Night Sky
How many official constellations are in the night sky?
88
You can get the best view of the stars from
The Equator
T/F: Stars in the same constellation are always located close together.
False
The literal meaning of "constellation."
Grouping of stars
What constellation is the Big Dipper located in?
Ursa Major
Unofficial clusters of stars are called
Asterisms
How often is Polaris our North star?
Every 26,000 years
What is The Ecliptic?
The path the Sun appears to travel through from the vantage point of the Earth. (The Earth's orbital plane around the Sun.)
Astrology is
The belief that the position of the stars affects one's life.
T/F: All stars in an asterism must be in the same constellation.
False
To find North, you start by finding
The Big Dipper
The slow change in the direction of a planet’s axis is called
Precession
What type of constellations appear to never set?
Circumpolar Constellations
The Zodiac Signs are based on:
The Zodiac Constellations (in the Ecliptic)
Which constellations are visible depends on what 2 things?
Your location on Earth and the time of year
Name 3 Asterisms
The Big Dipper, Orion's Belt, The Winter Hexagon
Polaris is located at the tail end of
Ursa Minor, The Little Dipper
Which constellations are located in the ecliptic?
Zodiac Constellations
Explain why Astronomy and Astrology were combined for much of history.
Ancient civilizations viewed the stars as gods, so it made sense that the gods would control one's life.
The constellations were officially decided in what year?
1922
To find South, you start by finding
Crux, the Southern Cross
There is compelling evidence that the Ancient Polynesians may have reached ______________, and there is even faint evidence that they may have reached _____________.
South America, Antarctica
Why do we measure things from the Ecliptic instead of the Invariable Plane?
It is impossible to calculate the exact position of the Invariable Plane because to do so would require knowledge of the location and mass of every single object in the Solar System.
What is Mr. Arrington's star sign? (Not on the test)
Libra
Pronounce these star names:
Betelgeuse
Rigel
Beetle juice
Rye-jull