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The Sky
True (A) or False (B)
1. ______ The constellation Ursa Major is visible to observers near Pittsburgh year-round.
2. ______ The celestial equator always crosses the horizon at the north point and south point.
3. ______ The celestial equator always passes directly overhead to those that live on the equator.
4. ______ A first magnitude star in Orion is brighter than a second magnitude star in Ursa Major.
5. ______ The Greek letter designation conveys information about a star’s location and brightness.
6. ______ You can find your latitude in the northern hemisphere by measuring the angle from the northern
horizon to the north celestial pole.
7. ______ Many of the constellations were named by the Greeks.
8. ______ Your meridian is an imaginary line running North to South, through your zenith and the Celestial
North Pole.
9. ______ Declination shows the position of stars east and west of your meridian.
10. ______ The declination of your zenith will be the same as your latitude.
Multiple Choice:
11. Star A has an apparent visual magnitude of 3.3 and star B has an apparent magnitude of 5.3. Star A is
______ times _______ than star B.
a. 2.512 times ; brighter
b. 2.512 times ; fainter
c. 6.31 times ; brighter
d. 6.31 times ; fainter
12. If you lived at a latitude of 54o N. What is the angle between the northern horizon and the celestial north
pole?
a. 73o
b. 54o
c. 36o
d. 23.5o
e. 5o
13. What is the declination of the celestial north pole?
a. 0o
b. 40o
c. 90o
d. it depends on the observer’s location
14. The ______ is the point on the celestial sphere directly above the observer.
a. north celestial pole
b. nadir
c. celestial equator
d. zenith
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15. The magnitude scale
a. originated just after the telescope was invented.
b. can be used to indicate the apparent brightness of a celestial object.
c. was devised by Newton.
d. is no longer used today.
16. For an observer in the southern latitude -60o, the star Polaris
a. is never visible above the horizon.
b. always sets directly in the west.
c. is always above the northern horizon.
d. is the brightest star in the sky.
17. The apparent visual magnitude of a star is a measure of the star’s
a. size
b. distance
c. intensity
d. color
18. If you watched the sky for several hours, the stars near the north celestial pole would appear to _________
due to the Earth’s motion,
a. move horizontally from East to West
b. move in a clockwise circle
c. move vertically upward along the meridian.
d. not move at all.
19. Star names often originated in the ___________ language.
a. Greek
b. Italian
c. Arabic
d. Latin
20. The celestial equator is
a. a line around the sky directly above the Earth’s equator.
b. a line running north to south through the observer’s zenith
c. the path that the sun appears to follow on the celestial sphere as Earth orbits the sun.
d. at 90o declination.
21. If the north celestial pole appears on your horizon, what is your latitude?
a. 90oN
b. 90oS
c. 45o
d. 0o
22. An observer at 90o latitude (the North Pole) would find
a. Polaris 40o above the northern horizon.
b. that the celestial equator aligns with the horizon.
c. that the celestial equator passes directly overhead.
d. that the ecliptic plane aligns with the horizon.
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23. The apparent visual magnitude of a star is 8.3. This tells us that the star is
a. one of the brightest stars in the sky.
b. very close to Earth.
c. not visible with the unaided eye
d. none of the above
24. Which statement below most accurately describes modern constellations?
a. They are 88 well defined regions on the celestial sphere.
b. They are 88 connect-the-dot mythological sky figures.
c. They are 88 groups of stars and stars in each constellation are about the same distance from earth
d. They are 88 well defined sky regions along the ecliptic.
25. What is the most likely Greek letter name of the second brightest star in the constellation Lyra?
a. alpha Lyrae.
b. beta Lyrae.
c. gamma Lyrae.
d. delta Lyrae.
26. The apparent visual magnitudes of four stars are listed below. Of these four stars which one appears
brightest in the sky?
a. - 0.5
b. +2.8
c. -1.2
d. +0.7
27. The apparent visual magnitude of star A is 2 and the apparent visual magnitude of star B is 1. Based on this
information which statement below must be true?
a. Star A does not appear as bright as star B.
b. The intensity ratio between star A and star B is 2.512.
c. Light output and distance cannot be determined from a star's apparent visual magnitude alone.
d. All of the above
28. If the apparent visual magnitude of the Sun is -26.5 and that of the full moon is -12.5, what is the
approximate light intensity ratio of sunlight to moonlight received at Earth on the day of the full moon?
a. 40
b. 100
c. 4000
d. 10,000
e. 400,000
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29. When you observe a star near the celestial equator for a period of a few hours, you notice that it
a. moves from north to south relative to the horizon.
b. moves from east to west relative to the horizon.
c. moves from west to east relative to the horizon.
d. does not move relative to the horizon.
30. The five naked-eye planets and three telescopic planets that wander among the stars in the sky are always
near the
a. horizon.
b. celestial equator.
c. ecliptic.
d. Moon.
Completion: Fill in the blanks with the appropriate term from the list below (not all terms will be used).
circumpolar constellations
magnitude scale
Celestial equator
horizon
hour circles
asterisim
ecliptic
90o
apparent magnitude
declination
zenith
0o
constellations
right ascension
celestial sphere
23.5o
31. ________ The brightness of a star as seen by human eyes on Earth.
32. ________ The tilt of the earth in relationship to the sun.
33. ________ A constellation so close to one of the celestial poles that it never sets or rises.
34. ________ The imaginary line around the sky directly above Earth’s equator.
35. ________ The point on the sky directly above the observer.
36. ________ The circular boundary between the sky and Earth.
37. ________ An imaginary sphere surrounding the Earth to which the celestial objects seem to be attached.
38. ________ One of the stellar patterns identified by name, usually originating from Greek mythology.
39. ________The path the sun follows along the sky over the course of the year.
40. ________ A named grouping of stars that is not one of the recognized constellations such as the Big Dipper
or the Pleiades.
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For #41-44, identify the following parts of the Celestial Sphere:
Use your constellation chart to answer questions #45-50:
45. What do the numbers along the left and right (y-axis) represent?
46. What do the numbers along the top and bottom (x-axis) represent?
47. What is the wavy line running East-West that curves above and dips below the celestial equator?
48. What constellation will be at your zenith on February 15th at approximately 8 pm?
49. Which star is brighter:
Alpheratz ( Andromedae)
RA: 00h05m23s; Dec: +29o05’26”
Sirius ( Canis Majoris)
RA: 06h45m09s; Dec: -16o42’58”
Short Answer:
50. Why can’t you find Polaris on this constellation chart?