ASTRONOMY TEST 1 QUESTIONS AND CORRECT
DETAILED ANSWERS (VERIFIED ANSWERS) ALREADY
GRADED A+
The point in the sky directly above your head at any given time is called
the Ans✓✓✓zenith
The celestial sphere turns once around each day because Ans✓✓✓the
celestial sphere does not move, is the earth that turns around once each
day
The south celestial pole and the north celestial pole lie in the sky directly
above the Ans✓✓✓north and south poles
Halfway between the celestial poles lies the Ans✓✓✓The celestial
equator
In the Northern Hemisphere, the altitude (height in degrees above the
horizon) of the North Star is always roughly
equal to the Ans✓✓✓latitude of the observer
The star that is currently closest to the North Celestial Pole is
Ans✓✓✓polaris, or the north star
As seen from the continental United States, the Big and Little Dipper
Ans✓✓✓are in the north circumpolar zone throughout the year
,Where on Earth do stars always circle the zenith (and never rise and
set)? Ans✓✓✓north pole
From horizon to opposite horizon, the sky takes up how much angular
distance? Ans✓✓✓180 degree
The Sun's apparent path around the celestial sphere is called
Ans✓✓✓the ecliptic
If the Earth goes around the Sun, why is the ecliptic not lined up with
the celestial equator? Ans✓✓✓because of the inclination of the earth's
axis by 23.5 degrees
Every celestial object appears to go around the Earth once a day. In
addition to this motion, which celestial object
has the fastest apparent motion in the sky? Ans✓✓✓the moon
The strip of the sky through which the Sun, the Moon, and the bright
planets appear to move in the course of a year
is called Ans✓✓✓ecliptic
The 88 sectors into which astronomers today divide the celestial sphere
(the whole sky) are called:... Ans✓✓✓constellations
, Which ancient Greek thinker suggested (long before Copernicus) that
the Earth is moving around the Sun? Ans✓✓✓Aristarchus
How did Eratosthenes measure the size of the Earth?
Ans✓✓✓measuring system called stades
When a planet temporarily moves westward in the sky over the course of
several weeks or months (instead of
eastward, as it typically does), we call it Ans✓✓✓retrograde motion
The slow tipping of the Earth's axis in a circle with a period of about
26,000 years is called Ans✓✓✓precession
The great astronomer of ancient times who summarized and improved a
system of circles upon circles to explain
the complicated motions of the planets (and published the system in a
book now called The Almagest)
is Ans✓✓✓pythagoras
In Ptolemy's system the planets orbit the Earth and not the Sun. How did
the system explain the retrograde motion
of planets like Jupiter? Ans✓✓✓the planets moved on a small circle
whose center in turn circled a point near the Earth
DETAILED ANSWERS (VERIFIED ANSWERS) ALREADY
GRADED A+
The point in the sky directly above your head at any given time is called
the Ans✓✓✓zenith
The celestial sphere turns once around each day because Ans✓✓✓the
celestial sphere does not move, is the earth that turns around once each
day
The south celestial pole and the north celestial pole lie in the sky directly
above the Ans✓✓✓north and south poles
Halfway between the celestial poles lies the Ans✓✓✓The celestial
equator
In the Northern Hemisphere, the altitude (height in degrees above the
horizon) of the North Star is always roughly
equal to the Ans✓✓✓latitude of the observer
The star that is currently closest to the North Celestial Pole is
Ans✓✓✓polaris, or the north star
As seen from the continental United States, the Big and Little Dipper
Ans✓✓✓are in the north circumpolar zone throughout the year
,Where on Earth do stars always circle the zenith (and never rise and
set)? Ans✓✓✓north pole
From horizon to opposite horizon, the sky takes up how much angular
distance? Ans✓✓✓180 degree
The Sun's apparent path around the celestial sphere is called
Ans✓✓✓the ecliptic
If the Earth goes around the Sun, why is the ecliptic not lined up with
the celestial equator? Ans✓✓✓because of the inclination of the earth's
axis by 23.5 degrees
Every celestial object appears to go around the Earth once a day. In
addition to this motion, which celestial object
has the fastest apparent motion in the sky? Ans✓✓✓the moon
The strip of the sky through which the Sun, the Moon, and the bright
planets appear to move in the course of a year
is called Ans✓✓✓ecliptic
The 88 sectors into which astronomers today divide the celestial sphere
(the whole sky) are called:... Ans✓✓✓constellations
, Which ancient Greek thinker suggested (long before Copernicus) that
the Earth is moving around the Sun? Ans✓✓✓Aristarchus
How did Eratosthenes measure the size of the Earth?
Ans✓✓✓measuring system called stades
When a planet temporarily moves westward in the sky over the course of
several weeks or months (instead of
eastward, as it typically does), we call it Ans✓✓✓retrograde motion
The slow tipping of the Earth's axis in a circle with a period of about
26,000 years is called Ans✓✓✓precession
The great astronomer of ancient times who summarized and improved a
system of circles upon circles to explain
the complicated motions of the planets (and published the system in a
book now called The Almagest)
is Ans✓✓✓pythagoras
In Ptolemy's system the planets orbit the Earth and not the Sun. How did
the system explain the retrograde motion
of planets like Jupiter? Ans✓✓✓the planets moved on a small circle
whose center in turn circled a point near the Earth
