survey of the universe unit 1 test - UARK

speed of light is about

3x10^5 km/sec

light takes 1 sec to travel from the moon to the earth, this means the moon is how far away?

300,000 km

what is your cosmic address

you, Earth, solar system, Milky Way, Local Group, Local Supercluster, universe

Because light travels at a finite speed, what does this mean for astronomers as they look at more distant galaxies?

We see a distant galaxy as it was some time in the past, rather than as it is now.

Stars located near _____ appear to move in circles when viewed from Earth.

polaris

You are standing on Earth's equator at night. Which way is Polaris, the North star?

on the northern horizon

Which direction is the photographer of this picture looking? She is in the Northern Hemisphere(slanting from left to right)

west

Assuming the sky is clear, how can you determine your latitude on Earth, assuming you are somewhere in the northern hemisphere?

Locate Polaris and measure its altitude - that is your latitude.

what statement is true about the location of the Sun at sunrise during the middle of summer?

The Sun will rise north of East.

Since it past the winter solstice now, how will the altitude of the noontime Sun change as summer approaches?

It increases

What is the zodiac?

12 (or 13) constellations that lie along the ecliptic

When does the Sun set directly in the West?

At the spring and autumn equinoxes

Which phase of the Moon rises in the east as the Sun sets in the west?

full

What time is it when the new moon is highest in the sky?

noon

During the new moon phase, how much of the Moon's total surface is being illuminated by sunlight?

half

In addition to the conditions required for any solar eclipse, what must also be true in order for you to observe a total solar eclipse?

The Moon's umbra must cover the area where you are located.

When a total lunar eclipse occurs, in what phase and location will the Moon be?

Full phase and crossing Earth's orbital plane.

The asteroid belt is located about 3 AU from the Sun. Which of the following best approximates the orbital period of the asteroids in this belt? (Hint: remember P2 = a3)

5 years

t/f The names of the seven days of the week are derived from the names of the members of the solar system that are visible to the naked eye.

true

t/f If you lived on the Moon, you'd see full Earth when we see new moon.

true

t/f The Moon and Sun are approximately the same physical size.

false

t/f Tycho Brahe used his high accuracy observations to conclude that the Earth revolves around the sun.

false- nicolaus copernicus

discovered the moons of jupiter & phases of venus

Galileo

What Danish astronomer built the first real European observatory, collected lots of data, but still believed that the Earth did not move because he could not detect stellar parallax?

Tycho Brahe

Who wrote the Almagest, a treatise on stellar positions and the movement of the planets as described by a geocentric model of the solar system?

Ptolemy

Who was the first to suggest that the planets orbit the Sun in ellipses?

kepler

Who published an early heliocentric model (after his death in 1543) that involved perfect circles?

copernicus

is the solar system located in the middle of the milky way?

no

In the year A.D. 15,000, Vega will be a better north star than Polaris.

The direction of Earth's axis in space precesses with a period of 26,000 years.

Circumpolar stars travel in circles around the star Polaris over the course of 24 hours.

The Earth rotates once each day.

Orion is visible on winter evenings but not summer evenings

The Earth orbits the Sun once each year.

At mid-latitudes on the Earth, the length of daylight hours changes over the course of the year.

The rotational axis of the Earth is tilted 23.5° with respect to the ecliptic plane.

The Moon goes through a series of phases every 29.5 days.

The Moon orbits the Earth.

a light year is 9.5 trillion km. How is this distance defined?

The distance light can travel going its fastest speed across the Universe.

If you can identify our north star, Polaris, in the night sky and measure it to be 50 degrees up from the horizon, what is your latitude?

About 50 degrees north

Which of the following statements is true about the location of the Sun at sunrise on the days of the spring and autumn equinoxes?

The Sun will rise directly to the East.

Since it is winter now, how will the altitude of the noontime Sun change as spring approaches?

It increases

During what season does the Sun set in the south?

winter

during what season does the sun set in the north?

summer

Is the Sun ever directly overhead at our location?

never

My traditional star sign is Aquarius. What aspect of the Earth's motion causes this sign to be

"wrong" in that the Sun was actually in Capricornus when I was born?

The precession of the Earth's rotation axis.

What is the ecliptic?

The apparent path of the Sun around the celestial sphere & The plane of the Earth's orbit around the Sun

What time is it when a first quarter moon is highest in the sky?

sunset (6 pm)

In addition to the conditions required for any lunar eclipse, what must also be true in order for you to observe a partial lunar eclipse?

The moon passes partially through the Earth's umbra and partially through the penumbra.

When a total solar eclipse occurs, in what phase and location described below will the Moon be?

New phase and crossing Earth's orbital plane.

What did Ptolemy think caused retrograde motion of the planets?

The real backward motion of a planet as it orbits on its epicycle.

What is NOT one of Kepler's Three Laws of planetary motion?

The planets orbit the Sun at a speed that is proportional to its mass.

Kepler's 1st Law states that the orbits of the planets around the Sun have the shape of what?

elipses

Jupiter is located about 5 AU from the Sun. Which of the following best approximates the orbital period of Jupiter? (Hint: remember P2 = a3)

11 years

t/f The seasons on Earth are caused by the tilt of its rotational axis.

true

t/f. A solar eclipse occurs only when the Moon is full.

false

t/f. Scientific theories are models that we have found to be absolutely true and can never be disproven.

false

t/f A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes through the penumbra of the Earth's shadow but misses the umbra.

true

The northern hemisphere of the Earth experiences winter in December thru March.

The rotational axis of the Earth is tilted 23.5° with respect to the ecliptic plane.

The Moon rises in the east and sets in the west.

The Earth rotates once each day.

The constellation Scorpius is visible in May, while Taurus is visible in November.

The Earth orbits the Sun once each year.

The constellation Orion will look different 100,000 years from now than it does today.

Stars appear to move randomly in the local solar neighborhood.

Distant galaxies appear to be moving away from us.

The Universe is expanding.

From which astronomer did Kepler inherit all his data?

Tycho Brahe

Who constructed an elaborate geocentric system where planets orbit the Earth on epicycles and deferents?

Ptolemy

Who was the first to suggest that there is a relationship between a planet's orbital period and the length of the semimajor axis of its orbit?

Johannes Kepler