USAAAO 2025 Round 1
plas
February 9, 2025
1 Problems
Q1: Imagine you are on Deimos right now and you want to escape Mars because
you are bored. If Deimos is currently at 23,460 km away from the center of Mars
and its speed is currently around 1.35 km/s, how much more speed do you and
Deimos need to escape Mars? The mass of Mars is 6.39 × 1023 kg.
A. 557 m/s
B. 427 m/s
C. 377 m/s
D. 207 m/s
E. none
Q2: Use the following information for the next two questions. Suppose a spher-
ical gas giant has radius R, temperature T , uniform density and composition,
and fixed volumetric heat capacity. Assuming heat leaves solely through black-
body radiation, calculate how the planet’s cooling rate − dT
dt depends on R, T .
T2
A. R
T4
B. R
T4
C. R3
D. T 2 R
E. T 4 R3
Q3: Let T (t) be the temperature of the planet after time t and let T0 be
the temperature at time t = 0. Calculate the dependence of TT0 on t assuming
Tenv = 0 is the temperature of the planet’s environment. Below, α is a constant.
A. (1 + αt)−1/3
B. (1 + αt)−1/2
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C. 1 − αt
D. (1 − αt)2
E. 1 − e−αt
Q4: Suppose a rocket around a star of mass M wishes to execute an orbital
transfer from a circular orbit with radius R to a larger one with that of radius
8R. One common way to do this is known as a Hohmann transfer, which has an
intermediate
q elliptical orbit. This process requires two burns, with total delta-v
GM
∆v = k R for some k. Assuming instantaneous burns, compute k.
1
A. 1 − √
2 2
1 1
B. 2 − √
2 2
1 1
C. 6 + √
2 2
D. √3 − 1
10 2
E. √3 − 1
10 4
Q5: It may be useful to know the semi-latus rectum of an ellipse is the distance
between one of its foci and the point on the ellipse immediately above or below
it.
Consider a highly eccentric planet with a semi-latus rectum that is nearly a
hundred times smaller than its semi-major axis. What is its eccentricity?
A. 0.99
B. 0.995
C. 0.9999
D. 0.99995
E. 0.999999
Q6: Galileo the Tyrant has conquered the Earth. In his madness, he launched
many bright satellites into space because he thought that the celestial equator
should be visible from Earth, and not just be an imaginary line. These satellites
all orbit around Earth 3RE from the surface, where RE is the radius of Earth.
However, there was a major mistake made in the plan – the satellites now
orbit in a circle on Earth’s orbital plane instead of directly above the equator.
Nevertheless, Galileo still forces all astronomers to use these satellites as the new
Celestial Equator. They must calculate the declination for any star by finding
the angle to the satellite at the same Right Ascension. What is the maximum
absolute difference between the new declination and the old declination of bodies
throughout the sky experienced by astronomers around the Earth? (Choose the
closest value.)
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A. 38◦
B. 0◦
C. 23.5◦
D. 47◦
E. 14.5◦
Q7: What is the geodesic distance between Boston (42◦ 21′ 37′′ N, 71◦ 3′ 28′′ W)
and Mumbai (19◦ 4′ 34′′ N, 72◦ 52′ 39′′ E)? Assume that the Earth is perfectly
spherical.
A. 2250 km
B. 6250 km
C. 10250 km
D. 12250 km
E. 15250 km
Q8: Which of the following statements are correct regarding spectral broaden-
ing?
P: In the limit of zero temperature, spectral lines have infinitesimally narrow
linewidth.
Q: Consider two hypothetical spectral lines: line I has central frequency f0
and full width at half maximum (FWHM) w ≪ f0 , with only homogeneous
broadening; line II has identical central frequency and FWHM but only has
inhomogeneous broadening. Let PI,II (f )∆f denote the probability of measuring
frequency f for each line within some bandwidth ∆f ≪ w. Then,
PI (2f0 )∆f < PII (2f0 )∆f.
R: The same spectral line of two ideal gases, one with temperature T and the
other with temperature 2T , are probed. The gases are otherwise identical. The
linewidth of the hotter gas under thermal Doppler broadening is twice that of
the cooler gas.
A. None
B. P only
C. Q only
D. Both P and Q
E. Both Q and R
Q9: Which of the following statements are true about a cluster of main sequence
stars:
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A: For two star clusters of the same total mass, the one with the larger number
of stars will be brighter as measured by luminosity per unit mass.
B: The main-sequence turnoff point for star clusters is at higher temperatures
if they are older.
C: The main-sequence turnoff point for star clusters is at lower luminosities if
they are older.
