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Astro. 2-3
The Cycle of the Sun
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What is "revolution"? | "Revolution" is the motion of a body around a point outside the body. |
| What motion causes the time frame of a year? | Earth's revolution around the sun produces the yearly cycle. |
| If you could see the stars during the day, which direction would the sun appear to be moving relative to them? | If you could see the stars during the day, you would notice that the sun appears to be moving slowly eastward relative to the background of stars. |
| What is the "ecliptic"? | The "ecliptic" is the apparent path of the sun among the stars. |
| What two factors cause the seasons? | The seasons are caused by the revolution of Earth around the sun and by Earth's precession. |
| Are the seasons caused by Earth's variation in distance to the sun? | No, the seasons are not caused by variation in the distance between Earth and the sun. |
| What about the sun DOES cause the change of seasons? | The seasons are caused by changes in the amount of solar energy that Earth's northern and southern hemispheres recieve. |
| Which three planets can be found along the ecliptic? | Mars, Venus, and Mercury can be found along the ecliptic. |
| What color does Mars appear from Earth? | Mars looks quite orange from Earth. |
| Where and when are Venus and Mercury visible in the sky? | Venus and Mercury are visible in the west after sunset or in the east before sunrise. |
| How visible are Venus and Mercury when viewing them in the sky? | Venus can be very bright but Mercury is difficult to see near the horizon. |
| What is an "evening star"? | An "evening star" is a planet in the sunset sky. |
| What is a "morning star"? | A "morning star" is a planet visible in the dawn sky |
| What is the brightest that Venus can become? | Venus can become as bright as magnitude -4.7. |
| When is Venus visible in the sky (longer term). | Venus appears in the western evening sky for many weeks before disappearing in the haze of the sun near the horizon. It then reappears a few weeks later as a morning star. |
| How does the elliptical shape of Earth's orbit? | The elliptical shape of Earths' orbit makes northern seasons milder and southern seasons more extreme (barely). |
| How much does Earth's distance from the sun vary? | Earth's distance from the sun varies by only 3.3 percent. |
| What is the "perihelion"? | The "perihelion" is the point at which an object is closest to the sun in orbit. |
| What is the "aphelion"? | The "aphelion" is the point at which an object is farthest from the sun in orbit. |
| What is a "pseudoscience"? | A "pseudoscience" is a set of beliefs that appear to be based on scientific ideas but that fail to follow the most basic rules of science. |
| What is the "celestial equator"? | The "celestial equator" is the projection of Earth's equator on the sky. |
| Are the ecliptic and the equator the same? | No, because Earth is tipped in it's orbit the ecliptic and the equator are inclined to each other by 23.5 degrees. |
| What is the "vernal equinox"? (referring to seasons in the northern hemisphere) | The "vernal equinox" is the point where the sun crosses the celestial equator going northward. |
| What is the "summer solstice"? (referring to seasons in the northern hemisphere) | The "summer solstice" refers to the point at which the sun is farthest north. |
| What is the "autumnal equinox"? (referring to seasons in the northern hemisphere) | The "autumnal equinox" is the point where the sun crosses the celestial equator going south. |
| What is the "winter solstice"? (referring to seasons in the northern hemisphere) | The "winter solstice" is the point at which the sun is farthest south. |
| What dates are the seasons defined by? | The seasons are defined by the dates when the sun crosses the vernal equinox, the summer solstice, the autumnal equinox, and the winter solstice. |
| What is unique about the days of an equinox? | The days of an equinox have equal amounts of daylight and darkness. |
| What star does Earth's axis of rotation point towards? | Earth's axis of rotation points towards Polaris. |
| Where does light from the summer-solstice sun strike northern latitudes? | Light from the summer-solstice sun strikes northern latitudes from nearly overhead and is concentrated. |
| Where does light from the winter-solstice sun strike northern latitudes? | Light from the winter-solstice sun strikes northern latitudes at a steep angle and spread out; the same amount of light is spread over a larger area, so the ground receives less energy from the winter sun. |
| How long does the sun spend in the sky in the summer? | In the summer, the sun spends more than 12 hours in the sky. |
| How long does the sun spend in the sky in the winter? | In the winter, the sun spends less than 12 hours in the sky. |
Created by:
rebecca_forcier
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