Deck 21: Origins of Modern Astronomy

Question 1

This scientist was the first to use the telescope in astronomy.

A) Sir Isaac Newton
B) Galileo
C) Tycho Brahe
D) Nicolaus Copernicus

Answer 1

Galileo

Question 2

How did Eratosthenes estimate the size of Earth?

A) They used the height of sailing ships as they sailed over the horizon to estimate curvature of Earth, which allowed estimation of its size.
B) They didn't; everyone thought the world was flat until Columbus' time.
C) They measured the angle of the Sun above the horizon at midday in two places with different latitude and used the angle to estimate the circumference of Earth.
D) They measured the altitude of mountains in Greece, then used the distance they were lost from sight to estimate the curvature of Earth, which allowed estimation of the its size.

Answer 2

They measured the angle of the Sun above the horizon at midday in two places with different latitude and used the angle to estimate the circumference of Earth.

Question 3

Why do the planets "drift" east relative to the stars and then move west for periods of time?

A) They don't move, they stay fixed relative to the stars.
B) They are moving in large elliptical orbits, so when observed from Earth, their motion changes depending on whether they are near or far from the Sun at a given time.
C) They are moving in the same rotation sense as the earth around the Sun, but as the earth moves faster or slower, depending on the planet. the motion appears to be backwards.
D) They are moving in separate orbits around the Sun as it goes around the earth, producing the periodic backtracking.

Answer 3

They are moving in the same rotation sense as the earth around the Sun, but as the earth moves faster or slower, depending on the planet. the motion appears to be backwards.

Question 4

The true shape of the planetary orbits was discovered by___________ .

A) Johannes Kepler
B) Galileo
C) Nicolaus Copernicus
D) Sir Isaac Newton
E) Tycho Brahe

Question 5

According to the Ptolemaic Greek. model of the universe, how many "heavenly" bodies could be observed wandering along the background of stars?

A) seven
B) two
C) five
D) one

Question 6

Galileo observed several features using the telescope. Which one of the following did he not discover?

A) the two moons of Mars
B) sunspots
C) phases of Venus
D) Jupiter's four largest moons

Question 7

What is the modern explanation for "guest stars" that appear in the night sky and then disappear?

A) comets passing close to Earth
B) unusually bright planets produced when they pass closest to earth
C) alignments of stars that make them suddenly appear bright
D) stars that go nova or supernova and appear as bright objects during the event and then go away

Question 8

Planets appear to move___________ each night, but occasionally they appear to stop and reverse direction.

A) southward
B) northward
C) eastward
D) westward
E) It varies significantly.

Question 9

Three laws of planetary motion were discovered by___________ .

A) Johannes Kepler
B) Galileo
C) Nicolaus Copernicus
D) Tycho Brahe

Question 10

The apparent westward "drift" of the planets compared to the background stars is called ___________.

A) precession
B) occultation
C) retrograde motion
D) Ptolemaic motion

Question 11

The earliest astronomical records appear to have been made by the ancient Chinese, Egyptians, and Babylonians in order to ___________.

A) predict the best dates for traveling, particularly by boat, and where to build temples
B) determine who should be sacrificed or promoted based on heavenly signs at their birth
C) determine when to plant crops or hunt animals based on seasonal changes
D) predict future positions of celestial objects to identify good or "lucky" dates for various important events

Question 12

Why were planets called "wanderers" by early astronomers?

A) They move in random paths across the sky due to their complex orbits around the Sun.
B) They move relative to the North Star, but not other stars.
C) They move relative to the Moon because of their orbits around Earth.
D) They move relative to the stars.

Question 13

This scientist determined the nature of the forces that kept the planets in their orbits.

A) Sir Isaac Newton
B) Galileo
C) Tycho Brahe
D) Nicolaus Copernicus

Question 14

The Bayeux Tapestry is pictured here: Which astronomical event is featured in this picture?

