Deck 1: The Night Sky

Question 1

At apogee, the Moon is at its farthest from the Earth and thus appears larger than normal. Because of this, it can produce total solar eclipses, but not annular solar eclipses.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

The first quarter Moon will rise about noon, and set about midnight.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

When the Moon passes directly between the Sun and the Earth, we see a lunar eclipse.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

A light-year is a measurement of time.

Question 5

Which of the choices below correctly lists things in order from largest to smallest?

A) Sun, Earth, Solar System, Milky Way, Universe
B) Universe, Milky Way, Sun, Earth, Solar System
C) Solar System, Earth, Sun, Universe, Milky Way
D) Universe, Milky Way, Solar System, Sun, Earth
E) Milky Way, Universe, Solar System, Sun, Earth

Question 6

At apogee, the Moon is at its farthest from Earth and thus appears smaller than normal. Because of this it can produce only annular solar eclipses, but not total solar eclipses.

Question 7

Constellations are close clusters of stars, all at about the same distance from the Sun.

Question 8

No one knew that the Earth was round (spherical) until the 1500s, when explorers such as Magellan sailed around the world.

Question 9

The Full Moon rises around sunrise, and sets around sunset.

Question 10

As it orbits the Earth, the Moon appears to move eastward about its own diameter every hour.

Question 11

From the South Pole, Polaris would appear directly overhead.

Question 12

Which of the following can be described as the totality of all space, time, matter, and energy?

A) The universe
B) Astronomy
C) The Milky Way
D) The Earth
E) The solar system

Question 13

From full Moon to third quarter Moon takes about a week.

Question 14

It was Aristotle who used the scientific method to show the Earth was a sphere.

Question 15

If a star rises about 9 PM tonight, and with the sidereal day being four minutes less than the solar one, then in a month it will rise about 7 PM.

Question 16

Only at the equator are all the stars visible over the course of the year.

Question 17

Where did most of the chemical elements that make up our bodies come from?

A) The Sun
B) Vanished Stars
C) The Big Bang
D) Other planets

Question 18

There are 3,600 arc seconds in a degree.

Question 19

The distances to bodies in the solar system are a few light minutes to light hours.

Question 20

Over the course of a night, Polaris moves less than any other visible star in the sky.

Question 21

This diagram explains

A) the difference between solar time and sidereal time.
B) precession.
C) the solar day's relation to the Moon.
D) the sidereal day's relation to the seasons.

Question 22

You note that a particular star is directly overhead. It will be directly overhead again in

A) 1 hour.
B) 12 hours.
C) 23 hours 56 minutes.
D) 24 hours.
E) 24 hours 4 minutes.

Question 23

What celestial line is a product of the Earth's orbit around the Sun?

A) Ecliptic
B) Prime Meridian
C) Equator
D) Galactic Plane
E) Analemma

Question 24

About how many stars are visible on a clear, dark night with the unaided eye alone?

A) A few dozen
B) A few hundred
C) A few thousand
D) Tens of thousands
E) Millions and millions

Question 25

Into how many constellations is the celestial sphere divided?

A) 12
B) 44
C) 57
D) 88
E) 110

Question 26

The place the Sun stops its northward motion along the ecliptic is the

A) equator.
B) prime meridian.
C) summer solstice.
D) vernal equinox.

Question 27

Seasons on Earth are primarily caused by

A) the distance from the Earth to the Sun.
B) the tilt of the Earth's rotational axis.
C) the tilt of the Earth's magnetic axis.
D) the precession of the Earth's rotational axis.
E) the dates of the solstices and equinoxes.

Question 28

That Polaris will not always be the pole star is due to

A) the sidereal day being shorter than the solar day.
B) precession shifting the celestial pole.
C) the Moon following the ecliptic, instead of the equator.
D) the Earth's revolution being slightly less than exactly 365.25 days.
E) the Solar winds blowing the Earth farther away from the Sun.

Question 29

A year is defined as

A) the time it takes for Earth to complete a rotation on its axis.
B) the time it takes for the Moon to complete an orbit of Earth.
C) the time it takes for the Moon to complete a phase cycle.
D) the time it takes for Earth to complete an orbit around the Sun.
E) the time it takes for the Sun to complete an orbit around Earth.

