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Quiz about A Quizzers Guide to the Galaxy
Quiz about A Quizzers Guide to the Galaxy

A Quizzer's Guide to the Galaxy


Welcome to the Galaxy! This quiz will test your knowledge of our galactic home, and our place in it.

A multiple-choice quiz by Flamis. Estimated time: 3 mins.
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Author
Flamis
Time
3 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
314,331
Updated
Aug 28 24
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
4418
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 138 (5/10), Guest 174 (8/10), Guest 117 (8/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. What is the more common name for our galaxy? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Astronomers tell us that our galaxy is which type of galaxy? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. What would our galaxy most resemble if you were able to view it edge on? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. What is believed to form the central core of our galaxy? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Space-travellers are unlikely to get lost in our galaxy due to which exotic stars, that act as natural lighthouses by emitting regular beams of radiation? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Which constellation would you be looking at if you were looking towards the centre of our galaxy? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. In which arm of the Milky Way Galaxy is our Sun? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Around our galaxy is a spherical halo made up of old stars and some odd fuzzy-looking astronomical objects. What are they? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. What are the two satellite galaxies of the Milky Way called? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. In three billion years our galaxy is predicted to collide with which other galaxy? Hint





Most Recent Scores
Oct 04 2024 : Guest 138: 5/10
Sep 28 2024 : Guest 174: 8/10
Sep 09 2024 : Guest 117: 8/10
Sep 07 2024 : ongrys: 8/10
Sep 01 2024 : DHANI12: 9/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. What is the more common name for our galaxy?

Answer: The Milky Way

The name "Milky Way" comes from the Latin "Via Lactea". Many cultures have legends about the origin of the bright band in the sky which is what we see as we look at our own galaxy from the inside, and many of them have to do with milk! The best known is the legend of how Zeus gave the infant Heracles to suckle at the breast of his wife, the goddess Hera, while she was sleeping.

She woke, realised the boy wasn't hers and pushed him away. The spilled milk became the Milky Way.
2. Astronomers tell us that our galaxy is which type of galaxy?

Answer: barred spiral galaxy

A barred spiral galaxy has a central bar-shaped bulge of stars. For some years astronomers using radio telescopes suggested our galaxy was barred, and in 2005, observations by the Spitzer Space Telescope proved it. If you want to see what our galaxy looks like, look for Hubble space telescope images of NGC 1300 or of the Sculptor Galaxy.
3. What would our galaxy most resemble if you were able to view it edge on?

Answer: a fried egg

Our galaxy is about 100,000 light years in diameter, and about 1000 light years thick on average, but in the middle it bulges out to a thickness of over 12,000 light years. Astronomers estimate the Milky Way contains at least 200 billion stars.
4. What is believed to form the central core of our galaxy?

Answer: a supermassive black hole

Astronomers believe that most galaxies have supermassive black holes at their centre. A supermassive black hole has a mass of at least ten thousand times the mass of the Sun. They think the one at the centre of the Milky Way has a mass of four million times the mass of our Sun!
5. Space-travellers are unlikely to get lost in our galaxy due to which exotic stars, that act as natural lighthouses by emitting regular beams of radiation?

Answer: Pulsars

Pulsars are rapidly rotating neutron stars that shoot out beams of radiation as they spin. Each pulsar is distinctive in the pattern, frequency and timing of their pulses, so they're like natural lighthouses, each flashing their individual signature to the Universe!
6. Which constellation would you be looking at if you were looking towards the centre of our galaxy?

Answer: Sagittarius

The actual centre is the supermassive black hole astronomers call 'Sagittarius A*'. We can't actually see it, but it's responsible for a massive radio source, created as dust, gas and whole star systems falling into the black hole.
7. In which arm of the Milky Way Galaxy is our Sun?

Answer: Orion Arm

Astronomers call the Orion Arm a minor arm, because it's basically a spur sticking out of the Sagittarius Arm. That said, it still manages to be some 3,500 light years across and around 10,000 light years long!
8. Around our galaxy is a spherical halo made up of old stars and some odd fuzzy-looking astronomical objects. What are they?

Answer: globular clusters

Globular clusters are spherical clumps of older stars. They look a bit like somebody sprayed a blob of white paint on a black canvas. One of the best examples is Omega Centauri, which is visible to the naked eye, and can be resolved as a fuzzy blob with binoculars.
9. What are the two satellite galaxies of the Milky Way called?

Answer: Magellanic Clouds

The Magellanic Clouds are named for Ferdinand Magellan, who observed them during his voyage in 1519. They're easy to see with the naked eye from the southern hemisphere, but below the horizon for people in northern parts. They are irregular dwarf galaxies, orbiting the Milky Way.
10. In three billion years our galaxy is predicted to collide with which other galaxy?

Answer: Andromeda Galaxy

Astronomers aren't entirely sure whether this will be a hit or miss affair, but the result would most likely be that the two galaxies would merge. Unless the solar system is near the centre of the mess, it's likely to emerge unharmed.
Source: Author Flamis

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor crisw before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
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