Julian Date: 2459187.16
2020-2021: LIV
THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Friday, December 4,2020
Night Sky Quiz
The night sky was our running theme this week. Naturally, the night sky is the topic of this week's quiz. Unlike the Remote Planetarium quizzes in which questions based on Monday's article precede Tuesday's which precede Wednesdays, et cetera, these questions are not sequential. We're mixing questions from all four articles together in no particular order.
1. How many of Orion's stars rank in the top 50 of the brightest night sky stars?
a. 1
b. 3
c. 5
d. 6
2. Our sky contains how many circumpolar constellations?
a. 1
b. 3
c. 5
d. 6
3. Which of the following factors contribute to Venus' brightness? (Could be more than one choice.)
a. size
b. albedo
c. distance from the Sun
d. distance from Earth
4. Saturn will not occult Jupiter until the year _____________.
a. 3489
b. 5623
c. 7541
d, none of the above
5. Why aren't Uranus and Neptune included in the Planet Watch?
a. The DA writer is lazy
b. The International Astronomical Union no longer considers Uranus and Neptune to be planets
c. They are too faint to be seen with the unaided eye
d. They move so slowly around the Sun their position hardly changes from month to month
6. How often do "great conjunctions" of Jupiter and Saturn occur?
a. every 11.9 years
b. every 19.6 years
c. every 29.5 years
d. every 61.3 years
7. Which ONE of the following stars is not part of the Winter Hexagon?
a. Betelgeuse
b. Rigel
c. Regulus
d. Castor
e. Sirius
8. When the moon is at "apogee," it is ___________________.
a. at its greatest distance from Earth
b. at its least distance from Earth
c. brighter than usual
d. larger than usual
9. The full moon occurring on or around the winter solstice will_________________.
a. be larger than at any other time of year
b. travel along a higher arc than any of the year's other full moons
c. travel long a lower arc than any of the year's other full moons
d. both a and b
e. both a and c
f. none of the above
10. The date of Florida's earliest sunset will be __________ the date of Maine's earliest sunset.
a. sooner than
b. later than
c. the same as
d. all of the above
11. Which of the following planets can never be in inferior conjunction? (Could be more or fewer than one.)
a. Mercury
b. Venus
c. Mars
d. Jupiter
12. Which of the following planets can never be in superior conjunction? (Could be more or fewer than one.)
a. Mercury
b. Venus
c. Saturn
d. Neptune
ANSWERS
1. How many of Orion's stars rank in the top 50 of the brightest night sky stars?
c. 5
Rigel (7th), Betelgeuse (10th), Bellatrix (26th), Alnilam (29th),and Alnitak (33rd). It is little wonder that Orion is one of the brightest constellations.
2. Our sky contains how many circumpolar constellations?
d. 6
Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Draco, Cepheus, Cassiopeia, and Camelopardalis are all circumpolar in our mid latitude sky. Circumpolar constellations never set. An observer's circumpolar region is latitude dependent. Every constellation at the north or south pole is circumpolar. No constellation at the equator is circumpolar. The circumpolar region expands with increasing distance away from the equator.
3. Which of the following factors contribute to Venus' brightness? (Could be more than one choice.)
a. size
b. albedo
c. distance from the Sun
d. distance from Earth
These factors all contribute to Venus' brightness.
a. Size: Venus' volume is 86.6% that of Earth, making it the second largest of the four inner planets. It reflects light off a large surface area, or, more correctly, off a large cloud area.
b. Albedo: Venus reflects 67% of all incidental sunlight back into space. The planet's pervasive cloud cover is responsible for its high reflexivity.
c. Distance from the Sun: Since Venus is closer to the Sun than Earth, the sunlight it receives will be more intense than the light striking Earth
d. Distance from Earth Venus is closer to Earth than the other planets (although at times Mars will be closer). Light intensity diminishes with the square of the distance, so the closer the luminous object, the brighter it will appear
4. Saturn will not occult Jupiter until the year _____________.
d, none of the above
Saturn will never occult Jupiter because Saturn is farther away from us than Jupiter. Jupiter will occult Saturn on Feb 10, 7541!
5. Why aren't Uranus and Neptune included in the Planet Watch?
c. They are too faint to be seen with the unaided eye
It is true that Uranus and Neptune move quite slowly around the Sun. However, the real reason we don't include them in the Planet Watch is because they are too faint to be observed without a telescope. (Uranus will sometimes be bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. However, even at its brightest, Uranus is not easy to see.)
6. How often do "great conjunctions" of Jupiter and Saturn occur?
b. every 19.6 years
Jupiter requires 11.9 years to complete one orbit around the Sun. Saturn needs 29.5 years. Nearly twenty years is required to have them "line up" from our perspective.
7. Which ONE of the following stars is not part of the Winter Hexagon?
c. Regulus
Regulus is Leo the Lion's alpha star. Leo is close to the Winter Hexagon, but none of its stars are part of it.
8. When the moon is at "apogee," it is ___________________.
a. at its greatest distance from Earth
The moon travels along an elliptical orbit. Consequently, its distance from Earth constantly changes. When at its closest point, the moon is said to be at perigee. When at its farthest point, the moon is said to be at apogee.
9. The full moon occurring on or around the winter solstice will_________________.
b. travel along a higher arc than any of the year's other full moons
The moon always remains close to the ecliptic, the Sun's apparent path through the sky. This path undulates from a high point on the summer solstice to a lower point at the winter solstice. When the moon is full, it will be 180 degrees away from the Sun. On the winter solstice, the full moon will be around the high point of the summer solstice.
10. The date of Miami's earliest sunset will be __________ the date of Portland, Maie's earliest sunset.
a. sooner than
Miami's earliest sunset occurs on November 30th. Portland's earliest sunset occurs on December 9th.
The earliest sunset date increases with increasing latitude.
11. Which of the following planets can never be in inferior conjunction? (Could be more than one choice.)
c. Mars
d. Jupiter
Mars and Jupiter are superior planets, meaning that they are farther from the Sun than Earth. They can never move between Earth and the Sun. Mercury and Venus are inferior planets and are closer to the Sun than Earth. These two worlds can be positioned between the Sun and Earth, a configuration known as inferior conjunction.
12. Which of the following planets can never be in superior conjunction? (Could be more or fewer than one.)
All the planets can be in superior conjunction, even the inferior planets Mercury and Venus.