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WorksheetsArcheoastronomy
Total questions: 10
Worksheet time: 5mins
2500 years ago the pole star was Thuban, Alpha Draconis. Why is this not the pole star any more?
Because the Earth is rotating
Because Polaris moved across the celestial sphere to take its place
Because the Earth wobbles as it rotates
Because people hadn't invented compasses back then
What do we call the wobble of the Earth?
Precession
Procession
Possession
Poseidon
How long does one wobble of the Earth take?
1000 years
15000 years
26000 years
67000 years
The Great Pyramid has 4 star shafts. One theory is that these pointed to the transit points of four important stars 2500 years ago. The spirit of the dead pharaoh would be directed towards these stars. What is meant by a transit point?
When a star goes across the Moon
When two stars orbit one another
When a star crosses your upper meridian
When a star crosses your lower meridian
Thuban and Kochab were two of a number of stars known as "the imperishable ones": stars that never die. Why would they be called this?
Their brightness didn't change
They were bright red in colour
They were supernovas
They were circumpolar
Orion and Sirius represented Osiris and his consort Isis. What is special about the star Sirius?
It is circumpoar
It is the brightest star in the night sky
It is in the middle of Orion's belt
It is actually a planet
When certain stars appeared at dawn this signaled special times in the year, e.g. the flooding of the Nile. Who would be particularly interested in the timing of the flood?
Butchers
Astromoners
Farmers
Pharaohs
What celestial feature are the three pyramids of Giza thought to represent?
The Pleiades
Taurus
The summer triangle
Orion's belt
Ptolemy was a Greek astronomer who lived in Egypt when it was part of the Roman Empire. He came up with the idea that the planets orbit the Earth with orbits that include epicycles. What are epicycles?
Smaller circles within the larger circles of the orbit
Rings around the planets
Orbits of moons around planets
Orbits to explain the motion of the Sun around all planets
Which of these astronomical distances is the largest?
A light year
An astronomical unit
A kilometer
A parsec