Assume the mass-luminosity relationship L ∝ M 3.5 for main-sequence stars.
A. A and C
B. A only
C. C only
D. A, B, and C
E. A and B
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Q10: Match each imaginary line in the sky map below to its label.
A. 1 - Ecliptic; 2 - Celestial Equator; 3 - Local Meridian
B. 1 - Local Meridian; 2 - Ecliptic; 3 - Galactic Equator
C. 1 - Galactic Equator; 2 - Celestial Equator; 3 - Ecliptic
D. 1 - Local Meridian; 2 - Ecliptic; 3 - Celestial Equator
E. 1 - Local Meridian; 2 - Celestial Equator; 3 - Ecliptic
Q11: The following two questions build on each other. An astronomer was
studying the exoplanets orbiting a star with a mass of 10M⊙ . The astronomer
decided to draw a log T vs. log a plot for the exoplanet orbits, where T corre-
sponds to the period in years and a corresponds to the semi-major axis in AU.
What would be the slope of the best fit line to this plot?
5
Note that log represents the base 10 logarithm.
4
A. 3
3
B. 2
1
C. 10
D. 1
1
E. 2
Q12: What would be the y-intercept of the best fit line to this plot?
A. 1
B. − 43
C. − 21
D. 0
E. − 23
Q13: A recently observed exosolar system consists of a star, a planet, and the
planet’s satellite. The satellite has a revolution period of 100 minutes around
the planet, and the planet has a 90-day revolution period around the star. The
satellite approaches the surface of the planet to a minimum height of 1000 km
and recedes to a maximum height of 7000 km. The radius of the planet is 3000
km. If the ratio of the mass of the star to the mass of the planet is 1 × 105 ,
what is the semi-major axis of the planet’s revolution around the star? Assume
that the mass of the satellite is much smaller than the mass of the planet.
A. 1.86 × 107 km
B. 2.36 × 107 km
C. 2.86 × 107 km
D. 3.36 × 107 km
E. 3.86 × 107 km
Q14: The following three questions build on each other. A cylindrical space
station rotating about its primary axis could create artificial ”spin gravity,” al-
lowing people to live on the inner surface of the cylinder. For such a station with
a radius of 50 m, what rotational period is needed for inhabitants to experience
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spin gravity equal to Earth’s gravity g = 9.81 m/s ?
A. 2.3 s
B. 5.1 s
C. 7.1 s
D. 14.2 s
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E. 32.0 s
Q15: If the space station is too small, inhabitants might experience unwanted
effects of being in a rotating reference frame, such as the Coriolis ”force” on
moving objects:
F⃗ = −2m⃗ ω × ⃗v ,
where ω⃗ is the angular velocity vector of the space station and ⃗v is the velocity
of the object in the rotating reference frame.
For a space station with spin gravity equal to Earth’s gravity, what is the
minimum radius needed so that a person walking at 1 m/s in any direction
experiences negligible Coriolis force (< 1% of Earth’s gravity)?
A. 10 m
B. 20 m
C. 41 m
D. 1.0 km
E. 4.1 km
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Q16: You are standing inside the space station, facing in the direction of the
cylinder’s rotation (see image). You throw a ball directly upward. Where does
it land?
A. Right back in your hand
B. In front of you
C. Behind you
D. To your right
E. To your left
Q17: Consider a giant star with radius R. The core has temperature Tc and the
surface has temperature Ts ≪ Tc . Given R, Tc , and Ts , Alice and Bob estimate
the core’s radius in two different ways, both assuming that the star is in thermal
equilibrium:
Alice: The core radiates energy.
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Bob: The inside of the star conducts heat with constant uniform thermal con-
RσT 4
ductivity κ such that κ ≫ Tc s .
Let RA and RB be the core radii estimated by Alice and Bob. Which of the
following is the ratio RA /RB proportional to?
A. Ts /Tc
B. Ts2 /Tc2
C. 1/RTc2
D. R2 /Ts4 Tc2
E. Ts4 Tc2 /R
Q18: Connor is stranded on an island and wishes to determine his latitude,
but he only wakes up at sunrise and sunset. He constructs a vertical stick in
the ground. On some day, he measures the angle between the shadows made at
sunrise and sunset as 105◦ . Which of the following intervals of latitudes could
Connor be in?
A. (0◦ N, 10◦ N)
B. (10◦ N, 20◦ N)
C. (20◦ N, 30◦ N)
D. (30◦ N, 40◦ N)
E. (40◦ N, 50◦ N)
Q19: Which of the following statements cannot be inferred from Kepler’s laws
of motion?
