Question 1
Question
Which of the following definitions best describes a constellation?
Answer
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a region of the sky containing a certain star pattern
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a group of very bright stars
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a group of very faint stars
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the dividing line between the north and south celestial hemispheres
Question 2
Question
Which of the following best describes the Big Dipper?
Question 3
Question
What do stars in the same constellation have in common?
Answer
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They probably formed at the same time
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They must be part of the same cluster of stars in space
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They must have been discovered at about the same time
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They are in the same part of the sky as seen from the Earth
Question 4
Question
What languages do the standard constellation names come from?
Answer
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Greek and Latin
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Latin and Arabic
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Greek and Arabic
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Arabic and Sanskrit
Question 5
Question
Refer to Table 2-1. Which star in the table would appear brightest to an observer on Earth?
Question 6
Question
What causes the precession of the Earth’s rotation axis?
Answer
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the force of gravity from the Sun and Moon on the Earth's equatorial bulge
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the force of gravity from the Sun and Jupiter on the Earth–Moon system
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the magnetic field of the Earth
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the impacts of asteroids
Question 7
Question
A star is on the north point of the horizon. Where will the star be in 6 and 12 hours later
Question 8
Question
The Earth revolves in a counter clockwise direction around the sun at about 1 deg/day (360 deg and 365 days). Then this motion makes the sun to appear moving
Question 9
Question
Which of the following diagrams represent the area of the sky where an ancient Greek astronomer could observe the planets? (Ancient Greeks knew the 5 planets, in fact the word planet comes from the Greek word “planetes” = wanderer.)
Question 10
Question
A person in Nashville , TN observes Venus in the western part of the horizon. Six hours later Venus will be
Answer
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low in the south
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high in the south
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not visible
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nearly overhead
Question 11
Question
A person in Denver Colorado observes Jupiter in the eastern horizon right after the sunset. Where would the planet be after six hours?
Answer
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low in the south
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high in the south
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not visible
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nearly overhead
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low in the west
Question 12
Question
An observer in Lincoln Nebraska (latitude= 41 deg N) sees three stars rising in the eastern horizon. Which of these stars might later on pass through zenith point?
Question 13
Question
How many moons can be stacked from the horizon to the zenith?
Question 14
Question
Where is an observer's nadir?
Answer
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the east point on the observer's horizon
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the north point on the observer's horizon
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the point directly opposite the observer's zenith
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the point directly opposite the north celestial pole
Question 15
Question
If the apparent visual magnitude of a star is 7.3, what does this tell us about the brightness of the star?
Answer
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It is one of the brighter stars in the sky
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It is bright enough that it would be visible even during the day
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It is not visible with the unaided eye
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It appears faint because of its great distance from the Earth
Question 16
Question
The star Vega has an apparent visual magnitude of 0.03 and the star HR 4374 has an apparent visual magnitude of 4.87. It has been determined that both stars are at the same distance from the Earth. What does this information tell us about the two stars?
Answer
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Together the two stars would have a magnitude of 4.9
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Vega must produce less energy per second than HR 4374
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Vega must produce more energy per second than HR 4374
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Vega will appear fainter to us than HR 4374
Question 17
Question
What is the apparent visual magnitude of a star a measure of?
Answer
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the star’s size as perceived by human eyes on Earth
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the star’s temperature as perceived by human eyes on Earth
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the star’s colour as seen by human eyes on Earth
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the star’s brightness as seen by human eyes on Earth
Question 18
Question
Which of the following is equivalent to one-3,600th of a degree?
Answer
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precession
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second of arc
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minute of arc
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angular diameter
Question 19
Question
What is the term for the point on the celestial sphere directly above an observer, no matter where on the Earth the observer is located?
Answer
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north celestial pole
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south celestial pole
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zenith
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nadir
Question 20
Question
Where is the zenith for an observer standing at a point on the Earth’s equator?
