THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM 70 Falmouth Street Portland, Maine 04103 (207) 780-4249 usm.maine.edu/planet 43.6667° N 70.2667° W Founded January 1970 2022-2023: LXX Sunrise: 6:03 a.m. Sunset: 5:41 p.m. Civil twilight begins: 5:34 a.m. Civil twilight ends: 6:10 p.m. Sun's host constellation: Aquarius Moon phase: Waning gibbous moon (90% illuminated) Moonrise: 9:09 p.m. Moonset: 7:47 a.m. (03/11/23) Julian date: 2460014.29 "Oh, it's noon and I haven't chosen a tagline and since it is physically impossible for me to choose a deadline, I'd better choose one right aw..." THE DAILY ASTRONOMER Friday, March 10, 2023 Quiz # 16: Night Sky Mythology ____________________________________ *GREEK MYTHOLOGY IN THE NIGHT SKY* Saturday, March 25, 2023 1:00 p.m. For more information: www.usm.maine.edu/calendar-of-events/event/greek-mythology-in-the-night-sky __________________________________________ Two weeks from tomorrow we offer the next session of "Greek Mythology in the Night Sky," a collaborative effort between the Southworth Planetarium and the Hellenic Society of Maine. In anticipation of this event, we offer a brief quiz about Night Sky Mythology. 1. Who tamed Pegasus and with her help defeated the Chimera? a. Perseus b. Bellophoron c. Hercules d. Theseus 2. Aurora was the goddess of a. the Sun b. the dawn c. the highest clouds d. nothing. Aurora was a mortal woman 3. The god _________________ granted Midas' wish to have everything he touched turned to gold, but the god __________ gave Midas donkey ears. a. Zeus; Vulcan b. Dionysius; Apollo c. Pluto; Pan d. Mars; Mercury 4. Maia, Electra, Taygeta, and Merope are ______________________ a. four of the "Seven Sisters" or the Pleiades b. four of the graces c. four of the hyades sisters d. four of the muses 5. Which ONE of the following is NOT true about Icarus? a. an asteroid is named for him b. he flew too close to the Sun while using manufactured wings, which fell apart under the heat, causing him to plummet to his death c. his father constructed the labyrinth which housed the Minotaur d. he was the son of Hermes, the winged messenger 6. Paris chose the fairest goddess out of three competitors. Which ONE of the following was not one of these competitors? a. Aphrodite b. Athena c. Artemis d. Hera 7. Of the three competitors, Paris selected ___________ as the fairest goddess. 8. _____________ played the lyre when he went to the underworld to reclaim __________. This lyre is seen in the sky as Lyra the Harp. a. Apollo; Daphne b. Orpheus; Eurydice c. Pan; Echo d. Pyramus; Thisbe 9. Pomona, a Roman nymph, was said to have been the only nymph who didn't love_________________. a. nymphs b. wild woodlands c. Neptune d. the sea 10. Who was Polyphemus? a. one of the Cyclops who imprisoned Odysseus and his men before they gouged his eye out and managed to escape b. the brother of Uranus who, after the Titans' revolt, dissolved into the ground and became Tartarus, the underworld region where the wicked are punished c. the only male "Fate." He was charged with deciding how much pain and adversity entered a person's life d. the god of stones 11. Hippomenes was the only man to defeat Atalanta in a race -and thereby winning her hand in marriage- by doing what? a. making the grass under her feet entwine itself around her ankles b. throwing three golden apples at different times in front of her during the race. She stooped to retrieve each apple, which caused her to fall behind and lose the race c. making her eat a pomegranate which caused her to fall asleep after she took only three strides. He then ran to the finish while she dozed d. with the assistance of Daedalus, he managed to make the finish line appear to be miles from the start line, when, in fact, it was actually ten feet before the start. When Atalanta sprinted toward what she thought was the finish, Hippomenes took three steps backward and crossed the finish line. 12. Which mythological character's name literally means "forethought?" Hint: he gave fire to the mortals a. Vulcan b. Apollo c. Prometheus d. Oedipus 13. Which constellation is considered part of the zodiac by astronomers, but not by astrologers? a. Ophiuchus b. Orion c. Delphinus d. Leo Minor ANSWERS 1. b. Bellophoron 2. b. the Dawn 3. b. Dionysius; Apollo 4. a. four of the Seven Sisters or the "Pleiades" 5. d. he was the son of Hermes, the winged messenger 6. c. Artemis 7. Aphrodite 8. b. Orpheus; Eurydice 9. b. wild woodlands 10. a. . one of the Cyclops who imprisoned Odysseus and his men before they gouged his eye out and managed to escape 11. b. throwing three golden apples at different times in front of her during the race. She stooped to retrieve each apple, which caused her to fall behind and lose the race 12. c. Prometheus 13. a. Ophiuchus To subscribe or unsubscribe from the "Daily Astronomer" http://lists.maine.edu/cgi/wa?A0=DAILY-ASTRONOMER