Name______Period______

The Sky test REVIEW

  1. When is the constellation Ursa Major visible from Pittsburgh?
  1. Where does the celestial equator cross the horizon?
  1. If you live on the equator, where would the celestial equator be in your sky?
  1. What is the difference between 1st magnitude and 2nd magnitude stars?
  1. Describe some of the different kinds of star charts available:
  1. You just got off a plane in an unknown location somewhere in the Northern Hemisphere. Once you locate Polaris in your sky, how can you use that to figure out your latitude?
  1. Where did most of the constellation names originate? What about star names?
  1. What is the meridian on the celestial sphere?
  1. What is declination?
  1. What is Right Ascension?
  1. What is your zenith?
  1. How do you know the declination of your zenith?
  1. What is the horizon?
  1. How high above your horizon is your zenith?
  1. How high above your horizon would you see the North Celestial Pole and Polaris?
  1. If Star A has a magnitude of -1.0 and Star B has a magnitude of 1.0, which star is brighter?
  1. What is the declination of the Celestial North Pole?
  1. What does apparent visual magnitude (mv) measure? What is the highest magnitude of stars that are still visible with the naked eye?
  1. Would Polaris be visible for an observer in the Southern Hemisphere?
  1. How do stars near the Celestial Equator appear to move?
  1. How do stars near the Celestial North Pole appear to move?
  1. If the north celestial pole appears on your horizon, what is your latitude?
  1. How are modern-day constellations defined?
  1. Where should you look to see the planets that wander among the stars?Why?
  1. What is the tilt of the earth’s axis of rotation relative its plane of revolution?
  1. What are circumpolar constellations?
  1. What is an asterism?
  1. What is the ecliptic?
  1. What is the Celestial Sphere?

**On a drawing of the celestial sphere similar to the one on the right,

be able to identify:

  • the Celestial North Pole
  • the Celestial Equator
  • the zenith
  • the horizon

**On an equatorial constellation chart (the big white rectangular one):

  • be able to identify declination, right ascension, the ecliptic, and the celestial equator
  • be able to locate a star/constellation using RA and Dec coordinates
  • be able to predict which constellation will be visible at a given location in your sky at a given time
  • be able to compare brightness of various stars