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Questions from the second part of the class, to be covered on Exam #2.

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Explain the difference between a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse. Why are solar eclipses less common than lunar eclipses?

(44)

Explain the difference between an annular and a total solar eclipse. Why are solar eclipses sometimes annular and sometimes total?

(45)

Why does the Moon turn a deep red color during a lunar eclipse?

(46)

Use a side view of the Moon's orbit and the Ecliptic plane to help explain why the Moon doesn't undergo a lunar or solar eclipse every month.

(47)

Explain why "eclipse seasons" occur about every six months. As part of your answer, define what a "node" is with respect to the Moon's orbit and how the line of nodes determines whether eclipses occur.

(48)

Two of the most easily recognizable constellations that are up in the sky at this time of year are Leo and Orion

• Approximate location in the night sky for this time of year, based on the star chart in your book for midnight in late January in appendix A (rough altitude and azimuth),
• star chart (sketch of the pattern of the 6-9 brightest stars and connecting lines that make up the constellation),
• name of the two stars designated alpha and beta (usually the two brightest),
• 2-3 sentence summary of the mythology behind the constellation.

This is pretty easy to find on the web. A good place to go for mythology is http://www.comfychair.org/~cmbell/myth/myth.html, but remember to keep your summary fairly short so it is easy to remember the most important parts. A good place to go for simple star charts is http://www.dibonsmith.com/constel.htm. For star names and other information, try http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/. To find the approximate altitude and azimuth (azimuth means direction along the horizon, like northeast, south, west, etc), you should use the star chart as indicated, but you may also consult the Starry Night software that is installed on the computers in the Astronomy lab, which you can use if you finish early in lab ***OR*** go outside and *FIND* them with your own two eyes on a clear night (all are easily visible this time of year). When you are done, go out at night and find the constellation and explain what you know to a friend or classmate. It's fun to do and easier to remember that way. (HW)

The following 5 homework questions are from Chapter 3 of the book "Echoes of Ancient Skies", which can be found in the Doc Sharing section of the Physics 10293 course on e-College.

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Which celestial objects are associated with each day of the week? (HW)

(50)

What was the main divine role of the Sun in the cultures described in the reading? What was the main divine role of the Moon in these cultures? (HW)

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In most cultures, the gods associated with the sky, weather, rain and lightning are male, but the Egyptians personified the sky as a goddess. Explain this difference (why the Egyptians don't also use a male god to associate with the sky). (HW)

(52)

Explain the significance of the Star of Bethlehem story in the gospel of Matthew by summarizing how this story shared ideas and traditions seen in other cultures in Egypt and Mesoamerica. (HW)

(53)

Explain the origin of the Christmas holiday. Why do we celebrate Christmas in December 25 instead of in April, the time of year most scholars believe Christ was born? (HW)

(54)

Name and explain two major cultural functions of Astronomy in ancient civilizations.

(55)

Is an alignment with summer or winter solstice sunrise more significant than an alignment with the equinox? Explain why or why not.

(56)

Is an alignment with summer or winter solstice sunrise more significant than an alignment with the most extreme northern or southern moonrise? Explain why or why not.

(57)

Explain why a culture might recognize an alignment with the rising point of a particular bright star (hint: the Egyptians did this with Sirius) out of all the possible bright stars in the sky.

The following eight questions are from the introduction to the book "Ancient Astronomy: An Encyclopedia of Cosmologies and Myth" by Clive Ruggles, which can be found in your course shell on d2l.tcu.edu. As usual, they are asked in the same order they are covered in the reading.

(58)

Even though observations of the sky were likely no more important than the surrounding landscape for ancient cultures, we feel that we can potentially learn more by studying how people observed the sky and how it influenced them. Explain why. (HW)

(59)

Explain what ethnocentrism is and briefly describe an example where this approach has been used in the field of archaeoastronomy and why this approach is flawed. (HW)

(60)

Briefly explain two potential problems with using first-hand accounts to understand the ancient practices of a particular society. (HW)

(61)

Not all apparent astronomical alignments are real and/or intentional. After all, everything has to point *somewhere*. Explain two ways we can distinguish between accidental and intentional astronomical alignments by describing the two examples (from Scotland and Central America) from the reading. (HW)

(62)

"The more complex and accurate a calendar is, the more advanced is the culture that constructed that calendar." Explain the logical flaw in this statement. (HW)

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Explain why solstices were observed by more cultures while equinoxes were rarely observed. (HW)

(64)

Some astronomers attempt to reconstruct sightlines that connect buildings to points on the horizon, such as prominent notches silhouetted in a distant mountain range. Explain the potential problem of this approach, why it may lead to incorrect conclusions. (HW)

(65)

What is a hierophany? Briefly describe two examples of hierophanies in Archaeoastronomy. (HW)

(66)

According to Anthony Aveni, the civilization that built Chichen Itza lasted until about the 9th century AD. Aveni says there had been an advanced, progressive civilization in that part of the world for at least how many years in total? What are two pieces of evidence of their advanced nature?

(67)

Describe the phenomenon that occurs at the Temple of Kukulcan on one of the two equinox days each year at sunset.

(68)

What does the planet Venus represent to the Maya?

(69)

Without any complex tools, Anthony Aveni and his students describe how to construct a right angle using a circle. Explain how this works with a simple diagram.

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According to Aveni, what is the significance of the number 13 in Mayan culture? The calendar round is the amount of time it takes for the 260-day (sacred round) tzolkin and the 365-day (agricultural) haab calendar to synch up again after starting together on day one. How long is a calendar round, and what supposedly occurred at the end of this cycle?

(71)

The Venus cycle, the time it takes for the motions of Venus on the horizon to repeat, takes how many years? Briefly describe a couple of reasons why the Maya studied Venus so closely.

