SCI 10310/10/12

Astronomy Exam: The Apparent Motion of the Stars, Sun, Moon and Planets and their interpretation in Copernican Astronomy.

Name______Class Meeting Time: 8:00 a.m. or 9:05 a.m.

  1. The Moon appears to cycle around the zodiac once every______.

  1. 365.25 days
  2. 29.5 days
  3. 27.3 days
  4. 24 hours
  5. 23 hours 56 minutes

  1. Which of the statements below about the apparent path of the Moon through the stars is the true statement?
  2. The Moon drifts eastward through the stars on the ecliptic following the path of the Sun.
  3. The Moon’s path through the stars is westward along the ecliptic completing once cycle every 365.25 days.
  4. The Moon’s path through the stars is eastward closely following the ecliptic, but the Moon does not return to exactly the same place in the sky after one sidereal period as the Sun does.
  5. The Moon’s path through the stars is generally eastward, but is interrupted by occasional retrograde motion.
  1. Put the phases of the Moon in chronological order, from earliest to latest, starting with waxing crescent.

Earliest: ______, ______, ______, ______, ______: Latest

  1. Lunar phase today is Waning Crescent. The moon is in the zodiac sign Cancer.
  1. Approximately how days from today to the next Full Moon? ______
  1. Approximately how many days from today will the Moon again be in the zodiac sign of

Cancer?______

  1. The sketch to theright shows the Moon in a certainphase.
  2. Name the phase of the Moon shown. ______
  1. Estimate the number of days till the next

Full Moon

______Days

  1. Circle the position of the Moon on the diagram below that corresponds to the phase shown above.
  1. The position of the Sun and Moon are show on the 360 Mercator view of the sky below.
  1. In what phase would the Moon be seen in given its position in the map above?

______

  1. Label the approximate position of the Sun in 8 months from the position shown.
  1. Label the approximate position of the Moon in 3 weeks from the position shown.
  1. The Moon is shown near setting in the image below. The line to the left is the celestial equator and the upper line is the ecliptic. The gray bar represents the horizon.

  1. In what constellation did the Moon rise earlier? ______
  1. Where along the horizon die the Moon rise earlier? (Circle the correct response below)

N of E, S of E, due E, N of W, S of W or due W

  1. In what constellation will the Moon set on the next day? ______
  1. In a few sentences below define the lunar sidereal period and the lunar synodic period and explain why they are different time periods. You may refer to the figure to the right in your response.

  1. Circle the seven planets of the ancient world from the alphabetic list presented below.

Earth

Jupiter

Mars

Mercury

Moon

Neptune

Pluto

Saturn

Sun

Uranus

Venus

  1. In one sentence describe how these “planets” appeared to be different from all the other stars. (Two differences are required for full credit)
  1. Which of the times listed below represents the average apparent sidereal period of Mars?

  1. 365.25 days
  2. 687 days
  3. 12 years
  4. 29 years
  5. 250 years

  1. Which of the angles listed below represents the maximum elongation of Venus?

  1. 23½ 
  2. 28
  3. 45
  4. 180

  1. Which of the statements listed below best represents the apparent relationship between the Sun and the Superior Planets?
  2. The Superior Planets are never seen at opposition to the Sun.
  3. The Superior Planets have a maximum elongation and appeared “tied” to the Sun.
  4. The Superior Planets only go retrograde when in opposition to the Sun.
  5. The Superior Planets only go retrograde when in conjunction to the Sun.
  1. In the figure below label the positions of a planet at opposition, conjunction, quadrature and maximum elongation. The position of the Earth (  ) and Sun (  ) are shown on the figure.
  1. Use the graph provided below, on which an imaginary planet’s motion has been plotted over several months, to answer the next question.

  1. For how many days would this planet have appeared to move with retrograde motion?

  1. 10 days
  2. 12 days
  3. 15 days

A)17 days

B)32 days

Use the two images below, which were obtained from the Solar Heliospheric Observer (SOHO) spacecraft, to answer the following question. The Sun is located behind the circle drawn on the mask and the bright object to the right is a planet. The images were taken approximately four days apart with the earlier picture on top.

  1. The planet is approaching which of the planetary configurations listed below?

  1. Maximum Elongation
  2. Conjunction
  3. Opposition
  4. Quadrature

  1. The ancient Ptolemaic astronomers had deduced an order for the planets as one proceeded away from the Earth towards the stellar sphere. See figure to the right. On which of the following apparent properties of the planets was this order based upon?

  1. Apparent Magnitudes of the Planets (i.e. their brightness)
  2. Maximum elongation angles
  3. Periods of retrograde motion
  4. Time to cycle the zodiac
  5. Their mythological hierarchy

  1. Which of the statements listed below could ONLY be the planetary configuration known as conjunction? (This question is tricky – sketch out the options if you have too.)
  2. The Earth and the Sun are on the same side of the planet.
  3. The Earth and the planet are on the same side of the Sun.
  4. The Sun and the planet are on opposite sides of the Earth.
  5. The Earth and the planet are on opposite sides of the Sun.
  1. In a sentence or two explain how the modern Copernican model of the Universe explains why inferior planets have a the maximum elongation.
  1. In a sentence or two explain how the modern Copernican model of the Universe explains the occurrence of retrograde motion for the superior planets.
  1. The image of the full Moon that appears to the right is 1 degree wide.

Estimate the angular size of the full moon in this

image.

Given that the Moon is 384,000 km away when the

image was taken, what is the Moon’s true diameter?