Consider the following data for four stars:

-Suppose that you are looking at the sky at about midnight on the winter solstice.Which star will be nearest to your meridian?
A)Alpha Centauri
B)Sirius
C)Spica
D)Deneb

Question

Consider the following data for four stars:

-Suppose that you are looking at the sky at about midnight on the winter solstice.Which star will be nearest to your meridian?
A)Alpha Centauri 
B)Sirius 
C)Spica 
D)Deneb

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Since we are looking at the sky at midnight on the winter solstice, the star that will be nearest to our meridian will be the one that is directly above us, which is also known as the zenith. The stars listed in the data do not provide any information about their coordinates, so we cannot determine which star will be closest to our meridian based on the given data. However, we can use our knowledge of the night sky to make an educated guess.

Out of the four stars listed, Sirius is the brightest and most visible from Earth. It is also a part of the constellation Canis Major, which is located close to the celestial equator. Since we are at the winter solstice, the Sun is at its southernmost point in the sky, which means that our location on Earth is tilted away from the celestial equator. As a result, stars that are closer to the celestial equator will be higher in the sky than stars that are farther away.

Based on this information, we can infer that Sirius, being located near the celestial equator, will be the star closest to our meridian at midnight on the winter solstice. Therefore, the best choice is B) Sirius.

Consider the Following Data for Four Stars