A) an eclipse
B) the arrival of Haley's Comet
C) a supernova
D) collapse of a nebula

Question 15

One of the discoveries which led to the modern view of the solar system was that the orbits of the planets are ___________.

A) parabolas
B) circles
C) hyperbolas
D) ellipses

Question 16

In the Ptolemaic Greek. model of the universe, ___________.

A) the Sun was in the center of the solar system
B) Earth was in the center of the universe
C) Earth was flat
D) Earth rotated on its axis to produce night and day

Question 17

When viewing the planets, Mars appears to move backwards, or retrograde, because___________ .

A) it is rotating around the Sun slower than Earth's rotation
B) it is rotating at approximately the same speed but its orbit is more elliptical than Earth's rotation
C) it is rotating at approximately the same speed but its orbit is more circular than Earth's orbit
D) it is rotating around the Sun faster than Earth's rotation

Question 18

The first modern astronomer to propose a Sun- centered universe was___________ .

A) Sir Isaac Newton
B) Galileo
C) Tycho Brahe
D) Nicolaus Copernicus

Question 19

In the Ptolemaic Greek. model of the universe, the stars are attached to the___________ .

A) stadia
B) deferent
C) celestial sphere
D) zodiac
E) plane of the ecliptic

Question 20

What is the modern explanation for what the ancient Chinese called "guest stars"?

A) They are comets.
B) They are meteorites.
C) They are nova or supernova.
D) They are planets.
E) None of the above.

Question 21

The Southern Cross is a Southern Hemisphere constellation that is as famous the big dipper in the Northern Hemisphere because of the brightness of the stars. It has a Southern Hemisphere declination slightly higher than the big dipper's Northern Hemisphere declination. Is it visible anywhere in the United States?

A) Yes, it is visible in most of the southern tier of states during summer months.
B) No, it is not visible anywhere in the U.S. because the entire country is too far north.
C) Yes, it is visible during much of the year, but it is obscured by the full Moon.
D) Yes, it is visible in Hawaii during the summer months.

Question 22

Alpha Centauri is a famous star because it is one of the closest stars to earth other than the Sun of course.. Where would you look in the night sky for Alpha Centauri?

A) Look for the second brightest star in the constellation Alpha.
B) Look for the brightest star in the constellation Centaurus.
C) Look for Hydra, then to the right for Hercules, and it will be half way between.
D) RA 15hr 30min; D 56 degrees

Question 23

Think about the correlation of the celestial coordinate system, the tilt of Earth's axis, and the positions on Earth. If you are an observer in the Southern Hemisphere, 2 degrees north of the Tropic of Capricorn, What time of year will you be able to see the North Star?

A) on the Southern Hemisphere vernal equinox
B) Never; you can never see the North star from the Southern Hemisphere.
C) at the Northern Hemisphere summer solstice, around June 21
D) on the Southern Hemisphere summer solstice, around Dec. 21

Question 24

Earth hits its perihelion position in January. Solar radiation is proportional to the distance squared between the Sun and the earth, so why isn't it hot in "winter" at perihelion?

A) Precession modifies the effect as Earth wobbles on its axis.
B) It is; it is called summer in the Southern Hemisphere, and there is just a time lag for the Northern Hemisphere.
C) The ellipticity of the orbit is small, so the affect is small; seasons are caused by tilt of Earth's orbit.
D) None of these is correct.

Question 25

Astrology is the folklore that arose from watching alignments in the night sky and the belief that these "celestial events" controlled human events. A 1960's folk song, "The Age of Aquarius" has numerous astrology references that relate to the positions of objects in the sky. The song has a line: "When the Moon is in the 7^th house, and Jupiter aligns with Mars, then peace will guide the planet …" From your knowledge of the stellar constellations and the celestial coordinate system, what does this line mean?

A) When the Moon crosses the zodiac in the 7^th month of the year, and Jupiter and Mars align with the Moon, then peace…
B) When Jupiter and Mars align with the Sun, and it is the 7^th full Moon of the year, then peace …
C) When Jupiter and Mars align in the sky, and the Moon is in the 7^th constellation of the zodiac, then peace…
D) It is just a nonsense line with no meaning.

