Where would you have to be in order to see the south celestial pole on YOUR HORIZON?

Question

a) At the south pole of Earth

b) At the north pole of Earth

c) On the Equator

d) About a degree away from the south pole, to allow for the

Earth's precession.

Answer 1

Neither of the above, you would have to be within three miles of the south pole.

Answer 2

d) obviously.

And not just because it's the longest one ;)

The other ones don't make sense.

Answer 3

The Earth is not a perfect sphere, so as the user "repet" has pointed out, it does depend partly on elevation. However, the simple answer is still (c). Try inputting 0 degrees latitude into your planetarium software to see for yourself. If you still don't believe it, below is a link giving an interesting but relatively common-sense formula for the altitude of the celestial poles as a function of your latitude:

P = L

In this formula, P is the altitude of the North celestial pole, and L is your latitude. If you're on the north pole (L = 90), the north celestial pole appears directly overhead, i.e. at 90 degrees from the horizon. If you're on the south pole (L = -90), the north celestial pole appears directly below you, i.e. -90 degrees from the horizon. If you're on the equator (L = 0), both celestial poles are on the horizon, i.e. 0 degrees above it.

Answer 4

That would depend entirely on the elevation from which you were viewing it (curvature of the earth removes the horizon from view at differing heights. Here's a link to a NYT article on it.

Answer 5

That is a trick question so I am not sure, I think e=mc^2

Answer 6

Equator

Answer 7

c. Is the closest answer.

Actually it would vary with the season.

(Throw that one at your Prof. for extra credit.)