ArcheoAstronomy Ingram Final Exam

What is a hierophany? Briefly describe two examples of hierophanies in Archaeoastronomy.

- A hierophany is the playing of shadows and light in a sacred place. An example is Newgrange where after sunrise around the winter solstice the interior of the tomb is lit by the sunlight. Kukulcan is another example because a serpent's body appears on the staircase on days close to the equinoxes.

How many miles per hour, approximately, does the Earth move? About how long (how many seconds) does it take for the Earth's surface to rotate through a distance of one mile? Use this fact to explain why navigational maps required extremely precise clocks.

- Earth moves 15 degrees per hour. This is the equivalent to 1000 miles per hour. - It only takes the Earth's surface 3 seconds to rotate a distance of 1 mile. - Navigational maps required such precise clocks because if a clock was so much as 3 seconds off, the ship would be a miles off east or west of where it was supposed to be on the coast.

Describe the evidence on Fajada Butte that indicates the orientation of Pueblo Bonito is intentional.

- Petroglyph marked on the building and wall; arrow pointing to the Sun's transit. Fajada Butte is high enough to easily see all parts of the sky. The Sun Dagger site marks equinox and summer solstice.

In the discussion of the Temple of Hathor at Dendera, Sir Norman Lockyer had proposed that the temple is aligned with a star in Ursa Major or Draco. What is wrong with this idea? According to texts found at the temple, what was observed from the rooftop and why did this observation coincide with the Egyptian New Year?

- The Temple was not aligned with Ursa Major and it would of been aligned if the temple was 3,000-4,000 years older. - On the rooftop they would watch heliacal rising of sirius. -o Sirius was the mother of the New Year.

Define the minimum and maximum extremes of the Moon. How long is the cycle of lunar rising points along the horizon? What evidence indicates this cycle was tracked on Fajada Butte?

- The extremes are the northern and southern limits of rising or setting at the standstills. The cycle of the lunar rising points along the horizon is 18.5 years. It is evident the cycle was tracked on Fajada Butte in that the moon's shadow casted on the spiral marked the moon's standstills. 9 turns are in the spiral, 1 for each year. (up and down the spiral is 18 years)

Describe the orientation of Pueblo Bonito and how it is related to the seasonal motion of the sun.

- The wall along the flat edge of the structure has a N-S orientation. The sun rises and sets along this wall on the days of the equinoxes. the E-W mid wall marks the Sun's location in the sky at the midpoint day.

Describe the evidence that the buildings in Chaco Canyon are positioned and constructed in a way to mark the extremes of the lunar cycle.

- There is a lot of repetition in alignments between the buildings. The nearby placement of the Sun Dagger is evidence that the culture cared about the lunar cycle. The alignments are repeated in the walls, the locations of the buildings, and on the Sun Dagger.

Some astronomers attempt to reconstruct sightlines that connect buildings to points on the horizon, such as prominent notches silhouetted in a distant mountain range. Explain the potential problem of this approach, why it may lead to incorrect conclusions.

- This can be a problem because not all ancient manmade structures were made to observe points along the horizon. Also, there weren't usually obvious landscape features in the direction of the solstice. Astronomers can simply assume something has an astronomical alignment and then base their observations and opinions based on what they now see.

*Ursa Minor -altitude/ Azmiuth -Alpha and Beta -story

-30 degrees north -Alpha: Polaris -Beta: Kocab -the name means the lesser bear. Arcas' mother was transformed into a bear, but when Arcas went hunting he came across his mother and not recognizing her, prepared to shoot her. Jupiter prevented this by turning Arcas into a bear and placing them both in the sky.

Hercules -altitude/ Azmiuth -Alpha and Beta -story

-70 degrees -Alpha: Ras Algethi -Beta: Kornephoros -Son of Jupiter and Alcmena. Juno drove him mad, making him kill his wife and children, as reparation he serves Eurysthesus by doing the twelve tasks which includes killing Leo and hydra. He was immortalized for them.

Briefly explain two potential problems with using first-hand accounts to understand the ancient practices of a particular society.

-Some ancient civilizations did not have a written language so most things were passed down by oral tradition, this may cause things to altered or miscommunicated over time. -Investigator may influence the info in the worldview he's trying to investigate, leading them to believe modern knowledge is indigenous.

Why can't we use the repeating phases of the Moon to keep a calendar for use in, say, an agricultural calendar

-the moon's pattern is only reliable in the short run, not over a year -365 days is not equal to an amount of cycles and would make planning for something that must be exact,like agriculture, very difficult

Name and explain four criteria we use to determine whether or not observed alignments of archaeological structures are intentional.

1) Importance of Alignment to major/minor astronomical events like solstices and equinoxes. 2) repetition- are these alignments repeated at other sites? (ex: Stonehenge- points toward the summer solstice) 3) written records- any writings that highlight significance 4) Precision- the more exact the alignment the more likely we will believe it

What are two lines of evidence that no one lived in the large multi-room buildings constructed by the residents of Chaco Canyon?

1) There was hundreds of rooms with no ventilation, dark interiors. 2) There was no organic matter surrounding the building

Describe two arguments used by Aristotle that indicated the ancient Greeks understood that the Earth must be spherical and not flat.

1. Because of its heavy terrestrial that was dropped into the center of the universe, it would have to pile up into a sphere. 2. Also during a lunar eclipse, when the Earth is between the sun and the moon, the shadow of the Earth is on the moon demonstrated the correctness of this idea.

Briefly describe two religious customs in Islam that require the application of precise observational Astronomy.

1. Muslims have to pray toward Mecca which meant they had to determine Mecca's direction from any given location. 2. They had to determine from celestial bodies the proper times for the prayers at sunrise, midday, afternoon, sunset, and in the evening.

Name and explain two arguments put forth by the author to explain why the study of Astronomy because a prominent part of Islamic culture during the Dark Ages (8th-14th century).

1. Proximity to the world of ancient learning, along with tolerance for other scholars. Most of the Greek texts were translated into Arabic and it through these translations that medieval Europe came to know of the Greek works. 2. By solving mathematical astronomy problems related to religious observations related to timekeeping, the Islams went beyond the Greek mathematicians and methods.

The constellations we use today were first published as a set by Ptolemy in his book known as the Almagest. Explain the two lines of evidence (one of them written, one of them having to do with the gaps in the star maps) that many of the constellations in Ptolemy's book likely originated from the Babylonian civilization that existed about 800 years prior to Ptolemy's era.

1. The Babylonians had a well-established system of constellations of the zodiac; we know this from a star list called MUL.APIN 2. Various astronomers have added another 40 constellations, filling the gaps between Ptolemy's figures and populating the region around the south celestial pole. Because his view of the sky was from Greece, no constellations exist around the south celestial pole because that area of the sky was permanently below the horizon for Ptolemy.

Name and briefly explain two complications that arose from attempts to use a lunar calendar in order to track seasonal changes (one has to do with the Metonic cycle, the other with the timing of the beginning of the month).

