midterm 1

Question 1

Polaris

Answer 1

star that never changes its position in the sky

Question 2

Brightest objects in the sky?

Answer 2

1. Moon
2. Venus
3. Jupiter

Question 3

The early universe was what?

Answer 3

Opaque because it was the heat of the sun

Question 4

3 components of the sun

Answer 4

hydrogen, helium, oxygen

Question 5

Largest galaxy?

Answer 5

M31 or Andromeda galaxy

Question 6

Asterism

Answer 6

unofficial name for a group of stars

Question 7

Constellations

Answer 7

official name for star patterns

Question 8

Are the Big Dipper and the Little Dipper the official names?

Answer 8

No they vary they are asterisms

Question 9

How many known constellations are there?

Answer 9

88

Question 10

How are the constellations defined?

Answer 10

By the IAU

Question 11

How many zodiac constellations are there?

Answer 11

13

Question 12

Who was the man who created the zodiac signs and how are they made?

Answer 12

Talloman was the man who tracked when the sun enters/exits the constellation

Question 13

Declination

Answer 13

controls latitude
-90 – 90

Question 14

Right Ascension

Answer 14

Longitude
divided by time (of the stars)

Question 15

Hipparchus

Answer 15

created first star map first to predict an eclipse would occur

Question 16

Magnitude

Answer 16

how the brightness of stars is measured

Question 17

What is the most important factor in classifying stars?

Answer 17

temperature

Question 18

How much magnitude can the human eye see?

Answer 18

6th magnitude

Question 19

Where can you see the pole star?

Answer 19

Northern Hemisphere

Question 20

Culmination

Answer 20

for stars to get to their highest point when they are due south and it is the best time to observe them

Question 21

Zenith

Answer 21

highest point in the sky

Question 22

Nadir

Answer 22

the lowest point in the sky

Question 23

Meridian

Answer 23

line where objects get their highest, everything rotates around the meridian

Question 24

Circumpole star

Answer 24

never sets because its too close to the pole star

Question 25

North Pole facts

Answer 25

sun is up for 6 months and down for 6 months
half the sky can never be seen
stars just go around the horizon

Question 26

Equator

Answer 26

stars come straight up in the sky
pole star is on horizon
only place on earth where the entire sky is visible (not at once)

Question 27

Circumstar Sky

Answer 27

the sky you can always see

Question 28

Main stars in Circumstar sky

Answer 28

Ursa Major
Draco
Cepheus
Cassiopeia
Camelopardalis

Question 29

Seasonal Sky

Answer 29

changes with the seasons, don’t always see the same stars

Question 30

First point of Aries

Answer 30

the point where the sun crosses the celestial equator
the zero point of right ascension

Question 31

Vernal Equinox

Answer 31

when the sun crosses there point of time of the year (21 march)

Question 32

In the North Pole do the stars rise and set?

Answer 32

No they go around the horizon

Question 33

t/f half the sky can never been seen in the northern hemisphere

Answer 33

true

Question 34

t/f the stars in the equator come straight up

Answer 34

true

Question 35

3 stars closest to earth?

Answer 35

alpha centuri a
alpha centuri b
proxima

Question 36

Where was the first transmission across land

Answer 36

ireland in 1894

Question 37

Are star motions predictable?

Answer 37

Yes the same stars appear at the same time of the year

Question 38

What is the 13th constellation?

Answer 38

ophiuchus

Question 39

How were stars classified?

Answer 39

using greek letters

Question 40

What do Am and PM mean?

Answer 40

after the meridian / before the meridian