Sample Questions -- Exam #1

  1. The equivalent to terrestrial latitude in the celestial coordinate system is

  2. El Centro has a latitude of 32.8 degrees. What is the altitude of the midday Sun on June 21?

  3. What is the phase of the Moon when a SOLAR eclipse occurs?

  4. What is the altitude of the Sun at noon on the day of the Autumnal Equinox at latitude 42 degrees North?

  5. At about what time does the New Moon set?

  6. How does the planet Mars appear to move with respect to the stars?

  7. During the THIRD (or LAST) Quarter phase, how much of the ILLUMINATED surface of the Moon is visible from the Earth?

  8. Which of these imaginary lines divides the Celestial Sphere into the East and West?

  9. Eclipses do not occur every month because

  10. The occurrence of seasons on the Earth results from

  11. ALTITUDE is an angular distance measured from the horizon. The maximum value the Altitude can be is

  12. The Sun completes one passage around the Celestial Sphere in

  13. You go outside and see the Full Moon rising. About what time is it?

  14. Which of these statements about ECLIPSES is TRUE?

  15. By measuring the difference in the angle of the Sun's shadow simultaneously at two places on the Earth, who was able to make a measurement of the size of the Earth?

  16. What is the WINTER SOLSTICEe?
  17. On which of these dates would the midday Sun be at its highest altitude in Melbourne Australia (Latitude = 38 degrees South)?

  18. Which of the following did Galileo use to support the heliocentric model of the Solar system?