Test #1 - Monday, September 15
Review notes, chapter
summaries, homework assignments, chapter questions.
Format: 40 true/false and
multiple choice questions (scan forms provided; bring pencil, eraser, and
calculator)
Chapter 1: Our Place in the
Universe
·
Astronomical
Unit, parsec, light year
·
relative sizes of
Earth and Sun
·
relative
distances of the planets and nearest stars
Chapter 2: Discovering the
Universe for Yourself
·
map of current
night sky
·
celestial sphere:
NCP,
·
local night sky: altitude,
azimuth, zenith, horizon, meridian
·
angular size
depends on physical size and distance
·
diurnal (daily)
motions, circumpolar stars
·
apparent motion
of the Sun over the year, causes of seasons
·
motion and phases
of the Moon
·
eclipses of the
Sun and Moon
·
motions of the
planets, retrograde motion of superior planets
·
stellar parallax
= expected annual shift in nearby star positions
Chapter 3: The Science of
Astronomy
·
geocentric model
of Greek scientists, Eratosthenes measurement of the Earth’s circumference
·
Ptolemy: accurate
planetary positions using multiple circles (epicycles)
·
Copernicus: Sun
centered Solar System
·
Tycho: best
measurements of planetary motion (especially for Mars)
·
Kepler: three
laws of planetary motion using ellipses
·
Galileo: first
telescopic observations of Moon, Sun, stars, Jupiter’s moons, phases of Venus,
and their consequences for the Copernican model
Supplement 1: Time and
Coordinates
·
sidereal (star)
and solar (Sun) time systems
·
synodic period of
the Moon (with respect to the Sun), terms for special planetary positions
·
time zones,
international date line, leap years
·
celestial
coordinates right ascension (like longitude) and declination (like latitude)
·
diurnal motion
and Sun’s position in the sky seen from different latitudes on Earth,
navigation