Exploring the Solar System and Beyond Quiz

The correct order of planets starting from the Sun is: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.

The correct answer is related to the precise calculation of days in a year, not celestial alignment, Mayan calendars, or agricultural purposes.

A day is defined as the time it takes for a planet to complete one full rotation on its axis. On Earth, this is equivalent to 24 hours.

The local meridian is an imaginary line in the sky that connects the north and south points through the zenith, not east and west or horizontally like the celestial equator. It is not a vertical line connecting ground to sky, but rather an arch that connects the poles.

The ecliptic plane is the imaginary plane that represents the apparent path that the Sun follows throughout the year as seen from Earth. Earth's orbit around the Sun aligns closely with this plane.

The Earth's axis always points towards Polaris, also known as the North Star, which is located in the Northern Hemisphere. This makes Polaris a reliable point of reference for navigation and understanding the Earth's rotational axis.

When Melbourne is tilted towards the sun, it receives direct sunlight which results in higher temperatures, making it hotter.

When Melbourne is tilted towards the sun, the daylight hours increase, resulting in a longer day as more sunlight is received in the southern hemisphere during that time.

When Melbourne is tilted away from the sun, it experiences winter in the Southern Hemisphere. During winter, the days are shorter because the tilt causes the sun's rays to be spread out over a larger surface area, resulting in less direct sunlight reaching Melbourne, thus shortening the length of the day.

When an area is directly in the middle of the sun, the position of the sun in the sky at noon remains the same regardless of the season.

When Melbourne is directly in the middle of the sun, the tilt of the Earth's axis doesn't affect the intensity of the sun in that location. Therefore, the intensity remains the same regardless of the season.

The correct answer is 27.32 days/ 27 days. The Moon takes approximately 27.32 days to complete one orbit around the Earth, which is why we often see the same side of the Moon facing us. The other options provided are not the correct duration for the Moon's orbit.

The correct answer is 29.5 days because the moon goes through all its phases in this time period.

The correct answer is that the moon is turning very slowly due to earth's gravity, causing only one side to be visible from earth. The other incorrect options do not accurately explain the phenomenon of only one side of the moon being visible from earth.

Tides on earth are primarily caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and the centrifugal forces of the earth's spinning. The other options mentioned - winds blowing over the ocean surface, changes in Earth's magnetic field, and activity of underwater volcanoes - do not directly cause tides.

The main asteroid belt is located between Mars and Jupiter, while the Kuiper Belt is located beyond Neptune and extends past Pluto. The incorrect answers provided mix up the location of the asteroid belts and the planets they are near.

Comets are believed to originate from the Oort Cloud, a vast region in outer space that is home to billions of icy bodies. While some comets may also come from the Kuiper Belt or interstellar space, the majority are thought to originate from the Oort Cloud.

A year is defined as the time it takes Earth to complete one revolution around the sun, which is approximately 365.25 days.

One year corresponds to the time it takes for the Earth to complete one full orbit around the sun. The zodiacs are astrological signs that are associated with specific time periods in a year, making them a means to measure the passage of time in years.

A sidereal day is based on the rotation of Earth relative to distant stars, not the sun. It is shorter than a solar day because Earth also moves in its orbit around the sun during the 24-hour period.

A solar day is slightly longer than a 24-hour day due to the Earth's orbital motion around the Sun, causing the Sun to appear at the same point in the sky just a little later each day.

A sidereal day is based on the time it takes for a star to return to its original position in the sky, not on the movement of the sun, moon, or temperature changes.

A solar day is considered complete when the sun crosses the meridian, which is the imaginary line running from due north to due south.

The Earth's axis is an imaginary line passing through the north and south pole, around which the Earth rotates.

The tilt of the earth's axis is what causes the change in seasons as different parts of the earth receive varying amounts of sunlight throughout the year.

When Melbourne is tilted towards the sun, it means that it is experiencing summer in the Southern Hemisphere. During summer, the sun is higher in the sky at noon compared to other seasons.

When Melbourne is tilted away from the sun, the sun appears lower in the sky at noon due to the change in the angle of sunlight reaching the earth's surface.

When Melbourne is tilted away from the sun, the intensity of the sun decreases, resulting in colder temperatures.

When Melbourne is directly facing the sun with no tilt, creating equal day and night lengths of 12 hours each, regardless of the season.

An opaque object is one that does not allow light to pass through it, as it blocks or absorbs the light. This results in a shadow being cast by the opaque object.