astro quiz 3

The Renaissance astronomer who wrote the pioneering book that suggested the Earth probably orbits the Sun (instead of the other way around) was: Newton Ptolemy Eratosthenes Halley Copernicus

Copernicus

In Copernicus' day, people were worried about the idea that the celestial sphere seemed to turn around us once a day because the Earth rotates. They argued that if the Earth were to rotate so fast, it should fly apart. According to our textbook, what was one response Copernicus had to this worry? Copernicus argued that the idea that the much larger celestial sphere is turning once a day (and the Earth is not) meant that the celestial sphere would be torn apart even more You can't fool me, Copernicus never thought that the Earth was rotating Copernicus said that the Earth also orbits the Sun, and the motion around the Sun keeps the many parts of the Earth together Copernicus argued that God would never allow a planet with people to be exposed to that kind of danger Copernicus said that the presence of a large Moon kept the Earth from flying apart

Copernicus argued that the idea that the much larger celestial sphere is turning once a day (and the Earth is not) meant that the celestial sphere would be torn apart even more

How did Eratosthenes measure the size of the Earth? by asking Aristotle who knew everything by walking about one-quarter of the way around its circumference by measuring the times of sunrise in each of the four seasons by measuring the height of the Sun in the sky on the same day in two cities at different latitudes by determining the parallax of the Moon and finding the size of its orbit

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

According to Kepler's third law, there is a relationship between the time a planet takes to revolve around the Sun and its size eccentricity astrological sign distance from the Sun period of rotation

distance from the Sun

When a planet, in its orbit, is closer to the Sun, it: moves faster than average spins faster on its axis feels less gravitational pull than average reflects less sunlight than average moves slower than average

moves faster than average

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: circumpolar motion ecliptic motion rude retrograde motion precession

retrograde motion

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

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

In Ptolemy's system the planets orbit the Earth and not the Sun. How did the system explain the retrograde motion of planets like Jupiter? the Sun moved among the planets, and pulled them out of their circular orbits the planets moved in very elongated ellipses, and their speed in orbit changed radically over the course of a year the planets were not moving along the ecliptic but all over the celestial sphere the planets moved on a small circle whose center, in turn, circled a point near the Earth you can't fool me, Ptolemy's system did not include ANY explanation of retrograde motion

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 Earth wobbles (like a spinning top) with a period of 26,000 years the stars twinkle when seen from the surface of planet Earth the signs of the zodiac most astrologers use are no longer in accord with the constellations in which the Sun is currently found over the course of the year Polaris will no longer be the North Star in several thousand years where the Earth's axis points in the sky changes over the centuries and millennia

the stars twinkle when seen from the surface of planet Earth

The 17th century astronomer who kept a roughly 20 year continuous record of the positions of the Sun, Moon, and planets was: Isaac Newton Galileo Galilei Nicolaus Copernicus Jean Luc Picard Tycho Brahe

Tycho Brahe

In what fundamental way did the work of Galileo differ from his predecessors who had thought about the sky? Galileo used instruments and experiments to show him what nature was doing, instead of relying on pure logic Galileo relied on the revelations of the Bible to tell him what was happening in the sky Galileo translated the works of the ancient Greek astronomers, and relied on their wonderful abilities to think through difficult problems Galileo consulted many authorities before coming to scientific conclusions, instead of working on his own Galileo believed that the Earth was the center of the solar system, and everything revolved around it

Galileo used instruments and experiments to show him what nature was doing, instead of relying on pure logic

The scientist who formulated the three laws of planetary motion by analyzing the data on the precise location of planets in the sky was Johannes Kepler Tycho Brahe you can't fool me, we inherited these laws from ancient Greek thinkers whose names are lost J. C. Adams Galileo Galilei

Johannes Kepler

We now know that the orbit of a stable planet around a star like the Sun is always in the shape of: a circle a parabola a straight line an ellipse none of the above

an ellipse

Which of the following was NOT done by Galileo Galilei? turning the telescope to the sky and believing what it showed his eyes discovering four large moons around Jupiter resolving the Milky Way into many, many stars discovering that Venus goes through phases (like the Moon) explaining retrograde motion with the heliocentric hypothesis

explaining retrograde motion with the heliocentric hypothesis

In an ellipse, the ratio of the distance between the foci and the length of the major axis is called: the semi-major axis the astronomical unit the eccentricity perihelion Newton's ratio

the eccentricity