Answer
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directly overhead
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near the horizon and towards the south
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near the horizon and towards the west
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the position depends on the time of day
Question 21
Question
If the Earth had an orbital tilt of 0 degrees (obliquity) then
Answer
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The direct rays of the sun would shine on the equator
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Day and night would be 12 long every day everywhere on the Earth
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An observer at the equator would see the sun pass at zenith every day
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There would not be no seasons
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All of the above
Question 22
Question
The orbit of the Earth had an eccentricity 0.017. If the eccentricity increased to 0.65 what would happened to the Earth’s seasons?
Answer
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More intense seasons
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Less intense seasons
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No appreciable change
Question 23
Question
On an imaginary planet that has an orbital tilt of 32 degrees, its corresponding Tropic of Cancer can be found at the latitude of
Answer
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23.5° N
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32° N
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58° N
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66.5° N
Question 24
Question
Which of the following locations are closer to the South Celestial Pole?
Answer
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(RA= 14h Declination=+88°)
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(RA= 14h Declination=-88°)
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(RA= 23h Declination=2°)
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(RA= 18h Declination=-66°)
Question 25
Question
Based on your computer clock lets say that today is August 31, 2015 the sun is
Answer
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North on the Celestial equator moving North
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South on the Celestial equator moving South
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North on the Celestial Equator moving South
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South on the Celestial equator moving North
Question 26
Question
How often is the sun at zenith for an observer at the equator?
Answer
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Never
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Twice per year
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12 times per year
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Every day
Question 27
Question
An observer in the northern hemisphere watches the sky for several hours. Due to the motion of the Earth, this observer notices that the stars near the north celestial pole appear to move. What pattern does this apparent movement follow?
Question 28
Question
If an observer travels north, toward higher latitudes, how does the number of circumpolar stars that he or she sees in the sky change?
Question 29
Question
If you were standing at the Earth's North Pole, which of the following would be located at the zenith?
Answer
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the nadir
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the star Vega
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the celestial equator
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the north celestial pole
Question 30
Question
How much of the night sky lies north of the celestial equator?
Answer
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Less than half, because of the tilt of the equator to the ecliptic plane.
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More than half, because of the precession of the poles
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Exactly half
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All of the night sky
Question 31
Question
Seen from Winnipeg (latitude 50 degrees North), where is the star Polaris in the sky?
Answer
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directly overhead
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40 degrees above the horizon
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50 degrees above the horizon
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the position depends on the time of day
Question 32
Question
For an observer in Pond Inlet, Nunavut, at a latitude of 73° North, what is the angle between the northern horizon and the north celestial pole?
Question 33
Question
For an observer in Oberon Bay, Australia, at a latitude of 39° South, what is the angle between the southern horizon and the south celestial pole?
Question 34
Question
If the north celestial pole appears on your horizon, what is your latitude?
Question 35
Question
If the north celestial pole appears on your horizon, what is your latitude?
Question 36
Question
An observer in the northern hemisphere takes a time exposure photograph of the night sky. If the illustration depicts the photograph taken by the observer, which direction was the camera pointing?
Question 37
Question
An observer in the northern hemisphere takes a time exposure photograph of the night sky. If the illustration depicts the photograph taken by the observer, which direction was the camera pointing?
Question 38
Question
An observer in the southern hemisphere takes a time exposure photograph of the night sky. If the illustration depicts the photograph taken by the observer, which direction was the camera pointing?
Answer
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due north
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due south
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due east
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due west
Question 39
Question
Where in the sky would an observer at the Earth's equator see the celestial equator?
Answer
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The celestial equator would be at 45 degrees above the northern horizon
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The celestial equator would be at 45 degrees above the southern horizon
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The celestial equator would coincide with the horizon
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The celestial equator would be directly overhead
Question 40
Question
Which of the following best defines the ecliptic?
Answer
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the plane that is perpendicular to the Earth's axis of rotation
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the projection of the Earth's equator onto the sky
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the path traced out by the Moon in our sky in one month against the background stars
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the path traced out by the Sun in our sky over one year against the background stars
Question 41
Question
Which of the following describes a concept very similar to latitude?
Answer
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right ascension
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declination
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magnitude
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meridian