1. For the sake of convenience, astronomers have divided the sky into 88 constellations. In which of these constellations does the current Pole Star, Polaris, lie? Reticulum Ursa Minor Orion Corona Borealis

2. The great English poet William Shakespeare once wrote, "I am constant as the northern star." [Julius Caesar; Act III, Scene 1] The Pole Star, however, does not appear *exactly* fixed in the night-sky, rather, it is slightly off from the exact North direction. About how far, in degrees, is the Pole Star away from the Earth's axis of rotation? 5 degrees 1 degree 10 degrees 0.01 degrees

3. Where in the sky would the Pole Star appear to an observer situated on the North Pole? (For the sake of convenience, assume that the Pole Star *does* indeed lie exactly on the Earth's axis of rotation.) At the zenith (exactly overhead) It depends on the time of the year At a fixed point on the horizon Perpetually below the horizon and invisible

4. And where would the Pole Star appear for an observer situated on the Earth's equator? (Again, assume that the Pole star lies on the Earth's axis of rotation.) It would appear to revolve around the observer, on the horizon At a fixed point on the horizon At the zenith It would be forever occulted by the Sun

5. Is Polaris ever visible from the South Pole? Yes No

6. We now have to begin to take into account yet another motion of the Earth, one which is not easily observable- the precession of the equinoxes. Think of the Earth as a spinning top: the axis of rotation of a top is never constant, the axis seems to move in a circular path (comparatively slowly), while the top keeps rotating at the same time. Similar is the case of the Earth and its axis of rotation; the axis of rotation over a certain period, goes in the form of a circle known as the 'precession circle'. Approximately how much time does the Earth take to complete one precession? 25,800 years Of the order of 10^6 years 3,600 years [10 to the power log(365)] years

7. Because of the precession of the equinoxes, in the year 2700 BC, our good, old Polaris was not the most conveniently situated "pole star", rather, it was a rather inconspicuous star in the constellation Draco (the dragon). What is this star, also called Alpha Draconis, more commonly known as? Thuban Al Nair Altair Betelgeuse

8. In about 14,000 AD, an extremely bright star in the constellation Lyra is going to become the Pole Star, and will by far be the brightest Pole Star of all. What is this star, also referred to as 'Alpha Lyrae', better known as? Fomalhaut Vega Canopus Achernar

9. Now having the Pole Star around isn't of much help if you're no good at locating it. The constellation in which it is located is not all that conspicuous, and spotting it can prove to be a real head-ache if you aren't familiar with the night-sky, and from a big city, most of the stars of the constellation are completely invisible. And so we look to our easiest method of finding Polaris- neighbouring constellations, the most prominent of which is Ursa Major, or the Great Bear. In Northern latitudes, this constellation is circum-polar, i.e. it is always visible. The brightest stars of this constellation are in the shape of what appears to be a sauce-pan or a ladle (the type you use for serving soup or juice at parties), and so they are collectively called the "Big Dipper". If the line joining 2 of the stars of Ursa Major is extended, you invariably hit the Pole Star, thus these 2 are very aptly referred to as the 'Pointers'. What are the names of these 2 stars? Sirius and Procyon Altair and Deneb Dubhe and Merak Betelgeuse and Bellatrix

10. Well, by now, I'm sure most of our Southern Hemisphere players have begun muttering curses at the quiz-maker and complaining about how Northern Hemisphere-centric this quiz is, and so, to make amends, I've included one question about the Southern Hemisphere... Like the Pole Star in the North, there is, as well, a Pole Star in the South, except...erm...it isn't nearly as visible. Having an apparent magnitude of around +5.5 means that it can be just seen with the naked eye, only with a lot of effort, and in big cities is entirely invisible. What is the name of this star, the closest visible star to the South Pole of the celestial sphere? Alpha Centauri (Rigil Kentaurus) Sigma Octantis Alpha Camelopardalis Theta Eridani (Acamar)