Question

1. The Sun rises latest in the morning near the onset of what season?

2. Which of the following constellations would you not expect Jupiter to occupy at sometime in the next 15 years: Virgo, Taurus, Canis Minor, Capricornus?

3. Suppose you have discovered a new celestial body going around the sun. If it requires 729 years to complete one orbit around the sun, what is its average distance from the sun (give answer in AU)?

Answer 1

1. The Sun rises latest in the morning near the onset of winter, assuming that you are in the Northern Hemisphere. This happens because of the tilt of the earth's axis , such that the Northern Hemisphere tilts away from the Sun during winter.

2. Jupiter will not occupy the constellation Canis Major. When seen from the earth, all the planets and the Sun appear to travel across our sky in more or less one arc. This path of the planets in our sky is called the Ecliptic. The Ecliptic is divided into exactly 12 constellations and these constellations are the Zodiac signs Aries, Taurus, Gemini.... Canis Major does on lie on the Ecliptic and so Juptier will not occupy it.

3. Kepler's law states that , where T is the time required to complete one orbit and R is the average distance between the sun and the object.

For earth, T = 1 year, R = 1 AU