a) oscillations in the star's radius (b) eruptions on the star's surface (c) occultations by a companion star (d) all of the above
13. In the Milky Way Galaxy, open clusters are most likely to be found (a) in the spiral arms (b) in the open spaces between the spiral arms (c) in the galactic halo (d) at the galaxy's center
14. How long does it take our solar system to complete one orbit around the center of the galaxy? (a) 64 million years (b) 160 million years (c) 240 million years (d) 520 million years
15. Sirius is known as the "Dog Star" because (a) it lies in the constellation Canis Major (b) it lies in the constellation Canes Venatici (c) it has a faithful companion star (d) in ancient Egypt it was identified with the dog-headed god Anubis