Night Sky

What color is the sky on the Moon or the planet Mercury, where there is no air at all?

black

is the North Star the brightest star in the sky?

no, it is not very bright

Out of the 88 official constellations, 12 were picked out to be called zodiac constellations because _______

over a year it looks like the Sun moves in front of these constellations

Roughly how long does it take the Sun to shift from one zodiac constellation to the next?

About a month

You estimate the North Star is about 30o above the horizon. Roughly where are you?

Austin, Texas, US (latitude 30o North)

We see a slow change in what stars we see in what season. This is due to the

Earth's orbiting the Sun once a year

We see the Sun, Moon, and stars rise in the East and set in the West. This is due to the

Earth's spinning on its axis (rotation) once a day

The night sky appears to spin around Polaris, the North star, since it is

directly above the North Pole

Who would have Polaris, the North Star, above the horizon?

everyone in the Northern hemisphere

We see the Sun, Moon, and stars rise in the East and set in the West due to the Earth ______ and we see a slow change in what stars we see in what season due to the Earth ______

rotating on its axis, going around the Sun

What causes meteor showers?

the Earth is plowing through comet debris (leftover bits of rock), which burn up in our atmosphere

Why is the sky blue?

the air scatters blue light from the Sun

What happens after a homework deadline passes?

the homework stays visible on Blackboard , you can do more submissions but you won't get credit for them, and after submission Blackboard shows the correct answers

Why aren't the stars up during the day?

the stars are up during the day, the Sun's light just overwhelms them

Why do the Sun and Moon look redder when they are closer to the horizon (that is, "why are sunsets red")?

their light is passing through more air, so all the colors except for orange and red are scattered away from the direct line of sight to the Sun (or Moon)

Say I asked a mad scientist to make the Earth spin on its axis faster using giant rockets. Which statement would be true about the number of seconds in a day and a year?

there would be fewer seconds in a day (it would be shorter), but there would be the same number of seconds in a year

Which way do you have to spin to make everything around you seem to rise in the "East" and set in the "West"?

to the left, counter-clockwise as seen from above

how do you use the Big Dipper to find the North Star?

two stars in the dippler's bowl (opposite the handle) point to Polaris

If the Sun is in front of a constellation of the zodiac (for example, Scorpius), it takes about one ______ to pass through all the zodiac constellations and once again be in front of Scorpius

year

How many times can you do one of these Blackboard homework assignments (like "night sky homework")?

you can submit as many attempts as you want, and Blackboard uses your highest score as your grade for the homework and submissions after the deadline don't count