Exam 2: A Users Guide to the Sky

If you point toward the zenith right now and then point there again 6 hours later, you will have pointed twice in the same direction relative to

____ is the brightest star in the constellation of Ursa Majoris.

The ____ of an object can be measured in degrees.

What advantage is there in referring to a star by its Greek-letter designation and constellation name rather using its traditional name?

As Earth rotates, circumpolar stars appear to move counterclockwise around the north celestial pole.

Do the constellations visible in the sky at a particular time of night (say 9 P.M.) follow a seasonal pattern?

If you are standing at the Earth's north pole, which of the following would be located at the zenith?

An observer in the Northern Hemisphere takes a time exposure photograph of the night sky. If the illustration below depicts the photograph taken by the observer, which direction was the camera pointing?

Table 2-1 -Refer to Table 2-1. Which star in the table would not be visible to the unaided eye of an observer on Earth?

Star A has an apparent visual magnitude of 6.3 and star B has an apparent visual magnitude of 5.3. Star A is ____________________ times ____________________ than star B.

Navigators can find their latitude in the northern hemisphere by measuring the angle from the northern horizon to the north celestial pole.

Describe the path that a star on the celestial equator follows from the time it rises until it sets for a person at a latitude of 60° N and a person at the equator.

You live at a latitude of 39° S. What is the angle between the southern horizon and the south celestial pole?

How much of the night sky is north of the celestial equator?

An observer on Earth's equator would find _______

You live at a latitude of 73° N. What is the angle between the northern horizon and the north celestial pole?

Constellation names are from _____ translated into _______, the language of science in Europe to the 19th century.

Seen from the northern latitudes (mid-northern hemisphere), the star Polaris

You live at a latitude of 16° S. What is the angle between the southern horizon and the south celestial pole?

Polaris has always been the star nearest the north celestial pole.