Deck 2: A Users Guide to the Sky

Question 1

Figure 2-5
Examine the accompanying figure. Which term would be the correct scientific designation for Polaris in Ursa Minoris?

A) North Star
B)   α Ursa Major
C) -0.3 Ursa Minoris
D) α Ursae Minoris
E) β Ursae Minoris

Answer 1

α Ursae Minoris

Question 2

From which language did the majority of star names originate?

A) Arabic
B) Latin
C) Greek
D) Spanish
E) Italian

Answer 2

Arabic

Question 3

The constellations are an ancient heritage handed down for thousands of years as ways to tell stories of mythical heroes and monsters.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Earth spins completely upright like a giant top.

Question 5

In ancient times, constellation boundaries were well defined.

Question 6

What is an asterism?

A) A legend or folklore association to a grouping of stars
B) Less formally defined group of stars outside the official 88 constellations
C) The council of astronomers who defined the 88 constellations
D) The northern pivot point of the celestial sphere
E) Constellations close enough to a celestial pole that they do not appear to rise from the east and set in the west

Question 7

Which ancient astronomer recorded the magnitude of stars in his star catalog and was used successfully by astronomers for generations?

A) Ptolemy
B) Copernicus
C) Galileo
D) Kepler
E) Aristotle

Question 8

The scale of apparent visual magnitudes extends into negative numbers to represent the faintest objects in the sky.

Question 9

The International Astronomical Union established 88 constellations that represent a defined area of the sky.

Question 10

Which is an example of an asterism?

A) Andromeda
B) Canis Major
C) Ursa Major
D) Big Dipper
E) Pegasus

Question 11

The sky appears to rotate eastward around Earth each day, but that is a consequence of the westward rotation of Earth.

Question 12

What was the purpose of the IAU establishing 88 official constellations?

A) To allow ancient stories of each constellation to be preserved
B) To name all constellations the same across any culture
C) To identify which constellation was created by which culture
D) To define boundaries for constellations including every part of the sky
E) To include additional, fainter stars within a constellation

Question 13

The nadir marks the point of the celestial sphere directly above your head.

Question 14

The seasons are caused by Earth's orbit moving closer to or farther from the Sun.

Question 15

Most individual star names come from Latin and have been altered through passing centuries.

Question 16

Because Earth's axis of rotation is inclined 23.4 degrees from vertical, the Sun moves into the northern sky in the spring and into the southern sky in the fall.

Question 17

Which is an asterism of Pegasus?

A) Great Square
B) Orion
C) Andromeda
D) Scorpio
E) Cassiopeia

Question 18

Astronomers describe the brightness of stars using the brilliance scale.

Question 19

Flux is a measure of the light energy from a star that hits a collecting area of one square meter in one second.

Question 20

What did the IAU establish in 1928?

A) The IAU classified Pluto as a dwarf planet.
B) The IAU published official names of all constellations.
C) The IAU recorded 88 constellations with defined boundaries.
D) The IAU recognized additional orbiting bodies in the Kuiper Belt.
E) The IAU recorded all the mythologies associated with 88 constellations.

Question 21

Within the Northern Hemisphere, the vernal equinox marks the start of ____.

A) winter
B) fall
C) summer
D) spring
E) a new year

Question 22

If two stars have a magnitude difference of 5, what is their flux ratio?

A) 10.0
B) 12.6
C) 100.0
D) 250.0
E) 625.3

Question 23

Even though modern astronomers know that stars are scattered through space at different distances, they still use what scientific model to describe celestial locations in the sky?

A) apparent visual magnitude
B) Copernican revolution
C) celestial sphere
D) scientific orb
E) planetarium dome

Question 24

Which is a unit used to measure angular distance?

A) seconds
B) minutes
C) arc seconds
D) feet
E) kilometers

Question 25

When can Sirius, a favorite star of the Northern Hemisphere, be observed?

A) during summer
B) during spring
C) all year long
D) during winter
E) during fall

Question 26

The Sky Around You - Page 18 (For the following questions)
Review the accompanying figure and identify point C.

A) celestial equator
B) north celestial pole
C) south celestial pole
D) zenith
E) nadir

Question 27

The Sky Around You - Page 19
In the above image, what is the observer measuring?

A) angle
B) arc
C) distance
D) angular distance
E) angular momentum

Question 28

Figure 2-6 
The star Vega has a magnitude of 0.03. Using the accompanying figure, which object is brighter than Vega?

A) Sun
B) Venus
C) Sirius
D) Polaris
E) full moon

Question 29

Why is the term  "arc" used to describe units of measure for angular distance?

A) To avoid confusion with the minutes and seconds of time
B) To describe the arc-shaped distance between the stars
C) To distinguish the base unit of 10 per degree
D) To distinguish the difference between northern and southern spheres
E) To describe the placement of the stars within each hemisphere

Question 30

Earth's rapid rotation makes its axis sweep out the shape of a cone, like a heavy top slowing down.  This motion is known as ____.

