THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
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Altitude:  10 feet below sea level
Founded January 1970
Julian Date:  2459229.18
2020-2021:  LXXIII


THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Friday, January 15, 2021
Exploratorium VIII: Week 2 Quiz

More is less.
Less is more.
Or something like that.

The first Exploratorium quiz was shorter than the others due to tight time
constraints.
While I felt the urge to apologize, there was little need.   I heard from a
few subscribers who
were delighted at the truncation. So, being an insecure fellow who
constantly seeks others' approval,
I decided that perhaps the Exploratorium quizzes could be shorter than the
Remote Planetarium quizzes.
Of course, if I hear from subscribers who actually prefer longer quizzes,
I'll be in a real quandary.

Until then, enjoy this shorter and sweeter Week 2 Exploratorium quiz!

*1. Antaeros was the god charged with avening unrequited love.    The minor
deity Pothos represents what?*
a.  love for more than two people
b.  love for the absent
c.  love for animals
d. none of the above

*2.  According to recent estimates, the day's length increases by
_____________ second(s) per century.*
a. 0.0017
b. 0.17
c. 1.7
d. 17

*3. The asteroid that created Crater Tycho was about __________ miles wide.*
a. 2 - 3
b. 3 - 4
c. 5.5 - 6
d. 10.5 - 11

*4.  How many hunters pursue the bear in the Big Dipper pattern according
to the Nyah-Gwaheh legend?*
a. 2
b. 3
c. 4
d. 5

*5. What is significant about the meteorite Allan Hills A81005?*
a. it was the first meteorite discovered in North America
b . it was the first lunar meteorite discovered on Earth
c.  it is the largest meteorite yet found
d. it is the only meteorite yet found that originated outside the solar
system

*6. _____________________________ started the practice of naming lunar
craters.*
a. Galileo Galilei
b. Johannes Kepler
c.  Isaac Newton
d. Giovanni Battista Riccioli

*7.  The Norns nourish ______________, the tree that holds up the nine
worlds of Nordic mythology.*
a. Yggdrasill
b. Entmoot
c. Brunhilde
d. Rogoranok

*8.  According to the Block Universe Theory, the birth of your
great-great-great grandfather is _______________.*
a. a non-event
b. happening now
c. considered to have occurred in imaginary time
d. none of the above

*9.  Although Theseus might have believed Poseidon to have been his father,
his actual father was ______________.*
a. Minos
b. Aegis
c.  Daedalus
d.  Apollo

*10.  If you travel at 86.6% light speed for 3 years, how much time will
elapse for people on Earth?*
a. 3 years
b. 5 years
c. 6 years
d. 12 years

ANSWERS
*1. Antaeros was the god charged with avening unrequited love.    The minor
deity Pothos represents what?*
b.  love for the absent
Every type of love is governed by the Erotes.    They include Himeros
("fleeting love"), Pothos ("love for the absent"), Hedylogos ("sweet talk")
and  Hymenaios ("Bridal Hymn.")

*2.  According to recent estimates, the day's length increases by
_____________ second(s) per century.*
a. 0.0017
As the moon moves away from Earth, the Earth's rotation rate slows
slightly.   Over millions of years, this speed reduction becomes
significant.

*3. The asteroid that created Crater Tycho was about __________ miles wide.*
c. 5.5 - 6
Ouch!   That rock made quite a hole on the lunar surface!
Crater Tycho is more than 80 miles wide and 3 miles deep.
The impact energy was so intense that the asteroid gouged out a crater much
larger than the object, itself.

*4.  How many hunters pursue the bear in the Big Dipper pattern according
to the Nyah-Gwaheh legend?*
c. 4
Three stars appear to be following the bear in the Big Dipper Pattern.
However, the central handle "star" consists of two stars, Alcor and Mizar.
  In the Nyah-Gwaheh legend, the youngest and slowest brother is
represented by the smaller of the two stars at the handle center.

*5. What is significant about the meteorite Allan Hills A81005?*
b . it was the first lunar meteorite discovered on Earth In 1982, John
Schutt and Ian Whillans found this object in Antarctica.   It was named for
the hills near the end of a Antarctic mountain range.   Through chemical
analysis, it was determined to have originated on the moon.

*6. _____________________________ started the practice of naming lunar
craters.*
d. Giovanni Battista Riccioli
While not nearly as well known as the other scientists mentioned in this
question Riccioli is famous for naming
lunar craters.

*7.  The Norns nourish ______________, the tree that holds up the nine
worlds of Nordic mythology.*
a. Yggdrasill
One of those worlds, Midgard, is the realm of the humans.

*8.  According to the Block Universe Theory, the birth of your
great-great-great grandfather is _______________.*
b. happening now
According to this theory, all moments in the past, present and future exist
now.  All of space-time is contained within a "block."   Moments that
happened 20, 200, and 2000 years ago still exist, along with moments that
will transpire in the future.

*9.  Although Theseus might have believed Poseidon to have been his father,
his actual father was ______________.*
b. Aegis
The King of Athens.

*10.  If you travel at 86.6% light speed for 3 years, how much time will
elapse for people on Earth?*
c. 6 years
Anyone traveling at 86.6% light speed will experience a time dilation
factor of 2. Consequently, the traveler will experience half the time a
stationary observer experiences.





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