current scores
7 ToSeek
7 Candy
5 SeanF
5 Eroica
5 Parrothead
4 Brady Yoon
4 Wally
2 gritmonger
2 earthman2110
1 scottmsg
0 Lycus
0 Ut
0 milli360

Congratulations guys, we exceeded last years participation level.

Someone could still technically win, right? 8-[

So, putting it all together, that makes:

1. 1960
2. 28.57 degrees
3. Subaru
4. April 1
5. America
6. Sun
7. 86164.10 sec
8. 1865

__________________
"I'm making wheatloaf. It's like meatloaf, only with wheat"
"Isn't that just...bread?"

I was so tempted!

Ya shoulda!

We have a winner! Ut goes from zero to hero in one post, and captures the 3rd Annual Astronomy Challenge. Well played, folks. Good job, scottmsg , I'd like your help next year.

Answers:

1. What year did the fiftieth star appear on the USAn flag? A: 1960. Alaska and Hawaii both entered the US in 1959, but the 49th star was officially added July 4, 1959, and the 50th one year later.

2. What is the maximum latitude that can have the moon directly over head? A: 28 degrees, or so. I accepted everything from 27.5 to 29.5. The moon's orbit is tilted 5 degrees from the 23 1/2 degrees of the ecliptic. I'd thought I might be able to use some sort of "trick" answer like Wally's 27.03, but it looks to me like the moon will get over 28 degrees on Aug. 12 of this year.

3. What automobile make is named after an asterism? A: Subaru. It refers to the Pleides, in Japanese. I hadn't heard about a Mr. Subaru, but the asterism (not a constellation) is represented in their emblem.

4. What day of the year has the worst time to see the Milky Way? (to nearest week) A: Apr. 4, plus or minus 7 days. (I had been using +/- 3--what does "to the nearest week" really mean? ). My criteria was that the plane of the galaxy would match the horizon at midnight, so that it would be more difficult to see for most of the night--but my answer could be slightly off anyway.

5. What comes next in this sequence: Uranus, Neptune, Pluto? A: America. Chemical elements 92, 93, 94, and 95 are their namesakes, in order. The hint was the "periodically" next to my first "hints", a reference to the Periodic Table of the Elements.

6. Which gravity is stronger on the moon, the Sun's or the Earth's? (see question 6 of the first challenge) A: Sun's. This may be surprising to some, but the calculation is straightforward.

7. To the nearest hundredth of a second, how long does it take the Earth to rotate? (see question 1 of the first challenge, or question 9 of the second one) A: 86164.10 seconds. As I discussed in this thread.

8. When was Io discovered? (to within ten years) A: 1865. The asteroid Io (85 Io), not the moon of Jupiter, which was discovered in the seventeenth century (so my original answer is completely wrong). Also, "it's not by Jove," giddit? There is a list of more shared names on this webpage.

Let the cavilling begin!

*cabbage patches*

Do I get a crown or something? Considering the only answers I didn't just straight up rob from others were 2 and 3, it'd better be a BIG crown! :P

__________________
"I'm making wheatloaf. It's like meatloaf, only with wheat"
"Isn't that just...bread?"

Prize details are listed in the OP of the first challenge. Let me know what time we eat.

Milli, you can come to my house anytime for a meal, and not just in my dreams. :P

These are my favourites. Of course, your hints were lost on me. ops:

__________________
- Learn a lot teaching others.

I can live with that prize.
*cabbage patches some more*

__________________
"I'm making wheatloaf. It's like meatloaf, only with wheat"
"Isn't that just...bread?"

Yeah, until I stumbled on that in the periodic chart last week, I thought I might not run the challenge this year. As it was, I had two fewer questions than the last two times.

Plus, it pretty much "locks in" ol' Pluto. Sorry, SciFi Chick.
Sounds like we're having cole slaw.

I should really try and check in on the BABB over the weekends more often.

Congrats, Ut, and everybody!
=D>

__________________
SeanF

"Ask to understand, but don't challenge unless you have the knowledge."--NEOWatcher

The contents of this post are ©2008 by SeanF and may not be copied or retransmitted in any form without the express written consent of SeanF

This is the only one that I don't really like. Since when is a cluster an asterism? Calling the Pleiades an asterism seems to me to be like calling Mizar and Alcor and asterism. They're two visually distinct shapes of stars, but they don't present a constellation-like shape. (I know M&A aren't a cluster, but they're visually separate in the sky.)

What definition of asterism are you using? Ame.Her.Dic. says it's "A cluster of stars smaller than a constellation."

Pleiades, Hydriades, the Big Dipper, etc I think all count, under that definition.

__________________
"I'm making wheatloaf. It's like meatloaf, only with wheat"
"Isn't that just...bread?"

Minus one for that. I googled on "hyades asterism" and it returned this list, but it does contain at least one non-asterism.

Be careful, Milli, someone might want to kick your asterism. :wink:

It's a fine line between the two

Credit for the first correct answers to each question:

1. SeanF
2. SeanF
3. SeanF
4. Wally (after milli adjusted his parameters)
5. scottmsg
6. SeanF
7. SeanF
8. ToSeek

__________________
Everything I need to know I learned through Googling.

Milli, where do you get your ideas from - for this contest? I really enjoyed participating. Thank you. I hope next year will be just as fun! =D>

My own. 8-[ I stand corrected, but I will still not give that definition to 100-level students. :wink: