Test One Study Guide
True/False
Indicate whether the sentence or statement is true or false.
____ 1. The average distance from Earth to the sun is 1 AU.
____ 2. A light-year is the distance light travels in one year.
____ 3. The sun is a star in the Milky Way Galaxy.
____ 4. The Greek letter designation (Bayer designation) conveys information about a star's location and brightness.
____ 5. Navigators in the Northern Hemisphere can find their latitude by measuring the angle from the northern
horizon to the north celestial pole.
____ 6. The celestial equator always passes directly overhead.
____ 7. A second magnitude star in Ursa Major is brighter than a fourth magnitude star in Orion.
____ 8. Polaris has always been the star nearest the north celestial pole.
____ 9. The constellations were created by the Greeks.
____ 10. The moon and visible planets are always within a few degrees of the ecliptic.
11. Explain the unit of measure used for the average distance from the Earth to the Sun.
12. Define/explain what a galaxy is.
13. Explain how an observer’s northern latitude is related to the angle Polaris is found in the sky. Provide an
example.
14. Define celestial equator.
15. Define celestial pole.
16. Define zenith
17. Define asterism.
18. Define nadir.
19. Define apparent visual magnitude.
20. Explain the visual magnitude restrictions on human eyesight.
21. An observer in the Northern Hemisphere watches the sky for several hours. Due to the motion of Earth,
this observer notices that the stars near the north celestial pole appear to move
a. counter clockwise. b. clockwise. c. from left to right. d. from right to left. e. nearly vertically upward.
22. Which star in the table below would appear the brightest to an observer on Earth?
Star Apparent Visual
Name Magnitude
δ Dra 3.07
α Cet 2.53
ρ Per 3.98
Nim 8.07
α CMa -1.46
a. α Cet b. α CMa c. Nim d. ρ Per e. δ Dra
23. List the first 5 letters of the Greek alphabet in order. Explain their use in astronomy.
24. An observer in the Northern Hemisphere takes a time exposure photograph of the night sky. If the
illustration below depicts the photograph taken by the observer, which direction was the camera pointing?
25. An observer in the Northern Hemisphere takes a time exposure photograph of the night sky. If the
illustration below depicts the photograph taken by the observer, which direction was the camera pointing?
[Link] does the size of the image of a star in a photograph tell us about the star?
27. Explain precession of the Earth and the effect it has on astronomy.
28. You live at a latitude of 73° N. What is the angle between the northern horizon and the north celestial
pole?
29. Define a light year.
30. If a galaxy is 350,000 light years away, how long has the light been traveling to get to the observer?
31. What two things does a star’s Greek-letter designation tell us that its ancient Arabic name does not