Objective Sheet
a. celestial sphere
b. horizon
c. zenith
d. nadir
e. north celestial pole
f. south celestial pole
g. celestial equator
h. celestial meridian
i. north point
j. south point
k. east point
l. west point
2. Explain what circumpolar constellations are.
3. Explain why what we see in the sky depends on where we are on Earth.
4. Define rotation.
5. Tell which whay the Earth rotates, as looking down from the North Pole, and tell how often it does this.
6. State the angle at which teh Earth is titled on its axis.
7. Define precession and give two reasons to explain why it is a significant phenomenon.
8. Explain how the stars Thuban, Polaris, and Vega are related.
9. Define degree.
10. Explain how to measure 2 degrees, 10 degrees, and 20 degrees using your hand.
11. Define minute of arc and second of arc.
12. Define altitude. Tell what name is given to 0 degrees and 90 degrees altitude.
13. Define azimuth. State the degrees for North, South, East, and West azimuth.
14. State the azimuth and altitude for Polaris.
15. State the two problems related to giving celestial locations using altitudes and azimuths.
16. Explain teh differences between the ancient and modern definition for the word
constellations.
17. Explain why constellations are named as they are.
18. Tell where the western culture constellations are derived from.
19. Explain the fact that different cultures grouped and named teh constellation star patterns
differently by giving examples.
20. State the number for the following:
a. The total number of constellations today.
b. The number of original constellations still in use.
c. The number of modern constellations added.
21. Define the word asterism. Give two examples of them.
22. Explain the differences between a constellation and an asterism.
23. Tell what language our constellation names are written in .
24. Tell what language our star names are written in .
25. Explain why naming individual stars is not very helpful.
26. State the contribution of each of the following to astronomy.
a. Hipparchus
b. Johannes Bayer