Astronomy Test 1

Front 1

What is the average distance from Earth to the Sun called?

Back 1

An astronomical unit

Front 2

What is the distance from Earth to the Sun?

Back 2

1.5X10 to the 8th power kilometers (93 million miles).

Front 3

What is the distance that light travels in one year (aka: light-year)?

Back 3

10 to the 13th power km or 63,000 au's.

Front 4

What is the distance from the Sun to Proxima Centauri?

Back 4

4.23 or 4.36 light years.

Front 5

Traveling at 150,000 mph ow long would it take to get to Proxima Centauri?

Back 5

19,000 years

Front 6

How far apart are the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy?

Back 6

2.57 million light years

Front 7

How many miles overheard would you have to travel to see the entire planet earth?

Back 7

800 miles

Front 8

At what mileage can you see Earth and the Moon as an even smaller dot orbiting it?

Back 8

1 million miles wide.

Front 9

How many miles would you have to travel out to see the entire solar system?

Back 9

10,000 million miles

Front 10

This is a great cloud of stars, gas, and dust bound together by the combines gavity of all the matter?

Back 10

A galaxy.

Front 11

What are the steps of a scientific method?

Back 11

1. Ask a question

2. Do Background research

3. Construct a hypothesis

4. Test with an experiment

5. Procedure working?

6. Analyze Data and Draw Conclusions

7. Communicate Result.

Front 12

What is latitude?

Back 12

Parallel lines running East/West

Front 13

What is longitude?

Back 13

Great circle running North/South

Front 14

What is the latitude/longitude of New Orleans?

Back 14

30 degrees North (longitude) and 90 degrees West (latitude)

Front 15

What is Zenith?

Back 15

Point directly above your head

Front 16

What is Nadir?

Back 16

Point directly below

Front 17

What is Horizon?

Back 17

Circle of ground around you

Front 18

What is Meridian?

Back 18

Line from the North to the South

Front 19

What is Altitude?

Back 19

The angle of a star above your horizon

Front 20

What is Azimuth?

Back 20

Angel of star NE from North (360 degrees all around)

Front 21

What is the Celestial Equator?

Back 21

Imaginary line in the sky representing the projection of Earth's equator on to the celestial sphere.

Front 22

What is the North/South Celestial Pole?

Back 22

The imaginary points in the sky which is the projection of the north/south pole on the night sky.

Front 23

The Global Coordinates of Objects are based on this?

Back 23

The location on the celestial sphere.

Front 24

What is Right Ascension?

Back 24

The angle of the star with respect to the vernal equinox (like longitude).

Front 25

What is Declination?

Back 25

The angle of the star with respect to the celestial equator (like latitude).

Front 26

How are angles used to measure distances in the night sky?

Back 26

Subdivisions of degrees called arc minutes and arc seconds.

Front 27

What are constellations?

Back 27

Groups of stars named after heroes, gods, and mythical beasts.

Front 28

Why do we not have eclipses every month?

Back 28

Due to the tilt of the lunar orbit by 5 degrees to the Earth/Sun orbital plane.

Front 29

Constellations are not necessarily this?

Back 29

The same distance

Front 30

The only thing constellations have in common is this?

Back 30

The lie approximately the same direction from Earth.

Front 31

The brightest star in a constellation has this designation? The next brightest has this?

Back 31

Alpha and Beta

Front 32

These cannot be seen from the United States?

Back 32

The Southern Cross and the Centauri system.

Front 33

What is another name for the Big Dipper?

Back 33

Ursa Major.

Front 34

The angle (altitude) of the North Star (Polaris_ above the horizon is this?

Back 34

Your latitude

Front 35

What is Rotation?

Back 35

The turning of a body on its axis.

Front 36

What produces day and night (24 hours)?

Back 36

The Earth rotating on its axis.

Front 37

What is a revolution?

Back 37

The motion of a body around a point outside of the body.

Front 38

What produces the yearly cycle (365.25 days)?

Back 38

Earth revolving around the Sun.

Front 39

Sky objects appear to rotate westward around the Earth each day but that is a consequence of this?

Back 39

Earth's eastward rotation.

Front 40

How does the Sun rise and set?

Back 40

Rises in the East and Sets in the West.

Front 41

What are circumpolar constellations?

Back 41

Those constellations or stars that never set as they are near a celestial pole.