(72)

Read http://bit.ly/1QoNiYv about the zodiacal light and answer: What causes the zodiacal light (what is the source of the light)? Why does the light appear in a band along the zodiacal constellations? Why is zodiacal light best seen during the Spring from the northern hemisphere? (HW)

The following 5 questions are from Chapter 5 of the book "Echoes of the Ancient Skies", which can be found in the Doc Sharing section of the Physics 10293 course on e-College.

(73)

There are two shafts within the Great Pyramid that appear to be astronomically aligned. Explain why it makes sense for one shaft to point toward Orion's Belt and the other to point toward the meridian crossing of Thuban. (HW)

(74)

What is the significance of the 70 day time period to the Egyptians. Why, for example, did the purification of a dead body (mummification) take 70 days? (HW)

(75)

The tombs of Chinese royalty are usually oriented north-south. Explain why the Emperors usually oriented their tombs and palaces so they had to be approached form the South. In other words, why did these leaders associate themselves with the North? (HW)

(76)

Name and briefly explain two pieces of evidence (many are described) to indicate that the image in the lid of the sarcophagus of Lord Pacal at the Palenque temple is meant to represent his death, as opposed to the interpretation that Pacal was some sort of astronaut on board a rocket ship. (HW)

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Though no written records exist, name and briefly explain two pieces of evidence (many are described) that support the idea that the tomb at the Irish tomb of Newgrange was astronomically aligned purposefully (rather than accidentally). (HW)

(78)

Why must alignments with bright star rise/set points be very precise in order to be plausible?

(79)

Briefly explain two reasons why an archaeological alignment with an extreme rising or setting point of Venus may be considered significant. What supporting evidence indicates Mayan alignments with Venus (for example at the Caracol) are likely intentional.

(80)

Explain two reasons why it is not likely that a culture would intentionally align a structure with an extreme rise/set point of Venus or any other bright planet.

(81)

Both Stonehenge and the Temple of Kukulcan appear to point at major solar rising points in the horizon (solstice or equinox). Describe the evidence that confirms Stonehenge is likely an intentional alignment and the evidence that the Temple of Kukulcan may not be intentional.

(82)

Regarding the tomb in Ireland known as Newgrange. Explain how this is aligned and why that alignment makes sense culturally, then explain what other evidence supports the assertion that this alignment was intentional.

(83)

Describe the sun dagger phenomenon in Chaco Canyon in the southwestern United States. Draw a diagram of the different light and shadow patterns seen on the solstices and equinoxes. A video that shows this is http://accad.osu.edu/~aprice/works/sundagger/index.html.

The following five homework questions are from Chapter 10 of the book "Echoes of the Ancient Skies," which can be found in the Doc Sharing section of the Physics 10293 course on e-College.

(84)

Explain the structure of kivas of the Pueblo and Anasazi indians in the American southwest. Specifically, why were they built underground and entered via climbing down a ladder through a hole in the ceiling? Why did they use four large wooden poles for roof supports, as opposed to some other number? Why were they round, as opposed to some other shape? (HW)

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Explain why the Pawnee earth lodges had four poles with specific colors. In other words, what do those colors seem to correspond to? How is the constellation Corona Borealis related to the Pawnee lodges and sky lore? (HW)

(86)

Explain how the Sun "weaves" the threads that make up the floor of the Kogi temples. (HW)

(87)

Structure J at the Zapotec temple of Monte Alban in Central America has an alignment that seems to point toward a particular place on the horizon where the bright star Capella can be seen. Explain the significance of Capella and the what was likely observed here and at the neighboring building, Structure P. (HW)

(88)

In the discussion of the Temple of Hathor at Dendera, Sir Norman Lockyer had proposed that the temple is aligned with a star in Ursa Major or Draco. What is wrong with this idea? According to texts found at the temple, what was observed from the rooftop and why did this observation coincide with the Egyptian New Year? (HW)

(89)

What are two lines of evidence that no one lived in the large multi-room buildings constructed by the residents of Chaco Canyon?

(90)

Describe the orientation of Pueblo Bonito and how it is related to the seasonal motion of the sun.

(91)

Describe the evidence on Fajada Butte that indicates the orientation of Pueblo Bonito is intentional.

(92)

Define the minimum and maximum extremes of the Moon. How long is the cycle of lunar rising points along the horizon? What evidence indicates this cycle was tracked on Fajada Butte?

(93)

Describe the evidence that the buildings in Chaco Canyon are positioned and constructed in a way to mark the extremes of the lunar cycle.

(94)

Describe two lines of evidence that indicate the north road was constructed not so much for practical use but instead for ceremonial use.

(95)

What evidence exists outside of the Chaco Canyon area that indicates the solstice alignment found at the sun dagger is likely intentional? Explain.

(96)

The film described evidence that alignments exist between certain buildings that purposefully point toward one of the lunar extremes. Explain the reasonging skeptics use to argue that the alignments between various pairs of Chacoan buildings are NOT intentionally aligned toward lunar extremes or other astronomical phenomena.

(97)

What is the definition of "the meridian"?

(98)

Describe how gnomons keep time on a sunny day. When is the shadow cast by a gnomon the shortest, and how does the length of the shortest shadow vary over the course of a year (think about how the maximum altitude of the Sun changes during the year on our horizon diagrams)?

(99)

Explain why it is easier to time an object's meridian crossing ("transit") as opposed to the object's rising or setting times (three reasons).

(100)

What is the analemma? Use a horizon diagram to help explain what causes the north-south motion of the Sun along the meridian over the course of a year.

(101)

Explain what causes the East-West motion of the Sun in the analemma during the year. Use a diagram to help explain why the solar day (time between sun meridian crossings) is sometimes a little longer and sometimes a little shorter than 24 hours.