Astronomy Quiz

Aristotle's hypothesis was that:

• lunar eclipses were created by our shadow.

• only a spherical Earth would always cast a circular shadow on the Moon.

• lunar eclipses would have to happen every full moon.

• the Sun lay at the center of the planet orbits.

• the Moon orbited the Earth.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

Into how many constellations is the celestial sphere divided?

• 12

• 44

• 57

• 88

• 110

What are constellations?

• Groups of galaxies gravitationally bound and close together in the sky

• Groups of stars making an apparent pattern in the celestial sphere

• Groups of stars gravitationally bound and appearing close together in the sky

• Ancient story boards, useless to modern astronomers

• Apparent groupings of stars and planets visible on a given evening

True/False It was the Chinese who provided critical ancient data on supernovae and comets.

• True

• False

The principal culture that transferred Greek astronomical knowledge to Renaissance Europe was:

• Byzantine.

• Chinese.

• Mongol.

• Islamic.

• Mayan.

The most accurate Greek attempt to explain planetary motion was the model of:

• Aristotle.

• Pythagoras.

• Hipparchus.

• Ptolemy.

• Eratosthenes.

Which ancient Greek thinker suggested (long before Copernicus) that the Earth is moving around the Sun?

• Aristotle

• Aristarchus

• Eratosthenes

• Hipparchus

• Zorba

On which of these assumptions do Ptolemy and Copernicus agree?

• The Earth must be the center of all motion in the Cosmos.

• All orbits must be perfect circles.

• The Sun was bigger than the Earth.

• Venus must always stay between us and the Sun.

• The Sun must orbit us, but the planets do orbit the Sun.

When a planet temporarily moves westward in the sky over the course of several weeks or months (instead of eastward, as it typically does), we call it:

• precession

• ecliptic motion

• retrograde motion

• circumpolar motion

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-4

When more than half of the Moon is visible, we classify it as a ___________ Moon.

• Waxing

• Waning

• Crescent

• Gibbous

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1