1. The Metonic cycle was adopted to add 13 months to some years to account for the lack of days adding up to the solar year. a complication arose when this cycle went against the words of the Koran. Muhammad viewed this as the work of the Devil. 2. The Islamic months don't begin at the new moon, but when they first see the crescent in the western sky. But predicting this was a challenge, because Ptolemy's theory only practiced it with respect to the ecliptic, not with respect to the horizon, as was needed.

augira alt and az

30 alt 320 az nw

canis major alt and az

50 alt 219 az ssw

Suppose you are West of Fort Worth and you know the Sun transits (crosses the meridian) at noon in Fort Worth. In your location, you notice that the Sun crosses the meridian 30 minutes after noon, so roughly how far west of Fort Worth are you in miles?

500 miles. Every 1000 miles = 1 hour

Why was it popularly believed among early American settlers that most European authorities believed that the Earth was flat during the time of Columbus?

A fictional account that describes that European authorities thought that the earth was flat when they had always believed that the earth is round. everyone was was willing to buy into this.

What did the crossed sticks symbolize to Mesoamerican? What evidence supports this interpretation of the crossed sticks?

A pair of crossed sticks established astronomical sight-lines from Mesoamerican temple platforms. they created a V shape where glyphs were visible between the V evidence: ancient drawings showing people looking through a V shape at the stars.

The Pyramid of the Sun in the Aztec city of Teotihuacan seems to face in a direction perpendicular to the main avenue, the "street of the dead" through the city. This direction is also the same as the alignment marked by the Viking Group pecked cross and the Cerro Colorado pecked cross (seen in the photo on page 282). First, what is a pecked cross? Second, what do we think the Pyramid of the Sun was actually pointed toward, astronomically, and why would that astronomical object be significant?

A pecked cross is a set of concentric circles usually two quartered by two axes that cut through the circle's center the pyramid of the sun is pointed toward the setting of Pleiades. This coincided with the heliacal rising of the spring zenith passage.

Explain the difference between a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse. Why are solar eclipses less common than lunar eclipses?

A solar eclipse occurs when the moons shadow falls on the earth blocking out sunlight A Lunar eclipse occurs when the earth's shadow falls on the moon Solar eclipses are less common because the moons shadow is much smaller than the earth's shadow much more likely for the moon to pass through the earths shadow

Explain how you can determine the latitude of your observing location at night. Describe what you must observe to determine latitude during the day.

At night, your N. Lat is equal to the alt. of the NCP During day, suns max altitude and date provide latitude.

Describe the two "errors" Columbus made about Earth's geography that made his proposed Westward voyage to Asia seem more reasonable and possible

Columbus assumed that Arabic and Roman miles were the same, making the distance seem much smaller than it actually was. Also Columbus said China was a lot further East of Europe in longitude, so the journey to the West would be therefore shorter.

Explain how Columbus' voyage led to doubts about Ptolemy's theory of the cosmos described in "The Almagest."

Columbus landing in the indies challenged accepted maps. when he discovered a new continent the classical globe was clearly obsolete.

Explain the origin of the Christmas holiday. Why do we celebrate Christmas in December 25 instead of in April, the time of year most scholars believe Christ was born?

December 25th is the date many cultures around the world view as the world's rebirth and coincides to the winter solstice on ancient calendars. Therefore Dec. 25 would share this symbolism in hopes of converting followers because it coincide with the pagans.

Be able to draw and use a diagram like figure 2.15 (a side view of Earth during summer) in your textbook to help explain why the Northern hemisphere is warmer in June compared to the Southern hemisphere (two reasons).

During june, sunlight is more direct in the northern hemisphere. This is caused by a higher altitude of the sun coupled with a longer duration of daylight. As opposed to the southern hemisphere, the sun follows a much shorter lower path in the sky which causes indirect sunlight leading to lower tempertures.

Describe the cosmology of the Aztec. Specifically, what were their "ages" and how did they end? How will our current age end, according to the Aztec, and how do we know this from carvings like the Aztec calendar stone?

Each new Sun represented a new age. There was 4-Jaguar: jaguars ate everyone and they were consumed 4-Wind: swept away by hurricane winds 4-Rain: destroyed by fiery rain for volcanic eruption or thunderstorm 4-Water: perished in a great flood 4-Movement: (current age) end in an earthquake and is shown by the face of an earth-lord on the calendar stone. The design represents movement, the current age, or earthquake.

Explain what causes the East-West motion of the Sun in the analemma during the year. Use a diagram to help explain why the solar day (time between sun meridian crossings) is sometimes a little longer and sometimes a little shorter than 24 hours.

Earths orbital speed varies due to its elliptical orbit. The East-West movement of the sun occurs because the sidereal day and about the solar day vary by about 4 minutes. This delay in time makes the sun appear to move east and west.

Explain what ethnocentrism is and briefly describe an example where this approach has been used in the field of archaeoastronomy and why this approach is flawed.

Ethnocentrism is the desire to measure the achievements of a past society, against our own yard stick. This can be detrimental because, It's necessary to recognize that the worldview we are studying might be logical enough in its own terms even though it does not conform in every respect to our rationality. *We cant assume other culture have same priorities as us. *

Describe the evidence for and against the hypothesis that the Minoan civilization centered on the island of Crete was the primary source of constellations recognized by the Greeks and Ptolemy.

For: Minoans were in contact with the Babylonians through Syria from an early stage. When a volcano erupted on the island of Crete, it killed most of the Minoan civilization. There is a theory that some refugees we able to escape to Egypt where they relayed their information about the constellations. Against: There is no direct evidence, such as wall paintings or tablets, to show that the Minoan civilization had any interest in astronomy.

Be able to draw in and label the eight major phases of the Moon on a Sun-Earth-Moon diagram.

From closest to the sun going counter clockwise: New, waxing crescent, 1st quarter, waxing gibbous, full, waning gibbous, 3rd quarter, waning crescent.

Be able to answer questions about where the Moon in its four major phases (new, first quarter, full, third quarter) is found in the sky at different times. For example, when does the full moon rise? When does the 1st quarter moon set? When does the new moon cross the meridian? When does the 3rd quarter moon cross the meridian?

Full moon rises at sunset, sets at sunrise, crosses the meridian at midnight. The 1st quarter moon rises at noon, sets at midnight, crosses meridian at sunset. New Moon rises at sunrise, sets at sunset, crosses meridian at noon. 3rd quarter moon rises at midnight, sets at noon, crosses the meridian at sunrise.

Describe briefly how each of the two main theories of planetary motion (geocentric and heliocentric) explain the pheonmenon of retrograde motion.

Geocentric: as mars orbits around the earth it is on another circle rolling around as mars orbits (mars is on a circle that's moving as it orbits and that causes a spiral pattern) Heliocentric: as the earth and mars orbit around the sun as earth passes mars in orbit, mars briefly appears to move backwards

Describe two historical changes that occurred around the time of the publication of Copernicus' heliocentric theory that helped ensure it got a serious hearing in the scientific community, unlike times in the past when it had been suggested by others.

