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: 2458745.5
2019-2020: XIV
"Unless a tree has borne blossoms in spring, you will vainly
look for fruit on it in autumn."
-Walter Scott
THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Friday, September 20, 2019
Quiz III: Fall, Falls, and Falling
Welcome to the last weekend of astronomical summer! Early on Monday
morning, astronomical autumn will begin in the northern hemisphere. We're
facing the imminent commencement of another New England fall. In
celebration of all things fall, we're posting a quiz about fall, falls, and
falling.
*1. What is the highest waterfall in the world?*
a. Angel Falls (Venezuela)
b. Tugela Falls (South Africa)
c. Vinnufosen (Norway)
d. Niagara Falls (USA/Canada)
*2. If you dropped a rock from a height of one mile off the surface of the
moon, how long would it take to fall to the ground?*
a. 18 seconds
b. 29 seconds
c. 43 seconds
d. it wouldn't hit the ground. It would be so high it would fly away
*3. The word "Equinox" derives from aequus noctis, meaning...*
a. Equal day
b. Equal night
c. Equation of time
d. Half sphere
*4. Orion the Hunter fell in love with which one of the Pleiads? *
a. Maia
b. Taygeta
c. Electra
d. Merope
*5. Steve Geddes from NH now holds the record for having grown the heaviest
pumpkin in US history. How hefty was this behemoth of a pumpkin?*
a. 289 lbs
b. 876 lbs
c. 1,657 lbs
d. 2,528 lbs
*6. To whom do we attribute the following quote about fall:*
*"There is a harmony in autumn, and a luster in its sky, which through the
summer is not heard or seen, as if it could not be, as if it had not been"*
a. Percy Bysshe Shelley
b. Robert Frost
c. Mary Wollstonecraft
d. George Eliot
*7. Mythologically, who will be required to travel to the underworld to
live with her husband/abductor Hades when autumn begins, only to return to
the upper world on the first day of spring?*
a. Athena
b. Persephone (Virgo)
c. Atalanta
d. Lilith
*8. According to the foliage experts, the peak foliage time in Southern
Maine is ___________ and the dominant colors are red, yellow and
_____________.*
a. mid January; grey
b. mid October; purple
c. mid September; orange
d. mid November; fuschia
*9. The Sun appears to occupy which constellation on the first day of
autumn?*
a. Libra the Scales
b. Virgo the Maiden
c. Scorpius the Scorpion
d. Leo the Lion
*10. When measured by Greenwich Mean Time (The time along the Prime
Meridian), how many times in the 21st century will fall begin on September
21st?*
a. never
b. once
c. twice
d.16
ANSWERS
1. a. Angel Falls (Venezuela)
3,212 feet high, Angel Falls towers over every other waterfall in the
world!
2. c. 43 seconds
Fortunately, one doesn't have to neglect air resistance because there is no
air resistance on the moon to neglect!
3. b. Equal night
The night duration is not precisely equal to the day duration, as we will
explain in much greater detail on Monday
4. d. Merope
It was Orion's fierce love for Merope that induced him to pursue the
Pleiades across the sky. His is a vain effort, as Orion will never even
approach the Pleiades. Despite the futility of his quest, Orion pursues
her still. (Presently, they're in the early morning sky.)
5. d. 2,528 lbs
[image: pumpkinnewhampshire.png]
Yowza! A ton of fun! A picture of a 2,528 lb pumpkin that, as of now, is
the heaviest pumpkin grown in the United States.
6. a. Percy Bysshe Shelley
7. b. Persephone (Virgo)
The Sun moved into the constellation Virgo on September 15th, heralding her
return to the Plains of Asphodel, the abode of the dead governed by Hades.
Hades abducted Virgo and brought her to the underworld, much to the
distress of her mother, Demeter, goddess of the harvest. Demeter was so
distraught at her daughter's abduction, she neglected to preside over the
fields, forests and crops. The once verdant world withered and grew
barren. Fearing a global famine, Zeus intervened and persuaded Hades to
accept a compromise by which Virgo would remain with her mother for half of
the year, while living with Hades during the other half, spring/summer and
autumn/winter, respectively. Zeus would have preferred to have Virgo
remain with Demeter all year. However, soon after the abduction, Hades
persuaded Virgo to eat pomegranates, the fruit of death. As a result,
Virgo was required to always return to the underworld each year.
8. b. mid October; purple
Foliage admirers might balk and insist that purple isn't prevalent.
However, according to foliage surveys, the state is empurpled by the royal
shade in mid October as the leaves decay.
9. b. Virgo the Maiden
Of all the Zodiac constellations, the Sun spends the most time in Virgo.
The Sun appears to enter the Virgo region on September 15th and leaves on
October 30th.
10. c. twice
It is certainly not common.
The autumnal equinox will occur on September 21st GMT in 2092 and 2096.
In all the other years this century, the autumnal equinox will occur on
September 22 or September 23
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