Astronomy Vocabularies From Chapter 2

Front 1

Which of the following is not a phase of the moon?

Back 1

half moon

Front 2

Wht is the saros cycle?

Back 2

the 18-year cycle over which the pattern of eclipses repeats

Front 3

How many stars can you see with your naked eye on a clear, moonless night from a dark location?

Back 3

a few thousand

Front 4

All of the following statements are true. Which one explains the reason why there is not a solar eclipse at every moon?

Back 4

the orbital plane of the Moon is titled by about 5 degrees to the ecliptic plane.

Front 5

What is the ecliptic?

Back 5

the Sun's apparent path along with the celestial sphere

Front 6

In which direction does a quarter moon rise?

Back 6

east

Front 7

If it is midnight in New York, it is

Back 7

daytime in Sydney, Australia

Front 8

What happens during the apparent retrograde motion of a planet?

Back 8

The planet appears to move eastward with respect to the stars over a period of many nights

Front 9

Why dowe see essentially the same face of the moon at all times?

Back 9

because the Moon's rotational and orbital periods are equal

Front 10

Which of the following statements about stellar parallax is true?

Back 10

The closer a star is to us, the more parallax it exhibits

Front 11

At approximately what time would a full moon be on your meridian?

Back 11

midnight

Front 12

If the Moon is rising at midnight, the phase of the Moon must be

Back 12

third quarter

Front 13

Orion is visible on winter evenings but not summer evenings because of

Back 13

the location of the earth in its orbit

Front 14

At approximately what time would a first quarter moon rise?

Back 14

noon

Front 15

What conditions are required for a lunar eclipse?

Back 15

The phase of the Moon must be full, and the nodes of the Moon's orbit must be nearly aligned with the earth and the Sun

Front 16

What causes the apparent retrograde motion of the planets?

Back 16

As the earth passes another planet, the other planet appears to move backward with respect to the background stars, but the planet's motion does not really change

Front 17

Which of the following statements does not use the term angular size or angular distance correctly?

Back 17

The angular distance between those two bright stars in the sky is about 2 meters

Front 18

Which of the following correctly describes the meridian in your sky?

Back 18

a half-circle extending from your horizon due north, through your zenith, to your horizon due south

Front 19

If the Moon rises around 3 A.M., its phase must be

Back 19

waning crescent

Front 20

Which of the following statements about circumpolar stars is true at all latitudes?

Back 20

they always remain above your horizon

Front 21

Suppose you live on the Moon. how long is a day (i.e., from sunrise to sunrise)?

Back 21

a lunar month

Front 22

Which of the following statements about constellations is false?

Back 22

Most constellations will be unrecognizable hundreds of years from now

Front 23

What makes the North Star, Polaris, special?

Back 23

it appears very near to the north celestial pole

Front 24

Which of the following statements about the Moon is true?

Back 24

The Moon's distance from the earth varis during its orbit

Front 25

We describe a position on the earth's surface by stating its

Back 25

latitude and longtitude

Front 26

Why do we have seasons on earth?

Back 26

As the earth goes around the Sun and the earth's axis remains pointed toward Polaris, the Northern and Southern hempishere lternatiely recieve more and less direct sunlight

Front 27

We can't detect stellar parallax with naked eye observations. which of the folloiwing would make parallax easier to observe?

Back 27

increasing the size of the earth's orbit

Front 28

what is a circumpolar star?

Back 28

a star that always remains above your horizion

Front 29

what effect or effects would be most signficiant if the Moon's orbital plane were exactly the same as the ecliptic plane?

Back 29

Solar eclipses would be much more frequent

Front 30

When someone on earth observes the Moon in the first=quarter phase, someone on the Moon facing the earth observes the earth in the..

Back 30

third-quarter earth phase

Front 31

Which of the following best describes the modern definition of a constellation?

Back 31

a region of the celestial sphere

Front 32

Why were ancient people unable to detect stellar parallax?

Back 32

they did not have the ability to measure very small angles.

Front 33

Which of the following statements about the celestial equtor is true at all latitudes?

Back 33

It repreesents an extension of the earth's equator onto the celestial sphere

Front 34

Which of the following never goes in retrograde motion

Back 34

the sun

Front 35

if the moon is setting at 6 AM., the phase of the moon must be full.

Back 35

full

Front 36

When are eclipse seasons?

Back 36

when the nodes of the moon's orbit are nearly aligned with the sun

Front 37

the precession of the moon's nodes means that

Back 37

the eclipse seasons occur less than 6 months apart

Front 38

Ashen light (or earthshine) is..

Back 38

sunlight reflected by the earth that illuminates the "dark" potion of the moon

Front 39

Why is it summer in the Northern Hampshire when it's winter in the south Hemisphere?

Back 39

The Northern Hemisphere is titled toward the Sun and receives more direct sunlight

Front 40

How many arcseconds are in 1 degree?

Back 40

3,600