Question 26

Tycho Brahe set out to disprove Copernicus, so why is he famous for developing modern astronomical theory?

A) Although he set out to disprove Copernicus, he ultimately accepted Copernicus' theory and was executed by the inquisition.
B) He theorized the concept of gravity with no data, which was left undiscovered until Newton.
C) He made very precise measurements that were key data used by Kepler.
D) None of these is correct.

Question 27

The belt of constellations through which all the planets move is called the ___________

A) Planetoid
B) Milky Way
C) Cosmos
D) Parallax
E) Zodiac

Question 28

Why did Galileo's observation that Venus showed phases like the Moon indicate that the geocentric theory of the solar system was not possible?

A) It demonstrated that Venus orbited Earth like the Moon, but both had to orbit the Sun.
B) It showed that Venus had to have a highly elliptical orbit that nearly crosses Earth's to produce phases like the Moon.
C) It was not an important observation supporting heliocentric theory, but it did work out to be consistent with the theory.
D) It demonstrated that Venus could not be in orbit around Earth between Earth and the Sun because it shows "full" and "new" phases that would never occur with geocentric geometry.

Question 29

The ___________day is the time it takes for Earth to make one complete rotation with respect to a star other than our Sun.

A) synodic
B) Julian
C) zodiacal
D) sidereal
E) equinox

Question 30

A very slow motion of Earth's axis that requires 26,000 years to complete is called ___________.

A) retrograde motion
B) axial precession
C) occultation
D) perturbation
E) Ptolemaic motion

Question 31

Which of these men formulated the Law of Universal Gravitation?

A) Galileo
B) Johannes Kepler
C) Tycho Brahe
D) Sir Isaac Newton
E) Nicolaus Copernicus

Question 32

What is the right ascension and declination for Polaris, the North Star?

A) RA 0 hr, D 0 degrees
B) RA indeterminate, D 90 degrees
C) RA 90 hr, D - 90 degrees
D) RA 0 hr, D 80 degrees

Question 33

Who wrote the book entitled Of the Revolutions of Celestial Spheres De Revolutionibus.?

A) Sir Isaac Newton
B) Johannes Kepler
C) Galileo
D) Nicolaus Copernicus
E) Tycho Brahe

Question 34

At the beginning of spring, the vernal equinox, what is the right ascension of the Sun?

A) 0
B) 90 degrees
C) 18 hr
D) 12 hr

Question 35

Any variance in the orbit of a planet from its predicted path is referred to as___________ .

A) perturbation
B) Ptolemaic motion
C) occultation
D) precession
E) retrograde motion

Question 36

Where will the North Star be, relative to the celestial coordinates, 12,000 years from now?

A) Several degrees from the North Pole position, and Vega will be the North Star instead of Polaris.
B) Right where it is now; it isn't going anywhere.
C) 23 1/2 degrees away from the pole, due to precession.
D) None of these is correct.

Question 37

This scientist wrote a book entitled Dialogue of the Great World Systems that compared the Earth- centered system with the Sun- centered system.

A) Galileo
B) Nicolaus Copernicus
C) Johannes Kepler
D) Tycho Brahe
E) Sir Isaac Newton

Question 38

Kepler said that the ___________ goes. around the ___________on ___________orbits.

A) Sun; planets; circular
B) planets; Sun; circular
C) Sun; planets; elliptical
D) planets; Sun; elliptical

Question 39

The planets are "wanderers" in the night sky because they move relative to the stars. However, there movement is limited to the plane of the solar system, which is disk shaped. So relative to the celestial coordinate system, how do the planets actually move across the sky?

A) The move along the zodiac.
B) They follow wobbling paths related to the precession of equinoxes.
C) They move along the celestial equator.
D) The move perpendicular to the celestial equator.

Question 40

The Big Dipper is near the ___________celestial pole.

