What is the name of the dwarf planet that used to be classified as a planet?
Pluto
100
What is the name of the closest galaxy to Earth that hosts a quasar? What is it being powered by?
Markarian 231. The quasar is powered by two central supermassive black holes furiously whirling about each other.
100
What is an orrery?
An orrery is a 3D model with moving parts
100
How many dwarf planets are in our Solar System? Name them.
5. They are Pluto, Ceres, Eris, Haumea and Makemake
100
What are stars made of?
Hydrogen and Helium
200
Which planets have rings?
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune
200
Which new planet was recently discovered outside of our Solar System that was also in the Goldilocks zone?
Kepler-452b
200
What does the word ‘rotation’ mean? What does a full rotation mean in terms of time?
A planet’s rotation is one turn or spin around its own axis. This rotation is the planet’s day. For example, it takes Earth 24 hours to complete a full rotation.
200
What was the first satellite sent into space?
Sputnik 1 from Russia in 1957
200
What are the phases of the moon? Write them in the order that they occur.
New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, Waxing Gibbous, Full Moon, Waning Gibbous, Last Quarter, Waning Crescent
300
What is the hottest planet in our Solar System?
Venus
300
On the 14th of July 2015, which spacecraft made a successful fly-by of Pluto, taking photos of the dwarf planet's surface?
New Horizons
300
What does the word 'orbit' mean? What does orbit mean in terms of time?
An orbit is the path that one object in space takes around another one. A planet's orbit is the time it takes to circle the Sun once. It also refers to moons orbiting planets.
A planet's orbit is it's year. For example, it takes Earth 365 days to orbit the Sun once.
300
What is the biggest comet known and what year was it found in?
Comet Sarabat, found on the 1st of August, 1729.
300
Ganymede is a moon of which planet?
Jupiter
400
Which planet is famous for its big red spot? What is it?
Jupiter. It is a huge atmospheric storm that has been raging for about 400 years.
400
What experiment on the International Space Station was consumed by astronauts on the 8th of August? (the rest was sent down to Earth for testing)
NASA's plant experiment, called Veg-01, was developed to provide future pioneers with a sustainable food supplement. The experiment's success is essential for movement towards long-duration exploration missions farther into the Solar System and so is a critical part of NASA’s Journey to Mars.
400
What is the ‘Goldilocks Zone’?
The Goldilocks zone is a region around a star that is not too close (too hot) but not too far away (too cold). It is also called a habitable zone as it is located a good distance away from a star so that the planet is just the right temperature to support life
400
What is the Kuiper Belt and where is it located?
The Kuiper Belt is a region of the Solar System beyond the orbit of Neptune believed to contain many comets, asteroids and other small bodies made largely of ice.
400
Name at least 3 stars that are larger than our Sun.
Sirius A, Pollux, Arcturus, Rigel, VY Canis Majoris
500
How many rings does Saturn have?
There are seven ring groups that are made up of thousands of smaller rings
500
What did the NASA camera aboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite capture images of?
The DSCOVR satellite captured a unique view of the Moon as it moved in front of the sunlit side of Earth. The images show the fully illuminated 'dark side' of the Moon that is never visible from Earth.
500
What is the lunar apogee and perigee?
Apogee and perigee refer to the distance from the Earth to the Moon. Apogee is the farthest point from the Earth. Perigee is the closest point to the Earth
500
What are quasars?
Quasars are celestial objects that give off enormous amounts of energy in the form of light. Quasars are believed to produce their energy from massive black holes in the centre of galaxies in which the quasars are located.
500
What is the life cycle of an average star?
Stellar Nebula - Average Star - Red Giant - Planetary Nebula - White Dwarf - Black Dwarf