20180215

Astronomy quiz question: planets visible at midnight?

Astronomy 210 Quiz 2, spring semester 2018
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

The locations of Saturn, Earth, and Jupiter are shown in the diagram below (not to scale, and orbits have been simplified as circles instead of ellipses).


Which planet(s) will be visible at midnight?
(A) Saturn.
(B) Jupiter.
(C) (Both of the above choices.)
(D) (Neither of the above choices.)

Correct answer (highlight to unhide): (A)

If a line is drawn from Earth to the sun, the observer at midnight (12 AM) is located along that line, in the middle of the night side of Earth. Since Saturn is above that horizon line, it will be visible at that time, and would be located somewhere high in the sky. (Since Jupiter is below that horizon line, it would not be visible at midnight.)


Section 30674
Exam code: quiz02npP4
(A) : 18 students
(B) : 2 students
(C) : 3 students
(D) : 1 student

Success level: 77% (including partial credit for multiple-choice)
Discrimination index (Aubrecht & Aubrecht, 1983): 0.09

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