Front 42

As the Earth goes around the sun this will change?

Back 42

The constellations we can see at night.

Front 43

In January the Sun would be in front of this constellation? In March this one?

Back 43

1. Sagittarius

2. Aquarius

Front 44

What is the Ecliptic?

Back 44

The apparent path of the sun among the stars through the year.

Front 45

The 12 constellations the Sun goes through over a year are called this?

Back 45

The Zodiac

Front 46

The Earth is closer to the Sun in the Summer and futher away in the Winter? True or False?

Back 46

False

Front 47

The Earth's equator is tipped this relative to its orbit?

Back 47

23.5 degrees

Front 48

What is responsible for the Seasons?

Back 48

The combination of our motion around the Sun and the TILT in the Earth's axis.

Front 49

This causes less energy from the sun to be absorbed per square foot?

Back 49

The lower the angle of the sun the less energy absorbed.

Front 50

The Northern Hemisphere is pointed toward the Sun when?

Back 50

During Summer

Front 51

What is the Equinox?

Back 51

The midpoint between summer and winter-equal day and night.

Front 52

What is the Solstice?

Back 52

Extreme of the seasons. Winter solstice equals the shortest day and the Summer solstice equals the longest day.

Front 53

When is the Autumnal Equinox?

Back 53

September 23rd

Front 54

When is the Summer Solstice?

Back 54

June 22nd

Front 55

When is the Vernal Equinox?

Back 55

March 21

Front 56

When is the Winter Solstice?

Back 56

December 22nd.

Front 57

The time for the sun to go from being highest in the sky at noon, to lowest and back to highest again is know as?

Back 57

One Year

Front 58

This changes throughout the year?

Back 58

Sunset position

Front 59

All the planets, the Sun and the moon can be found along this?

Back 59

The Ecliptic

Front 60

The latitudes of 66.5 degrees N and S are called this?

Back 60

The Arctic and Antarctic Circles

Front 61

The latitudes of 23.5 degrees N and S are called this?

Back 61

The Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn

Front 62

Season's are caused by?

Back 62

Earth's orbit around the Sun and Earth's axial tilt.

Front 63

Moon phases are caused by this?

Back 63

The orbit of the moon around the Earth every 29.5 days.

Front 64

What is Moon light?

Back 64

Reflected sunlight.

Front 65

Both the Earth and the Moon do this?

Back 65

Orbit counterclockwise.

Front 66

What are the phases of the moon?

Back 66

1. New Moon

2. Waxing Crescent

3. First Quarter

4. Waxing Gibbous

5. Full

6. Waning Gibbous

7. Third Quarter

8. Waning Crescent

Front 67

What are two important properties of the Moon's orbit?

Back 67

1. Its an ellipse

2. It's tilted 5 degrees with respect to the ecliptic plane.

Front 68

What is a Solar Eclipse?

Back 68

When the moon passes in front of the Sun as seen from the Earth.

Front 69

What is a Lunar Eclipse?

Back 69

When the Earth passes between the Moon and the Sun and casts a shadow on the Moon.

Front 70

How long does take to Earth to have one precession cycle?

Back 70

26,000 years

Front 71

This is why the zodiac signs are off by one sign?

Back 71

Precession.

Front 72

What are sundogs?

Back 72

Light reflecting from crystals.

Front 73

If you are at the North Pole where is the zenith? south celestial pole? celestial equator?

Back 73

1. Over your head

2. Below your feet

3. On the horizon

Front 74

If you are on the Equator where is the North Celestial Pole?

Back 74

On the horizon (both North and South)

Front 75

If you are in Antarctica where is the North Celestial Pole?

Back 75

Not visible beneath your feet.

Front 76

What are examples of circumpolar constellations?

Back 76

Ursa Minor (Polaris)

Casseopeia

Ursa Major

Cepheus

Front 77

What constitutes on Earth rotation?

Back 77

23hrs, 56 min, 4.09seconds

Front 78

The precise measurement of a day is known as a?

Back 78

Sidereal Day. The more used term for 24 hours is a solar day.

Front 79

This is the point in orbit when the Earth is closest to the Sun?

Back 79

Perihelion (occurs in January)

Front 80

This is the point in orbit when the Earth is the farthest from the Sun?

Back 80

Apehelion (occurs in July)

Front 81

The line that seperates day and night is known as the?

