naked-eye-quiz.txt

Describe how the Orion Nebula appears to the naked eye. + rb + A small fuzzy patch of light; A green circle; Two fuzzy points of light; A straight line of 3 stars + 1
A short bright streak of light across the sky, lasting only a few seconds is a... + ww + meteor
The Great Square of Pegasus can be used to find which celestial objects? Tick all that apply. + cb + Sirius; The Pleiades; Formalhaut; The Andromeda Galaxy; Polaris + 3;4
The Plough can be used to find which celestial objects? Tick all that apply. + cb + Sirius; Arcturus; Formalhaut; The Andromeda Galaxy; Polaris + 2;5
Orion's Belt can be used to find which celestial objects? Tick all that apply. + cb + Sirius; The Pleiades; Formalhaut; The Andromeda Galaxy; Arcturus + 1;2
Describe how the Aurora appears to the naked eye. + rb + A fuzzy dot of light; A short bright streak of colour; Streaming coloured curtains; A long red limb coming from the Sun + 3
Orion's Belt and the Summer Triangle are examples of an... + ww + asterism
A student begins an observation on a cold clear moonless night in winter at midnight. Why does the student notice more stars 30 minutes later? + rb + The sky gets darker as the night progresses and the stars come out; In Winter most stars only rise after midnight, so they cannot be seen until later; Eyes adjust to the darker after time, so eyes are more sensitive to light from faint stars + 3
The above image represents the orbits of the Earth and Venus which letter shows Venus at Inferior Conjunction with Earth? + img +mars-and-earth.png+ rb + A; B; C; D  + 1
Mars is 1.5 AU from the Sun. How far is Earth from Mars when they are at Superior Conjunction in AU (to 1 d.p.)? + ww + 2.5
Explain why it is best to view Mercury when it appears to be furthest from the Sun? + rb + It would appear against a darker sky and so higher contrast; It would be a full phase and so would be at its brightest; It would be closest to the Earth in its orbit and so would appear larger + 1
Many ancient monuments are aligned with the rising and setting Sun. What were these observations used for? Tick all that apply. + cb + Masonry; Harvesting Crops; Religious Ceremonies; Calendar + 2;3;4
Why are the effects of Precession difficult to observe with the naked eye? + rb + The Earth's orbit is elliptical; Precession happens very slowly; Stars can only be observed at night; Precession can only be observed near the poles + 2
The change in the Earth's axial tilt is known as... + ww + precession
The average rate of Precession is 1.38° per century. An ancient monument was built so that its roof aligned with star X at the solstice. In The roof is now 53.4° away from star X. How long ago was the monument built to the nearest year? + wn + 3870
Explain how Precession causes a change in the Pole Star. Tick all that apply. + cb + The Earth’s axis points to the pole star; The Earth's axis points to the pole of the Ecliptic; The pole of the Ecliptic stays fixed; Precession makes the Earth’s axis circle around the pole of the ecliptic; The circle lasts 26,000 years; The pole of the Ecliptic points to different stars on the circle at different times; The Earth’s axis points to different stars on the circle at different times + 1;3;4;5;7
Early civilisations had different names for constellations. Tick all the valid reasons for this + cb + They had different cultures; They ate different foods; They had different languages; They lived at different latitudes; They lived at different longitudes + 1;3;4
At which of the following locations will the Sun be directly overhead at noon, June 21st? + rb + 23.5°N, 32.5°E; 63.5°N, 149.5°W; 0.0°N, 23.5°W; 51.5°S, 0.0°W + 1
Define the Celestial Equator. + rb + The line that receives equal lengths of day and night on every day of the year; The line of places that are exactly halfway between the North and South Poles; The projection of the Earth's Equator into space; The line in space on which the Sun is on the Meridian every day + 3
The length of Day 1 is 12h 05m. The length of Day 2 is 12h 00m. The length of Day 3 is 11h 57m. What is the date of Day 2? + rb + Jan 21st; March 21st; March 23rd; June 21st; September 21st; September 23rd; December 21st + 6
Figure 6 contains data obtained from a Lunar Eclipse. Calculate how many times larger the Earth is than the Moon to the nearest whole number + img +lunar-eclipse-table.png+ wn + 3
