astro 2004 week 1

In the Cosmic Voyage video, Morgan Freeman says that we pass the farthest reachs of human travel at

8 powers of 10

Which ancient Greek thinker suggested (long before Copernicus) that the Earth is moving around the Sun?

Aristarchus

The ancient astronomer who argued that the Earth is a sphere because of the curved outline of the shadow of Earth on the Moon during eclipses and the different heights stars appear from the horizon in northern and southern regions was

Aristotle

In Ptolemy's system the planets orbit the Earth rather than the Sun. How did this system explain the retrograde motion of planets like Jupiter?

the planets moved on a small circle whose center, in turn, circled a point near the Earth

Which of the following is NOT a result of the Earth's precession?

the stars twinkle when seen from the surface of planet Earth Polaris will no longer be the North Star in several thousand years

Which of the following assignments would be considered ipsative assessment? Mark all that apply

Self assessment asking student to identify their own strengths and weaknesses to know what to study

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

precession

An example of Ipsative assessment is

quizzes that show the correct answer through feedback and allow the student to then retake the test or question.

Based on the best modern guess about the length of a stadia, Eratosthenes estimate of the diameter of the Earth was only of 15% too large.

retrograde motion

When a planet temporarily moves westward in the sky over the course of several weeks or months (instead of eastward, as it typically does), we call it

retrograde motion

Which of the following is NOT an argument for showing that the Earth must be round:

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

The "Laws of Naure" (as determined and defined by scientists) can be described as which of the following? Mark all that apply.

are constructed from many observations, hypotheses, and experiments and are often written in the language of mathematics

Which ancient astronomer used observations from two different cities in Egypt to measure the circumference of the Earth?

Eratosthenes

Lecture questions can only be taken once. The points you receive are final.

False

The great astronomer of ancient times who summarized and improved a system of circles upon circles to explain the complicated motions of the planets (and published the system in a book now called The Almagest) is

Ptolemy

Ancient civilizations used their observations of the sky for which of the following reasons? Mark all that apply.

To plan agricultural and hunting activities

Which of the following accurately identify Aristarchus

Used simple geometry to show that the Moon was about 70 Earth radii away

Stonehenge has served as a site for which of the following events/reasons. Mark all that apply.

a calendar site

How did Eratosthenes measure the size of the Earth?

by measuring the height of the Sun in the sky on the same day in two cities at different latitudes

Which of the following was done by Hipparchus, the great ancient astronomer? Mark all that are correct

compiled a pioneering catalog of the positions of hundreds of stars