AST 220 Final Exam Questions with Correct
Answers
If Taurus is now rising at sunset, which constellation will rise at sunset next month?
A) Aquarius
B) Gemini
C) Aries
D) Pisces
E) Scorpius B
The fact that the Earth has moved along its orbit in the time it took to rotate once is the reason
for
A) the difference between solar and sidereal time.
B) Earth's 23.5-degree tilt.
C) precession.
D) the position of the Celestial Equator.
E) seasons. A
When the Moon is directly opposite the Sun in the sky, its phase is
A) first or third quarter.
B) waxing or waning gibbous.
C) full.
,D) waxing or waning crescent.
E) new. E
You note that a particular star is directly overhead. It will be directly overhead again in
A) 12 hours.
B) 24 hours 4 minutes.
C) 24 hours.
D) 1 hour.
E) 23 hours 56 minutes. E
As you watch a star, you see it move 15 degrees across the sky. How long have you been
watching it?
A) 15 seconds
B) 15 minutes
C) 3 hours
D) 1 hour
E) 1 minute D
That Polaris will not always be the pole star is due to
A) the Earth's revolution being slightly less than exactly 365.25 days.
B) the sidereal day being shorter than the solar day.
C) precession shifting the celestial pole.
D) the Moon following the ecliptic, instead of the equator.
,E) the Solar winds blowing the Earth farther away from the Sun. C
From the horizon to the observer's zenith is an angle of
A) 23.5 degrees for observers at the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.
B) 30 degrees for observers at a latitude of 30 degrees North.
C) 90 degrees for everyone on the Earth.
D) 0.0 degrees for an observer at the Earth's north pole.
E) 66.5 degrees for everyone on the Earth. C
This diagram explains
A) precession.
B) the difference between solar time and sidereal time.
C) the sidereal day's relation to the seasons.
D) the solar day's relation to the Moon.
E) the reason for the solstices. B
The 26,000 year cycle that changes the poles and equinoxes is called
A) the Earth's rotation.
B) regression.
C) a retrograde loop.
D) revolution.
E) precession. E
, The twelve constellations the solar system bodies move through are the
A) nodes of the ecliptic.
B) galactic equator.
C) signs of the zodiac.
D) equatorial constellations.
E) stages of heaven. C
What are constellations?
A) Groups of stars making an apparent pattern in the celestial sphere.
B) Apparent groupings of stars and planets visible on a given evening.
C) Ancient story boards, useless to modern astronomers.
D) Groups of stars gravitationally bound and appearing close together in the sky.
E) Groups of galaxies gravitationally bound and close together in the sky. A
A star with a declination of +60.0 degrees will be
A) west of the vernal equinox.
B) north of the celestial equator.
C) east of the vernal equinox.
D) south of the celestial equator.
E) None of these answers are correct. B
Answers
If Taurus is now rising at sunset, which constellation will rise at sunset next month?
A) Aquarius
B) Gemini
C) Aries
D) Pisces
E) Scorpius B
The fact that the Earth has moved along its orbit in the time it took to rotate once is the reason
for
A) the difference between solar and sidereal time.
B) Earth's 23.5-degree tilt.
C) precession.
D) the position of the Celestial Equator.
E) seasons. A
When the Moon is directly opposite the Sun in the sky, its phase is
A) first or third quarter.
B) waxing or waning gibbous.
C) full.
,D) waxing or waning crescent.
E) new. E
You note that a particular star is directly overhead. It will be directly overhead again in
A) 12 hours.
B) 24 hours 4 minutes.
C) 24 hours.
D) 1 hour.
E) 23 hours 56 minutes. E
As you watch a star, you see it move 15 degrees across the sky. How long have you been
watching it?
A) 15 seconds
B) 15 minutes
C) 3 hours
D) 1 hour
E) 1 minute D
That Polaris will not always be the pole star is due to
A) the Earth's revolution being slightly less than exactly 365.25 days.
B) the sidereal day being shorter than the solar day.
C) precession shifting the celestial pole.
D) the Moon following the ecliptic, instead of the equator.
,E) the Solar winds blowing the Earth farther away from the Sun. C
From the horizon to the observer's zenith is an angle of
A) 23.5 degrees for observers at the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.
B) 30 degrees for observers at a latitude of 30 degrees North.
C) 90 degrees for everyone on the Earth.
D) 0.0 degrees for an observer at the Earth's north pole.
E) 66.5 degrees for everyone on the Earth. C
This diagram explains
A) precession.
B) the difference between solar time and sidereal time.
C) the sidereal day's relation to the seasons.
D) the solar day's relation to the Moon.
E) the reason for the solstices. B
The 26,000 year cycle that changes the poles and equinoxes is called
A) the Earth's rotation.
B) regression.
C) a retrograde loop.
D) revolution.
E) precession. E
, The twelve constellations the solar system bodies move through are the
A) nodes of the ecliptic.
B) galactic equator.
C) signs of the zodiac.
D) equatorial constellations.
E) stages of heaven. C
What are constellations?
A) Groups of stars making an apparent pattern in the celestial sphere.
B) Apparent groupings of stars and planets visible on a given evening.
C) Ancient story boards, useless to modern astronomers.
D) Groups of stars gravitationally bound and appearing close together in the sky.
E) Groups of galaxies gravitationally bound and close together in the sky. A
A star with a declination of +60.0 degrees will be
A) west of the vernal equinox.
B) north of the celestial equator.
C) east of the vernal equinox.
D) south of the celestial equator.
E) None of these answers are correct. B