Aristarchus determined the diameter of the Sun to be 2.6 million km. Explain why his value differs from the true value. Tick all that apply. + cb + The Sun was bigger back then; The angular size of the Sun was incorrectly determined; He made an error in his calculations; Unaided observation of the Sun is difficult and dangerous; He confused the Sun with another bright star + 2;4
Figure 8 shows data collected from a shadow-stick experiment. Calculate the longitude of the location of observation. + img +shadow-stick-table.PNG+ rb + 2.5°W; 2.5°E; 3.8°W; 3.8°E + 3 
Figure 8 shows data collected from a shadow-stick experiment. The experimenter concluded that they were at longitude 2.5°W. Evaluate the accuracy of the experiment. Tick all that apply. + img +shadow-stick-table.PNG+ cb + The shadow lengths were taken at irregular equal intervals, they should be regular; The intervals between the readings are too large to show the required detail; Not enough readings have been taken to show a trend; Readings should not have been taken before noon; The experiment was performed in Winter, it should be done in Summer; The variation in the shadow length is very small because too short a stick has been used; The estimate of the shortest shadow is imprecise; The Equation of Time has been allowed for; The student used °W when it should be °E + 2;3;6;7
Polaris is observed from 12°4'N. What is its altitude to the nearest degree? + wn + 12
Polaris is observed from 58°12'N. What is its azimuth to the nearest degree? + wn + 0
Vega is observed from 45°N. It has a declination of ＋38°. At the time of observation, Vega is on the observer's Meridian. Calculate Vega's altitude to the nearest degree. + wn + 83
Vega is observed from 12°E. It has a declination of ＋38° and an RA of 18h 30m. At the time of observation, Vega is on the observer's Meridian. Calculate Local Sidereal Time at Greenwich at the time of this observation. + rb + 12h 12m; 17h 42m; 18h 18m; 18h 42m; 19h 18m; 00h 12m + 2
A number of stars are observed from latitude 67°N and their declination are noted. Star A has a declination of ＋10°, Star B has a declination of ＋40°, Star C has a declination of -0° and Star D has a declination of -23°. Tick all of the stars that are circumpolar. + cb + A; B; C; D + 2
An observer at latitude 23°S has a list of four stars that they want to see. Star A has a declination of -0°, Star B has a declination of -40°, Star C has a declination of ＋23° and Star D has a declination of ＋72°. Tick all of the stars that the observer will never be able to see. + cb + A; B; C; D + 4
Explain why Superior planets have longer Synodic Periods than their Sidereal Periods. Tick all that apply. + cb + Superior planets take longer to orbit the Sun than the Earth; They return to same position in relation to the Earth before they complete a single orbit; Superior planets have multiple smaller synodic periods within the time it takes to complete one larger sidereal period + 1;2;3
Explain why an object orbiting the Sun at 500 AU will have a Synodic Period close to 1 year. Tick all that apply. + cb + 500 AU is very far from the Sun; It would take the object 1 year to orbit the Sun; After one orbit of the Earth, the object wouldn't have moved very far along its orbit; It would catch up with the Earth very quickly; It would catch up with the Earth very slowly + 1;3
Io orbits Jupiter in 42.5 hours at a distance of 421,600km. Europa orbits Jupiter at a distance of 670,900km. Calculate the time period of Europa to the nearest hour. + wn + 85
Design an observation period that would allow an observer to make a series of drawings detailing the effects of libration of the Moon. Tick all that apply. + cb + The observations should take place over many months; Observations should focus on slight changes in amount of lunar disc visible; The colour of the Moon is important to the observations; The observations should concentrate on the edges of the lunar disc; Detailed drawings of features in the centre of the Moon will be required; Drawings should be cross-reference; Moon appears larger when rising and setting and should be observed then; The observations should be done at a moderate latitude, so the Moon is high in the sky + 1;2;4;6;7;8
When observing from a latitude of 50°N, what will maximum altitude of the Celestial Equator be in degrees? + wn + 40