Gutenberg's invention of printing from movable type. this guaranteed widespread distribution the reformation happened. it was a time of religious upheaval, when many traditional ideas were under challenge.

Describe how Tycho's system differed from the standard Ptolemaic geocentric system, and explain why Tycho felt it was unreasonable that the Earth move quickly about the Sun but perfectly reasonable for the other planets to move quickly in their orbits around the Sun or Earth.

He had a geoheliocentric model. Mercury and Venus orbit the sun, and the stars came back slow. The planets and stars were made from a special substance that had a natural tendency toward rapid circular motion. the earth was a hulking lazy body unfit for motion

Explain what a ceque and a huaca is to the Inca. How did the Inca use these to organize their empire?

Huacas were places or features with sacred meaning and the line formed by many Huacas was a Ceque. The city's quarters were define by the administration, social order, and kinship. The whole thing was incorporated into a system of lines of shrines.

Galileo's famous observations of the moons of Jupiter and the phases of Venus contradicted the standard geocentric model but were fully consistent with Tycho's model. For each observation, explain how and why.

In Tycho's model there is more than one center of gravity and planets orbit the Sun. Galileo's moon observations proved that Jupiter was a center of gravity and phases of Venus proved that planets worked with the sun?

Explain the significance of the Star of Bethlehem story in the gospel of Matthew by summarizing how this story shared ideas and traditions seen in other cultures in Egypt and Mesoamerica.

In many traditions the cosmos is directly impacts human affairs. In Egypt the Pharaohs arrival to his throne coincided with the rise of the sun above the horizon and the Mayans centered their agricultural development around the solar year. In the gospel Matthew the 3 Wise Men followed the bright star to arrive to Jesus Christ.

In most cultures, the gods associated with the sky, weather, rain and lightning are male, but the Egyptians personified the sky as a goddess. Explain this difference (why the Egyptians don't also use a male god to associate with the sky).

In most cultures the sky was viewed as a male because rainfall "fertilized" the ground causing growth. But for the Egyptians received little rainfall so the sky was viewed as a female and the Nile, which provided the necessary water, was viewed as male.

Use a horizon diagram to help explain why southern latitudes experiences seasonal changes (changes in day length and maximum altitude of the Sun) that are opposite to those we experience in the northern hemisphere.

In the southern hemisphere, the sun is in the sky the longest and has a higher altitude during December. This leads to more direct sunlight for a longer duration which results in the southern hemisphere's summer. In the northern hemisphere, the sunlight is less direct and the sun's path is at a lower altitude while being in the sky for a shorter duration resulting in winter.

Structure J at the Zapotec temple of Monte Alban in Central America has an alignment that seems to point toward a particular place on the horizon where the bright star Capella can be seen. Explain the significance of Capella and the what was likely observed here and at the neighboring building, Structure P.

In this period, Capella made its first reappearance in the predawn sky on the first of the year's two zenith passages of the sun. Within structure P is a tube that points straight to the Zenith. This shaft, the behavior of Capella, and the stairway orientation of structure J permit the light from the zenith sun to enter a little room.

Explain the names of the months July, August, January and February.

July and August came from Julius Caesar naming two months after him and his son Augustus (August and July). January and February were eventually tacked on. January is named after Janis the God of doorways. February was named after a ritual of cleansing

Explain the structure of kivas of the Pueblo and Anasazi indians in the American southwest. Specifically, why were they built underground and entered via climbing down a ladder through a hole in the ceiling? Why did they use four large wooden poles for roof supports, as opposed to some other number? Why were they round, as opposed to some other shape?

Kivas were circular and covered by a roof; one entered by going down a hole at the top and climbing down a ladder. It was built underground because they believed their ancestors came from the underworld and climbing down the ladder symbolized the chamber going into the underworld. The four posts represent the four trees in the underworld and that Kiva is round because the world's rim is round.

Two of the most easily recognizable constellations that are up in the sky at this time of year are Leo and Orion • Approximate location in the night sky for this time of year, based on the star chart in your book for midnight in late January in appendix A (rough altitude and azimuth), • star chart (sketch of the pattern of the 6-9 brightest stars and connecting lines that make up the constellation), • name of the two stars designated alpha and beta (usually the two brightest), • 2-3 sentence summary of the mythology behind the constellation.

Leo: Azimuth- East Altitude- 50 degrees Alpha- Regulus Beta- Denebola Myth: Herculus killed the lion (which leo represents) and skinned the animals by using the lion's jaw. Then skin then provided Hercules with protection. Orion: Azimuth- Southwest Altitude- 50 degrees Alpha - Betelgeuse Beta- Rigel Myth: Orion inherited his mother's gifts and talents and developed a boastful ego claiming he could kill an animal on earth. He was killed by the sting of a small scorpion.

Islamic astronomers criticized the Ptolemaic geocentric system based largely on philosophical grounds rather than inaccurate predictions. What was the major criticism authored by Maimonides? What was the major criticism of Alhazen?

Maimonides pointed out that the equant point of Saturn fell right on the spheres for Mercury, violating the philosophical notion that heavenly bodies should be moved by a system of perfect circles Alhazen complained that the equant failed to satisfy the requirements of circular motion.

What are the origins of the names of the months March, April, May and June?

March/ Martius comes from Mars the God of war April/ Aprilus comes from Aphrodite the God of love May/ Maius comes from Maia the Goddess of the earth June is Junio the king of the Gods

Explain how the location of Earth's Moon in the sky can be used to tell time. Why was it difficult to use?

Moon rises 50 min later, Position of moon relative to background stars to estimate the time.

Describe the phenomenon that occurs at the Temple of Kukulcan on one of the two equinox days each year at sunset

One of the equinox days a shadow is casted on the temple that resembles a snake slithering. This matches the snake god Kukulcan (also a stone carving), which symbolizes him ascending to his home in heaven.

What was patolli, and how is its design related to the designs seen in the Codices (such as Fejervary-Meyer and Madrid)?

Patolli is a game played by Mesoamericans. the course of play was laid out as crosses and arcs resembling the codices. their tokens migrate 52 spaces around the board The board's design was organized in relation 260-day calendar and 52 years round as did the Codices. also, the organization symbolized the order of time and space: the place of creation of the gods

Even though observations of the sky were likely no more important than the surrounding landscape for ancient cultures, we feel that we can potentially learn more by studying how people observed the sky and how it influenced them. Explain why.

People observed how the sky changed as the seasons changed and this reflected the agriculture. The sky was crucial for counting objects and creating calendars. There is no hard line between past and present, so we still can appreciate their perceptions. With today's technology, we can reconstruct the positions of the sun, moon, stars, and planets in the night sky at any place and anytime in the past. This means that we can readily identify ways in which ancient architecture could have made reference to celestial objects and events.

Briefly explain two reasons why an archaeological alignment with an extreme rising or setting point of Venus may be considered significant. Explain one reason why it is not likely that a culture would intentionally align a structure with an extreme rise/set point of Venus.