Question 30

From a location in the United States of America, a star is observed to be rising due East. Where will this star be located 6 hours later?

A) Directly overhead
B) High in the Northern sky
C) High in the southern sky
D) Setting due West
E) The location of the star cannot be determined from the information given.

Question 31

Which statement about the ecliptic is FALSE?

A) The Sun appears to move about a degree per day eastward long it.
B) It is tilted 23.5 degrees with respect to the equator.
C) The year is marked by the Sun's return to the same place along it.
D) The Moon can never leave it, but moves twelve times faster than the Sun.
E) The major planets stay close to it, but not always on it.

Question 32

Where would you be if the Sun sets for six continuous months, beginning about September 23rd?

A) North Pole
B) Arctic Circle
C) Equator
D) Antarctic Circle
E) South Pole

Question 33

How many arc seconds are in a degree?

A) 60
B) 3600
C) 600
D) 86400
E) None; seconds measure time and degrees measure temperature.

Question 34

What are constellations?

A) Groups of galaxies gravitationally bound and close together in the sky
B) Groups of stars making an apparent pattern in the celestial sphere
C) Groups of stars gravitationally bound and appearing close together in the sky
D) Ancient story boards, useless to modern astronomers
E) Apparent groupings of stars and planets visible on a given evening

Question 35

The angular size of an object depends on which two quantities?

A) The object's actual size and its mass
B) The object's distance from us and its brightness
C) The object's actual size and its distance from us
D) The object's brightness and its mass

Question 36

How long is the precession cycle?

A) 1 day
B) 29.5 days
C) 365.24 days
D) 18 years, 11.3 days
E) 26,000 years

Question 37

Where on Earth would you be if Polaris were directly overhead?

A) North Pole
B) Arctic Circle
C) Tropic of Cancer
D) Equator
E) It lies overhead everywhere on Earth.

Question 38

While watching a star, you see it moves 15 degrees across the sky. How long have you been watching it?

A) 1 hour
B) 3 hours
C) 15 minutes
D) 15 seconds
E) 1 minute

Question 39

Where on Earth can you observe all the stars in the sky over an entire year?

A) North Pole
B) Arctic Circle
C) Tropic of Cancer
D) Equator
E) Everyone on Earth can see the whole sky.

Question 40

The places where the Sun crosses the equator are called the

A) annalemmas.
B) prime meridians.
C) zeniths.
D) equinoxes.
E) solstices.

Question 41

An effective theory must

A) have been proven.
B) must have been around for centuries or longer.
C) be continuously tested.
D) include mathematical formulae.

Question 42

What conditions are necessary for an annular solar eclipse?

A) New Moon on equator at perigee
B) Full Moon on ecliptic at perihelion
C) New Moon on ecliptic at perigee
D) New Moon on equator at apogee
E) New Moon on ecliptic at apogee

Question 43

Some type of solar eclipse will happen about

A) every month at new Moon.
B) every week at full Moon.
C) every month at full Moon.
D) about every six months at new Moon.
E) every year at new Moon.

Question 44

Modern scientific theories are NOT

A) testable.
B) continuously tested.
C) simple.
D) perfect.
E) elegant.

Question 45

If new Moon fell on March 2nd, what is the Moon's phase on March 14th?

A) Waxing crescent
B) First quarter
C) Waxing gibbous
D) Full
E) Waning crescent

Question 46

What conditions are necessary for a partial solar eclipse?

A) New Moon on ecliptic, with us in the penumbral shadow
B) Full Moon on equator, with us in the umbral shadow
C) New Moon at perigee
D) Full Moon at apogee
E) First or third quarter Moon crossing the ecliptic

Question 47

Which statement about the first quarter Moon is FALSE?

A) It rises about noon.
B) From the Earth, it appears 25% sunlit.
C) It is the half Moon of the evening sky.
D) It is highest in the sky at sunset.
E) It occurs about a week after new Moon.

