Sample Questions

One week after a solar eclipse, the phase of the Moon is:

First quarter
Crescent
Full
Waxing Gibbous
New

Eclipses of the Sun and the Moon do NOT occur every month because the

Earth's axis of rotation is inclined to its orbital plane.
Earth's orbit is not a circle.
Moon's orbit is not a circle.
Moon's orbit is tilted with respect to the Earth's orbit.
Moon's synodic period is longer than its orbital period.

If the Moon is in the waxing crescent phase, an observer on the Moon would see the Earth in which phase? (Hint: if you just can't figure this one out, go back and look at the diagram on the Phases of the Moon page and pretend you are on the Moon.)

waxing crescent
waxing gibbous
waning crescent
waning gibbous
no phase: the Earth does not exhibit phases

The monthly cyle of phases of the Moon results primarily from

changes in the lunar orbital radius
variations in the inclination of the lunar orbit
changes in the lunar orbital velocity
the changing angle of lunar illumination by the Sun
the time the Moon is viewed

An eclipse of the Moon occurs when the

Earth gets inside the shadow of the Moon.
Moon gets inside the shadow of the Earth.
Moon gets between the Earth and the Sun.
Moon reaches its NEW phase.
Moon reaches quadrature.

Earthshine is defined to be

sunlight first reflected off the Moon onto the Earth
a glow given off by the release of gravitational energy as the Earth contracts
what astronauts on the Moon see when they look back at Earth
sunlight reflected off the Moon after reflecting off the Earth
light produced by the Earth's atmosphere

The Moon is a very thin crescent on the night of November 13th. On what day (approximately) will it be full?

December 13
November 20
November 27
December 5
December 27

People see many more eclipses of the Moon than eclipses of the Sun in their lives. This occurs because

lunar eclipses occur far more often than solar eclipses.
lunar eclipses occur at night.
solar eclipses can occur only during the daytime.
one whole hemisphere of Earth views every lunar eclipse.
all of the above are reasons for this fact.

You look up and see the Moon's left half lit and that the Moon is halfway across the sky from east to west. The time must be about

Midnight
9 P.M.
3 A.M.
6 A.M.
6 P.M.

During a phone conversation with my friend in London, England, he mentions that the full moon is beautiful tonight. It is 1 AM in London and 7 PM in College Park. It is clear so I look out my east window and see

the full moon.
a quarter moon.
a gibbous moon.
a crescent moon.
no moon.

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