Astronomy 1010 Clemson Questions and 100% CORRECT answers

What causes the seasons? - ANSWERThe tilt of the Earth's rotation axis to its orbit around the Sun causes parts of the Earth to experience more direct illumination from the Sun and longer days during the summer than the winter. What part of the Earth spins the fastest? - ANSWERthe equator If you were standing at Earth's North Pole, where would you see the north celestial pole relative to your zenith? - ANSWERat the zenith If the star Polaris has an altitude of 35°, then we know that - ANSWERour latitude is 35° north. What phase occurs directly after a new moon? - ANSWERwaxing crescent A lunar eclipse occurs when the ________ shadow falls on the ________. - ANSWEREarth's; Moon Assume that you and your sister can both throw a baseball at a speed of 60 km/h. If you are in an airplane traveling at 700 km/h and play catch with your sister who is near the front of the plane (you being toward the rear), how fast would the ball be traveling as seen by an observer on the ground when you throw the ball? - ANSWER760 km How fast would the ball be traveling as seen by an observer on the ground when your sister throws the ball back to you? - ANSWER640 km When Earth catches up to a slower-moving outer planet and passes it in its orbit, in the same way that a faster runner overtakes a slower runner in an outside lane, the outer planet - ANSWERexhibits retrograde motion An inferior planet is one that is - ANSWERcloser to the sun than the earth How did the ancients know the planets were different from the stars? - ANSWERThey saw that the planets move with respect to the stars over the course of many nights. How often do Mars solar conjunctions occur? - ANSWERevery 2.14 years, which is once every Mars synodic period Kepler's second law states that - ANSWERplanets move fastest when they are closest to the sun The planet Uranus will be observed in retrograde motion when - ANSWEREarth overtakes Uranus in its orbit Why is a conjunction a bad time to view Mars? - ANSWERBecause Mars is behind the Sun and therefore not visible What is an inferior conjunction? - ANSWERwhen an inferior planet is on the near side of the Sun at an elongation of 0 degrees (order: Earth, planet, Sun) What is a superior conjunction? - ANSWERwhen an inferior planet is on the far side of the Sun at an elongation of 0 degrees (order: Earth, Sun, planet) How does the heliocentric model explain the retrograde motion of Mars? - ANSWERMars only appears to move backward as Earth passes it in its orbit around the Sun. What is a synodic period? - ANSWERThe time it takes for a planet to come back to the same position relative to the Sun