Time-domain Astronomy — MCQs August 20, 2025 by u930973931_answers 50 Score: 0 Attempted: 0/50 Subscribe 1. Time-domain astronomy mainly studies: (A) Static stars (B) Changing and transient phenomena (C) Only galaxies (D) Fixed constellations 2. Which term refers to short-lived astronomical events? (A) Continuum events (B) Transients (C) Constants (D) Periodics 3. A well-known transient studied in time-domain astronomy is: (A) Supernova (B) Blackbody radiation (C) Planetary orbit (D) Stellar parallax 4. The “time domain” in astronomy refers to: (A) Wavelengths of light (B) Changes in brightness or position over time (C) Composition of stars (D) Expansion of space 5. A repeating astronomical signal is called: (A) Periodic (B) Random (C) Irregular (D) Constant 6. Which of these is a periodic time-domain signal? (A) Gamma-ray burst (B) Pulsar emission (C) Supernova explosion (D) Galaxy collision 7. Which type of telescope is best suited for time-domain surveys? (A) Narrow-field telescope (B) Wide-field telescope (C) Infrared spectrograph (D) X-ray mirrors 8. The Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) is located in: (A) Hawaii (B) Chile (C) California (D) Australia 9. The Vera C. Rubin Observatory project is focused on: (A) Cosmic microwave background (B) Time-domain astronomy (C) Stellar evolution (D) Solar physics 10. The survey conducted by the Rubin Observatory is called: (A) Sloan Digital Sky Survey (B) Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) (C) Hubble Deep Field (D) Planck Survey 11. Supernovae are classified into types based on: (A) Shape (B) Brightness (C) Spectra (D) Orbit 12. Type Ia supernovae occur due to: (A) Massive star collapse (B) White dwarf explosion in binary system (C) Black hole collisions (D) Gas clouds merging 13. The most energetic explosions studied in time-domain astronomy are: (A) Comets (B) Novae (C) Gamma-ray bursts (D) Meteors 14. Gravitational wave astronomy is closely related to: (A) Static objects (B) Time-domain astronomy (C) Planetary science (D) Solar physics 15. LIGO and Virgo detect: (A) X-rays (B) Gravitational waves (C) Radio pulses (D) Infrared light 16. A kilonova is produced by: (A) Neutron star mergers (B) Planetary collisions (C) Pulsar activity (D) Solar flares 17. Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) are examples of: (A) Long-duration transients (B) Short-duration transients (C) Periodic events (D) Planetary emissions 18. FRBs were first discovered in: (A) 1995 (B) 2007 (C) 2010 (D) 2020 19. Which telescope first detected FRBs? (A) Arecibo (B) Parkes Radio Telescope (C) VLA (D) ALMA 20. Microlensing events occur when: (A) Black holes emit jets (B) A massive object bends light from a background star (C) Stars collide (D) Gas clouds obscure galaxies 21. Microlensing is often used to detect: (A) Dark matter (B) Exoplanets (C) Asteroids (D) Comets 22. Which survey discovered many microlensing events? (A) OGLE (B) HESS (C) CHANDRA (D) GAIA 23. Cataclysmic variables are: (A) Exploding galaxies (B) Binary star systems with mass transfer (C) Small black holes (D) Rogue planets 24. Novae are caused by: (A) Core collapse of stars (B) Sudden nuclear burning on white dwarfs (C) Pulsar activity (D) Star collisions 25. Which satellite is important for detecting gamma-ray bursts in real-time? (A) Swift (B) Hubble (C) Chandra (D) Spitzer 26. Which network distributes real-time alerts for astronomical transients? (A) VOEvent (B) GPS (C) ITU (D) GaiaNet 27. Multi-messenger astronomy involves: (A) Only electromagnetic signals (B) Combining electromagnetic, gravitational waves, and neutrinos (C) Optical telescopes only (D) Radio waves only 28. The discovery of GW170817 was important because it linked: (A) Neutrinos with quasars (B) Gravitational waves with kilonovae (C) Solar flares with X-rays (D) Black holes with dark matter 29. The typical timescale of gamma-ray bursts is: (A) Milliseconds to minutes (B) Days to years (C) Decades (D) Centuries 30. Which mission helped detect gravitational waves with gamma-ray bursts? (A) Fermi (B) Kepler (C) Chandra (D) Spitzer 31. The term “synoptic survey” means: (A) Deep narrow field imaging (B) Wide-field repeated observations over time (C) Space-based X-ray monitoring (D) Infrared-only data 32. Time-domain astronomy helps study: (A) Only planets (B) Only galaxies (C) Rare, short-lived events (D) Interstellar dust 33. A light curve represents: (A) Star spectrum (B) Brightness vs. time (C) Galaxy distance (D) Stellar mass 34. Cepheid variable stars are important because they: (A) Explode as supernovae (B) Are distance indicators (C) Are black holes (D) Emit only radio waves 35. The period-luminosity relation of Cepheids was discovered by: (A) Hubble (B) Henrietta Leavitt (C) Jocelyn Bell Burnell (D) Carl Sagan 36. RR Lyrae stars are used as: (A) Probes of galaxy centers (B) Distance indicators (C) Sources of gamma rays (D) Tracers of asteroids 37. Tidal disruption events occur when: (A) Two stars merge (B) A star is torn apart by a black hole (C) A pulsar collapses (D) Two galaxies collide 38. Which observatory specializes in detecting tidal disruption events? (A) ZTF (B) ALMA (C) Chandra (D) VLA 39. The main challenge in time-domain astronomy is: (A) Lack of detectors (B) Huge data volume and rapid response needed (C) Narrow sky coverage (D) Limited energy range 40. Machine learning is increasingly used in: (A) Predicting stellar evolution (B) Filtering transient alerts in time-domain surveys (C) Measuring solar activity (D) Mapping radio background 41. The Palomar Transient Factory (PTF) preceded: (A) ZTF (B) Kepler (C) Hubble (D) TESS 42. The LSST is expected to find how many supernovae per year? (A) Tens (B) Hundreds (C) Thousands (D) Millions 43. One application of time-domain astronomy in exoplanet research is: (A) Direct imaging (B) Transit method (C) Microwaves (D) Stellar parallax 44. The Kepler mission studied exoplanets using: (A) Spectroscopy (B) Stellar variability in time domain (C) X-rays (D) Radio waves 45. Which type of event is both electromagnetic and gravitational? (A) Solar flare (B) Neutron star merger (C) Exoplanet transit (D) Pulsar emission 46. The cadence of a survey refers to: (A) Telescope size (B) Frequency of observations over time (C) Data storage format (D) Detector sensitivity 47. Gaia contributes to time-domain astronomy by detecting: (A) Stellar positions only (B) Stellar variability and transients (C) Gamma-ray bursts (D) Solar eclipses 48. A challenge in detecting FRBs is that they: (A) Repeat continuously (B) Are extremely short-lived (C) Are visible in all wavelengths (D) Come only from nearby stars 49. The CHIME telescope in Canada specializes in: (A) Optical imaging (B) Fast Radio Burst detection (C) Gamma-ray astronomy (D) Infrared mapping 50. The ultimate goal of time-domain astronomy is to: (A) Study only the Milky Way (B) Understand the dynamic, changing universe (C) Focus on constant stars (D) Eliminate variability from data