Astronomy Buff

Lunar Eclipse Trivia

by Tony on February 18th, 2008

Image Credit:  tizianoj

To get you all in the spirit of this week’s total lunar eclipse, I’ve devised a little trivial test (mispelling intentional).

Good luck everyone and thanks for playing…

Lunar Eclipses always occur:

1. During the day
2. At night
3. During Hollywood writer’s strikes
4. At the same time as American Idol

The Moon is ALWAYS in what phase during a lunar eclipse:

1. Crescent
2. Half
3. Liquid
4. Full
5. Solid
6. Gas

Lunar Eclipses have been used since ancient times as proof:

1. That Hollywood producers will sell commercial time to anything.
2. That the Earth is round.
3. That the Earth is flat.
4. There is a Man on the Moon.
5. There is a God.
6. All of the above

A Lunar Eclipse is the result of:

1. Intelligent design
2. Evolution
3. Roe v. Wade
4. The Earth passing between the Sun and the Moon.
5. The separation of Church and State.

The Moon darkens during a lunar eclipse because:

1. It’s sleepy
2. The cow hit it when it jumped over last night
3. The Earth is in the way and blocking most of the light to the Moon
4. Neil Armstrong’s foot fungus really thrives on its surface
5. The dark side of the Moon is facing us

Lunar eclipses don’t occur every month because:

1. They’re underachievers
2. They do, but you need to subscribe and login to see them all
3. Budget cuts at NASA prevent any more
4. The plane of the Moon’s orbit around the Earth is tilted
5. Poor planning
6. Global warming has made them fewer and more intense

In ancient times (and present day Kansas), many people thought lunar eclipses would bring famine and disease because:

1. They were stupid.
2. They were superstitious
3. They didn’t know better, besides everyone knows that Galileo guy is on crack
4. They thought the Moon was being eaten and there would be no cheese left for them.
5. All of the above

Answer key:  2,4,2 (6 is also true),4,3,4,2 (5 would also be accepted)

Hopefully, you all scored well, but don’t let a poor score keep you from going outside on Wednesday night.  If you did poorly, you can still spend the time covering your well to prevent poison or turn over your utensils to avoid contamination.

You can also do what they do in the deep south:  bang pots and shoot into the air.

(I can make that joke because I’m from the deep south).

Technorati Tags: lunar eclipse, moon

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POSTED IN: moon, observing the night sky