Exam 2: Discovering the Universe for Yourself

A) The angular distance between those two bright stars in the sky is about 2 meters.
B) You can use your outstretched hand against the sky to estimate angular sizes and angular distances.
C) The angular size of the Sun is about the same as that of the Moon.
D) The angular distance between those two houses in the distance is 30 degrees.

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A) The longitude of the north celestial pole is circumpolar, and therefore crosses your zenith at the meridian.
B) The altitude of the celestial equator equals your latitude.
C) The altitude of the north celestial pole equals your latitude.
D) The altitude of the north celestial pole equals your longitude.

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A. Answers will vary with latitude; here...

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During a lunar eclipse, you wo...

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A) They coincidentally lie along the same line of sight.
B) Vega must have recently formed in RXJ1800 and been ejected.
C) Their random motions have caused RXJ1800 and Vega to drift to within a few light- years of each other.
D) Vega orbits the center of mass of RXJ1800.

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A) Venus
B) Jupiter
C) Earth
D) They are all moving with the same speed around the Sun.

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During a solar eclipse, you wo...

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A) dimmer
B) lower in the sky
C) brighter
D) higher in the sky

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The Moon shines through reflected light ...

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A) The seasons would be less extreme, because the surface of the Earth would be farther from the Sun in the summer, and closer to the Sun in the winter.
B) The seasons would be more extreme, because the Sun's rays would be more direct in summer, and less direct in winter.
C) The seasons would be less extreme, because the Sun's rays would be less direct in summer, and more direct in winter.
D) The seasons would be more extreme, because the surface of the Earth would be closer to the Sun in the summer, and farther from the Sun in the winter.

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A) there is a solar eclipse every 6 months.
B) the eclipse seasons occur less than 6 months apart.
C) there is a lunar eclipse every 6 months.
D) there are never two solar eclipses in the same year.
E) the vernal equinox will be in Aquarius in a few hundred years.

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During the new moon,...

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A) As Earth passes another planet, the other planet appears to move backward with respect to the background stars, but the planet's motion does not really change.
B) Apparent retrograde motion is an illusion created by turbulence in Earth's atmosphere.
C) As Earth passes another planet, its gravitational pull slows down the other planet so that it appears to be traveling backward.
D) The other planets never really appear to move backward; the background stars shift due to Earth's revolution around the Sun.
E) When planets are farther from the Sun, they move slower than when they are nearer the Sun; it is during this slower period that they appear to move backwards.

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A) Earth's rotation defines a day. The Sun's rotation defines a week. The Moon's rotation defines a month. Earth's orbit defines a year.
B) Earth's rotation defines a day. The saros cycle of eclipses defines a month. Earth's orbit defines a year.
Earth's cycle of axis precession takes 26,000 years.
C) Earth's rotation defines a day. The cycle of the Moon's phases takes about a month. Earth's orbit defines a year.
Earth's cycle of axis precession takes 26,000 years.
D) Earth's rotation defines a day. The cycle of the Moon's phases takes about a week. Earth's orbit defines a year.
Earth's cycle of axis precession defines a month.

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A) A constellation is a group of stars related through an ancient story.
B) A constellation is a group of stars that are all located in about the same place in space.
C) A constellation is a region in the sky as seen from Earth.
D) A constellation is any random grouping of stars in the sky.

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Astronomers persist in using the celesti...

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A) It represents an extension of Earth's equator onto the celestial sphere.
B) It lies along the band of light we call the Milky Way.
C) It extends from your horizon due east, through your zenith, to your horizon due west.
D) It extends from your horizon due north, through your zenith, to your horizon due south.
E) It cuts the dome of your local sky exactly in half.

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