Chapter 1: The Night Sky

Question 1 of 47

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Roughly how many Earths would fit inside the Sun?

Select one of the following:

1
100
10,000
1,000,000

Explanation

Question 2 of 47

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In 1 second, light leaving Los Angeles reaches approximately as far as

Select one of the following:

San Francisco, about 500 km
London, roughly 10,000 km
the Moon, 384,000 km
Venus, 45,000,000 km from Earth at closest approach

Explanation

Question 3 of 47

5

If Earth rotated twice as fast as it currently does, but its motion around the Sun stayed the same, then

Select one of the following:

the night would be twice as long;
the night would be half as long
the year would be half as long
the length of the day would be unchanged

Explanation

Question 4 of 47

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When a thin crescent of the Moon is visible just before sunrise, the Moon is in its

Select one of the following:

waxing phase
new phase
waning phase
quarter phase

Explanation

Question 5 of 47

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If the Moon's orbit were a little longer, solar eclipses would be

Select one of the following:

more likely to be annular
more likely to be total
more frequent
unchanged in appearance

Explanation

Question 6 of 47

5

Relative to the stars, as seen from Earth, through roughly how many degrees, arc minutes, or arc seconds does the Moon move in 1 hour of time?

Select one of the following:

10 degrees
30 arc minutes
1 arc minute

Explanation

Question 7 of 47

5

The Moon lies roughly 384,000 km from Earth, and the Sun lies 150,000,000 km away. If both have the same angular size as seen from Earth, roughly how many times larger than the Moon is the Sun?

Select one of the following:

400
40
10
4

Explanation

Question 8 of 47

5

The stars in a constellation are physically close to one another.

Select one of the following:

True
False

Explanation

Question 9 of 47

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The seasons are caused by the precession of Earth's axis.

Select one of the following:

True
False

Explanation

Question 10 of 47

5

If the direction of Earth's rotation were reversed, the solar day would be shorter than it is now.

Select one of the following:

True
False

Explanation

Question 11 of 47

5

The Moon does not rotate.

Select one of the following:

True
False

Explanation

Question 12 of 47

5

A lunar eclipse can occur only during a full Moon.

Select one of the following:

True
False

Explanation

Question 13 of 47

5

The angular diameter of an object is inversely proportional to its distance from the observer.

Select one of the following:

True
False

Explanation

Question 14 of 47

5

Once proved, a theory can never be changed.

Select one of the following:

True
False

Explanation

Question 15 of 47

5

Fill the blank space to complete the text.

The is the totality of all space, time, matter, and energy.

Explanation

Question 16 of 47

5

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is the study of the universe.

Explanation

Question 17 of 47

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Planet orbits a star called the , near the edge of the Galaxy, which is just one among billions of galaxies in the .

Explanation

Question 18 of 47

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Early observers grouped the thousands of stars visible to the naked eye into patterns called , which they imagined where attached to a vast celestial sphere centered on Earth.

Explanation

Question 19 of 47

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A is an imaginary sphere surrounding Earth to which all objects in the sky were once considered to be attached.

Explanation

Question 20 of 47

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have no physical significance, but are still used to label regions of the sky.

Explanation

Question 21 of 47

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The points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects the celestial sphere are called the north and south .

Explanation

Question 22 of 47

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The line where Earth's equatorial plane cuts the celestial sphere is the .

Explanation

Question 23 of 47

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The nightly motion of the stars across the sky is the result of Earth's on it axis.

Explanation

Question 24 of 47

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A is the spinning motion of a body about on its axis.

Explanation

Question 25 of 47

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The time from one noon to the next is called a day.

Explanation

Question 26 of 47

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The time between successive risings of any given star is one day.

Explanation

Question 27 of 47

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Because of Earth's around the Sun, we see different stars at night at different times of the year, and the Sun appears to move relative to the stars.

Explanation

Question 28 of 47

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The Sun's apparent yearly path around the celestial sphere (or the plane of Earth's orbit around the Sun) is called the .

Explanation

Question 29 of 47

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We experience because Earth's rotation axis is inclined to the ecliptic plane.

Explanation

Question 30 of 47

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At the , the Sun is highest in the sky and the length of the day is greatest.

Explanation

Question 31 of 47

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At the vernal and autumnal , Earth's axis of rotation is perpendicular to the line joining Earth to the Sun, so day and night are of length.

Explanation

Question 32 of 47

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The interval of time from one vernal to the next is one year.

Explanation

Question 33 of 47

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( Precession, Rotation, Revolution ) is the slow "wobble" of Earth's axis due to the influence of the ( Moon, Sun ).

Explanation

Question 34 of 47

5

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As a result of ( rotation, precession, revolution ), the ( tropical, sidereal ) year is slightly longer than the ( tropical, sidereal ) year, and the constellations migrate around the calendar over the course of thousands of years.

