Question

1. Compare asteroid, meteoroid, meteor, meteorite, comet.
2. A comet’s tail is not really a tail. It doesn’t always follow the comet’s head; it often leads in front of the head. We can say it always points away from the sun. Why? What is the tail?
3. Some comets return regularly; others never do. What’s different in their orbits?
4. Here is a tide chart for some place along the ocean shore. Fill in the missing times or dates on the eight _______ lines below.

DATE               TIDE and TIME                                   NEXT TIDE and TIME

June 1 Very high at 4:00 AM                       Very low at _______

                        Very high again at_______    Very low again at _______

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_______ Mildly high at 9:30 AM                    Mildly low at _______

                        Mildly high again at _______            Mildly low again at _______

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_______ Very high and very low tides return

5. The 6h 20 min between low and high tide is caused by what?
6. The 7 days between very large to mild CHANGES in tides is caused by what?
7. We see very large tide changes when the moon is in what two phases?              We see mild tide changes when the moon is in what two phases?
8. The unlit side of the moon ought to be totally black and be unseen in any phase. However, often it can be dimly seen. Why? How does it get any light at all?                    

9. Nebulas were mysterious fuzzy patches of light in space seen in a dark sky. Today we know these are four different things. List them.

10. Put these numbers in order, largest to smallest:   10⁵, 10¹⁴ , 10¹ , 10^-1 , 10^-8 ,10⁰

11.. Put these distances in order: ly, megamile, pc, AU. How many km in 1 ly & 1 AU?

12. Put these 14 objects in rough size place (largest to smallest) according to their actual sizes, not as we see them: star (sun), major planet, comet head, meteor, galaxy, universe, a moon, asteroid, comet tail, solar system, local group, minor planet, space out to a nearby star, meteorite, an entire constellation

13. What is the moon illusion and why is it called an illusion?

Answer 1