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Experience Astronomy!
Study Guide for the Final
Astronomy and the Bible!
Below are several Bible passages with which you need to be familiar:
Genesis 1:14-19 – The sun, moon, and stars were created the 4th day of creation. God
gives 5 reasons for their creation: (1) To give us light; (2) To separate day and night;
(3) For marking the seasons (our yearly rhythms of life like planting, harvesting, and
festivals); (4) For marking days and years (that is, making calendars); and (5) For
making signs or constellations in the sky (useful for navigation).
Genesis 15:1-6 – God promises Abraham his descendants will number the stars in the
sky. Abraham believed the Lord, despite being too old to have children, and was
counted as righteous before God.
Job 9:4-10 – Job speaks about the mighty and wise acts of God, including making the
constellations Ursa Major, Orion, the Pleiades, and the southern constellations.
Job 38:31-33 – God questions Job, asking him if he is powerful enough to move the
heavens above, asking if he can bind the chains of the Pleiades, loose the cords of
Orion, lead forth the Mazzaroth (zodiac constellations) in their season, or guide Ursa
Major with its stars.
Deuteronomy 4:19 – God warns the people of Israel not to worship the sun, moon, or
stars.
Psalm 19:1-6 – David sings about how the heavens declare God’s glory and his works,
showing every nation on the Earth that He is real.
Amos 5:8 – Amos tells the people of Israel that the Lord is the one who made the
Pleiades and Orion, who turns day into night and night into day, who can control the
rains.
The Celestial Sphere!
The Celestial Sphere – The sphere of the sky surrounding the Earth, representing the stars
we see in the sky
Celestial Equator – If the Earth’s equator was projected out into space, the line it would
make on the celestial sphere is the celestial equator
Celestial Poles – The axis of the Earth points at these northernmost and southernmost
points on the celestial sphere
Ecliptic – The path the sun takes through the celestial sphere over the course of a whole
year; it is tilted with respect to the celestial equator because the Earth’s axis is tilted 23.5°
12 Zodiac Constellations – Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius,
Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius, and Pisces
Axis – The line around with the Earth (or any planetary body) rotates
Circumpolar – The stars and constellations that rotate around the north or south celestial
pole that are high enough above the horizon they don’t rise or set
The Direction of Spin - Looking down on the north pole, the Earth spins counterclockwise.
Looking straight on at the Earth, it spins in an Eastward direction. This means the celestial
sphere overhead moves in a westward direction from our perspective on Earth. Facing the
north celestial pole, it looks like the stars overhead are turning counterclockwise around
the pole. Facing the south celestial pole, it looks like the stars are turing clockwise around
the pole.
Apparent Magnitude – How bright a star appears in our sky
Constellation – An ofbicial grouping of stars in the sky, creating a picture; there are 88
ofbicial constellations
Asterism – A group of stars making a recognizable shape in the sky that is not an ofbicial
constellation (examples include the Big Dipper, the Little Dipper, the Pleiades, the Summer
Triangle, the Square of Pegasus, and the Teapot in Sagittarius)
Planet – Originally meant “wandering star,” meaning they don’t move with the bixed stars in
the sky; in ancient times this included the sun, moon, and 5 classical planets (Mercury,
Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn)
Geocentric Model – A model or understanding of the universe where the Earth is at the
center, and the sun, moon, planets and stars revolve around the Earth
Heliocentric Model – A model or understanding of the universe where the Sun is at the
center, and the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun
Zenith – From your perspective, the part of the celestial sphere that is right over your head
Meridian – The line on the celestial sphere going from due south, straight over your head
through the zenith, to due north; it means “middle of the day”
Heliacal rising – The birst sighting of a specibic star or constellation right before sunrise.
Acronical rising – When the star rises as the sun is setting, reaching the meridian at high
midnight.
Axial precession – The slow wobble of the Earth’s tilted axis, taking 26,000 years
Star Names Matched to Constellations!
Be able to match the following stars to their constellations. These include 16 of the top 25
brightest stars in the sky, plus the star Polaris.
