UCCS PES 1090: Astronomy Lab I Spring/Summer/Fall Celestial Sphere name:

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1 UCCS PES 1090: Astronomy Lab I Spring/Summer/Fall Celestial Sphere name: 1. What is the celestial sphere? a. An observatory dome. b. The Sun. c. The Earth. d. The imaginary sphere in the sky, on which stars visually lie. 2. What do we call a specific pattern of stars in the sky, often named for an animal? a. An open cluster. b. A globular cluster. c. A constellation. d. An asterism. 3. What is the celestial equator? a. A band of constellations through which the planets and Sun appear to move. b. The line that the sun traces across the celestial sphere. c. An imaginary line in the sky, directly above the Earth s equator. d. The cycle of lunar phases. 4. What do we call the line that the Sun traces across the celestial sphere? a. The celestial equator. b. The Mason-Dixie Line. c. The extension of the Earth's equator on the celestial sphere. d. The ecliptic. 5. What causes the change of the constellations with the seasons? a. It is caused by the Earth s motion around the Sun. b. It is caused as the constellations move amongst themselves. c. This is merely an illusion caused as the length of the day changes. d. The cycle of lunar phases. 6. Where on the celestial sphere would you look for the 8 planets? a. On the celestial equator. b. On the Galactic equator. c. In the zodiac (near the ecliptic). d. At the north celestial pole. 7. The celestial equivalent of longitude is: a. DEC b. R. A. c. Ecliptic d. Celestial Prime Meridian 8. The sidereal day is determined by the Earth's rotation with respect to the:. a. Stars b. Planets c. Moon d. Sun

2 9. The vernal equinox marks the beginning of Fall in the: a. Northern hemisphere b. Southern hemisphere c. Equator d. Tropic of Cancer 10. The fact that Polaris will not always be the pole star is due to: a. the sidereal day being shorter than the solar day. b. precession shifting the celestial pole. c. the Moon following the ecliptic, instead of the equator. d. the Earth's revolution being slightly less than exactly days. 11. From the horizon to the observer's zenith there is an angle equivalent to: a. 30 degrees for observers at a latitude of 30 degrees North. b. 90 degrees for everyone on the Earth. c degrees for observers at the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. d degrees for everyone on the Earth. 12. The thirteen constellations the planets and sun move through are also known as the: a. equatorial constellations. b. signs of the zodiac. c. nodes of the ecliptic. d. stages of heaven. 13. A star with a declination of: degrees will be located: a. East of the vernal equinox. b. West of the vernal equinox. c. North of the celestial equator. d. South of the celestial equator. 14. Into how many constellations is the celestial sphere divided? a. 12 b. 44 c. 60 d In general, what is true of the: α (alpha) star in a constellation? a. It is the brightest star in that particular constellation. b. It is the easternmost star in the constellation. c. It is the westernmost star in the constellation. d. It is the reddest star in the constellation. 16. A distance of ~ten trillion (10,000,000,000,000) kilometers in astronomy is called a(n). a. astronomical unit (AU) b. parsec (Pc) c. solar radius d. light year (ly)

3 17. The apparent angular shift of any object across a distant background, when viewed from two different places, is called shift. a. parallax b. ecliptic c. precessional d. equatorial 18. What are the minimum and maximum values for right ascension (R.A.) in the celestial sphere? a. From 0 to 24 hours, going eastward from the vernal equinox. b. From 24 to 0 hours, going westward from the vernal equinox. c. From 0 to 24 hours, going eastward from the autumnal equinox. d. From 0 to 24 hours, going westward from the autumnal equinox 19. At the solstice in the northern hemisphere, what is the maximum distance (angle) the Sun can be above or below the equator? a degrees in summer and degrees in winter. b degrees in summer and degrees in winter. c degrees in spring and degrees in fall. d degrees in spring and degrees in fall 20. Pensacola, Florida lies at a latitude of ~30 degrees north. Where would you find Polaris in the Pensacola s sky? a. 60 degrees high in the north sky b. 30 degrees high in the south sky c. 60 degree high in the south sky d. 30 degrees high in the north sky 21. If you see a bright "star" in the night sky, how can you tell whether it is a star or a planet? a. Planets are too dim to be seen without a telescope. b. Planets are round, stars have five points. c. Planets always appear right next to the Moon. d. Look at it several days later--if it's a planet, it will move across the background stars. 22. What is meant by the phrase "angular size"? a. An object's diameter. b. How big an object looks, expressed as an angle. c. The distance around an object. d. The angle between two circular objects. 23. Three factors that affect the appearance of the sky are the time of night, the time of the year and? a. latitude. b. longitude. c. Right Ascension. d. Declination. 24. If you were at a LAT of 60 degrees South, the Celestial South Pole would be above the southern horizon. a. 60 degrees b. 90 degrees c. 30 degrees d. 0 degrees

4 25. As the Earth turns completing one 360 degree rotation every 24 hours the stars march across the heavens at the rate of per hour. a. 10 degrees b. 15 degrees c. 30 degrees d. 45 degrees 26. The Sun and other stars within the galaxy are all orbiting the centre of the Milky Way Galaxy (MWG); therefore the Sun takes about years to complete one orbit. a. 365 million years b. 500 million years c. 100 million years d. 250 million years 27. Polaris will not always be Earth s North Star. In about 13,000 years time the North Celestial Pole will lie near the star. a. Sirius b. Betelgeuse c. Vega d. Rigel 28. The Earth s north and south poles describe a large circle (precession) on the sky, taking about years to return to their starting places. a. 1,000 b. 13,000 c. 6,000 d. 26, The celestial equivalent of LAT (latitude) is known as the:. a. DEC b. R. A. c. azimuth d. ecliptic 30. In the year 14,000 A.D., which of the following stars will Earth s new North Star? a. Regulus (Alpha Leonis) b. Vega (Alpha Lyre) c. Sirius (Alpha Canis Majoris) d. Rigel (Beta Orionis) 31. Latin name for the Great BearConstellation: a. Ursa Minoris b. Big Dipper c. Little Dipper d. Ursa Majoris 32. An imaginary line dividing the Eastern and Western skies is called the: a. zenith b. nadir c. meridian d. latitude

5 33. On Earth, 0 degrees longitude is also called the: a. arctic circle b. international date line c. equator d. prime meridian 34. Greenwich, UK s latitude is: N and longitude of: a b c d Colorado Springs, Colorado has the following GPS address: a. 45 N & 104 W b. 38 S & 104 E c N & W d. 38 N & 104 W 36. The Big Dipper is a(n): a. asterism b. constellation c. nebulae d. open star cluster 37. The Northern Lights are also known as: a. Aurora Australis b. Summer Solstice c. Winter solstice d. Aurora Borealis