Question

use the diagram below to place choices in their corresponding buckets.

sensible
nonsense

a star’s declination remains the same over the course of the night.
a star’s right ascension changes significantly over the course of the night.
ra and dec are the best coordinates for telescopes, especially space telescopes.
the celestial equator defines 0 degree right ascension.

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Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each statement based on celestial coordinate knowledge:

Sensible (statements that are correct):

• A star’s declination remains the same over the course of the night: Declination (Dec) is analogous to latitude on Earth and is fixed for a star (doesn’t change nightly).
• RA and Dec are the best coordinates for telescopes, especially space telescopes: Right Ascension (RA) and Declination (Dec) are a fixed celestial coordinate system, ideal for telescope targeting (including space telescopes).

Nonsense (statements that are incorrect):

• A star’s right ascension changes significantly over the course of the night: RA is analogous to longitude on Earth and is fixed for a star (Earth’s rotation causes apparent motion, but RA itself does not change nightly).
• The celestial equator defines 0 degree right ascension: The celestial equator defines 0 degrees declination (Dec), while 0 degree RA is defined by the vernal equinox (the point where the Sun crosses the celestial equator in spring).

Final Bucketing:

• Sensible:
• A star’s declination remains the same over the course of the night.
• RA and Dec are the best coordinates for telescopes, especially space telescopes.
• Nonsense:
• A star’s right ascension changes significantly over the course of the night.
• The celestial equator defines 0 degree right ascension.

(To place them in the diagram, drag the “Sensible” statements to the “Sensible” bucket and “Nonsense” to the “Nonsense” bucket.)

Answer:

To solve this, we analyze each statement based on celestial coordinate knowledge:

Sensible (statements that are correct):

• A star’s declination remains the same over the course of the night: Declination (Dec) is analogous to latitude on Earth and is fixed for a star (doesn’t change nightly).
• RA and Dec are the best coordinates for telescopes, especially space telescopes: Right Ascension (RA) and Declination (Dec) are a fixed celestial coordinate system, ideal for telescope targeting (including space telescopes).

Nonsense (statements that are incorrect):

• A star’s right ascension changes significantly over the course of the night: RA is analogous to longitude on Earth and is fixed for a star (Earth’s rotation causes apparent motion, but RA itself does not change nightly).
• The celestial equator defines 0 degree right ascension: The celestial equator defines 0 degrees declination (Dec), while 0 degree RA is defined by the vernal equinox (the point where the Sun crosses the celestial equator in spring).

Final Bucketing:

• Sensible:
• A star’s declination remains the same over the course of the night.
• RA and Dec are the best coordinates for telescopes, especially space telescopes.
• Nonsense:
• A star’s right ascension changes significantly over the course of the night.
• The celestial equator defines 0 degree right ascension.

(To place them in the diagram, drag the “Sensible” statements to the “Sensible” bucket and “Nonsense” to the “Nonsense” bucket.)