Since Venus is very bright it is likely an alignment with the northern or southernmost rising point of Venus would be significant. Venus will also repeat this cycle in the sky every 8 years. Additionally many ancient cultures especially the Mayans wrote about the significance of the planet to their spirituality.

Which celestial objects are associated with each day of the week?

Sunday- Sun Monday- Moon Tuesday- Mars Wednesday- Mercury Thursday- Jupiter Friday- Venus Saturday- Saturn (Spanish days of week: Lunes, martes, miércoles, jueves, viernes, sábado y domingo;)

Near Cuzco, at a place known as Mismanay, the city is divided into four parts, with the intersection at a chapel known as Crucero. Explain how the motion of the Milky Way in the sky (unique to this specific latitude) inspires these paths which point along the intercardinal (NE, NW, SE, SW) directions.

The Crucero means the cross which corresponds with the zenith. The Milky way rolls up to form the eastern horizon arcing through the zenith. One band intersects the southwest horizon and the other the NW horizon. In 12 hours it will transit and be intersecting the southwest and northeast. The four intersections with the horizon create two more cosmic axes like the main routes and canals of mismanay.

Explain why the Pawnee earth lodges had four poles with specific colors. In other words, what do those colors seem to correspond to? How is the constellation Corona Borealis related to the Pawnee lodges and sky lore?

The Pawnee earth lodged had four poles because they marked the inter-cardinal directions marked with specific colors. NE Pole: Black | Vega SE Pole: Red | Antares SW Pole: White | Sirius NW Pole: Yellow | Capella The constellation Corona Borealis is associated with the Pawnee's smoke hole, therefore the Zenith.

The Venus cycle, the time it takes for the motions of Venus on the horizon to repeat, takes how many years? Briefly describe a couple of reasons why the Maya studied Venus so closely.

The Venus cycle was 8 years and the Mayans studied it closely because they thought it could influence the weather and presence of war events

What is the analemma? Use a horizon diagram to help explain what causes the north-south motion of the Sun along the meridian over the course of a year.

The analemma is a curve representing the sun's path over a year in the shape of an 8 if you take a picture everyday at same time. The N/S motion is due to the sun being high and lower on the horizon.

Though no written records exist, name and briefly explain two pieces of evidence (many are described) that support the idea that the tomb at the Irish tomb of Newgrange was astronomically aligned purposefully (rather than accidentally).

The axis line of the tomb has been carved down the middle show an intention for direct sunlight passage. The roof box contains a window-slit which can be closed by placing two blocks within it. When removed during the winter solstice, sunlight from the sun as it rose above the horizon would enter and illuminate the tomb.

Another common misconception about the seasons is that warmer summers are caused by the tilt of the Earth because that tilt means the Northern hemisphere is closer to the Sun during summer than the Southern hemisphere. Summarize the argument that refutes this idea.

The difference is microscopic (1,000mi) relative to the estimated distance of 93 million miles.

Explain how astrolabes contributed to the fact that most prominent navigational stars today have Arabic names.

The earliest dated models come from the Islamic period. Star names were written on the astrolabe. Then they were transmitted through Spain to England. As a result of this tradition, most navigational stars have Arabic names.

Explain how the Sun "weaves" the threads that make up the floor of the Kogi temples.

The four fireplaces represent the four corners of the loom and the sun cyclical changes of its daily path are transformed into a cloth of light on the temple floor. On the summer solstice it touches the southeast and southwest corners and the winter solstice touches the northeast and northwest corners.

For Stonehenge, explain why we believe the observed alignment of the heelstone with the summer solstice is intentional rather than accidental (two reasons).

The heelstone with the summer solstice is believed to be intentional because during the sunrise of this day, the sun rises directly between the heelstones, also there are replication of this monument elsewhere.

Name and briefly explain two pieces of evidence (many are described) to indicate that the image in the lid of the sarcophagus of Lord Pacal at the Palenque temple is meant to represent his death, as opposed to the interpretation that Pacal was some sort of astronaut on board a rocket ship.

The image of the lid of the sarcophagus of Lord Pacal depicts a half fleshed face framed by the jaws of the underworld, signifying his transition of death. The headband of this face contains glyph's that mean "day" "time" and "sun." This shows Pachal's partner, the sun, leading him into the grave. Both these support the explanation of death over an astronaut.

The Italian astronomer Riccioli argued that the Earth cannot be rotating on its axis and orbiting the Sun because of two scientific arguments that would not be refuted until centuries later. Describe each argument briefly and explain how each was eventually refuted.

The inability to detect certain effects that a rotating planet should produce projectiles and falling bodies. These effects weren't studied until the 19th century when a French scientist worked out a full description. Stars had looked smaller than Brahe thought. The telescope increased the sensitivity to annual parallax implying that the stars were even further away. This was addressed when Bessel started recording annual stellar parallax.

What is the definition of "the meridian"?

The meridian is the imaginary line in the sky that connects the North and South points of the horizon with the zenith. *******Get Book Definition********

What is the significance of the 70 day time period to the Egyptians. Why, for example, did the purification of a dead body (mummification) take 70 days?

The mummification of a body took 70 days because it was meant to represent the death and rebirth of the decans, the stars that imitated the behavior of Sirius and disappeared from the night sky for 70 days. The deceased pharaoh was said to be a star, and after the 70 day purification process, he would be reborn. Because stars are hidden behind the sun for 70 days.

There are two shafts within the Great Pyramid that appear to be astronomically aligned. Explain why it makes sense for one shaft to point toward Orion's Belt and the other to point toward the meridian crossing of Thuban.

The northern shaft pointed towards Thuban, a circumpolar star at the time that was an "imperishable star" because it never set. It was believed the Pharaoh would ascend to this star to become eternal himself. The southern shaft pointed towards Orion's belt. By pointing to Osiris the pharaoh was believed to be reborn.

According to Aveni, what is the significance of the number 13 in Mayan culture? The calendar round is the amount of time it takes for the 260-day (sacred round) tzolkin and the 365-day (agricultural) haab calendar to synch up again after starting together on day one. How long is a calendar round, and what supposedly occurred at the end of this cycle?

The number 13 is the number of layers of heaven. The calendar round takes 52 years. every 52 years was a time of judgment to see if what the people had done was sufficient

Explain why it is easier to time an object's meridian crossing ("transit") as opposed to the object's rising or setting times (three reasons).

The rising & setting times of sun vary every day, So it is easier to track the meridian crossing because the midpoint is the same everyday (within seconds). • Measuring rising point on the horizon is hard because most places are not flat. • The weather on the horizon may be detrimental. • Refraction of the suns light, so trying to measure the sun based on light can be skewed due to refraction.

Explain why a culture might recognize an alignment with the rising point of a particular bright star (hint: the Egyptians did this with Sirius) out of all the possible bright stars in the sky.

The stars are seasonal so they can be used to create a calendar. Also, the helical rising of the stars occur the same day every year and sometimes mark special events. For example, the helical rising of Sirius marked the Egyptian new year.