Question 48

If you are in the Moon's umbral shadow, then you will witness

A) nighttime.
B) a total solar eclipse.
C) a total lunar eclipse.
D) a partial solar eclipse.
E) some kind of lunar eclipse.

Question 49

The Milky Way galaxy contains about ________ stars.

Question 50

What conditions are necessary for a total solar eclipse?

A) New Moon on ecliptic near perigee
B) Full Moon on ecliptic near aphelion
C) New Moon on equator at perigee
D) Full Moon on equator at perigee
E) New Moon on ecliptic near aphelion

Question 51

A solar eclipse can only happen during a

A) new Moon.
B) solstice.
C) first quarter Moon.
D) full Moon.
E) perihelion passage of the Sun.

Question 52

The distances to other stars are best measured in ________.

Question 53

A lunar eclipse can only happen during a

A) new Moon.
B) equinox.
C) full Moon.
D) perigee.
E) aphelion.

Question 54

The Last Quarter phase of the Moon

A) rises at sunrise.
B) sets at sunrise.
C) crosses the meridian at sunrise.
D) rises at sunset.
E) sets at sunset.

Question 55

The constellations of the zodiac fall along

A) the ecliptic.
B) the celestial equator.
C) lines of longitude.
D) lines of latitude.

Question 56

When the Sun rises it is located in the constellation Gemini. When the Sun sets later that same day it will be

A) in the constellation Aries.
B) in the constellation Taurus.
C) in the constellation Gemini.
D) in the constellation Cancer.
E) in the constellation Leo.

Question 57

If the Moon rose tonight at 6 PM, then tomorrow it will rise about

A) the same time.
B) 7 PM.
C) 5 PM.
D) dawn.
E) midnight.

Question 58

Aristotle's hypothesis was that

A) lunar eclipses were created by our shadow.
B) only a spherical Earth would always cast a circular shadow on the Moon.
C) lunar eclipses would have to happen every full Moon.
D) the Sun lay at the center of the planet orbits.
E) the Moon orbited the Earth.

Question 59

Why is there a two-day difference in the sidereal and synodic months?

A) The Moon speeds up at perigee, and slows down at apogee.
B) The sidereal day is four minutes shorter than the solar day, and it adds up.
C) The Earth is closer to the Sun during the sidereal month.
D) The Earth is also revolving around the Sun, so the Moon must "catch up."
E) The Moslem lunar year is only 354 days long, on average.

Question 60

Where would you be if the Sun passes directly overhead on December 21st?

A) Equator
B) Tropic of Cancer
C) Tropic of Capricorn
D) Antarctic Circle
E) South Pole

Question 61

The ________ of the Earth causes the Sun and Moon to rise in the east and set in the west.

Question 62

If a theory is testable, its underlying ________ and its ________ can be exposed to experimental verification.

Question 63

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

Question 64

The four extra minutes in the solar day are due to our ________ around the Sun.

Question 65

Why are some solar eclipses total, and others annular?

Question 66

How far above or below the ecliptic can the Sun move?

Question 67

The celestial sphere appears to move fastest above the ________.

Question 68

If the bright star Sirius transits my local meridian tonight at 6:43 PM, when will it transit tomorrow?

Question 69

A solar eclipse can only happen during a ________ Moon.

Question 70

Early astronomers picture the Earth as stationary, with the ________ spinning, moving the stars along with it.

Question 71

If the Moon rises exactly at sunset, what will its phase be? Why?

Question 72

Which is longer, the sidereal or solar day? By how much?

Question 73

The two days when the Sun rises due east and sets due west are the ________.

Question 74

A solar eclipse can only happen during a ________ Moon.

Question 75

If intending to teach his students the constellations by season, why would an astronomy instructor be advised to always assign the stars in the current western sky at the beginning of each term?

Question 76

The first quarter Moon rises about noon today; what will its phase be, and when will it rise tomorrow?

Question 77

The Sun's lowest position in the sky occurs at the ________.

Question 78

A ________ is a framework of ideas and assumption used to explain some set of observations and make predictions about the real world.

Question 79

What is the name of the point on the celestial sphere that all stars seem to circle around, when viewing the sky from North America?

Question 80

How far above and below the celestial equator can the Sun move?