Questions for the Stargazer 11 Which telescope is a reflector How is your knowledge and which is a refractor? 1 What is the brightest star in the night sky? What constellation is this? Generally, what planet appears 2 It can be seen on a winter’s night. of astronomy and stargazing? 12 brightest? 3 From a dark country location, about 2000 Arrange these celestial objects in order of their distance from you. This term best describes what happens when the Earth stars can be seen by the unaided eye. How 13 passes through the orbit of a comet. many stars can be seen from a typical large city? a. northern lights, a. No stars can be seen at all b. hail, b. Less than 100 c. meteor shower c. About 1000 Which type of object is this? How far above the Earth does the International Space Station 14 a. galaxy, 4 orbit? b. globular cluster, a. 200 miles c. planetary nebula b. 2000 miles c. 200,000 miles The sun’s annual path across the 15 sky is called the ... Image courtesy of Brian Kimball, Longmont Astronomical Society What is the name of this naked eye star a. equator, 5 cluster that appears in the autumn and b. ecliptic, winter skies? (Hint: Even though it is Saturn Galaxy: M51 Our moon c. Milky Way “dipper” shaped, it is not the “Little Dipper.”) Image courtesy of Jim Melka, Image courtesy of Brian Kimball, Image courtesy of John Goss, St. Louis Astronomical Society Longmont Astronomical Society Astronomical League Image courtesy of Gary Hatfield, Starry Estate Observatory 16 When the moon is full, what time of day does it rise?
Which of these statements are part of the “official” definition of Which picture, left or 6 a planet? (More than one statement is correct.) 17 right, depicts a first a. it has an atmosphere quarter moon as seen b. it has enough gravity to be round with the naked eye? c. it has a moon Pleiades d. it has cleared its orbit of other debris ESO
e. it is a satellite of only the sun. or M42 of
What star pattern is this? courtesy How many “full moons” can stretch from horizon to 7 18 horizon? Image a. less than 90 8 Why is Venus so hot? Orion Nebula Jupiter Center of the b. 180 a. This is a false statement — Image courtesy of Brian Kimball, c. 360 Image courtesy of James Sweeney, Longmont Astronomical Society Venus is not hot. Delaware Valley Amateur Astronomers b. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere absorbs lots of solar Milky Way Galaxy What is the name of the closest energy, creating a runaway greenhouse effect. 19 large spiral galaxy to our own c. Venus is the closest planet to the sun. Milky Way? It can be seen with the d. It has many large, active volcanoes. unaided eye in the fall sky. Image courtesy of Brian Kimball, Longmont Astronomical Society The most important parameter of a telescope or a pair of Match these types of nebulae with the appropriate picture: 9 binoculars is its: 20 1. Planetary Nebula (ejected gas shell from a dying star), ESO a. diameter 2. Star forming nebula (immense clouds of gas and dust), NASA b. magnification NASA, 3. Super nova remnant (rapidly expanding debris from an of of c. length exploded star). d. mount courtesy courtesy Image Image
Name for four large 10 moons of Jupiter that Jupiter were first studied by Galaxies revealed in Hubble Space The Sun M8 Galileo in January 1610. Image courtesy of Greg Piepol, ? ? Northern Virginia Astronomy Club These moons can be seen ? ? with a small telescope or the Hubble Deep Field Telescope steadily held binoculars. Images courtesy of Frank Colosimo, Blue Mountain Vista Observatories
Answers
Answers In order from our vantage point on Earth: Answers
Hubble Space Telescope — 200 miles 11, Reflector — Left 17, Right 1 Sirius 6 b, d, and e Moon — 240,000 miles (= 1.5 light-seconds) Refractor — Right Sun — 93 million miles (= 8 light-minutes) 18, c 2 Orion 7 in the US, it’s known Jupiter — 450 million miles (= 45 light-minutes) 12, Venus as the Big Dipper Saturn — 900 million miles (= 0.0001 light-years) 19, Andromeda b Orion Nebula — 1600 light-years , c 14, b 3 13 Galaxy, or M31 8 b 9 a Milky Way Center — 26,000 light-years 4 200 miles M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy — 37 million light-years 15, b 20, Planetary — Right Io, Europa, Ganymede, 10 Hubble Deep Field — over 12 billion light-years Star Forming — Left 5 The Pleiades and Callisto Astronomical League Astronomical League 16, sunset Supernova remnant — Center Astronomical League www.astroleague.org www.astroleague.org www.astroleague.org Design: John Goss, Astronomical League
Original idea: Tim Martin, Greensboro Day School; Ted Forte, Back Bay Amateur Astronomers; Rick Rader, Roanoke Valley Astronomical Society