THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM 207-780-4249 www.usm.maine.edu/planet <http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.usm.maine.edu%2Fplanet&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHulkHuLP13bOG2PkNrPazsGWFs2A> 70 Falmouth Street Portland, Maine 04103 43.6667° N 70.2667° W Altitude: 10 feet below sea level Founded January 1970 Julian Date: 24591139.16 2020-2021: XXXII THE DAILY ASTRONOMER Friday, October 16, 2020 Remote Planetarium 110: Week 24 Astronomy/Mythology Quiz Another week of Relativity and mythology. We will leave it up to you to decide which subject is the more complicated of the two. As usual, we crafted five questions from each class: three scientific and two mythological. Enjoy the weekend! See you on Monday. *1. Sir Arthur Eddington led a now-famous expedition to observe a ____________ in the year __________. * a. supernova; 1878 b. meteor shower; 1905 c. total solar eclipse; 1919 d. wormhole formation; 2547 *2. Why did Eddington embark on this expedition?* a. to determine if the positions of stars in the Sun's vicinity were altered by its gravity b. to determine if the aurora borealis affected the paths of meteors c. to determine if the energy of exploding stars were detectable by radar d. to determine what would happen if his great great grandson did kill him *3. Eddington traveled to _____________ during this expedition.* a. Brazil b. Principe c. Belgium d. Alaska *4. Which one of the following is NOT one of the Pleiades' sisters?* a. Maia b. Electra c. Philomela d. Taygete *5. ____________ sired the Seven Sisters.* a. Atlas b. Zeus c. Apollo d. Cadmus *6. When a light beam moves away from a massive body, it ______________.* a. accelerates b. loses energy c. crystallizes into matter d. gains energy *7. What happens to light when it is "red shifted?"* a. its wavelength decreases b. its frequency increases c. its wavelength increases d. it turns red *8. A light beam leaving a white dwarf's surface is shifted by 1 part in __________.* a. 100 b. 300 c. 3,000 d. 30,000 *9. Why did the sisters Procne and Philomela conspire to take revenge on Procne's husband Tereus?* a. because he kidnapped and repeatedly assaulted Philomela b. because he transformed their son into a newt c. because we stole their father's golden statue d. because he defiled the Palladium, a statue sacred to Athena *10. How did they take revenge on Tereus?* a. they turned him into a laurel tree b. they half submerged him in a river so that he would never be able to drink from its water c. they made him push a rock up a hill each day d. they fed him a stew made out of his son Itys *11. Will light energy bend space-time just as matter does?* a. no b. yes c. yes, but only if the light is a gamma ray d. yes, but only if the light is a radio wave *12. If the Sun just disappeared, Earth would stop being influenced by its gravity __________.* a. instantly. b. within three seconds c. in 8.4 minutes d. in a year. *13. According to General Relativity, how far does a massive object's gravitational force extend?* a. infinitely b. out to ten astronomical units from the massive body c. out to the galaxy group d. none of the above *14. How did Hermes manage to sleep with Aphrodite?* a. by refusing to return one of her sandals until she agreed to have carnal relations with him b. by disguising himself as her lover Ares c. by stealing her girdle d. he never actually managed to sleep with Aphrodite *15. How did Hermaphroditus develop both male and female body parts?* a. he was born with them b. the naiad Salmacis grabbed him and prayed to Poseidon to unite them c. Hephaestus made him a female body suit which he was unable to remove d. by accidentally drinking ichor, the blood of the gods ANSWERS 1. *1. Sir Arthur Eddington led a now-famous expedition to observe a ____________ in the year __________. * c. total solar eclipse; 1919 Eddington's entourage was stationed off the western African coast while another team observed the eclipse from Sobral, Brazil. *2. Why did Eddington embark on this expedition?* a. to determine if the positions of stars in the Sun's vicinity were altered by its gravity Einstein's General Theory predicted that the positions of stars surrounding the Sun would be altered by the Sun's gravity. Eddington and his team photographed the starfield around the Sun during a total solar eclipse to determine if the positions of these stars changed when in the Sun's vicinity. The position alteration amounted to about 1.75 arc-seconds. *3. Eddington traveled to _____________ during this expedition.* b. Principe Principe is an island off the west African coast. From this location, Eddington and his team observed a total solar eclipse. *4. Which one of the following is NOT one of the Pleiades' sisters?* c. Philomela The seven sisters were Alcyone, Celaeno, Electra, Maia, Merope, Sterope and Taygete. *5. ____________ sired the Seven Sisters.* a. Atlas Atlas and Pleione conceived the Seven Sisters. *6. When a light beam moves away from a massive body, it ______________.* b. loses energy Leaving a massive body causes a light beam to lose energy. In most circumstances, this energy loss is slight. *7. What happens to light when it is "red shifted?"* c. its wavelength increases The visible light spectrum consists of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet light. That sequence is in order of increasing energy. When light loses energy, its wavelength increases. Consequently, it is shifted toward the red end of the spectrum, hence the term "red-shifted." *8. A light beam leaving a white dwarf's surface is shifted by 1 part in __________.* d. 30,000 Not a major shift at all. Significant gravitational red-shifting only occurs when the light beam leaves an extremely powerful gravity field such as that around a neutron star or black hole. *9. Why did the sisters Procne and Philomela conspire to take revenge on Procne's husband Tereus?* a. because he kidnapped and repeatedly assaulted Philomela Procne and Tereus' marriage was a happy one until Procne asked him to return to Athens and bring back her sister. Tereus became infatuated with Philomela as soon as he saw her and decided to keep her confined in a nearby cottage where he assaulted her on many occasions. *10. How did they take revenge on Tereus?* d. they fed him a stew made out of his son Itys After Procne learned of her sister's captivity, she traveled to the cottage where she had been imprisoned and released her. The sisters then determined to take revenge on Tereus by killing Itys and putting him in a stew that Procne fed to Tereus. *11. Will light energy bend space-time just as matter does?* a. no Matter can bend space-time, but energy cannot because it lacks inertia, defined as the amount of resistance it has to changes in its motion. *12. If the Sun just disappeared, Earth would stop being influenced by its gravity __________.* c. in 8.4 minutes Gravity waves travel at light speed. So, if the Sun were to just "go away," Earth would still feel its gravity for the next 8.4 minutes because the Sun is 8.4 light minutes from Earth. *13. According to General Relativity, how far does a massive object's gravitational force extend?* c. out to the galaxy group A massive object's gravitational influence extends only to the object's local galaxy group and not infinitely, as Newton supposed. *14. How did Hermes manage to sleep with Aphrodite?* a. by refusing to return one of her sandals until she agreed to have carnal relations with him Zeus deployed an eagle to steal one of Aphrodite's sandals while she bathed in the River Achelous. The eagle flew to Egypt and delivered the sandal to Hermes. When Aphrodite arrived in Egypt to retrieve her sandal, Hermes promised to return it to her only if she slept with him. She consented and by this coupling conceived Hermaphroditus. *15. How did Hermaphroditus develop both male and female body parts?* b. the naiad Salmacis grabbed him and prayed to Poseidon to unite them When Hermaphroditus was bathing in a pool, the naiad Salmacis saw him and fell madly in love with him immediately. She grabbed him and asked the ocean god to make them one. Poseidon granted the wish, though not in the way that Salmacis had intended. 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