Study Questions

Starstruck Tonight

Spring and Summer

 

| Starstruck Tonight |

 

Visit the OBU Planetarium and see Starstruck Tonight, the spring-summer version, for answers to all of the following questions:

     
  1. What is an asterism? Give two favorite examples. (Answer)

     

  2. How can one find Polaris? In which constellation does Polaris lie? (Answer)

     

  3. Do the star-patterns of all constellations resemble the figures they are named for? (Answer)

     

  4. How do circles of latitude and longitude specify one's location on the surface of the earth? What is the latitude and longitude of Shawnee, or of your home town? (Answer)

     

  5. What is the relationship between one's latitude on earth and the altitude of Polaris above the northern horizon? (Answer)

     

  6. What does circumpolar mean? Give four examples of circumpolar constellations, and identify them in the night sky. (Answer)

     

  7. What is diurnal motion? How long does it last before repeating? Is circumpolar motion one form of diurnal motion? (Answer)

     

  8. What shape is the Milky Way galaxy? Is it spherical, ringed, or like a star-wheel? (Answer)

     

  9. What is the relationship between the Milky Way galaxy and the bright band visible across the sky that is also known as the Milky Way? Are they the same? Or does the Milky Way galaxy contain additional stars not found in the Milky Way band? (Answer)

     

  10. What galaxy is closest to the Milky Way? (Answer)

     

  11. Are galaxies relatively rare in the known universe? (Answer)

     

  12. The ecliptic is the year-long path of the sun against the background of fixed stars. Is it the same as the celestial equator, or different? (Answer)

     

  13. Name some bright stars that lie very near to the ecliptic in the constellations Leo, Virgo, and Sagittarius. (Answer)

     

  14. To face the center of the Milky Way galaxy, one should look toward which constellation? (Answer)

     

  15. Which bright planet is visible in late summer and early autumn evenings? In which constellation is it now found? (Answer)

     

  16. The summer triangle consists of Deneb... Altair... and bluish Vega. Which constellations contain these stars? (Answer)

     

  17. Many deep sky objects are named by numbers prefaced with an "M." What does the "M" stand for? (Answer)

     

  18. Is the north star always Polaris? (Answer)

     

  19. How long does one cycle of precession last? (Answer)
 
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