THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
207-780-4249   www.usm.maine.edu/planet
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70 Falmouth Street   Portland, Maine 04103
43.6667° N                   70.2667° W
Altitude:  10 feet below sea level
Founded January 1970
Julian date: 2458731.5
2019-2020:  IV
            "Mortal as I am, I know that I am born for a day, but when I
follow the serried multitude of the stars in their circular course, my feet
no longer touch the earth; I ascend to Zeus himself to feast me on
ambrosia, the food of the gods."     -Ptolemy, Astronomer



THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Friday, September 6, 2019
Quiz I:  Moon and Moons


Don't be alarmed!  If you've just joined us happy few in the DA fellowship,
we should tell you that every Friday we change the format a bit.  We're
usually austere sorts who consider our stations in life to be one of the
highest importance (If you ran a small planetarium in Portland, Maine,
you'd be a megalomaniac, too.)  However, every Friday, we loosen up a bit
and try to have a bit of fun with the Universe, despite its deeply
mysterious nature, unfathomable origin and likely unknowable meaning.

The first quiz of the 2019-2020 DA school year pertains to our moon and to
some of the other moons lurking in outer space!     We hope you enjoy these
quizzes so much you'll tolerate the articles we send the other days of the
week.   (Note:   By "Daily," we're using the banker's definition.  We don't
post any articles on Saturday or Sunday.)


*1.  What is the moon's volume relative to Earth's?*
a.  25% that of Earth
b.  12.5% that of Earth
c.  8.4% that of Earth
d.  2% that of Earth

*2.  This month's full moon is called the Harvest Moon.  What is the name
of the full moon that immediately follows the Harvest Moon?*
a.  The Hunter's Moon
b.  The Jack o' Lantern Moon
c.  The Frost Moon
d.  There is no name for the moon immediately following the Harvest Moon

*3. Which book contains the quote  "Moonlight outshines all but the
brightest stars?"*
a.  "Pride and Prejudice."
b. "Lord of the Rings"
c. "A Wrinkle in Time"
d. "The Brothers Karamazov"

*4.  Which of the following statements about astronauts Eugene Cernan and
Harrison "Jack" Schmitt is/are not true?*
a.  they were the last two astronauts to walk on the moon's surface
b. they logged more excursion time on the surface than any of the other
astronauts
c. they've both moved on*
d. they both grew up in the same hometown

*5. Why is the statement "The moon causes the tides" inaccurate?*
a.  because the moon doesn't actually cause tides.  That is a misconception
b. because the Sun and moon cause the tides, although the Sun's influence
is 44% that of the moon's
c.  because the Sun and moon and three planets (Venus, Mars and Jupiter)
actually all contribute significantly to the tides
d. because the moon's center causes the tides.  The outer layers of the
moon do not.

*6.  Which ONE of the following is not a name of a moon crater?*
a. Picard
b. Longomontanus
c. Tycho
d. Sycorax

*7. If you fell off Verona Rupes, the tallest cliff in the solar system,
you would fall for 12 minutes before hitting the surface because it's
located on Miranda, a small ice moon of _____________.*
a.  Jupiter
b. Saturn
c. Uranus
d. Neptune

*8.  The largest moon in the solar system is*
a.  Ganymede
b. Io
c. Europa
d. Callisto

*9. Phobos and Deimos are the only two moons in orbit around which planet?*
a.  Mercury
b. Venus
c. Mars
d. Pluto

*10. As of now, which planet has the greatest number of known moons?*
a. Mercury
b. Venus
e. Earth
d. Mars
e. Jupiter
f. Saturn
g. Uranus
h. Neptune
i. Pluto



ANSWERS
1.  d.  2% that of Earth
Yes!  The moon's radius is about 1/4th that of Earth.  However, a sphere's
volume is proportional to the cube of its volume.   The math works out to
show that the moon occupies about 2% as much space as Earth.    One can be
easily deceived by its apparently large size in our sky.

2. a.  The Hunter's Moon
The Harvest moon is the name assigned to the full moon that occurs closest
to the autumnal equinox. The Harvest moon will often occur in September,
but can be in October.    The Hunter's moon always immediately follows it,
either in October or November.

3. b. "Lord of the Rings"
Yes, the Middle Earth books took place on Earth, presumably in the distant
past.  Although, some have suggested that the Middle Earth period will
happen in the remote future, a notion that make the future seem so
appealing we can almost confront the Presidential election season with
aplomb,

4.
c. they've both moved on*
d. they both grew up in the same hometown

Eugene Cernan (1934-2017)
Harrison Schmitt (1935-  )

Also Eugene Cernan grew up in Illinous; Harrison Schmitt is from New Mexico

They logged 22 hours, 5 minutes and 4 seconds total excursion time on the
moon, longer than any other astronaut.   They, and Ronald Evans, were the
three astronauts aboard Apollo 17, the last manned moon mission.

5. b. because the Sun and moon cause the tides, although the Sun's
influence is 44% that of the moon's
The planetary contribution to the tides is imperceptible.  Venus exerts the
greatest influence on the tides by virtue of its close proximity.
However, its influence is 10,000 times less than the combined influence of
the Sun and moon, even when it is at its closest.  Jupiter's influence is
10% that of Venus.   So, the planetary contribution is negligible.

6. d. Sycorax
Note:   The Crater Picard was named for geodeist Jean Picard, not Jean-Luc
Picard, who is not due to be born until 2305.

7. c. Uranus
The surface gravity on Miranda is about 0.08 meters per second-squared.
 (Earth's surface gravity is 9.8 meters per second squared by comparison).


8. a.  Ganymede
Although its volume is 7% that of Earth, Ganymede is the largest moon in
the solar system.   Each moon listed in the question is one of the four
Galilean moons in orbit around Jupiter.   Galileo discovered these moons in
January 1610.

9. c. Mars
Both moons are likely to have been asteroids captured by the planet, as
opposed to having formed with the planet, itself.

10.  e. Jupiter
The king planet has 79 known moons at latest count.  The moon census for
the other worlds is as follows

Mercury -        0
Venus    -         0
Earth    -          1
Mars    -          2
*Jupiter  -        79*
Saturn -         62
Uranus  -       27
Neptune  -     14
Pluto      -        5

*We hate the word "die" so much we tell people that we play monopoly with
two dotted cubes.   We use the word "moved on," because our souls are not
only immortal, but kinetic.



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