Astronomy edexcel paper 1(9-1)

What shape is the Earth?

If the diameter of the Earth is 13000km, what is the mean circumference?

Draw the Earth and label the four major internal divisions and describe their features?

What is the latitude of the Earth's North pole?

What is the latitude of the Earth's equator?

What is the latitude of the Earth's South pole?

What is the longitude of Greenwich, UK?

Is Washington DC at longitude 77°E or 77°W?

Is Delhi at longitude 77°E or 77°W?

City of Alexandria's latitude is 31.2°N; Syene latitude is 24.1°N, what is the distance between the two cities?

Draw Earth on it's axis labelling the following with latitude where relevant: Equator, Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, Arctic Circle, Antarctic Circle, Prime Meridian, North Pole, South Pole

Name 3 atmospheric effects that affect astronomical observations (seeing conditions) and their main sources.

What shape is the moon?

The diameters of the Earth and Moon are: 13,000 km and 3500 km respectively. What is the ratio diameter of Earth: diameter of Moon?

How do craters appear in naked eye observations of the surface of the moon?

How do maria appear in naked eye observations of the surface of the moon?

How do terrae appear in naked eye observations of the surface of the moon?

How do mountains appear in naked eye observations of the surface of the moon?

How do valleys appear in naked eye observations of the surface of the moon?

How were craters formed on the surface of the moon?

How were maria formed on the surface of the moon?

How were terrae formed on the surface of the moon?

How were mountains formed on the surface of the moon?

How were valleys formed on the surface of the moon?

Draw the near side of the moon, labelling the following: Sea of tranquillity, Ocean of storms, Sea of Crises, Tycho crater, Copernicus, Kepler, Apening mountain range.

What is the rotation period of the moon?

What is the revolution period of the moon?

What do we mean by the lunar orbit is synchronous?

What causes lunar librations?

What are lunar librations' effect on the visibility of the lunar disc?

If you were studying lunar librations, how would you go about doing this?

Roughly, how many times smaller is the moon in comparison to the Sun?

Approximately how many times further away is the moon from the sun compared to the moon and the Earth?

What is the subtending angle between the sun and the moon?

The diameters of the Sun and Earth are 1.4 x 10^6 km and 1.3 x 10^4 km respectively, what is the ration of the diameters?

How many Earth's could you fit between the Earth and the Moon?

How did Eratosthenes and Aristarchus use observations of the sun and moon determine the diameter of the Earth?

How did Eratosthenes and Aristarchus use observations of the sun and moon determine the diameter of the Moon?

How did Eratosthenes and Aristarchus use observations of the sun and moon determine the distance to the moon?

How did Eratosthenes and Aristarchus use observations of the sun and moon determine the distance to the sun?

How did Eratosthenes and Aristarchus use observations of the sun and moon determine the diameter of the Sun?

The mean diameter of the sun is 1.4 x 10^6 km, what is the ratio 'diameter of the sun/diameter of the moon= distance to the sun/distance to the moon'. Therefore what is the distance to the moon from this ratio?

Show diagrams of the Sun, Earth and Moon when there is high tide

Show diagrams of the Sun, Earth and Moon when there is low tide

Show diagrams of the Sun, Earth and Moon when there is spring tide

Show diagrams of the Sun, Earth and Moon when there is neap tide

Explain precession and how long does it take?

Archaeologists estimate that an ancient stone monument was constructed 580 BCE. Some of the monument's stones were aligned to The Pleiades star cluster in the constellation of Taurus, The Bull. The average rate of precession is 1.4° per century; the stones are no longer aligned with The Pleiades.
Estimate the angle by which the stones are now mis-aligned.

The precession rate of planet Tràsköm is 1.1° per century. How many years does it take Tràsköm's axis to precess by 30 arcmin

Draw diagrams of a partial, total, and annular solar eclipse, include first, second, third and fourth umbral contact

Explain appearances of a partial and a total lunar eclipse, including the terms first, second, third, and fourth umbral contact.

What causes a solar eclipse?

What is annular eclipse?

What cause lunar eclipses?

What causes the moon to appear red?

What is the difference between sidereal and synodic(solar) day?

Explain the equation of time and how we determine Apparent Solar time and Mean solar time?

How does someone determine Local Mean Time?

Explain when you would use the equation of time

How does the equation of time vary over the year? (What is an analemma? How many times a year does AST=MST)

What causes the annual variation of the equation of time?

What are the main errors of doing the shadow stick experiment?

How do you determine local noon using a shadow stick?

What is a horizontal sundial?

What is a vertical sundial?

What is gnomon?

What should a gnomon be lined up to?

Draw the lunar phase cycle.

