Write legibly, preferably in pen. Start each question on a new page. It allows me to make comments and generally keeps me in a better mood. Write legibly. Explain what ideas you are using and what you are trying to do. There are 15 questions. Notice that they differ in the number of points. Good luck and no whining.
(1) Define sidereal day. Define mean solar day. Which is larger, and why? (5pts)
(2) You will never see the Moon in one of the constellations listed below. Which one is it, and what is your reason or reasons for choosing it? Sagittarius, Capricornus, Cygnus, Pisces, Cancer. (5pts)
(3) You have won a cruise on a luxury ship! You are having a great time with your new friends and winning Tango competitions when a meteor strikes the bridge of the ship, killing the officers and destroying the navigation and communication equipment! You and your friends manage to regain control of the ship, but you have no idea where you are, or where the nearest land is. You begin remembering what you learned in General Astronomy, and in an attempt to impress your fellow vacationers, you have brought along your SC1 chart. It is January 20. One of your friends is English, and has kept her watch on local time in London. She says that her watch says it is 5 AM, London time. Here on the cruise ship, it is night. You look around and see that the Pleiades (RA=3h45m, DEC=25d) are transiting at the zenith. You suddenly realize you have enough information to tell where you are. Where are you???? (10pts)
(4) Calculate the speed of an object in orbit around the Moon. The object is orbiting just above the surface of the Moon. (10pts)
(5) Where on Earth is it possible for you to see the Sun at the zenith? (5pts)
(6) The Julian Calendar, adopted in 44 BC inserted leap years every four years, yet by 1582 the vernal equinox had slipped in the calendar by nearly two weeks. Why did this happen? (5 pts)
(7) The declination of the star Antares in Scorpius is 
. The city of Lüneburg in northern Germany has a latitude of
N. Is Antares ever visible from Lüneburg?
Show your work that allows you to answer the question. (5pts)
(8) Draw a diagram showing the geometry of the Earth, Sun, and Moon at the time of a lunar eclipse. (5 pts)
(9) An ariplane takes off, starting from a dead stop and reaching 
, the ``rotate speed'' at which it becomes airborne, 40 seconds later. A typical for an airliner is 130 miles/hour. What is the acceleration during takeoff? (10pts) Note: For this problem, you can use ``mixed units'', i.e. it doesn't have to be in SI units.
(10) Under what circumstances would it be unnecessary to have leap years? In other words, what properties would the solar system have to have to make this possible? (5 pts)