Be able to draw a simple horizon diagram (horizon plus hemispherical sky) from Fort Worth's latitude, showing the altitude above the horizon of the NCP, Celestial Equator and June/December paths of the Sun. Be able to use this diagram to explain two reasons why summer months (June) are warmer in Fort Worth compared to winter months (December).

The sun remains in the sky for a longer duration in June than December. Furthermore, the suns altitude in the sky during June is much higher thus giving off a more concentrated amount of sunlight resulting in summer. During December, the sun is in the sky for a much shorter duration and isn't quite as high. This causes indirect sunlight resulting in colder temperatures.

What was the main divine role of the Sun in the cultures described in the reading? What was the main divine role of the Moon in these cultures?

The sun was seen as powerful and dependable and the source of all authority, law, and social order. The moon was seen as the timekeeper because of its constant changing and it is associated with life and fertility.

By the 15th century, it was clear to European commenters (Peuerbach and Regiomontanus) that Ptolemy's geocentric theory had major problems. Describe two fundamental problems with the geocentric theory described in the article (both of which were ignored by Copernicus, perhaps because his original geocentric theory had similar problems).

The tables of Ptolemy didn't give accurate predictions of where the planets would be. The moon should be getting really close to earth and then really far away. The moons angular size should double and then cut in half.

Explain the evidence that indicates that the early Babylonians were careful observers of Venus and aware of its cyclical motion through the sky. What is the possible reason given in the text that Venus was represented in drawings and on stones as an eight-pointed star?

The tablets at Urule mention Inanna meaning Venus; also linking this identity to a 8 pointed star representing Venus's 8 year cycle. The goal-year text tracks Venus' 8-year cycle; this indicates why Venus was pictured as an 8 pointed star.

The tombs of Chinese royalty are usually oriented north-south. Explain why the Emperors usually oriented their tombs and palaces so they had to be approached form the South. In other words, why did these leaders associate themselves with the North?

The tombs of the Chinese royalty were oriented north-south because they considered the north pole the "apex of heaven." As the heavens revolved around the north pole the world revolved around the emperors so there tombs were arranged this way because they brought upon stability and order. Emperor is center of everything.

What does the winged disk symbolize in Egyptian architecture? What evidence tells us that the Egyptians used measurements along the horizon to keep track of the dates?

The winged disk symbolizes the Sun and its daily journey. It was seen as a bird flying through the sky, which is intended to represent the idea of flight of the sun. they keep track of the sun through the use of a glyph consisting of a sun disk cradled by two mountain peaks. This glyph contains symbols that reflect the idea of monitoring the passage of time.

Why must alignments with bright star rise/set points be very precise in order to be plausible?

There are so many bright stars in the sky so an alignment must be spot on to be considered significant.

According to Anthony Aveni, the civilization that built Chichen Itza lasted until about the 9th century AD. Aveni says there had been an advanced, progressive civilization in that part of the world for at least how many years in total? What are two pieces of evidence of their advanced nature?

There had been an advanced civilization in that part of the world for approximately 3,000 years. evidence: they built huge buildings and a written languages.

Use a horizon diagram to help explain why the polar regions with a high northern latitude are always cold, even during the summer. Also use the diagram to help explain why the variation in day length is so extreme compared to our latitude

They are cold because they don't receive a heavy amount of direct sunlight. The abnormal day length is because of how long and or short the sun remains in the sky.

Explain why Islamic astronomers did not really take note of or try to explain one-time occurrences in the sky like supernova explosions.

They had little incentive to track them. Their astrology concerned planetary positions and movements, not unusual events.

Greek Astronomers believed it was plausible that the Sun was at the center of all motion due to its immense size. Describe how they knew the Earth is about 3-5x larger than the Moon and how they knew the Sun is hundreds of times larger than the Moon and therefore much larger than the Earth.

They knew earth's shadow is about 2-3x larger than the moon during a total eclipse. this let them know that the earth is about 3-5x larger than the moon based on the shadow. they figured it out because they knew that the sun and the moon have similar angular size due to observations of solar eclipses. they knew the sun is much further away than the moon because when the moon is 1st quarter a triangle can be drawn showing that the earth-sun distance is about a 100x the earth-moon distance

Using a horizon diagram for a latitude of approximately 13 degrees North, explain how observations of the Sun may suggest a 260-day calendrical cycle observed via zenith tubes.

This 260-day cycle at 13 degrees is the time from when the light hit the zenith tube to when the sun returns back to that spot of the sky, the rest of the 105 days would be just thrown out. (which is common in ancient cultures)

"The more complex and accurate a calendar is, the more advanced is the culture that constructed that calendar." Explain the logical flaw in this statement.

This is false because there is no inevitable path in the development of calendars, instead they advance in diverse ways, according to local conditions/needs, different calendars have different purposes.

Describe the sun dagger phenomenon in Chaco Canyon in the southwestern United States. Draw a diagram of the different light and shadow patterns seen on the solstices and equinoxes.

Three stone slabs are leaned against a wall that project the shadow of a dagger. During the solstices and equinoxes the shadow was cut through the center of a spiral carved into the rock.

What does the planet Venus represent to the Maya?

Venus represents the god of war and the twin of the sun.

Explain how Galileo's observations of Jupiter gave him the ability to determine the time. How was this method implemented in practice?

While Galileo's was observing Jupiter he was watching the 4 moons and noticed he could plot positions and predict there movement. Using this he created a systematic method of telling time, and could track the disappearance of the moon as it orbited behind Jupiter. This requires a stationary position so using this method while on a boat at sea would not be possible.

Is an alignment with summer or winter solstice sunrise more significant than an alignment with the most extreme northern or southern moonrise? Explain why or why not.

Yes, because the solstices are easier to track and have more realistic application like anticipating the seasons for agriculture, unlike the moon.

What is the Caracol of Chichen Itza, and why did 19th century explorers suppose that it was an astronomical observatory? What are two pieces of evidence the book's author uses to argue the Caracol may have been an observatory

a large tower that sat upon a two terrace platform with grand staircases on the west side and a large opening at the top. it resembeled oberservatories of that time period that it was discovered. it has many astronomical alignments and it sits on a platform made to have a clear horizon for astronomy. the ground itself includes shrubbaries and grass to tall for calculations

Explain why predicting planetary motions is complicated. Describe what a retrograde loop is and how it impedes successful long-term predictions of planetary motion.

a retrograde motion as a planet moves across the sky it makes a loop in a backwards direction compared to its normal motion. that loops always occurs when the planets in opposition. they aren't always the same they don't always happen at the same time interval or last the same time they vary in size so they make it harder to predict long term behavior

From the reading "Philosophy and the Scientific Method," what is the primary difference between a scientific and a non-scientific belief? What is the major weakness of using irrefutable beliefs as a basis for a system of knowledge? I strongly recommend you check your answer on this one with me.

a scientific theory is one that can be disputed a non scientific theory is one that is regarded as irrefutable. the major flaw lies when one irrefutable belief contradicts another, there is no way to decide between them

