The Sky, The Moon and Astronomy

Question 0

How long is a sidereal day?

Answer 0

23 hours and 56 minutes

Question 1

What is a sidereal day?

Answer 1

The time taken for a star to return to the same position in the sky.

Question 2

Which way do stars appear to cross the sky?

Answer 2

East to west

Question 3

What is a solar day?

Answer 3

Time taken for the sun to appear at the same position in the sky

Question 4

How long is a solar day

Answer 4

24 hours

Question 5

Why are solar and side real days different?

Answer 5

Because the earth orbits the sun as well as spinning on its axis, so it has to go an extra four minutes

Question 6

Why does the moon go more slowly than the sun?

Answer 6

Because the moon orbits the earth in the same direction as the earth is rotating (it takes 25 hours)

Question 7

What is an earth year?

Answer 7

Time it takes the earth to orbit the sun once

Question 8

Does the direction we face change each year?

Answer 8

Yes, it means each night we see different stars

Question 9

Does the moon glow???

Answer 9

No it reflects light from the sun, only the half facing the sun is lit up, leaving the other half in shadow

Question 10

What are the two extremes of the phases of the moon?

Answer 10

Full moon - the whole of the lit up surface of the moon is facing the sun
New moon - when the dark surface is facing the moon

Question 11

What are the two main types of eclipses called

Answer 11

Lunar eclipse

Solar eclipse

Question 12

Explain a total lunar eclipse

Answer 12

As the moon orbits the earth, it sometimes passes into the earths shadow. The earth blocks sunlight from the moon, so almost no light is reflected from the moon, so the moon seems to DISAPPEAR

Question 13

Explain a partial lunar eclipse

Answer 13

More often, the moon isn’t fully in the earths shadow so only part of it appears dark

Question 14

Explain a total solar eclipse

Answer 14

The moon by chance is just the right side and distance away that when it passes between the sun and the earth, it can block it out. SO WE CAN’T SEE THE SUN

Question 15

Explain a partial eclipse

Answer 15

When only part of the sun is blocked out, this is more likely

Question 16

Why don’t eclipses happen very often

Answer 16

The moon orbits the sun at an angle to earths orbit around the sun. So most of the time the sun, moon and earth don’t line up to cause an eclipse

Question 17

Why do partial eclipses happen more often?

Answer 17

Moon, earth and sun do not have to line up perfectly.

Question 18

How are positions of stars measured?

Answer 18

By angles seen by earth

Question 19

What is the pole star?

Answer 19

A star that doesn’t seem to move because its almost directly above the North Pole and the spin axis of earth

Question 20

What is the celestial equator

Answer 20

An imaginary plane running across the sky, extending out from the earths equator

Question 21

What are the two angles used to measure portions in the sky?

Answer 21

Declination

Right ascension

Question 22

What is declination?

Answer 22

Celestial latitude measured in degrees

Question 23

What is right ascension?

Answer 23

Celestial longitude (how much across angle) measured in degrees or time

Question 24

How does the distance of planets from the sun affect their speed?

Answer 24

The closer to the sun, the quicker the planet

Question 25

In what direction do planets seem to travel ?

Answer 25

From west to east

Question 26

What is retrograde motion?

Answer 26

When a planet seems to change direction, making a loop or squiggle in its track before carrying on as normal.

Question 27

Which planets does retrograde motion happen to?

Answer 27

Only the outer planets

Question 28

Why does retrograde motion happen?

Answer 28

Because both the planet and earth are moving around the sun. We see the motion of the planet relative to the earth

Question 29

Do planets further in or out change frequency more often

Answer 29

Planets further out change direction less frequently