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The Moon Shot
Test Your Astronomy Knowledge
So you think you know a lot about astronomy? Take this little test and find out. Do not scroll down to the answers until you have answered all five questions.
Question #1: One of the following is NOT a type of telescope. Which one?
A. Herschelian
B. Copernican
C. Gregorian
D. Newtonian
Question #2: What would be the magnification of a refractor telescope if the main objective lens had a focal length of 1200mm and the eyepiece had a focal length of 30mm?
A. 36x
B. 400x
C. 360x
D. 40x
Question #3: Only one of the following is a type of eye piece design. Which one?
A. Monocentric
B. Planocentric
C. Egocentric
D. Orthocentric
Question #4: You cannot see the Aurora Borealis in the Southern Hemisphere. True or False?
Question #5: If you are going to take extended exposure photographs of the sky, which mount is the best one to use?
A. Transit
B. Altazimuth
C. Equatorial
D. Dobsonian
Test Answers:
Question #1: The correct answer is B, Copernican. Nicolaus Copernicus was an astronomer, but no telescope was named after him.
Question #2: The correct answer is D, 40x. You calculate the magnification of a telescope by dividing the focal length of the lens or mirror by the focal length of the eye piece.
Question #3: The correct answer is A, Monocentric. Three glass elements are cemented together to make a monocentric eye piece.
Question #4: The correct answer is true. The word "Borealis" means northern. In the southern hemisphere, Aurora Australis is visible.
Question #5: The correct answer is C, Equatorial. An equatorial has to be driven by only one axis to track stars as the earth rotates.
So how did you do on this little test? If you answered three of the five questions correctly, you beat the average. If you answered fewer than three questions correctly, perhaps you should either study or take up another hobby.
See Also:
Zodiac - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
NASA
The Zodiac
The zodiac is a cycle that covers a year's time. There are several versions of the zodiac system. There is a Babylonian zodiac, an Indian zodiac, a Chinese zodiac, a Western zodiac, and several others. All of the various zodiacs are basically the same. They are all based upon the constellations and they all contain 12 stations, or signs.
The Western zodiac is the one that is mostly used in the United States. Modern Western astrological signs are really just simplifications of the signs used in Hellenistic times.
In the list below are the Roman names for the signs of the zodiac, their ecliptic longitudes of their first points, the symbols that represent them, and the associated dates:
Aries: 0°, the Ram, March 21 to April 20
Taurus: 30°, the Bull, April 20 to May 21
Gemini: 60°, the Twins, May 21 to June 21
Cancer: 90°, the Crab, June 22 to July 22
Leo: 120°, the Lion, July 23 to August 22
Virgo: 150°, the Virgin, August 23 to September 22
Libra: 180°, the Scales, September 23 to October 23
Scorpio: 210°, the Scorpion, October 24 to November 22
Sagittarius: 240°, the Archer, November 22 to December 21
Capricorn: 270°, the Sea-goat, December 22 to January 19
Aquarius: 300°, the Water Carrier, January 20 to February 18
Pisces: 330°, the Fish, February 19 to March 20
Sidereal zodiac astrology (used mostly by Indian astrologists) dates are different from the tropical zodiac astrology dates. However, the tropical zodiac dates are the ones that are used primarily in the West.
Astrology is not an exact science (if you think of it as a science). All of the implications of certain signs and the position of certain planets are open to interpretation. Different astrologists will give different readings based upon the same information.
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The Moon Shot
Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus first became fascinated with astronomy in 1492 when he enrolled in Kraków Academy (now Jagiellonian University). His professor, Albert Brudzewski, is credited with introducing young Nicolaus to astronomy.
After four years at Kraków Academy, Nicolaus Copernicus's uncle (who paid for his education in hopes that Nicolaus would become a bishop) sent him to Bologna to study civil law. It was there that Nicolaus met Domenico Maria Novara da Ferrara, who was a famous astronomer of the time.
Copernicus gave some friends his Commentariolus (Little Commentary) in 1514. Commentariolus was a short handwritten work that described
his ideas about the heliocentric (sun-centered universe) hypothesis. It was the basis for his later work.
Copernicus feared ridicule from other scientists. He wasn't afraid of what the Church would think of his theories. This fear of ridicule caused him to delay publication of his findings for several years. As a matter of fact, his book, De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres) wasn't published until the year of his death in 1543.
It is said that Copernicus was in a coma that had been caused by a stroke when a friend put a copy of his book into his hands. Copernicus awakened from his coma and died peacefully shortly there after.
There are six major parts to the Copernican theory:
1. Motions of the planets are uniform.
2. The sun is the center of the universe.
3. The order of planets around the sun is Mercury, Venus, Earth and Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and the fixed stars.
4. Retrograde motion of the planets can be explained by the Earth's motion.
5. Daily rotation, annual revolution, and annual tilting of its axis are the three motions of the earth.
6. Comparatively speaking, the distance between the earth and the sun is small to that of the earth to the stars.
Related Topics: The Constellations,
Inspired by Maria Mitchell, The Planet Mercury
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