Sirius (brightest star in the night sky) – Canis Major
Arcturus – Boö tes
Vega – Lyra
Capella – Auriga
Rigel – Orion (right knee)
Procyon – Canis Minor
Betelgeuse – Orion (left shoulder)
Altair – Aquila
Aldebaran – Taurus
Antares – Scorpius
Spica – Virgo
Pollux – Gemini (to the left of Castor)
Fomalhaut – Piscis Austrinus
Deneb – Cygnus
Regulus – Leo
Castor – Gemini (to the right of Pollux)
Polaris (the pole star) – Ursa Minor
The Solar System!
8 planets in order – Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune
Terrestrial planets – This means “Earth-like,” having a rocky surface (Mercury, Venus, Earth,
and Mars)
Ice giants – A giant planet composed of mostly ices (Uranus and Neptune)
Gas giants – A giant planet composted of mostly gasses (Jupiter and Saturn)
Inferior planets – Planets closer to the sun than the Earth (Mercury and Venus)
Superior planets – Planets further from the sun than the Earth (Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,
Uranus, and Neptune)
Asteroid belt – Orbit of millions of asteroids and meteoroids between Mars and Jupiter
Kuiper belt – Orbit of small icy bodies beyond Neptune
Oort cloud – Huge body of icy bodies, loosely bound to the Sun’s gravity, beyond the Kuiper
belt
Dwarf Planet vs. Planet – While both orbit the sun and both are large enough to be rounded
by their own gravity, dwarf planets haven’t cleared their own orbit (living in the asteroid
belt or the Kuiper belt)
Small Solar System Body (SSSB) vs. Dwarf Planet – SSSBs are not big enough to be rounded
by their own gravity (comets, asteroids, trojans, etc.)
Satellites vs. Planets/Dwarf Planets – Satellites orbit other objects; planets and dwarf
planets orbit the sun
Meteor vs. Meteorite vs. Meteoroid – Meteoroids are rocks blying through space. They
become meteors when they enter our atmosphere and burn up. If part of them survives to
hit the ground or the water, they are meteorites.
Meteor showers – When Earth passes through the debris bield of something like a comet
which has left behind a bunch of little particles, this can cause a meteor shower
Elongation – The apparent separation between the sun and a planet in the sky; when at its
greatest distance this is called “maximum elongation”
The Moon!
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The moon takes 29.5 days to go through all its phases (New Moon not shown here):
1. Waxing Crescent
2. First Quarter (one quarter of the way through its phases, therefore one quarter of the
sky behind the sun
3. Waxing Gibbous
4. Full Moon (directly opposite the sun in the sky)
5. Waning Gibbous
6. Third Quarter (three quarters of the way through its phases, therefore three quarters of
the sky behind the sun)
7. Waning Crescent
Lunar Eclipse – When the full moon is eclipsed by the Earth’s shadow
Solar Eclipse – When the New Moon covers the disk of the sun in the sky
Penumbral Lunar Eclipse – When the moon goes through only the Earth’s penumbral
shadow
Partial Lunar Eclipse – When the moon goes through part of the Earth’s umbra
Total Lunar Eclipse – When all of the moon enters the Earth’s umbra
Partial Solar Eclipse – When moon partially covers the sun
Annular Solar Eclipse – When the moon completely enters the disk of the sun but its too
small to cover it
Total Solar Eclipse – When the moon completely covers the sun
Calendars!
Lunisolar calendar – Calendar that follows the solar year but uses the moon phases for its
months
Intercalary Month – Extra months added to lunisolar calendars to line up the lunar months
with the solar year
Metonic Cycle – A calendar cycle where 7 intercalary months are added over a period of 19
years in order to line up the lunar months to the solar year
Hebrew Calendar – New months begin on the New Moon; festivals of Passover and Booths
start on full moons, half way through their respective months.
Modern Calendar – Solar calendar with a leap day added every 4 years, inspired by the
Egyptians solar calendar; months are named after the months of the Old Roman calendar;
modibied by Pope Gregory XIII to skip 3 leap days every 400 years
Capricornus
Summer Triangle
Cygnus
Sagittarius
Aquila
Lyra
Summer Constellations
Hercules
Pisces
Fall Constellations
Aries
Andromeda
Pegasus
Piscis Austrinus
Aquarius
Winter Constellations
Cancer
Canis Minor
Gemini
Canis Major
Auriga
Orion
Taurus
Pleiades
Scorpius
Libra
Spring Constellations
Virgo
Corvus
Boötes
Leo
Draco
Ursa Minor
Cassiopeia
Ursa Major
Northern Constellations