Ancient Astronomy

Which culture is known for recognizing and studying the 12 zodiac constellations we know today?

• Egyptian culture

• Roman culture

• Babylonian culture

• Greek culture

In the past, constellations were used for story telling but they were also used to

• keep track of time and the seasons

• determine when to plant and harvest crops

• arrange meeting places between tribes

• provide light for hunters at night

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

What is thought to be one of the main purposes of building Stonehenge?

• to predict the future

• to predict celestial events and seasons

• to create a lasting memorial to the gods

• to confound and confuse future historians

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

The ability to predict seasons & celestial events were very important to the ancients because

• otherwise they would not know the time of day.

• there was no other way to figure out planetary movements.

• it allowed for crops to be planted and to keep track of time

• the phases of the Moon was very important to know.

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

What element do all ancient seafaring societies have in common?

• They used the stars for navigation.

• They were all located near the Pacific Ocean.

• They conquered every new location they found.

• They developed their own version of the compass.

This navigational tool measure the height of the horizon to an object in space to help explorers plot their location. 

• astrolabe

• compass

• sextant

• telescope

Months are based on the cycle of the

• sun

• Milky Way

• Polaris

• moon

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS1-1

The term Zodiac refers to ...

• the light from Saturn's rings

• the head of the Celestial Empire

• a method for making astrological predictions

• a group of constellations lying near the Sun's path

The North Star or Big Dipper and Southern Cross are easy to spot in the night sky. This made it easy for navigators to find...

• Latitude (North & South)

• Longitude (East & West)

Which astronomer of antiquity made elaborate models of an earth-centered universe?

• Copernicus

• Aristarchus

• Ptolemy

• Tycho Brahe