// BEGIN editorial data var i = 0; var eclipse_new = new Array(); eclipse_new.ID = "eclipse_new"; eclipse_new.ID_WB = 7360406; eclipse_new.navsectionID = "3033062" eclipse_new.sPubDate = "4/1/2005 10:26:14 PM GMT"; eclipse_new.quiztype = 1; eclipse_new.appFmt = 0; eclipse_new.bDispQNums = 1; eclipse_new.appWidth = 460; eclipse_new.appHeader = "Test your knowledge of eclipse lore"; eclipse_new.appDeck = new Array("What's your I.Q. on solar science and history?","Thanks for taking our quiz; your score is "); eclipse_new.headHeight = 40; eclipse_new.copyBorder = 0; eclipse_new[1] = new Array(); eclipse_new[1][0] = new Array("Which phase is the moon in during a solar eclipse?"); eclipse_new[1].answer = "B. New. The moon is always between the Earth and the sun during the new-moon phase — that’s why it presents a dark face to the Earth each month. An eclipse occurs more rarely, when the moon’s orbital path puts it in a precise position to block the sun for a particular area of the Earth."; eclipse_new[1][1] = new Array("A. Full",'',0); eclipse_new[1][2] = new Array("B. New",'',1); eclipse_new[1][3] = new Array("C. Gibbous",'',0); eclipse_new[1][4] = new Array("D. Could be any phase",'',0); eclipse_new[2] = new Array(); eclipse_new[2][0] = new Array("What is an annular eclipse?"); eclipse_new[2].answer = "C. Annular eclipses are events that leave the sun’s rim exposed. There are variations in the distances between the Earth and the moon, and between the moon and the sun. Thus, the apparent size of the sun’s disk may be slightly greater than the apparent size of the moon’s disk — creating a “ring of fire” around the dark moon."; eclipse_new[2][1] = new Array("A. The regular yearly eclipse of the sun",'',0); eclipse_new[2][2] = new Array("B. A partial eclipse that obscures less than half of the sun",'',0); eclipse_new[2][3] = new Array("C. A solar eclipse with the sun’s outer rim exposed",'',1); eclipse_new[2][4] = new Array("D. A solar eclipse visible from a whole hemisphere simultaneously",'',0); eclipse_new[3] = new Array(); eclipse_new[3][0] = new Array("Is it safe to look at a total solar eclipse with the naked eye?"); eclipse_new[3].answer = "C. It’s safe, with reservations. The total solar eclipse can be viewed with the unprotected eye, but experts say that if even 1 percent of the sun is showing, viewing an eclipse could do permanent damage unless you use a projection device or special filters. Click here for tips on viewing a solar eclipse safely."; eclipse_new[3][1] = new Array("A. No, you must use a projection device",'',0); eclipse_new[3][2] = new Array("B. No, you must look through a special filter",'',0); eclipse_new[3][3] = new Array("C. Yes, with reservations",'',1); eclipse_new[3][4] = new Array("D. Yes, there’s no need to worry about eye damage",'',0); eclipse_new[4] = new Array(); eclipse_new[4][0] = new Array("According to ancient legends, which of these deaths was heralded by an eclipse?"); eclipse_new[4].answer = "D. All of the above. The ancients saw eclipses as an expression of nature’s distress at earthly calamities. In Greek lore, darkness overshadowed the Earth to mark the deaths of Prometheus, Atreus, Hercules, Aesculapius and Alexander the Great. The Romans said the Earth was shrouded by darkness at the deaths of Romulus and Julius Caesar."; eclipse_new[4][1] = new Array("A. Hercules",'',0); eclipse_new[4][2] = new Array("B. Alexander the Great",'',0); eclipse_new[4][3] = new Array("C. Julius Caesar",'',0); eclipse_new[4][4] = new Array("D. All of the above",'',1); eclipse_new[5] = new Array(); eclipse_new[5][0] = new Array("Which of these events coincided with an eclipse?"); eclipse_new[5].answer = "D. Neither of the above. Admittedly, a trick question: It was a comet, rather than an eclipse, that was thought to presage the Norman Conquest in the year 1066. And there were no heavenly portents associated with the 1944 Allied invasion of Normandy."; eclipse_new[5][1] = new Array("A. The Norman Conquest",'',0); eclipse_new[5][2] = new Array("B. The Normandy Invasion",'',0); eclipse_new[5][3] = new Array("C. Both of the above",'',0); eclipse_new[5][4] = new Array("D. Neither of the above",'',1); eclipse_new[6] = new Array(); eclipse_new[6][0] = new Array("Which of these traditional cultures considered eclipses to be a good thing?"); eclipse_new[6].answer = "C. Eskimo. Northern peoples such as Eskimos, Tlingits and Aleuts were said to regard a total solar eclipse as a sign of divine providence, with the sun and moon coming down to check on the Earth’s well-being. In India, however, it was considered dangerous to venture outside during an eclipse, and the ancient Chinese feared that a dragon was devouring the sun."; eclipse_new[6][1] = new Array("A. Hindu",'',0); eclipse_new[6][2] = new Array("B. Chinese",'',0); eclipse_new[6][3] = new Array("C. Eskimo",'',1); eclipse_new[6][4] = new Array("D. None of the above",'',0); // END editorial data