Astronomy Exam 1

What is the longtitude and latitude of El Paso? -106 West 32 North Explain what we mean by the statement the farther away we look in distance, the further back we look in time. it takes time for light to reach us, with an object that is light years away the light will take even more to get to us, so by the time it reaches us, were technically looking at the object how it was before the light traveled. The average distance from the earth to the sun, 149,000,000km is called ? and scientific notation? astronomical unit 1.49x10^8km If the moon rises exactly at sunrise what must be the phase of the moon? new moon On what days of the year does the earth have equal amounts of day and night? Vernal and Autumnal equinoxes, around March 21 and Sept 22 What point is always directly over your head, no matter where on Earth you go? zenith The revolution of our planet around the Sun creates what length of time? our year In El Paso how would you describe the position of Polaris? 32 N about the horizon Consider the following statement and explain whether its sensible or not, "Last night i saw jupiter in the constellation Ursa Major." No Jupiter is found along the ecliptic Would someone living in Sydney Australia see the same constellations as we observe in El Paso? why or why not? no because they are on the opposite side of the world what is the definition for universe? all matter and energy, anything and everything we see, or can be seen, this is including us looking at the past because of the distance in light years. What is Diurnal Motion? this is when it seems as if the stars and Sun are moving in the sky, but are not, we are the ones moving but we cant feel Earth move. Is a waning or waxing moon visible at sunset? waxing moon yes How will the position of Polaris change as you travel north from the United States to Canada? as you go further up Polaris will be getting closer to your zenith If you cant see the moon where is it? the other side of the planet, next to the sun What is the prime meridian? and where is it? the longitude line at 0 degrees and located in Greenwich England What causes the lunar eclipse? when earths shadow covers the moon because the moon earth and sun are aligned but it can only be at new moon or full moon. over the course of one night an observer at any given location on earth sees the constellations gradually shift across the sky east to west. This is causes of this motion. The earths rotation, diurnal motion of the celestial sphere you go out tongiht and point at your zenith, 5 months you go out and point at your zenith again. will you be pointing toward the same stars? no because of the earths motion and wont be in the same spot what constellations are found along the ecliptic? zodiacs what makes a star differ from a really big planet? nuclear fusion in the core which is bigger, a light year or astronomical unit? light year why is it summer in australia when its winter in el paso the earths tilt causing the seasons Give a modern definition for constellation? the 88 regions in space which divide the space that we see what is a circumpolar star? star that never sets or rises in the horizon, next to the pole, what star is currently above the north celestial pole? Polaris From the EAst Coast of the US you are observing a star rise about the horizon, would your friend in the West couase be able to see this star? to differ areas and time zones, the person on the west coast would have to wait The ecliptic can be defined as? the path the Sun takes around our sky, and the path the Earth takes around the sun. Why does a comet have 2 tails? ones opposite to the star created by heat, other is the debris falling off the comet. Define what makes a galaxy ? huge amount of stars and planets that are held together by gravity