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Altitude: 10 feet below sea level
Founded January 1970
Julian Date: 24592546.18
2020-2021: LXXXIX
THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Friday, February 12, 2021
Friday, February 12, 2021
Exploratorium XXII: Week 6 Quiz
Another Friday has arrived and with it comes our weekly quiz. We embarked only on one mythological excursion this week and so the mythology is secondary to astronomy. Next week, we won't give mythology -or astronomy- short shrift...or, at least, we'll try not to.
See you on Monday!
1. Terpischore is the daughter of Zeus and ________________.
a. Athena
b. Hera
c. Aphrodite
d. Mnemosyne
2. 2020 SO, the "mini-moon" that is now leaving Earth's orbit, isn't a natural object, but is instead a ________________________
a. booster rocket from the 1960s
b. the lunar module from the ill-fated Apollo 13 mission
c. the remains of Sputnik 2
d. astronomers aren't sure.
3. An Apollo-type asteroid is defined as one with a perihelion distance less than ___________ AU (astronomical units).
a. 0.891
a. 0.891
b. 0.968
c. 1.017
d. 1.223
4. Verona Rupes, the solar system's highest cliff, is located in/on__________.
a. Mars
b. Mercury
c. Miranda
d. Montana
5. Would a human survive a plunge off the top of Verona Rupes?
a. Yes, because the surface gravity is so weak
a. Yes, because the surface gravity is so weak
b. Yes, because the cliff isn't actually that high
c. No, because the surface gravity is actually very strong
d. No, even though the surface gravity is weak, a person would still strike the surface at more than 100 miles per hour.
6. The first stars that formed were part of Population __________.
a. I
b. II
c. III
d. IV
7. The "fingers" in the cosmic hand image that was posted yesterday extend for approximately _________ light years.
a. 5
b.10
c. 25
d. 50
8. "The Cosmic Hand" is an example of a _______________.
a. pulsar wind nebula
b. supergiant wind nebula
c. red dwarf wind nebula
d. none of the above
9. Circinus, a constellation that Nicolas Louis de LaCalle devised in the 18th century, represents a _________________.
a. circus clown
b. elephant
c. compass
d. tent
10. A pulsar's spin rate is greatest _________________.
a. just after its formation
b. just before it explodes
c. midway through its life cycle
d. a pulsar's spin rate never changes
ANSWERS
1. Terpischore is the daughter of Zeus and ________________.
d. Mnemosyne
The nine muses were the children of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory. As the ancient poets could not record their works on paper, they relied only on their memories, which had to have been prodigious.
2. 2020 SO, the "mini-moon" that is now leaving Earth's orbit, isn't a natural object, but is instead a ________________________
a. booster rocket from the 1960s
Radar images of this mini-moon revealed that its shape was elongated, measuring 6 - 14 meters, consistent with the Atlas LV-3C Centaur-D, a rocket used to launch Surveyor 2 into orbit in 1966.
3. An Apollo-type asteroid is defined as one with a perihelion distance less than ___________ AU (astronomical units).
c. 1.017
Apollo asteroids are "Earth crossers," meaning that they will often intersect Earth's orbit. However, as Earth's orbital path is about equal to 584 million miles, the chances of an impact are quite small.
4. Verona Rupes, the solar system's highest cliff, is located in/on__________.
c. Miranda
An ice moon of Uranus, Miranda jagged surface contains the solar system's highest cliff, named Verona Rupes.
5. Would a human survive a plunge off the top of Verona Rupes?
d. No, even though the surface gravity is weak, a person would still strike the surface at more than 100 miles per hour.
Although the surface gravity is weak, a person who jumped off the summit of Verona Rupes would fall for twelve minutes. During that time, the fall would cause a person to strike the ground at a high speed.
6. The first stars that formed were part of Population __________.
c. III
The first stars that formed were part of Population III: the "metal-poor" stars that were the first to manufacture the heavier elements. The Sun is a Population I star with a comparatively high metallicity (1.4%).
7. The "fingers" in the cosmic hand image that was posted yesterday extend for approximately _________ light years.
d. 50
Fifty light years is about equal to the distance separating the Sun and Castor, Gemini's second brightest star.
8. "The Cosmic Hand" is an example of a _______________.
a. pulsar wind nebula
The pulsar, a supernova remnant, imparts high energy into the nebula which accelerates its expansion.
9. Circinus, a constellation that Nicolas Louis de LaCalle devised in the 18th century, represents a _________________.
c. compass
This small triangle arrangement can be found close to Alpha Centauri, the closest star to the Sun. However, neither Alpha Centauri nor Circinus are visible at mid-northern latitudes.
10. A pulsar's spin rate is greatest _________________.
a. just after its formation
A pulsar's spin rate decreases over time so that it spins most quickly just after it forms.
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