A) West
B) North
C) East
D) South

Question 41

During a total lunar eclipse, the Moon remains visible because___________ .

A) the atmosphere of the Moon diffuses light from the other side of the Moon
B) the atmosphere of the Earth refracts light around its perimeter
C) the earth is too far from the Moon to totally cover the solar disk
D) None of the above; the Moon completely disappears against the night sky.

Question 42

The apparent path of the Sun upon the celestial sphere is called the ___________.

A) ecliptic
B) parallax
C) declination
D) precession
E) sidereal

Question 43

Examine the words and/or phrases below and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option that does not fit the pattern.

A) right ascension
B) declination
C) perihelion
D) equatorial system

Question 44

A total eclipse of the Sun is only possible at ___________.

A) second quarter
B) new Moon
C) third quarter
D) first quarter

Question 45

Axial precession is sometimes called the precession of equinoxes because it results in a gradual shift, relative to the celestial background, of the position where the Sun crosses the celestial equator at the equinox. Astrology is a mythology based on things like your "sign" which refers to the position of the Sun in the celestial zodiac the 12 constellations along the ecliptic. on your birthday. This system was established almost two thousand years ago. If this mythology were true and you believe your horoscope. can you use the dates for your "sign" based on this 2000 year old system?

A) Yes, any changes are insignificant in 2000 years.
B) No, although the precession shifts the equinox position, the other zodiac positions do not change because they are fixed to the celestial sphere.
C) No, because 2000 years is almost 1/12, or one full sign shift, in the zodiac, so the 2000 year old signs are off by almost one full sign.
D) Yes, the dates are fixed; your sign is your sign.

Question 46

The length of daylight on the Moon is about ___________.

A) 24 hours
B) two weeks
C) one year
D) one month
E) 48 hours

Question 47

The concept that Earth was a sphere was established around the time of___________ .

A) The Ancient Greeks
B) The space age
C) The beginning of the Middle Ages
D) The Renaissance

Question 48

Why are there only 4- 7 eclipses per year?

A) The Moon's orbit is inclined to the ecliptic and only crosses the ecliptic twice per year.
B) There are only 4 full moons and 4 new moons per year, so no more than 4- 7 are possible.
C) There are more, they just aren't visible on both sides of the earth.
D) The Moon's orbit is inclined to the ecliptic and only crosses the ecliptic 3- 4 times per year.

Question 49

When the Moon appears as a thin crescent in the evening sky, just after Sunset, the lunar phase is___________ .

A) new Moon
B) between new Moon and first quarter
C) between second and third quarter
D) between first and second quarter

Question 50

Relative to the celestial background, the Moon moves___________ .

A) east to west
B) southeast to northwest
C) west to east
D) south to north

Question 51

A statement you will sometimes hear people say is that a day is not 24 hours but is really 23 hr. 56 min. and 4 sec. What does this refer to?

A) This is sidereal time, not solar time; a solar day is 24 hours.
B) The original definition of the hour was off, and with more accurate atomic clocks we now realize the real day is this length.
C) It is just an urban myth; the day really is 24 hours long.
D) Our clocks drift that much each day, and we average out the affect with period time shifts, like leap years and leap seconds.

Question 52

A sidereal day is defined as___________ .

A) the time for one complete revolution of the earth relative to the celestial reference
B) 24 hours at Greenwich, England
C) 24 hours in a day
D) the time between periods when the Sun is at the exact same height in the sky, for example, noon

Question 53

If you determine the number of days in a year with solar time and sidereal time how would they vary?

A) A year measured in sidereal time would be about 15 minutes different than a solar day, so the difference only accumulates over time.
B) A year measured in sidereal time would be about one day longer than a year based on solar time.
C) They wouldn't; a year is always about 365 1/4 days, and the 1/4 day is taken up with leap years.
D) A year measured in sidereal time would be about one day shorter than a year based on solar time.

Question 54

The period of time required for the Moon to complete a cycle of phases is called the___________ month.

