15. Galileo and other 15th century astronomers found Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn in the night sky, and tracked their movements. What technique aided 19th century astronomers in finding our most distant planets, which can’t be seen at night by the naked eye? A. They looked for a pulsating twinkle.
B. They looked along the ecliptic, knowing any unseen planets might be found there.
C. They sent space probes to find them.
D. It’s a trick question; they only looked during the day

16. Polaris will not always be the northern polestar because
A. it will flip to become the southern pole star.
B. it orbits earth on the ecliptic.
C.15th century explorers used it to navigate to the New World.
D. precession of the earth will cause the north pole to point elsewhere in space.

17. To find the Zodiac constellation of your birth month, in the sky, on your birthday, you would
A. scan the northern sky near Polaris at night.
B. go blind looking for it behind the sun at noon (or use a phone app to safely view it).
C. read your horoscope.
D. Look for a lunar eclipse.

18. Solar noon occurs:
A. at 12 pm exactly.
B. when the sun reaches its highest point in the sky each day.
C. At 12 pm or 1 pm, depending on whether is it Daylight Savings Time.
D. only during solstices and equinoxes.

19. Pick the scientific statement about the Zodiac that is not true
A. There are 12 Zodiac signs on the ecliptic.
B. There are 13 Zodiac signs on the ecliptic.
C. On your birthday “your” Zodiac sign is found behind the sun at noon that day.
D. Astronomy is a science, Astrology is a belief system with historical scientific roots.

20. A “solar” or “tropical” year
A. is 365.24 days. c. is only found within 23.5° of the equator.
B. is 365 days. d. occurs every 4 years.