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Founded January 1970
Julian Date: 2458970.16
Julian Date: 2458970.16
2019-2020: CXXXVIII
THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Friday, May 1, 2020
Remote Planetarium 25: Week 5 Quiz
Thank you! Over the last few weeks we received some very positive feedback concerning these Remote Planetarium articles. This feedback has proven to be encouraging and very helpful. Please continue to let us know how we can improve this course. Based on what we know at the moment, we will be continuing the Remote Planetarium at least through the month of May and perhaps even into the summer. The situation remains quite uncertain, of course. And, to answer a question we've received from a few subscribers, yes we will continue with the mythological introductions, at least Monday through Thursday when we're sky bound and in their realm. On Fridays we return to the classroom, a place that those flighty mythological characters tend to avoid.
1. The moon's orbit is inclined relative to Earth's by slightly more than five degrees. Their orbits intersect at two points called the ________________ and the __________________.
a. descending node; ascending node
b. east node; west node
c. anterior node; posterior node
d. declination; right ascension
Questions 2 - 5 refer to the above image.
If this image is too small, refer to the image on our web-site:
If this image is too small, refer to the image on our web-site:
2. According to the map, how much of the May 2022 lunar eclipse will an observer in northern California see?
a. all of it
b. the moon will be moving into the umbra when it rises
c. the eclipse will be total when it rises
d. none of it.
3. According to the map, how much of the May 2022 lunar eclipse will an observer in Madagascar see?
a. all of it
b. the moon will be moving into the umbra when it sets
c. the eclipse will be total when it sets
d. none of it.
4. This eclipse is part of Saros Cycle 131. When should you expect the next Saros Cycle 131 lunar eclipse to occur?
a. May 16, 2030
b. May 26, 2040
c. June 4, 2043
d. June 18, 2044
5. Which of the following statements about the next lunar eclipse in Saros Cycle 131 is/are correct?
a. the moon will pass closer to the central part of Earth's umbra
b. totality will last longer
c. the moon will move along a lower arc than the one the moon follows in the May 2022 eclipse
d. none of the above statements are true,
6. Comets are named______________________
a. after their discoverer
b. after the constellation in which they were first observed
c. after the mythological character chosen by the comet's discoverer
d. for the date at which they reach their closest point to the Sun
7. Long period comets originate in_____________
a. the Kuiper Belt
b. the Oort Cloud
c. the ecliptic
d. the Sagittarius Dwarf
8. Comets form two tails when they approach the Sun. They are the _________ tail and the ________ tail.
a. dust; ice
b. dust; ion
c. debris; vapor
d. debris; proton
9. When will Halley's Comet return to the inner solar system?
a. 2044
b. 2056
c. 2061
d. 2088
10. The Oort Cloud extends between ___________ AU and _____________ AU away from the Sun.
a. 2000; 10,000
b. 2000; 15,000
c 2000; 35,000
d. 2000; 50,000
11. __________ is the largest asteroid in the solar system and was the first asteroid discovered.
a. Ceres
b. Vesta
c. Pallas
d. Juno
12. The asteroid belt is located between the orbits of _____________and ____________.
a. Earth; Mars
b. Mars; Jupiter
c. Jupiter; Saturn
d. Neptune; Pluto
13. The first Trojan asteroids were discovered traveling along the orbit of ___________.
a. Jupiter
b. Saturn
c. Uranus
d. Neptune
14. Bode's Law is_____________
a. considered one of the fundamental laws in astrophysics
b. no longer taken seriously. It is just so much numerology
c. valid throughout the solar system
d. so mathematically complicated only about 400 people in the world understand it.
15. The combined mass of all the asteroids in the Main asteroid belt equals___________
a. about 3% the moon's mass
b. half the moon's mass
c. twice the moon's mass
d. half Earth's mass
16. The first moons discovered beyond our own moon were found in orbit around _______________.
a. Mars
b. Jupiter
c. Saturn
d. Neptune
17. ________, the largest moon in the solar system, revolves around ____________.
a. Titan; Saturn
b. Phobos; Mars
c. Gaymede; Jupiter
d. Triton; Neptune
18. Which of the following planets have no moons? (Could be more or less than one correct answer)
a. Mercury
b. Mars
c. Pluto
d. Venus
19. __________, in orbit around ___________, is known as the "Death Star" moon.
a. Iapetus; Saturn
b. Mimas; Saturn
c. Triton; Neptune
d. Ophelia; Uranus
20. What will eventually happen to the Martian moon Phobos?
a. it will crash onto the Martian surface
b. it will be ripped apart by the tidal forces and form a ring around Mars
c. it will remain in its orbit for billions of years
d. it will escape Mars' gravity field.
ANSWERS
1. The moon's orbit is inclined relative to Earth's by slightly more than five degrees. Their orbits intersect at two points called the ________________ and the __________________.
a. descending node; ascending node
The moon reaches the ascending node before ascending north of Earth's orbit. The moon reaches the descending before descending south of it. The moon must be at or near node for either a solar or lunar eclipse to occur.