What is a sidereal day? How and why does it differ from a solar day? Use a diagram to help explain this answer (see text chapter S1 for help, but we will also discuss in lecture).

a sidereal day is the amount of time it takes a star at its highest point to get back to its highest point the next day. it differs from a solar day because it relies on the position of stars and after a full rotation the earth has to rotate an extra degree to bring the sun to the same meridian in the sky

Explain the difference between a sidereal and synodic (solar) month. Which is longer and why

a sidereal month is how long it takes for the moon to complete one orbit relative to the position of the stars. a synodic month is the time between new moons a synodic month is longer than a sidereal month because the moon must move more than 360 degrees to make a full rotation around the sun

Use the barrel of apples example from the reading to help explain why a small representative sample is better than a large unrepresentative sample. Give an example of a representative and unrepresentative sample of apples from the barrel as part of your answer. (HW)

a small representative sample is better because you get a clearer idea when sampling from a general all encompassing selection rather than sampling from one specific selection an unrepresentative sample would be selecting apples from the same part of the barrel a representative sample would be selecting apples from the top bottom middle and sides

What is the Metonic cycle (you do not need to cite any numbers, just describe it)?

allows you to have a lunar calendar and a solar calendar because after 19 years in the metonic calendar equals 19 years solar years within an hour

canis major alpha beta

alpha sirius beta murzim

Explain the difference between an annular and a total solar eclipse. Why are solar eclipses sometimes annular and sometimes total?

annular solar eclipse occur when the moon is further away from the earth and there fore has a smaller angular size in the sky it doesn't completely cover up the sun total solar eclipses occur when the moon is closer and completely covers the sun happens because earth and moon orbit are not perfectly circular.

What is special about the latitudes of the Arctic Circle (66.5 North) and the Antarctic Circle (66.5 South)? Be able to draw a horizon diagram from these specific latitudes to help explain what makes them significant

at the arctic circle during june the sun never sets. in December, the sun never rises. at the Antarctic circle, the sun never sets in December and never rises in june

Use a horizon diagram to help explain why the tropical regions (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn) don't have dramatic seasonal changes like our latitude.

at the tropics the sun remains relatively high in the sky throughout different months providing consistent direct sunlight. also, the maximum altitude the sun reaches doesn't fluctuate much between months

augira myth

augira was potrayed as the charioteer carrying 3 children. he is the son of hephaestus who was a cripple and it is thought he invented the chariot to move him around.

List three examples of potential errors that make it virtually impossible for ancient skywatchers to pinpoint the exact location of the moonrise or moonset on the distant horizon on a daily basis.

bad weather could make the skies cloudy and make it difficult to see the moon. the moon's orbit is not a perfect circle. sometimes its closer or farther away from the earth. this introduces error. the air bends moonbeams a little. this refraction varies and introduces error.

Why does the Moon turn a deep red color during a lunar eclipse?

because of scattering what is happening is that the light from the sun is passing through the earths atmposphere and bending around it so the moon kind of sees the sunset all over the earth

Name and briefly explain two arguments that can be used to refute the misconception that the phases of the Moon are caused by the shadow of the Earth. Note here that I am not asking you to explain what causes the phases

can't cast a gibbous shape. has to be cast as a crescent shadow the shadow is no where near the waxing crescent. see diagram

canis major myth

canis major represents one of orions hunting dogs. he is the bigger dog of the two

augira alpha beta

capella menkalilian

Without any complex tools, Anthony Aveni and his students describe how to construct a right angle using a circle. Explain how this works with a simple diagram.

draw a circle. using a line that represents the diameter, draw a line from the top of where the diameter is measured and connect it the edge of the circle. from there, draw another line to the end of the diameter.

A common misconception about the seaons is that warmer summers are caused by Earth's elliptical orbit, that the Earth is warmer in June, July and August because it is closer to the Sun. Summarize two basic arguments that contradict this idea.

during winter earth is closer to the sun the northern and southern hemispheres have opposite seasons and if this were true then we would have the seasons at the same time

What does equinox translate to literally, and why does this make sense? In other words, what is happening in the sky during the equinox

equinox translates to equal light the duration of daylight is equal to the length of night

Explain why "eclipse seasons" occur about every six months. As part of your answer, define what a "node" is with respect to the Moon's orbit and how the line of nodes determines whether eclipses occur.

every two weeks the moon passes through the ecliptic on an acceding node and a descending node. nodes are the places where the moon crosses the ecliptic . if the moon is at a node when its in new or full phase you can get an eclipse only happens every six months because those nodes stay in the same spot as the earth travels around the sun the line of nodes has to point at the sun to get an eclipse. these times of the year are called eclipse seasons.

What is the Age of Aquarius, and what does it have to do with the Earth's precession? What exactly is precession (diagram would help)?

extra gravitational force excerted on earth to pull axis up right but since its spinning the axis wobbles the age of aquarius is the time when the precession has brought the vernal equinox to appear in the constellation aquarius

Describe how gnomons keep time on a sunny day. When is the shadow cast by a gnomon the shortest, and how does the length of the shortest shadow vary over the course of a year (think about how the maximum altitude of the Sun changes during the year on our horizon diagrams)?

gnomons- are vertical stick/poles that stick up from the ground. Based on the direction of the shadow, one can tell what time of day it is. The tip of the shadow changes where it was because the sun travels north and south and thats how you would tell what time it is. Local Noon everyday is the shortest shadow and local noon shadow is longer in the winter and shorter in the summer.

summarize the story of youngs experiment and why those who ignore his work cannot trust their conclusions

he conducted an experiment regarding how rats locate their food. through trial and error by changing variables like colors and smell, he was able to determine that they were cheating by using vibrations from the floor so he placed sand down. he created a controlled experiment. scientist who don't explore all aspect will suffer poor results they need to address how other things like the environment can affect their results explore the process not just the destination

Explain what Newton's law of universal gravitation is, how it explains planetary orbits ("Why does the apple fall but the Moon remains in the sky?").

he explained that with planetary orbits that planets are actually attracted to the ground but it falls toward the ground at the same rate that the ground curves beneath it so it keeps falling.

