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Astronomy Quiz 6:

We're back after a pretty long break ! here we go...

1) Any number of entries per person are allowed except that your latest entry will be the one that is taken into account.eg: if you submit 3 entries , your third entry will be considered.

2) The last date for submitting your entries is the 30th of May, 2002.

3) If you encounter problems while submitting the answers online, mail the answers directly to astro@physics.iisc.ernet.in .

4) Glossy posters of the milky way, Mars, Saturn to be won !

4) Our thanks to the National Space Science Data Center ( NSSDC ) at the Goddard Space Flight Center for providing material...

Question 1

A sitter to begin with...what is the least time(approx) between the occurence of a solar and lunar eclipse ?


Question 2.

Gamm ray bursts are now known to be the most energetic events in the known universe, and can outshine the rest of the universe for a couple of seconds or so. The first Gamma ray bursts were detected in the 1960's( but were not revealed until 1973! ) by US spy satellites which were meant for monitoring signs of the Russians testing nuclear weapons (any nuclear test would leave a telltale signature in gamma rays which these satellites were equipped  to detect). But why did the americans put up satellites in space while fact is that one can detect  tests on  earth using seismic data  very easily ?

Question 3.

  Identify the Pale dot that the arrow is pointing to in the pic !

It shows up as a faint dot occupying less than a pixel ( see carefully where the arrow points) in this image. What is it ?


Question 4.

 What are the bright spikes due to ?

An image of the Sun... The bright ray like features( 8 of them in this pic) seen in the pictures  are artefacts due to what ?

Question 5.
 Sunrise in the west...achievable ? how ? you could calculate...there are people who achieve this feat on a routine basis !!

Question 6.

Zaphod and Arthur spotted the orbiting casino resort station as they approached the desert world of Kakrafoon. In a few minutes, Zaphod had maneuvered their ship so that the two spacecraft were in circular orbits that were identical in every respect, except the casino was ten kiloquats ahead of Zaphod and Arthur. "I can't wait to have a pan galactic gargle blaster," said Arthur. "Let's increase our speed so we can catch up!" "No, silly," replied Zaphod. "To catch up, first we need to slow down."  

That was  from the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy... now,  why do they need to slow down to catch up with the  casino ?  apparently this was a problem that puzzled astronauts and ground engineers of the early Gemini mission, until the details were worked out and the problem solved.
 

Question 7.

Throw a stone into the air at less than escape velocity and it'll follow a parabolic trajectory, if air resistance is neglected...is what textbooks say about projetile motion. But strictly speaking the trajectory is part of an ELLIPSE ( air resistance neglected). Which fundamental fact are you neglecting by assuming the parabolic trajectory strictly ? 

Question 8.
 

  Picture taken by the Apollo mission astronauts who landed on the moon...Could they see the earth rising and setting  ?  if yes, why ?  if no, why ?

Question 9.

If a global war were on the verge of breaking up, it has been said that radio astronomers would be the first civilians to know about it. How ? i am looking for a very specific answer !

 

 

Question 10

During the time of the Leonid meteor showers,  there was concern about their effects on earth orbiting satellites. Even though the biggest peices are of the  size of sand grains, travelling at speeds of a few tens of kms per sec, each grain can carry the destructive force of a speeding bullet.  Although these meteroids can poke holes in solar panels, pit lenses and chip off reflective coatings, the main concern was about another kind of damage which is non-mechanical. How ? 



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