Explanation

Question 35 of 47

5

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The ( Moon, North Star ) emits no light of its own, but instead shines by reflected sunlight.

Explanation

Question 36 of 47

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As the Moon orbits Earth, we see phases as the amount of the Moon's sunlit face visible to us varies.

Explanation

Question 37 of 47

5

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At ( new, full ) Moon, the Moon and the Sun are in nearly the same part of the sky, and the ( sunlit, dark ) side of the Moon is oriented away from us.

Explanation

Question 38 of 47

5

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At ( new, full ) Moon, the Sun and Moon are in opposite directions, from our perspective.

Explanation

Question 39 of 47

5

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The time taken for the Moon to complete one orbit relative to the stars is 1 ( synodic, sidereal ) month. The time needed for the Moon to complete one cycle of phases is 1 ( synodic, sidereal ) month.

Explanation

Question 40 of 47

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A ( solar, lunar, total, partial, annular ) eclipse occurs when the Moon enters Earth's shadow.

Explanation

Question 41 of 47

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A ( solar, lunar, total, partial, annular ) eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun.

Explanation

Question 42 of 47

5

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An eclipse may be ( solar, lunar, total, partial, annular ) if the body in question (Moon or Sun) is completely obscured, or ( solar, lunar, total, partial, annular ) if only a portion of the surface is affected.

Explanation

Question 43 of 47

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If the Moon happens to be too far from Earth for its disk to completely hide the Sun, an ( solar, lunar, total, partial, annular ) eclipse occurs.

Explanation

Question 44 of 47

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Because the Moon's orbit around Earth is slightly inclined with respect to the , solar and lunar eclipses do not occur every .

Explanation

Question 45 of 47

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The is a methodical approach employed by scientists to explore the universe around us in an objective manner.

Explanation

Question 46 of 47

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A ❌ is a framework of ideas and assumptions used to explain some set of ❌ and construct theoretical models that make ❌ about the real world. These predictions in turn are ❌ to further observational ❌. In this way, the theory expands and ❌ advances.

Drag and drop to complete the text.

theory

observations

predictions

amenable

testing

science

Explanation

Question 47 of 47

5

	Created by Rachelle Sappington almost 7 years ago

The Universe at a Glance

Chapter 1: The Night Sky

Question 1 of 47

Roughly how many Earths would fit inside the Sun?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 2 of 47

In 1 second, light leaving Los Angeles reaches approximately as far as

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 3 of 47

If Earth rotated twice as fast as it currently does, but its motion around the Sun stayed the same, then

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 4 of 47

When a thin crescent of the Moon is visible just before sunrise, the Moon is in its

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 5 of 47

If the Moon's orbit were a little longer, solar eclipses would be

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 6 of 47

Relative to the stars, as seen from Earth, through roughly how many degrees, arc minutes, or arc seconds does the Moon move in 1 hour of time?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 7 of 47

The Moon lies roughly 384,000 km from Earth, and the Sun lies 150,000,000 km away. If both have the same angular size as seen from Earth, roughly how many times larger than the Moon is the Sun?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 8 of 47

The stars in a constellation are physically close to one another.

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 9 of 47

The seasons are caused by the precession of Earth's axis.

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 10 of 47

If the direction of Earth's rotation were reversed, the solar day would be shorter than it is now.

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 11 of 47

The Moon does not rotate.

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 12 of 47

A lunar eclipse can occur only during a full Moon.

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 13 of 47

The angular diameter of an object is inversely proportional to its distance from the observer.

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 14 of 47

Once proved, a theory can never be changed.

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 15 of 47

Fill the blank space to complete the text.

The is the totality of all space, time, matter, and energy.

Explanation

Question 16 of 47

Fill the blank space to complete the text.

is the study of the universe.

Explanation

Question 17 of 47

Fill the blank spaces to complete the text.

Planet orbits a star called the , near the edge of the Galaxy, which is just one among billions of galaxies in the .

Explanation

Question 18 of 47

Fill the blank space to complete the text.

Early observers grouped the thousands of stars visible to the naked eye into patterns called , which they imagined where attached to a vast celestial sphere centered on Earth.

Explanation

Question 19 of 47

Fill the blank spaces to complete the text.

A is an imaginary sphere surrounding Earth to which all objects in the sky were once considered to be attached.

Explanation

Question 20 of 47

Fill the blank space to complete the text.

( Precession, Rotation, Revolution ) is the slow "wobble" of Earth's axis due to the influence of the ( Moon, Sun ).

As a result of ( rotation, precession, revolution ), the ( tropical, sidereal ) year is slightly longer than the ( tropical, sidereal ) year, and the constellations migrate around the calendar over the course of thousands of years.

The ( Moon, North Star ) emits no light of its own, but instead shines by reflected sunlight.

At ( new, full ) Moon, the Moon and the Sun are in nearly the same part of the sky, and the ( sunlit, dark ) side of the Moon is oriented away from us.