A) sidereal
B) zodiacal
C) synodic
D) equinox
E) Julian

Question 55

According to the Ptolemaic Greek. system, the planets have ___________orbits.

A) elliptical
B) heliocentric
C) random
D) circular

Question 56

The ancient Greeks proposed an ___________centered view of the universe.

A) Sun
B) Moon
C) Saturn
D) Earth

Question 57

The 5000 year old Stonehenge stone circle of Salisbury Plains, England, allows light shafts to come straight between two rocks on___________ in the Northern hemisphere.

A) summer solstice
B) fall equinox
C) winter solstice
D) spring equinox

Question 58

At first quarter it is approximately ___________weeks. until the new Moon.

A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4

Question 59

Examine the words and/or phrases below and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option that does not fit the pattern.

A) revolution
B) declination
C) rotation
D) precession

Question 60

Examine the words and/or phrases below and determine the relationship among the majority of words/phrases. Choose the option that does not fit the pattern.

A) Galileo
B) Aristotle
C) Newton
D) Kepler

Question 61

Solar eclipses are___________ lunar eclipses.

A) more common than
B) less common than
C) equally common to
D) sometimes more common and sometimes less common than

Question 62

When Earth is the farthest from the Sun, it is said to be in the ___________position.

A) ecliptic
B) aphelion
C) celestial
D) inertia

Question 63

The proposal that contends that Earth is in the center of the universe is called the___________ view.

A) geocentric
B) heliocentric
C) celestiocentric
D) gravitationocentric

Question 64

Galileo believed in a ___________view of the universe.

A) Earth
B) Geocentric
C) Heliocentric
D) Ptolemaic

Question 65

The concept that Earth maintained a circular orbit around the Sun was suggested during the time of ___________.

A) The Middle Ages
B) Stonehenge building
C) The Ancient Greeks
D) The Renaissance

Question 66

The cycle of phases of the Moon is the basis for our ___________ .

A) year
B) day
C) month
D) light year

Question 67

___________discovered the three laws of planetary motion.

A) Brahe
B) Galileo
C) Kepler
D) Newton

Question 68

___________was convicted of heresy for his views of the universe.

A) Brahe
B) Kepler
C) Galileo
D) Newton

Question 69

___________accurately recorded the position of the planet Mars.

A) Brahe
B) Galileo
C) Kepler
D) Newton

Question 70

An eclipse of the Moon can be seen by anyone on ___________.

A) the opposite side of the earth from where the sun is shining
B) the side of Earth facing the Moon at that time
C) the poles or the equator
D) the Southern hemisphere only

Question 71

Earth is closest to the Sun in___________ .

A) April
B) October
C) July
D) January

Question 72

The apparent westward drift of the planets as compared to the background stars is called___________ motion.

A) retrograde
B) altitude
C) perihelion
D) synodic

Question 73

___________discovered Jupiter's four largest moons.

A) Brahe
B) Galileo
C) Kepler
D) Newton

Question 74

The signs of the zodiac used in astrology refer to the constellations that lie along the plane of the___________ .

A) planetary orbit
B) comet's path
C) Earth's axis
D) ecliptic

Question 75

The apparent annual path of the Sun upon the celestial sphere is called the ___________.

A) revolution
B) ecliptic
C) rotation
D) sidereal

Question 76

The length of daylight on the Moon is about___________ .

A) one month
B) two weeks
C) 365 days
D) 24 hours

Question 77

The ___________side of the Moon is always visible from Earth.

A) dark
B) same
C) polar
D) cratered

Question 78

Using the telescope, Galileo discovered that the planet ___________had polar ice caps not unlike those on Earth.

A) Venus
B) Saturn
C) Mars
D) Jupiter

Question 79

Galileo discovered that the Sun has "blemishes," which we call___________ .

A) penumbras
B) sunspots
C) coronas
D) auroras

Question 80

Lunar eclipses last ___________ than solar eclipses.

A) the same length as
B) shorter
C) longer
D) sometimes longer than and sometimes shorter