What is the difference between sidereal and synodic(solar) months for the moon? (Which is longer?)

Explain why sunrise and sunset varies over the year?

Explain the astronomical significance of equinoxes and solstices?

Explain the variation of the sun's apparent motion during the year, particularly during equinoxes and solstices. Think also about shadows.

What is sidereal time and synodic(solar) time? How are they related?

Why do observers experience a difference in local time if they are located at different longitudes even though their time zone is the same?

Why do we use time zones?

What is the Prime Meridian? What is Universal Time (UT)?

What can we find using the Equation of Time? When is the shadow stick shortest?

What astronomical methods are there for determining longitude?

What is the lunar distance method?

What is the horological method for the determination of longitude (include Harrison's marine chronometer but knowledge of internal working of chronometers not required)

Solar System observation

How can we use pinhole projection to observe the Sun safely?

What is the annual path called that the observed motion of the Sun follows?

How do the positions of the planets in the night sky change?

What is the zodiacal band?

Explain retrograde motion of the planets.

What does First Point of Aries and First Point of Libra mean?

How do meteors and meteor showers appear and what causes them. Draw why we observe on Earth meteor showers around the same time every year. Explain how we can determine the radiant of a meteor shower.

What is a conjunction(superior and inferior)?

What is opposition?

What is elongation?

What is transit?

What is occultation?

What is a Celestial observation?

During Naked eye observations describe how the Sun looks

During Naked eye observations describe how the Moon looks

During Naked eye observations describe how the stars (including double stars, constellations and asterisms) looks

During Naked eye observations describe how the starclusters looks

During Naked eye observations describe how galaxies and nebulae look

During Naked eye observations describe how planets look

During Naked eye observations describe how comets look

During Naked eye observations describe how meteors look

During Naked eye observations describe how aurorae look

During Naked eye observations describe how supernovae and artificial objects, including: artificial satellites look

During Naked eye observations describe how aircraft look

Draw Cassiopeia including its most prominent stars

Draw Cygnus including its most prominent stars

Draw Orion including its most prominent stars

Draw Plough including its most prominent stars

Draw the Southern Cross including its most prominent stars

Draw the Summer Triangle including its most prominent stars

Draw the Square of Pegasus including its most prominent stars

How do we use asterisms as pointers to locate specific objects in the night sky?

How can you find Arcturus and Polaris from the Plough

How can you find Sirius, Aldebaran and the Pleiades from Orion's Belt

How can you find Fomalhaut and the Andromeda galaxy from Square of Pegasus

Explain why there is a range of constellation, asterism and star names among different cultures?

How can we use information from star charts, planispheres, computer programs or 'apps' to identify objects in the night sky?

Name the causes and effects of light pollution on observations of the night sky.

What is a celestial sphere (you may draw them)

What are celestial poles (you may draw them)

What is a celestial equator (you may draw them)

When and how do we use equatorial coordinate system (right ascension and declination)?

Why do we use of the horizon coordinate system (altitude and azimuth)?

How can the observer's latitude be used to link the equatorial and horizon coordinates of an object for the observer's meridian

How can the observer's meridian define local sidereal time and an object's hour angle?

How can we use information on equatorial and horizon coordinates to determine the best time to observe a particular celestial object

How can we use information on equatorial and horizon coordinates to determine the best object(s) to observe at a particular time

What do cardinal points in relation to astronomical observations, mean?

What does culmination in relation to astronomical observations, mean?

What does meridian in relation to astronomical observations, mean?

What does zenith in relation to astronomical observations, mean?

What does circumpolarity in relation to astronomical observations, mean?

What is the diurnal motion of the sky due to the Earth's rotation

How can we use the star's declination to determine whether the star will be circumpolar from an observer's latitude?

What is the apparent motion of circumpolar stars, including upper transit (culmination) and lower transit?

How can we use information about rising and setting times of stars to predict their approximate position in the sky?

How can we find the latitude of an observer using Polaris?

What does dark adaptation and averted vision mean?

Explain why rising and setting affect visibility

Explain why seeing conditions affect visibility

Explain why weather conditions affect visibility

Explain why landscape affects visibility

How does the Milky Way look from Earth as seen with the naked eye

What four reasons did ancient civilisations all over the world make detailed observations of solar and lunar cycles?

Why do current celestial alignment of ancient monuments differ from their original celestial alignment?

Explain what early geocentric models of the Solar System looked like?

What are the advantage of the addition of epicycles, as described by Ptolemy?

What can you say about the scale of the Solar System? Size of Sun, distance to Earth, Neptune, Oort cloud etc

How far is 2.4 x 1018km in astronomical units (1 AU = 1.5 × 108 km), light year (l.y.) and parsec (pc).