Chapter 2 - Discovering The Universe

Question 1

Ecliptic

Answer 1

The path the Sun follows as it appears to follow around the celestial sphere

Question 2

Angular size

Answer 2

The angle it appears to span in your field of view

Question 3

Angular distance

Answer 3

The angle that appears to separate two objects

Question 4

Lunar eclipse

Answer 4

When the Earth lies directly between the Sun and Moon

Question 5

Solar eclipse

Answer 5

When the moon lies directly between the Sun and Earth

Question 6

Constellation

Answer 6

A region of sky with well-defined borders

The familiar patterns of stars merely help locate constellations

Question 7

Horizon

Answer 7

A boundary that divide what we can see from what we cannot

Question 8

We can pinpoint any object in the local sky by stating its ____________ along the horizon and its _____________ above the horizon.

Answer 8

(direction),
(altitude)

(We can pinpoint any object in the local sky by stating its direction along the horizon and its altitude above the horizon. )

Question 9

There are 60 ________ in a degree.

Answer 9

(arcminutes)

Question 10

What does it mean for stars to be circumpolar?

Answer 10

Stars near the north pole are circumpolar, meaning they remain perpetually above the horizon, circling around the north celestial pole each day

Question 11

Prime meridian

Answer 11

The line along which longitude is defined to be 0° (and passing through Greenwich, England)

Question 12

The altitude of the celestial pole in your sky is equal to your _______.

Answer 12

(latitude)

Question 13

Procession

Answer 13

A gradual wobble that alters the orientation of Earth’s axis in space

Question 14

Each cycle of Earth’s procession takes about ________ years.

Answer 14

(26,000)

Question 15

Synchronous rotation

Answer 15

The rotation of an object that always shows the same face to an object that it is orbiting because its rotation period and orbital period are equal

Question 16

Phase(of matter)

Answer 16

The state determined by the way in which atoms or molecules are held together; the common phases are solid, liquid, and gas

Question 17

Crescent phase

Answer 17

The phase of the moon (or of a planet) in which just a small portion (less than half) of the visible face is illuminated by sunlight

Question 18

South celestial pole (SCP)

Answer 18

The point on the celestial sphere directly above Earth’s South Pole

Question 19

Apparent retrograde motion

Answer 19

The apparent motion of a planet, as viewed from Earth, during the period of a few weeks or months when it moved westward relative to the stars in our sky (due to the fact that Earth is “passing it up” in orbit)

Question 20

Moon

Answer 20

An object that orbits a planet

Question 21

Eclipse seasons

Answer 21

Periods during which lunar and solar eclipses can occur because the nodes of the Moon’s orbit are aligned with Earth and the Sun

Question 22

North celestial pole (NCP)

Answer 22

The point on the celestial sphere directly above Earth’s North Pole.

Question 23

Penumbra

Answer 23

The lighter, outlying regions of a shadow (the place where sunlight is only partially blocked)

Question 24

Umbra

Answer 24

A central place where all sunlight is blocked

Question 25

Nodes (of Moon’s orbit)

Answer 25

The two points in the Moon’s orbit where it crosses the ecliptic plane.

Question 26

Waning phases

Answer 26

The phases that come after full moon but before new moon in which less and less visible face of the moon is visible

Question 27

Stellar parallax

Answer 27

The apparent shift in position of a nearby star (relative to distant objects) that occurs as we view the star from different positions in Earth’s orbit each year

Question 28

The point directly overhead, which has an altitude of 90° is the ________.

Answer 28

(zenith)

Question 29

Celestial equator (CE)

Answer 29

The extension of Earth’s equator onto the celestial sphere

Question 30

Meridian

Answer 30

A half-circle extending from your horizon (altitude 0°) due south, through your zenith, to your horizon due north.

Question 31

Gibbous phase

Answer 31

The phase of the Moon (or of a planet) in which more than half but less than all of the visible face is illuminated by the sun

Question 32

Altitude (above horizon)

Answer 32

The angular distance between the horizon and an object in the sky.

Question 33

Zodiac

Answer 33

The constellations on the celestial sphere through which the ecliptic passes

Question 34

Circumpolar star

Answer 34

A star that always remains above the horizon for a particular latitude.

Question 35

Saros cycle

Answer 35

The period over which the basic pattern of eclipses repeats, which is about 18 years 11 1/3 days

Question 36

Phase (of the Moon or a planet)

Answer 36

The state determined by the portion of the visible face of the Moon or planet that is illuminated by sunlight

Question 37

When is the next penumbral lunar eclipse that will be able to be seen from Africa.

Answer 37

Just kidding.
And now I messed your score up.

(It’s Sept.16, 2016)