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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