Question 1

We cannot see a new moon in our sky because ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  it is obscured by Earth's shadow 
B)  no sunlight is illuminating the Moon 
C)  a new moon is quite near the Sun in the sky 
D)  above the horizon during the daytime

Question 2

What happens during the apparent retrograde motion of a planet?

Accepted Answer

A)  The planet rises in the west and sets in the east. 
B)  The planet appears to move eastward with respect to the stars over a period of many nights. 
C)  The planet moves backward through the sky. 
D)  The planet moves backward in its orbit around the Sun. 
E)  The planet moves through constellations that are not part of the zodiac.

Question 3

If the Moon rises around 3 A.M., its phase must be

Accepted Answer

A)  full. 
B)  first quarter. 
C)  third quarter. 
D)  waning crescent. 
E)  waxing crescent.

Question 4

Consider the following statement, and explain whether or not it is sensible: When I looked into the dark fissure of the Milky Way with my binoculars, I saw what must have been a cluster of distant galaxies.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Consider the following statement, and explain whether...

Question 5

Why does the Milky Way appear as a band of light in the sky?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Why does the Milky Way appear as...

Question 6

Tonight, your telescope shows you RXJ1800, a galaxy, very near in the sky to the bright star Vega. What can you conclude from this observation?

Accepted Answer

A)  RXJ1800 and Vega will drift apart from each other on the sky, over a matter of nights. 
B)  Vega and RXJ1800 must be very close to each other, less than a few light years. 
C)  Vega orbits the center of mass of RXJ1800. 
D)  RXJ1800 and Vega will set in the west, at very similar times.

Question 7

The Moon is nearly tidally locked to the Earth, which means the Moon's rotation period is almost the same as its orbital period. If you were camped at the equator of the Moon, you would experience (approximately):

Accepted Answer

A)  14 hours of darkness followed by 14 hours of sunshine. 
B)  sunshine all the time, except when the Earth blocks the Sun. 
C)  (14 x 24) hours of darkness followed by (14 x 24) hours of sunshine. 
D)  sunshine (day) all the time.

Question 8

The Moon and the Sun are approximately the same angular size.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 9

Lunar eclipses can occur only during a ________.

Accepted Answer

A)  new moon 
B)  first quarter moon 
C)  full moon 
D)  third quarter moon

Question 10

Why is it summer in the Northern Hemisphere when it is winter in the Southern Hemisphere?

Accepted Answer

A)  The Northern Hemisphere is closer to the Sun than the Southern Hemisphere. 
B)  The Northern Hemisphere is "on top" of Earth and therefore receives more sunlight. 
C)  The Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward the Sun and receives more direct sunlight. 
D)  The Northern Hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun and receives more indirect sunlight. 
E)  It isn't: both hemispheres have the same seasons at the same time.

Question 11

Suppose you lived on the Moon near the center of the face that we see from Earth. At what phase of the Moon would you see sunrise? What phase of Earth would you see at this time?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Suppose you lived on the Moon near...

Question 12

What causes the apparent retrograde motion of the planets?

Accepted Answer

A)  As Earth passes another planet, its gravitational pull slows down the other planet so that it appears to be traveling backward. 
B)  When planets are farther from the Sun, they move slower than when they are nearer the Sun; it is during this slower period that they appear to move backwards. 
C)  The other planets never really appear to move backward; the background stars shift due to Earth's revolution around the Sun. 
D)  As Earth passes another planet, the other planet appears to move backward with respect to the background stars, but the planet's motion does not really change. 
E)  Apparent retrograde motion is an illusion created by turbulence in Earth's atmosphere.

Question 13

All the following statements are true. Which one explains the reason that there is not a solar eclipse at every new moon?

Accepted Answer

A)  The nodes of the moon's orbit precess with an 18-year period. 
B)  The orbital plane of the Moon is tilted slightly (by about 5 degrees) to the ecliptic plane. 
C)  The Moon is only about 1/4 as large as Earth in diameter. 
D)  The Moon goes through a complete cycle of phases about every 29 1/2 days.

Question 14

Which of the following is not a phase of the Moon?

Accepted Answer

A)  first-quarter moon 
B)  third-quarter moon 
C)  half moon 
D)  new moon 
E)  full moon

Question 15

Which of the following statements about the Moon is true?

Accepted Answer

A)  The Moon goes through a cycle of phases because it always has the same side facing Earth. 
B)  If you see a full Moon from North America, someone in South America would see a new moon. 
C)  The Moon's distance from Earth varies during its orbit. 
D)  The Moon is visible only at night. 
E)  The side of the Moon facing away from Earth is in perpetual darkness.

Question 16

The choices below are for the following questions. For each question, choose the letter for the real motion that is responsible for the apparent motion as seen from Earth.
-Polaris will no longer be the North Star 1,000 years from now.

Accepted Answer

A) Earth rotates once each day. 
B) Earth revolves around the Sun once each year. 
C) The direction of Earth's axis in space precesses with a period of 26,000 years. 
D) Stars appear to move randomly in the local solar neighborhood. 
E) The universe is expanding.

Question 17

The precession of the Moon's nodes means that

Accepted Answer

A)  there is a lunar eclipse every 6 months. 
B)  there is a solar eclipse every 6 months. 
C)  the eclipse seasons occur less than 6 months apart. 
D)  the vernal equinox will be in Aquarius in a few hundred years. 
E)  there are never two solar eclipses in the same year.

Question 18

Suppose it is full moon. What phase of Earth would someone on the Moon see at this time?

Accepted Answer

A)  full Earth 
B)  new Earth 
C)  first quarter Earth 
D)  Earth does not go through phases as seen from the Moon.

Question 19

It is possible to view the Moon in first-quarter phase the day after a total lunar eclipse.

Accepted Answer