Eclipses
The phase that the Moon must be in for a Solar eclipse to occur.
What is the new Moon?
A manner of thinking that places importance upon model making, evidence, and testability.
What is science?
The perception that planets are moving backwards over the course of many nights.
What is retrograde motion?
A shape that consists of two foci, a major and minor axis, and has some eccentricity between 0 and 1.
What is an ellipse?
The measured value of acceleration due to surface gravity (in ft/s^2).
What is 32 ft/s^2?
The type of eclipse that occurs when the Moon falls into Earth’s umbra.
What is a total Lunar eclipse?
A well tested set of beliefs that explain a phenomenon.
What is a theory?
The astronomer who modeled a geocentric Solar system with epicycles to explain retrograde motion.
Who is Claudius Ptolemy?
The astronomer who modeled a geocentric Solar system where everything orbited the Sun, which then orbited the Earth.
Who is Tycho Brahe?
The force due to gravity decreases when this value increases.
What is distance?
The type of eclipse that occurs when the Earth falls into the Moon’s antumbra.
What is an annular eclipse?
A practice that attempts to explain observations without the use of the scientific method.
What is a pseudoscience?
The first astronomer to publish a model of a heliocentric Solar system.
Who is Nicolaus Copernicus?
Kepler tried to do this with his research through use of stolen data from his mentor.
What is finding proof of the Copernican model?
This is the speed required to break free from the orbit of a celestial body.
What is escape velocity?
The line connecting the two points where the Moon’s orbit crosses the ecliptic.
What is the Line of Nodes?
The idea when presented with two similar hypotheses, that one should choose to test the one that makes fewer observations.
What is Occam’s razor?
Positioning where Earth is in line with the Sun and an inferior planet, with the inferior planet at a point furthest from the Earth.
What is a superior conjunction?
This is Kepler’s second law.
What is the law that states planets sweep equal area in equal time?
This equation summarizes Newton’s second law of motion.
What is F = ma?
The correct order (from greatest length) of the following: draconic month, February, synodic month, regular month, sidereal month, tropical month.
What is regular month, synodic month, February, sidereal month, tropical month, draconic month?
The understanding that a lack of evidence is not equivalent to disproof of a claim.
What is probatio diabolica?
The mechanism Ptolemy used in his model of the Solar system to explain retrograde motion.
What are epicycles?
This is Kepler’s third law.
What is the law that states planets further away from the Sun have longer periods?
Newton came to the conclusion that the planets were being acted on by some force by analyzing these.
What are Kepler’s laws of planetary motion?