A) momentum
B) precession
C) revolution
D) precision
E) recession

Question 31

Betelgeuse is the brightest star of which constellation?

A) Orion
B) Ursa Minor
C) Ursa Major
D) Southern Cross
E) Cassiopeia

Question 32

If star A is 14.5 times brighter than star B, then what is their magnitude difference?

A) 1.2
B) 2.9
C) 63.1
D) 800
E) 6.2 x 10⁵

Question 33

What is the flux ratio of two stars whose difference in magnitude is 2.6?

A) 6.3
B) 10.8
C) 21.3
D) 632
E) 1090

Question 34

Due to the cycle of precession, in 12,000 years, which star will replace Polaris as the guiding North Star?

A) Betelgeuse
B) Sirius
C) Vega
D) Rigel
E) Spica

Question 35

Earth's rotation is connected with a very slow celestial motion that can be detected only over _____

A) centuries
B) decades
C) a year
D) a few months
E) short brief periods

Question 36

What is the name of constellations that appear to never rise or set?

A) polar constellations
B) circumference constellations
C) circular constellations
D) celestial polar constellations
E) circumpolar constellations

Question 37

The Sky Around You - Page 18 (For the following questions)
Review the accompanying figure and identify point A.

A) south point
B) nadir
C) zenith
D) north celestial pole
E) south celestial pole

Question 38

The Sky Around You - Page 18 (For the following questions)
Review the accompanying figure and identify point B.

A) zenith
B) north point
C) celestial equator
D) south celestial pole
E) north celestial pole

Question 39

The Sky Around You - Page 18 (For the following questions)
Review the accompanying figure. Where does the celestial equator always meet the horizon?

A) at the north and south celestial poles
B) at the north and south poles
C) at the east and west points
D) at the zenith and nadir
E) at the equinox

Question 40

What is the cause for the slow movement of reference marks, such as the celestial poles and equator, to move across the sky?

A) precession
B) evolution
C) climate change
D) continental drift
E) angular revolution

Question 42

If Earth rotated about its axis completely upright, what would we fail to experience?

A) holidays
B) seasons
C) weather
D) day and night
E) a 365 day year

Question 43

What is the apparent path of the Sun against the background of stars?

A) ecliptic
B) zenith
C) nadir
D) elliptic
E) shadow

Question 44

Earth _______________ once a year around the Sun.

Question 45

Explain why we have seasons and compare/contrast the cycle of seasons for both hemispheres.

Question 46

What is the Milankovitch hypothesis and what evidence is there to support this hypothesis?

Question 47

Why can someone in the United States almost always be able to observe the constellations such as Ursa Major, Cassiopeia, and Perseus?

Question 48

Which planet is often called our most brilliant "morning star"?

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

Question 49

What date is the autumnal equinox for the Southern hemisphere?

A) December 21
B) September 22
C) June 22
D) March 20
E) December 25

Question 50

In 1928, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) established _______________ official constellations with carefully defined boundaries that together include every part of the sky.

Question 51

Day and night cycles are caused by the ____ of Earth.

A) revolution
B) location
C) axis tilt
D) rotation
E) boundaries

Question 52

The eastward rotation of Earth causes the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars to move _______________ in the sky.

Question 53

Astronomers use the _______________ alphabet to identify the bright stars in a constellation in approximate order of brightness.

Question 54

During which event does the Sun reach its most southern point in the celestial sphere within the Northern hemisphere?

A) nadir
B) summer solstice
C) vernal equinox
D) autumnal equinox
E) winter solstice

Question 55

The Milankovitch hypothesis suggests that the shape of Earth's orbit, its precession, and tilted axis can influence climatic changes and thus cause _____.

A) hurricanes
B) ice ages
C) season shift
D) longer days
E) warmer weather

Question 56

Earth's axis is tilted at an angle of _______________ degrees.

Question 57

Why do many people think stars are not in the sky during the daytime?

Question 58

Why is Earth's orbit often referred to be a "nearly perfect circle" and not a true ellipse?

Question 59

The ecliptic is often called the _______________ of Earth's orbit on the sky.

Question 60

Arc seconds are _______________th of an arc minute.

Question 61

Astrology is an example of _______________.

Question 62

Scientists constructed a history of ocean temperatures using deep ocean cores that convincingly matched the predictions of the _______________, describing the cause of multiple ice ages on Earth.

Question 63

Explain why it is difficult to see Mercury in the night sky.

Question 64

Describe the process of precession.

Question 65

On the day of the _______________ in late June, Earth's Northern Hemisphere is inclined toward  the Sun.

Question 66

On the day of summer solstice, explain the position of Earth and the light received by each of the hemispheres.

Question 67

Describe the magnitude scale and compare the ancient method to the current methodology used today.

Question 68

Many of the ancient astronomers applied astrology alongside astronomy, but that no longer holds true for modern astronomers. Explain why astrology is no longer considered useful to the modern scientist.