Astronomy Chapter 1&2: Observing the Sky Quest

The way scientists know that a hypothesis in astronomy is a reasonable description of nature is to

• a. take a vote of astronomers around the world
• b. consult with the oldest experts in the field
• c. do experiments and observations about the predictions of the hypothesis
• d. count how many scientific papers have been written about it

A light year is

• a. the time it takes light travel between the Sun and the furthest planet
• b. the time it takes a beam of light to go completely around the Earth’s orbit
• c. the distance between the Sun and the next star
• d. the distance that light travels in one year

A star is 230 light years away. The light we see tonight from that star left it

• a. one year ago
• b. 2.3 years ago
• c. 23 years ago
• d. 230 years ago

The star that provides energy for life on Earth is

• a. the Moon
• b. the Sun
• c. Alpha Centauri
• d. the Milky Way star

Light travels 3 x 105 meters every second. That number in words is

• a. 30 kilometers
• b. 3,105 kilometers
• c. 310 kilometers
• d. 300,000 kilometers

The Astronomical Unit (AU) as defined by astronomers is

• a. a distance of one light year
• b. the average distance between the Earth and the Sun
• c. the time it takes for the Earth to orbit the Sun once
• d. the distance the Earth travels in orbit in one day

Let's say we find a star that is located on the points or circles in the sky listed in the answer choices below. Then, on the same night, we move to a location on Earth that is some significant distance from our first location. There will now be a different star at or on:

• a. the celestial north pole
• b. the zenith
• c. the celestial equator
• d. the celestial south pole

The celestial sphere turns once around each day because

• a. the planet on which we live is rotating
• b. the Earth is going around the Sun
• c. the phases of the Moon
• d. precession

The south celestial pole and the north celestial pole lie in the sky directly above

• a. the Earth's equator
• b. the observer's zenith
• c. the ecliptic
• d. the Earth's axis

On the celestial sphere, halfway between the celestial poles lies the

• a. horizon
• b. zenith for all observers
• c. celestial equator
• d. path of the Sun on any given day