Astrology chapter 1&2

A star is 230 light years away. The light we see tonight from that star left it

230 years ago

From horizon to opposite horizon, the sky takes up how much angular distance? A) 180 degrees B) you can't fool me, this number varies with latitud C) 100 degrees D) 360 degrees E) 90 degrees

A) 180 degrees

Which of the following is the Earth NOT located in? A)the Local Group of galaxies B) you can't fool me, we are located in all of the above C) The Virgo supercluster D) the solar system E) the Milky Way Galaxy

B) you can't fool me, we are located in all of the above

The natural object (not one that humans built) in space that's closest to Earth is

The Moon

The location of the Earth in the Milky Way Galaxy is

a little less than 30,000 LY from the center

A large body in space that consistently makes its own light (instead of merely reflecting another body's light) is called

a star

A graduate student in geology who grew up in Florida (near the southernmost tip of the United States) gets to accompany her research professor to the North Pole. What will be different at the North Pole from the way she remembers the sky in Florida?

all of these would be different from the way it is in Florida

Within a constellation, a smaller, recognizable pattern of stars is often called:

an asterism

Where on Earth do stars always circle the zenith (and never rise and set)?

at the north pole

When it comes to our place in the solar system today, which model do we accept?

heliocentric

The slow tipping of the Earth's axis in a circle with a period of about 26,000 years is called:

precession

The south celestial pole and the north celestial pole lie in the sky directly above

the Earth's axis

If the Earth goes around the Sun, why is the ecliptic not lined up with the celestial equator?

the Earth's axis is tilted by about 23 degrees from the vertical

Every celestial object appears to go around the Earth once a day. In addition to this motion, which celestial object has the fastest apparent motion in the sky?

the Moon

The star that provides energy for life on Earth is

the Sun

The Astronomical Unit (AU) as defined by astronomers is

the average distance between the Earth and the Sun

A light year is

the distance that light travels in one year

The Sun's apparent path around the celestial sphere is called

the ecliptic

The celestial sphere turns once around each day because

the planet on which we live is rotating

Someone who observes the sky every clear night in Boston for many years will NEVER get to see:

the south circumpolar zone

All molecules (like molecules of water or carbon dioxide) are made up of...

two or more atoms

What problem has precession caused for many of the schools of astrology?

Because of precession, the constellations are no longer lined up with the astrological signs that are named after them; since astrology was set up, the two have slipped one sign apart

Which of the following was NOT done by Hipparchus, the great ancient astronomer? A) you can't fool me; Hipparchus did all of the above B) discovered that the Earth has a motion called precession C) explained retrograde motion D) created the system of star magnitudes that we still use today D) compiled a pioneering catalog of the positions of hundreds of stars

C) explained retrograde motion

The laws of nature (as determined by scientists) A) are constructed from many observations, hypotheses, and experiments B) can never, ever change once they are written down in textbooks C) apply both on Earth and among the stars D) more than one of the above E) are often written in the language of mathematics

D) more than one of the above

Some Canadian troops are sent (as part of a U.N. peacekeeping force) to a country located on the Earth's equator. At night, when homesickness makes them gaze sleeplessly at the stars, which of the following will be familiar to them (the same at the equator as in Canada): A) all stars rise and set (no star remains in the sky all night long) B) the celestial poles are on the north and south points of the horizon C) all stars are above the horizon exactly half a day D)none of the above are the same on the equator as in Canada E) the celestial equator is overhead and passes through the zenith

D) none of the above are the same on the equator as in Canada

Which of the following is NOT an argument for showing that the Earth must be round: A) when ships travel a large distance away, we see their hulls disappear first and their masts disappear last B) photographs of the Earth from space alwaysshow a round body C) during an eclipse of the Moon, the shadow of the Earth is always seen to be round D) the Sun is seen blocking different constellations in the course of a year E) the height of the North Star changes as we travel to different latitudes

D) the Sun is seen blocking different constellations in the course of a year

The scientist who first devised experimental tests to demonstrate the validity of the heliocentric model of the solar system was

Galileo

The star that is currently closest to the North Celestial Pole is:

Polaris

On the celestial sphere, halfway between the celestial poles lies the

celestial equator

The way scientists know that a hypothesis in astronomy is a reasonable description of nature is to

do experiments and observations about the predictions of the hypothesis