I. A planet moves in an elliptical orbit around the Sun.
II. The eccentricities of the orbits of all solar system planets are small.
III. A solar system planet has its highest tangential velocity when it is closest
to the Sun.
IV. All planets move in elliptical orbits in roughly the same plane around the
Sun.
A. I only
B. IV only
C. II, III, and IV
D. II and IV
E. II and III
Q20: Just before dawn of the summer solstice, Christopher the sailor begins
sailing due west from 50◦ N, 5◦ W. His watch is set to UTC. On seeing his 91st
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sunrise at sea, his watch reads 3:00 am. What is his longitude? (The equation
of time, in the convention solar time minus mean time, is −3 minutes on the
summer solstice and 8 minutes on the autumnal equinox.)
A. 43◦ W
B. 45◦ W
C. 48◦ 15′ W
D. 50◦ W
E. 53◦ 15′ W
Q21: What is the largest range of latitudes ϕ for which, at some time during the
day, the line between Rigel (αR = 5h 14m 32s , δR = −8◦ 12′ 5.9′′ ) and Betelgeuse
(αB = 5h 56m 33s , δB = 7◦ 24′ 40.3′′ ) appears vertical?
Answer to within 5 degree accuracy.
A. −15◦ < ϕ < 15◦
B. −25◦ < ϕ < 25◦
C. −35◦ < ϕ < 35◦
D. −45◦ < ϕ < 45◦
E. −55◦ < ϕ < 55◦
Q22: Observed from the equator, what is the maximum duration over which
Venus can be observed (continuously) after sunset? Assume that the orbits of
Venus and Earth are circular of radius 0.723 AU and 1 AU, and lie on the ecliptic
plane.
A. 2h 50m
B. 3h 15m
C. 3h 20m
D. 3h 40m
E. 11h
Q23: The Earth orbits the Sun with orbital eccentricity e = 0.0167. What
percent more total solar irradiance does the Earth receive at perihelion compared
to aphelion?
A. 0.028%
B. 0.056%
C. 1.7%
D. 3.4%
E. 6.9%
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Q24: Consider a main sequence star 500 times less luminous than the Sun.
This star must have a core and a envelope.
A. convective, convective
B. convective, radiative
C. radiative, convective
D. radiative, radiative
E. static, static
Q25: Evan uses a telescope of focal distance f = 1000 mm to observe a star
known to have a parallax p = 50 mas. Observing the CCD of the telescope, Evan
notices that the star has a diameter D = 0.1 µm. Furthermore, he measures its
apparent magnitude to be m = 1. What is the approximate temperature of this
star? Please, neglect the atmospheric seeing in your calculations.
A. 3000 K
B. 3500 K
C. 4000 K
D. 4500 K
E. 5000 K
Q26: Two exoplanets, A and B, have circular orbits around the same central
star. Suppose that the ascending nodes of the orbits are located at the same
ecliptic longitude, defined analogously as the one for the solar system, and that
both planets are at that point in the beginning. How long will it take for the
planets to have an equal, common ecliptic longitude again, knowing that the
inclinations of their orbits are i1 = 30◦ and i2 = 70◦ , and that their periods are
T1 = 2 yr and T2 = 1 yr?
A. 42 days
B. 44 days
C. 46 days
D. 48 days
E. 50 days
Q27: Cosmologists consider three possible universes: universes dominated by
baryonic matter (i.e., ordinary matter), universes dominated by radiation, and
universes dominated by dark energy (realistically, we consider some mix of the
above). An equation written by Alexander Friedmann implies that for a matter-
dominated universe, the Hubble parameter is proportional to the square root of
that universe’s matter density. In a matter-dominated universe, how does the
size of the universe evolve with time t?
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A. constant
√
B. t
C. t2/3
D. t
E. et
Q28: Suppose leap days were removed from the calendar, so that each calendar
year has exactly 365 days. In the first year of this calendar change, summer
solstice is on June 21st. After 100 years of this calendar, what is the date of
summer solstice?
A. May 28th
B. June 13th
C. June 21st
D. June 29th
E. July 15th
Q29: It is observed that a planet orbiting a star increases the observed magni-
tude of the system by 0.005 when it transits across the star. Assuming that the
system is viewed edge-on and is orthogonal to the line of sight, determine the
radius of the planet Rp in terms of the radius of the star R.
A. 0.056R
B. 0.067R
C. 0.089R
D. 0.12R
E. 0.15R
Q30: What is the focal ratio of a telescope with 1.2 m focal length and 12 cm
in aperture?
A. f /1000
B. f /100
C. f /10
D. f /1
E. f /0.1
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