Reference no: EM133257742

Assignment - Basic questions about astronomy

1. Suppose Eratosthenes had found that, in Alexandria, at noon on the first day of summer, the line to the Sun makes an angle 30° with the vertical. What, then, would he have found for Earth's circumference?

2. Suppose you are on a strange planet and observe, at night, that the stars do not rise and set, but circle parallel to the horizon. Next, you walk in a constant direction for 8000 miles, and at your new location on the planet, you find that all stars rise straight up in the east and set straight down in the west, perpendicular to the horizon. How could you determine the circumference of the planet without any further observations? What is the circumference, in miles, of the planet?

3. Ursa Minor contains the pole star, Polaris, and the asterism known as the Little Dipper. From most locations in the Northern Hemisphere, all of the stars in Ursa Minor are circumpolar. Does that mean these stars are also above the horizon during the day? Explain.

4. How many degrees does the Moon move per day relative to the fixed stars? How many days does it take for the Moon to return to its original location relative to the fixed stars?

5. If a star rises at 8:30 p.m. tonight, approximately what time will it rise two months from now?