Homework Set 2
DUE: Tuesday, June 11
NOTE: There was mistake in the first problem on the paper copies handed out on Friday. The problem should refer to a star near the SOUTH celestial pole, not the north celestial pole. It is corrected here.
Please use a separate piece of paper for your answers
1) Suppose you are standing in the Southern hemisphere, facing south at night. Describe, as a consequence of the Earth's rotation, the apparent direction of motion of each of the following:
a) A star just above the south celestial pole
b) A star just below the south celestial pole
c) A star to the left of the south celestial pole
d) A star on the southern horizon
2) If a given star, say, Sirius, rises at 6 pm one night, when will it be rising 3 months from now?
3) Which planet has the shortest year?
4) Assuming we have no data from Apollo, propose another theory for the origin of the Moon
5) What causes the volcanoes in Hawaii? How are they different from volcanoes you find, say, in Japan? What makes them different?
6) Draw an ellipse, and indicate the semimajor and semiminor axes. Draw in the center and both foci. If this is the orbit of the Earth, draw in the correct location of the Sun. Indicate the direction the Earth moves in its orbit, and the direction the Earth revolves on its axis.
7) Draw a picture with the Moon in orbit around the Earth at 4 equally spaced locations along its orbit. Pick a direction that sunlight is coming from and draw it in with arrows. Show how the sunlight falls on each of the 4 Moons you've drawn, and label each of the 4 Moons with 'Full Moon', 'First Quarter', 'New Moon' and 'Last Quarter' Indicate which direction the Moon revolves in its orbit, and which direction both the Earth and Moon spin
8) For June 7 through June 11, 1996, find out the exact rising and setting times of the Moon. Calculate exactly how long the moon is up. Is the moon staying up longer as the days progress, or staying up less long? Make a table with day, moonrise time, moonset time, duration in the sky, and phase. When is the next full moon, and what time of the day, approximately, will it rise and set? You can look in local newspapers.
6/6/96