Back 81

Terminator

Front 82

Earth's moon is what percentage of relevance to the planet's size?

Back 82

Moon is 1/4 size of Earth.

Front 83

What is the darkest part of the shadow of a eclipse?

Back 83

The Umbra

Front 84

What allows a small portion of light to cut through the shadow created during an eclipse?

Back 84

The Penumbra

Front 85

How many lunar and solar eclipses are possible for 1 Earth year?

Back 85

7

Front 86

What is the Corona?

Back 86

The sun's atmosphere that is visible in a complete solar eclipse.

Front 87

What is the maximum amount of time you can view a complete solar eclipse?

Back 87

7.5 minutes.

Front 88

What are Bailey's Beads?

Back 88

Knots of light that appear during total solar eclipse. These are instances where sunlight bends around the topography of the moon.

Front 89

What is an Annular Solar Eclipse?

Back 89

Thicker ring, moon is no longer completely blocking the surface of the sun.

Front 90

What was the biggest change in Astronomy?

Back 90

Going from Earth centered theory to Sun centered theory.

Front 91

What does the term planets refer to?

Back 91

Wanderers. Because planets drift over time.

Front 92

All stars within well-defined regions of the sky are members of?

Back 92

Constellations

Front 93

In general, the stars of a constellation are not this?

Back 93

Physically associated in space.

Front 94

Patterns of stars in the night sky are called?

They are part of one or more?

Back 94

1.Asterisms

2. Constellations

Front 95

Why does the Moon go through phases?

Back 95

The Moon orbits the Earth every 27 days, changing its position relative to the Earth and Sun.

Front 96

If an observer in Sydney, Australia sees a crescent moon, an observer at the South Pole will see a?

Back 96

Crescent Moon

Front 97

Why do we always see the same side of the moon?

Back 97

Synchronous rotation--A lunar year is the same length as a lunar day (aka-same revolution/same rotation).

Front 98

What percentage of the surface of the moon is illuminated at any given time?

Back 98

50%

Front 99

Precession changes the location of this?

Back 99

The North Celestial Pole

Front 100

What is something that is not responsible for the changing of seasons?

Back 100

Distance of the Earth from the Sun

Front 101

If the bright star Pollux is 30 lights years away and the speed of light were half it's value how far would Pollux then be?

Back 101

60 light years

Front 102

What is the Greek prefix for 10 to the 3rd power?

Back 102

Kilo

Front 103

What is the Greek prefix for 10 to the 9th power?

Back 103

Nano

Front 104

What is the Greek prefix for 10 to the negative 2 power?

Back 104

centi

Front 105

What is the Greek prefix for 10 to the -6 power?

Back 105

Micro

Front 106

What is the Greek prefix for 10 to the -3 power?

Back 106

Milli

Front 107

What is the Greek prefix for 10 to the 6th power?

Back 107

Mega

Front 108

What is the Moon phase for February 12th?

February 10th?

Back 108

3rd quarter

Waning Gibbous

Front 109

What distance unit is most appropriate for stating the distance from our Sun to Alpha Centauri?

Back 109

Light years

Front 110

Alpha Draconis is this in reference to Draco?

Back 110

The brightest star

Front 111

At what time of day does a new moon rise?

Back 111

Sunrise

Front 112

When is the new moon at it's meridian (highest point)?

Back 112

Noon

Front 113

When does a new moon set?

Back 113

Sunset

Front 114

When does the first quarter moon rise?

Back 114

Noon

Front 115

When is first qtr moon at its meridian?

Back 115

Sunset

Front 116

When does 1st qtr moon set?

Back 116

Midnight

Front 117

When does Full Moon rise?

Back 117

Sunset

Front 118

When is the Full Moon at its meridian?

Back 118

Midnight

Front 119

When does the Full Moon set?

Back 119

Sunrise

Front 120

When does 3rd qtr moon rise?

Back 120

Midnight

Front 121

When is 3rd qtr moon at its meridian?

Back 121

Sunrise

Front 122

When does 3rd qtr moon set?

Back 122

Noon

Front 123

What constellation is directly above on January 1st?

Back 123

Sagitarrius

Front 124

What constellation is directly above on February 1st?

Back 124

Capricorn

Front 125

The motion of the sun through the Zodiac is caused by?

Back 125

The Earth's revolution