Use diagrams to help explain how Galileo's observations of the planet Venus helped support the heliocentric model.

he observed the phases of Venus. he saw that Venus has a big crescent shape or sometimes it can be small and full big crescent small full or gibbous we are orbiting the sun and Venus is too and when Venus is close to us you get big crescent and when Venus is on the far side its small Venus has to work with the sun

Explain the contribution made by Kepler that finally encouraged scientists to accept the heliocentric model. How was Kepler able to check his model before publication and make sure his predictions would be so accurate?

he was able to reproduce Tycho's observations and be able to predict where the planets would be years later

What is the definition of "heliacal rising"? Why was the heliacal rising of Sirius significant in the Egyptian calendar?

heliacal rising is when a star that cant be seen due to the glare created from the suns location emerges in the dawn before the sun comes up. this fell close to the summer solstice and coincided with the time of the niles flooding

Explain why in the heliocentric system, we expect stars to show evidence of parallax angles. How do supporters of a heliocentric model explain away the lack of observed parallax?

if helio is right we should see stars shifting back and forth the stars are just really far away making the denominator very big making the angle very small

Use the equation of angular size to explain why, in the heliocentric system, the actual sizes of stars were apparently enormously larger than the Sun, based on what we observed from Earth, which was an argument against the heliocentric theory.

if stars and planets have similar angular sizes but stars are millions of times further away therefore stars are millions of times larger than planets. A= diameter of object (1,000,000)/distance to object(1,000,000)

How is Newton's view of gravity different from previous ideas about the way the universe works? Explain how it helped satisfy some of the earliest criticisms of the heliocentric model

it is different because people thought that gravity turned off after you get high enough above earths surface he addressed these criticisms by explaining that gravity is universal. the same force acted upon a falling apple keeps planets in orbit

Describe the purpose of the sky measuring station at Yang-Chheng, and briefly explain how it works. Why was it appropriate that this astronomical observatory be stationed at this location?

it used shadows cast upon a low horizontal wall to measure the length of each tropical year. establish dates of the solstice at the time, this location was said to be the center of the world because the suns shadow was measured here.

Briefly explain the history of the Gaelic holiday (Cailleach) that was eventually turned into our Groundhog Day.

it was based on a witch that could control the weather. The way it worked is if she knew that winter was going to last a long time, then she would make February 2nd clear and sunny so she could go and collect firewood this translated similarly how if the groundhog comes out and its clear and he sees his shadow winter will last for 6 more weeks

Describe two lines of evidence that indicate the north road was constructed not so much for practical use but instead for ceremonial use.

it was being overbuilt, it was underused, it was impractical and there being broken pots found at the steep end of the road representing spirits in an ceremonial sense. The road leads to nothing.

What is the Cahokia Sun Circle? What makes us think it is an astronomical (solar) observatory? What is an argument against this interpretation of the circle?

its a ring of 47 posts surrounding a pit that held a center post it seems to have been a observatory because the solstice and equinox align with some of the posts. the argument against this interpretation is that similar circles have been recorded as being for ritualistic puposes

Explain how the date of Easter is determined each year.

its the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox

Explain the role of Johannes Hevelius in the modern set of recognized constellations. Explain the role of Lacaille in the modern set of constellations. Why are there so many constellations named after scientific instruments (e.g. Telescopium, Microscopium) in the Southern celestial hemisphere?

johannes: 10 constellations were introduced by Hevelius filling in the renaming gaps in the northern sky. 7 are still accepted by astronomers Lacaille: went down to the southern hemisphere and set up a small observatory under table mountain and he named a constellation after it and he came back with a stellar map of the southern hemisphere and he proposed constellations for this hemisphere and they were accepted he wanted to commemorate instruments of science and art because he was the one who was naming them.

Explain how the Chinese constellations originally organized the sky. In particular, describe lunar mansions and the four-part zodiac. Also, explain two reasons why it is very difficult to determine the identifications of specific stars within constellations from Chinese star charts.

lunar mansions are vertical sections in the sky that served as markers for tracking the monthly progress of the moon for the lunar calendar. Each man ion was named after a constellation that wasn't always on the ecliptic. The zodiacal region was divided into four sections, with each section associated with a cardinal direction, a season and a name of a mythical creature. 1. The member stars of the constellations where not identified with any precision and often changed over time. 2. They used same size dots for all stars, which made it really tough to figure out which was which.

Describe the Calendar Round. How is it created, and how long does it last?

made from the interweaving of the Tzolk'in and Haab calendars. 52 years long

From the reading "Cargo Cult Science", briefly explain the story of the Millikan oil drop experiment and the subsequent history. Explain why this was such an embarrassing episode for scientists.

milikan sought to measure electrons by usinf oil drops. this ended up being not so accurate. even though he was wrong scientist failed to question their results they didn't search for a reason to be correct when a difference was seen.

Where does the word "month" come from and why is a month about 30 days?

month comes from the word moon. both of these are rooted in a word that means to measure. the moon was the first thing used to measure the passage of the days. it takes 29 and a half days for the moon to complete one full cycle.

why don't planes land?

planes don't land because there is no need for them too planes don't land because the war is over even though they constructed a mock airport there is musch that has to be in place for them to land including different situations and needs.. they didn't address what they couldn't see they were never the intended target

According to Feynman in the reading "Cargo Cult Science", what sort of actions should scientists take in order to have the utmost integrity and therefore confidence in the accuracy of the results? Briefly explain two examples

practice honesty. include all that proves it to be true and everything that would make it untrue . scientist must be truthful about what might have went wrong and or affected the results including what and how they ruled something out. having a holistic presentation will allow others to accurately determine your contribution. also the scientist must not fool themselves. scientist must be very careful with this line of work

What does solstice translate to literally, and why does this make sense? In other words, describe what is happening to the Sun's rising or setting point near the solstice.

solstice translates to sun stand still sunrise and sunset moves slowly before reversing its course along the eastern horizon

Explain why some stars are circumpolar. Use a celestial sphere diagram to help explain why stars at higher declinations are more likely to be circumpolar stars. A diagram by itself is not sufficient to answer this question.

stars that are closer to the north celestial pole follow a shorter circle in the sky. this makes it less likely for the star to dip below the horizon

Describe the Haab calendar cycle. How many days does it have, and how are those days divided?

the Haab cycle is 365 days; it is a 19 month calendar. 18 months have 20 days and one month has 5 days

Describe the daily motion of stars. Be able to draw and explain how the daily motion of stars looks from different latitudes on the Earth (such as the equator, mid-latitudes and the poles).

the daily motions of stars are parallel to the celestial equator stars rise in the east and set in the west some stars near the ncp never set and remain above the horizon stars near the scp never rise above the horizon draw a diagram

How do supporters of the geocentric model explain the lack of observed parallax angles?

the earth isn't moving the baseline is zero we aren't seeing the star from two different places

What is the ecliptic? Be able to draw the difference between the Sun's daily and annual path on a celestial sphere diagram

the ecliptic is the annual path of the sun. the daily path of the sun is a circle in the sky parallel to the celestial equator. it drifts north and south throughout the course of the year.

In the reading, Pine says that in order to distinguish correlation from causation, we have to isolate variables to see if one effect really causes another or if perhaps the cause is some other unknown, unanticipated thing. In the context of the sex education study, describe the error made by the angry letter-writer.

the major error made by the writer is that he merely assumed that sex ed is responsible for the increase of VD and teen pregnancies. his argument was based on correlation. but correlation doesn't prove causation he didn't acknowledge other factors relating to the events

What is the Milky Way as it appears on the sky? In other words, describe the Milky Way on the sky and explain what it is we are actually looking at when we see the Milky Way.

the milkyway is a flattened disk made up of many stars we are positioned near the rim in one of the spiraling arms. we see the interior cluster of overlapping stars, gas, and dust

Use a side view of the Moon's orbit and the Ecliptic plane to help explain why the Moon doesn't undergo a lunar or solar eclipse every month.

the moons orbit is tilted by 5 degrees with respect to the plain of the ecliptic when you have a full moon and a new moon where you could get an eclipse the moon is above or below the ecliptic so the shadows miss each other (when the line of nodes lines up).

