The Astroids have noticed the ecliptic plane, and consider the constellations around it special. Their names are 1) Princess Leia, 2) Luke, 3) Darth Vader, 4) Han Solo, 5) Chewie, 6) Jabba, 7) Death Star, 8) The Emperor, 9) Yoda, and 10) Obe Wan, in order of the Son's visits to them (they are evenly spaced).  The New Year is when the Son is in the middle of Princess Leia. Recall that the length of the Astral year is 180 days. Astra spins in the same direction as it orbits.

1) Which constellation is overhead at midnight on New Year's Day. How about 36 days earlier?

2) The meridian is a line drawn from local north to local south. When Darth Vader is just leaving it at sunset (meaning it is between him and the next constellation), which constellation(s) is the Son in (or between)? How much of the year has passed? [This problem cannot be done without drawing a careful and accurate picture.]

3) Choose another planet in our solar system. Using the information in your text (see Appendix), calculate the fractional change in your weight (compared with here on Earth) if you were standing on its surface (or hovering if it doesn’t have a surface). What would the escape velocity there be (it is 11 km/s for the Earth)? Use ratios to answer these questions.

4) The semimajor axis of Astra's orbit is 0.5 AU.  What is the mass of its Son, relative to ours? Planet Zilch is 6 times further from the Son than Astra.  What is its orbital period (in Astral years)? [This part is more easily done in Astral units all the way through, rather than converting from Earth years at the end.]