2. According to the map, how much of the May 2022 lunar eclipse will an observer in northern California see?
b. the moon will be moving into the umbra when it rises
Except for the very southern tip, the state of California is located between U1 and U2, meaning that the moon will be moving into the umbra when it rises.
3. According to the map, how much of the May 2022 lunar eclipse will an observer in Madagascar see?
b. the moon will be moving into the umbra when it sets
The entire nation of Madagascar is also within the region between U1 and U2. However, that region is to the right of the map and so the moon will be setting while the moon moves into the darker part of Earth's shadow.
4. This eclipse is part of Saros Cycle 131. When should you expect the next Saros Cycle 131 lunar eclipse to occur?
b. May 26, 2040
Eclipses within a saros cycle repeat every 18 years and 11 days. The next eclipse in Sarso 131 occurs on May 26, 2040.
5. Which of the following statements about the next lunar eclipse in Saros Cycle 131 is/are correct?
a. the moon will pass closer to the central part of Earth's umbra
b. totality will last longer
Odd numbered Lunar Saros Cycle eclipses occur at the descending node. Lunar eclipses that are part of Saros Cycle 131 occur at the descending node. Each successive eclipse will be slightly "higher" than the one preceding it. The next lunar eclipse will be higher and therefore closer to the center of Earth's umbra. Consequently, the period of totality -the time when the moon is completely immersed in the umbra- will be longer.
6. Comets are named______________________
a. after their discoverer
If you discover a comet and report your findings to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), the comet will be named for you.
7. Long period comets originate in_____________
b. the Oort Cloud
Long period comets, those with orbital periods exceeding 125 years, originate in the Oort Cloud: a series of shells enclosing the solar system.
8. Comets form two tails when they approach the Sun. They are the _________ tail and the ________ tail.
b. dust; ion
The dust tail forms when dust escapes the melting surface ice. The ion tail forms when the solar wind repels the comet's charged particles. Whereas the dust tail is spred out, the ion tail is sharp and points in the direction opposite that of the Sun.
9. When will Halley's Comet return to the inner solar system?
c. 2061
Halley's comet requires about 76 years to complete one orbit around the Sun. It last made an appearance in the inner solar system in the mid 1980s' It is due to return in the early 60s (2060s)
10. The Oort Cloud extends between ___________ AU and _____________ AU away from the Sun.
d. 2000; 50,000
The Oort Cloud is a vast rarefied region containing billions, if not trillions, of cometary nuclei. All long period comets, such as Comet Hyakutake (which appeared in 1996), originate in this "cloud"
11. __________ is the largest asteroid in the solar system and was the first asteroid discovered.
a. Ceres
Giuseppe Piazzi discovered Ceres on January 1, 1801. With a diameter of 939 kilometers, Ceres is the largest asteroid. Of course, it is now known as a "dwarf planet," as well.
12. The asteroid belt is located between the orbits of _____________and ____________.
b. Mars; Jupiter
13. The first Trojan asteroids were discovered traveling along the orbit of ___________.
a. Jupiter
Astronomer Max Wolff discovered the first Trojan, 566 Achilles, in 1906. Trojan asteroids are centered around regions 60 degrees ahead and 60 degrees behind Jupiter's orbit. These asteroids are named for characters from the Trojan War that pitted the Greeks against the Trojans. Trojans have been found along other planet orbits, as well, including Earth, Venus, Mars and Uranus.
14. Bode's Law is_____________
b. no longer taken seriously. It is just so much numerology
Developed by Johann Daniel Titius and later popularized by Johann Bode, this law was once highly regarded as it seemed to have predicted the locations of Uranus and the asteroid belt. However, the predicted distance of the planet beyond Uranus was quite inaccurate. Though now only regarded as a historical curiosity, Bode's law does help us remember the average distances of the first seven planets.
15. The combined mass of all the asteroids in the Main asteroid belt equals___________
a. about 3% the moon's mass
Some astronomers once wondered if the asteroids were fragments of a planet that was somehow demolished. This idea is no longer seriously regarded because we know of no mechanism capable of exploding a planet from the inside out. Also, the combined mass of all the asteroids is a small fraction of the moon's mass.
16. The first moons discovered beyond our own moon were found in orbit around _______________.
b. Jupiter
Galileo Galilei discovered four moons around Jupiter in the early 17th century. Now known as the "Galilean moons," these four are known as Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
17. ________, the largest moon in the solar system, revolves around ____________.
c. Gaymede; Jupiter
Ganymede is larger than Mercury or Pluto. It is also one of the Galilean moons, the four largest moons revolving around Jupiter.
18. Which of the following planets have no moons? (Could be more or less than one correct answer)
a. Mercury
d. Venus
Mercury and Venus are the only two planets to have no moons. Some people might insist that we used the term "known moons" instead. However, if either planet had any attendant satellites, scientists would have found them by now.
19. __________, in orbit around ___________, is known as the "Death Star" moon.
b. Mimas; Saturn
Well, now look:
See the resemblance?
20. What will eventually happen to the Martian moon Phobos?
b. it will be ripped apart by the tidal forces and form a ring around Mars
Phobos is doomed. A few million years from now, it will venture so close to Mars that tidal stresses will cause it to disintegrate and form a ring around its parent planet.
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