What is the purpose of the "stretching of the cord" ceremony in ancient Egypt? What is it analogous to in today's society

the pharaoh establishes a basic reference line for the temple's orientation and plan. it's ceremonial like a leader today placing a cornerstone on a building

Explain two cultural purposes of a calendar for a large kingdom or empire.

the primary purpose of calendars was cultural unification like holy days and secular observations. this helped them accept one another. also, calendars promoted agricultural and economic efficiency.

Templo Mayor in the ancient Aztec city of Tenochtitlan is skewed from a cardinal alignment so that it faces 7 degrees south of east instead of due east like most other buildings. Nevertheless, the Aztecs used the building to mark the days of the equinox, when the Sun rose directly East. Explain how the Aztecs used this "misaligned" building to mark the sun's location on the equinox (use a diagram to help with this answer).

the reason the temple is misaligned is because the sun has that angled path. if they center the temple right on east during the equinox the sun wouldn't hit the notch.

Use a diagram to help explain why the moon rises 50 minutes later each day.

the sun and the moon move apart, and the moon rises a little after the sun each day because the horizon of any fixed point on earth rotates further every day going to take extra time for the moon to be above the horizon

Explain why we see different constellations overhead at the same time of night on different days of the year. A simple diagram may help

the suns location along the ecliptic determines what constellations we see at night. for example, on august 21 we cannot see leo because the sun is in leo but we can see aquarius. 6 months later in febuary we can see leo but not aquarius because the sun is in aquarius.

What is special about the latitudes of the Tropic of Cancer (23.5 North) and the Tropic of Capricorn (23.5 South)? Be able to draw a horizon diagram from these specific latitudes to help explain what makes them significant

the tropic of cancer is the furthest point north where the sun meets the zenith the tropic of Capricorn is the furthest point south

Explain the argument made by Galileo through observations of the moons of Jupiter that supported the heliocentric model.

there are moons orbiting around jupiter making jupiter the center of gravity which disproves the idea that the earth is the only center.

What are cross quarter days and where do they fall on the calendar during our year? Give two examples of cross-quarter holidays we observe in America.

these are days that fall halfway in between the equinoxes and the solstices - groundhog day and Halloween

Explain where the names of the months September, October, November and December originate.

they began to number off the rest of the months september is 7 october is 8 november 9 december 10

Explain the 12-year Chinese calendar cycle and how their "zodiac" compares to ours. On what celestial body is this cycle based?

they used Jupiter as there calendar clock because Jupiter orbits around the sun and completes a sideral cycle once every 12 years The Chinese zodiac is based on them splitting up the ecliptic into 12 30 degree segments, but they used different names. They look and see what constellation Jupiter is in for the year

Describe the Tzolk'in calendar cycle. How many days does it have, and how are those days divided? What are three other 260-day cycles or periods of time that may also be linked to the origin of the Tzolk'in?

this calendar is divided into 20 day glyphs in combination with the numbers 1-13 producing 260 days the length matches nine cycles of the Moon, the gestational period of humans, and the movements of the zenith Sun

What is the origin of the term "feng-shui", a technique used today even in America to design homes and neighborhoods?

this the chinese form of Geomancy which literally means wind and water It is meant to harmonize human presence with the natural environment

Describe the parallax method for determining stellar distances with the help of a simple diagram. What do we measure when we measure "parallax" and what do we deduce from these measurements?

to find the distance to a distant object you've got the distance to the star and you have a baseline which is the distance between your two points of observation and you measure how the position of the star changes relative to a fixed back ground.

In total, there were four arguments used by the ancient Greeks (and others later) to discredit the heliocentric idea. Two (parallax and angular size of stars) we have covered. Explain two other reasons why people thought the Earth doesn't move.

we don't feel motion we couldn't believe what force would be powerful enough to move the heavy earth

The death of Osiris is typically observed in Egyptian mythology on the 17th day of a certain month. Explain why that day is the appropriate time for such a ritual

when Osiris was slain on the 17th day of the month (two days after a full moon is when you can noticeably see the moon waning) the change of the moon was described as the moons monthly death

Does everyone at a given latitude see the same constellations at the same local time each night? Explain (diagram may help).

yes because as the earth is rotating on its axis, the section of the sky we see moves across the sky regardless of our latitude so our view doesn't change

(From chapter 1, page 1c) Explain the origin of two large constellations in the Northern celestial hemisphere: Camelopardalis and Monoceros. What was the role of Petrus Plancius in filling in the Southern Celestial hemisphere with 12 new constellations, previously uncharted?

• Plancius invented some constellations that are entirely his own; Monoceros, the unicorn, and Camelopardalis, the giraffe, from faint stars uncharted by Ptolemy. Astronomers still accept some Plancius constellations. • Plancius left no written records, so what we only know of his role in the development of our system of constellations based on examination of his surviving maps and globes. Plancius produced a globe where for the first time 12 new constellations were drawn, based on the catalog of Pieter Keyser.

Explain why solstices were observed by more cultures while equinoxes were rarely observed.

• Solstices are tangible, at this time sun reaches its physical extremes in its motions along horizon •They are easier to see. • These define a natural division as seen from a central point of observation into 4 parts • Equinoxes are halfway points between solstices/no seasonal significance

Not all apparent astronomical alignments are real and/or intentional. After all, everything has to point somewhere. Explain two ways we can distinguish between accidental and intentional astronomical alignments by describing the two examples (from Scotland and Central America) from the reading.

• Stone circles in Scotland has consistent orientation relating to the moon, also similar surrounding structures, astronomical alignments occur repeatedly. • Finding corroborating evidence in governors palace in Maya City (early Spanish chroniclers (writings))

What is the Farnese Atlas? Explain its historical significance. What is the Dunhuang star chart? Explain its historical significance.

• The Farnese Atlas is a statue of Atlas holding a celestial globe of the heavens on his shoulders. • Historical Significance: the globe he is holding is the oldest known celestial globe and provided our first only first-hand look at the constellations as the Greeks imagined them. • The Dunhuang star chart depicts the Chinese constellations, which were completely independent of that in Europe and the Middle East. • Historical Significance: the manuscript is the oldest surviving star map in the world.

What causes the zodiacal light (what is the source of the light)? Why does the light appear in a band along the zodiacal constellations? Why is zodiacal light best seen during the Spring from the northern hemisphere?

•it is as sunlight reflecting off dust grains that circle the sun in the inner solar system •Since they lie in the flat sheet of space around the sun, we could, in theory, see them as a band of dust across our entire sky, marking the same path that the sun follows during the day. •It's most visible after dusk in spring because, as seen from the northern hemisphere, the ecliptic - or path of the sun and moon - stands nearly straight up in autumn with respect to the western horizon after dusk.