Moon light
Does the Moon create its own light like the Sun, or does it reflect light?
The Moon does not make its own light; it reflects sunlight.
Which planet is known as the "Red Planet" and is the fourth planet from the sun?
Mars
Is the Sun a planet or a star?
It is a star
Which two planets in our solar system do not have any moons?
Mercury and Venus
Roughly what percentage of Earth's surface is covered by water?
About 71%
When the moon is "waxing," is the illuminated portion getting larger or smaller?
Waxing means the light is increasing (growing) on the right side of the moon, heading toward a full moon
Which planet is the hottest in our solar system, even though it is not the closest to the sun
Venus, due to its thick atmosphere trapping heat
Approximately how long does it take for light from the Sun to reach Earth?
8 minutes
What is the largest moon in our solar system, which is actually larger than the planet Mercury?
Ganymede
What are the four main layers of the Earth, from the outside to the center?
Crust, Mantle, Outer Core, and Inner Core
How much of the total Moon surface is illuminated by the Sun at any given time (excluding lunar eclipses)?
Half of the Moon (the day side) is always illuminated by the Sun. We only see different amounts of that illuminated half as it orbits Earth.
What are Saturn's rings primarily made of?
Billions of chunks of ice, rock, and dust
What is the primary process that powers the Sun, converting hydrogen into helium?
Nuclear fusion
What is the primary cause of the extreme volcanic activity on Jupiter's moon Io?
Tidal heating (or tidal flexing), caused by the intense gravitational pull of Jupiter combined with the orbital resonances of neighboring moons Europa and Ganymede.
Which two tectonic plates are responsible for the ongoing formation of the Himalayas?
The Indian plate and the Eurasian plate
Why can we sometimes see a faint, ghostly circle of the rest of the moon during a thin crescent phase?
This is called "earthshine." Sunlight reflects off Earth to the Moon and back to our eyes, illuminating the part of the moon not directly lit by the sun.
Which planet spins on its side, rotating almost at a 90 degree angle due to its orbit ?
Uranus
Why does the Sun's corona (outer atmosphere) reach millions of degrees, while its visible surface is only about 5,500°C?
The heating is caused by magnetic energy, specifically through magneto-acoustic waves
Triton, the largest moon of Neptune, has a retrograde orbit. What does this mean, and what is the leading theory for how it got that way?
A retrograde orbit means Triton orbits in the opposite direction of Neptune’s rotation.
What is the specific term for the process where warm air rising from Earth's surface keeps tiny water droplets and ice crystals suspended to form clouds?
Convection (or convective uplift)
If you were standing on the Moon, what would the phase of the Earth look like when people on Earth are seeing a Full Moon?
You would see a "New Earth" (the Earth would be unlit, or in its dark phase) because the Earth would be located between the Moon and the Sun.
Which planet has the highest number of known moons?
Saturn
Roughly how long does it take for a photon (particle of light) to travel from the core of the Sun to its surface?
Hundreds of thousands of years.
Why can we not find any large, spherical moons orbiting very close to a planet (inside the Roche limit)?
The Roche limit is the distance within which a larger satellite's self-gravity is overcome by the tidal forces of the planet, causing the moon to be torn apart and turned into rings.
Why do Earth’s magnetic field poles reverse periodically, and what is the exact trigger mechanism for these reversals?
magnetic field reverses (roughly every 200,000 to 300,000 years), the exact triggering mechanism is still unknown, as it relies on complex and chaotic fluid motions within the outer core