That's No Moon... Trivia Quiz

Answer: Galaxy Gun

The Death Star was destroyed at the Battle of Yavin, an event so profound that it became the starting point for a new galactic calendar. In 10 ABY, the Galactic Empire created the Galaxy Gun. At a mere 7250 meters (4.5 miles) in length, it was a fraction of the size of the Death Star, which perhaps made its ability to destroy planets even more impressive. It could fire particle disintegrator warheads into a planet's core to destroy it.

The Galaxy Gun was commissioned by Emperor Palpatine, who had managed to bring himself back to life about five years earlier. A year later, Palpatine died in the Battle of Onderon, and his soul was dragged into inescapable Chaos. The Galaxy Gun was destroyed soon after, when R2D2 collided a star destroyer into it.

Answer: Galactus

Galactus is a colossal entity decked out in purple clothes and a horned helmet. Originally a mortal, he became a deity figure when the universe before our own imploded. Galactus is constantly hungry and dines on planets as a result. He often makes use of heralds to help him search for planets suitable for devouring; the most famous of these is the Silver Surfer. His only fear is the Ultimate Nullifier, a tiny hand-held plot device capable of resetting reality.

Though originally presented as a villain, Galactus has been given purposes for his actions too. By destroying planets, he keeps Celestials from overpopulating the universe. His existence also keeps Abraxas in check, who would otherwise emerge and destroy the multiverse.

Answer: leviathans

Leviathans are monstrous zerg that first appeared in Starcraft II. They are classified as class 10 flyers, insectoid in appearance, with numerous destructive tentacles. Raynor's Raiders encounter one while assaulting the zerg on Char. In later missions, Sarah Kerrigan uses a leviathan to travel between planets and accomplish her goals. She is capable of temporarily summoning one while in battle as well.

Leviathans are capable of housing and launching numerous zerg within them and are able to function in extreme conditions, like in outer space. Leviathans are by far the largest zerg known to exist; they moon-sized monsters that take continent-sized -- eh, never mind.

Answer: Majora's Mask

"Majora's Mask" was the sixth game in the Zelda series. Unlike most Zelda games, "Majora's Mask" was set in the land of Termina. Termina faces many problems, which started when a skull kid stole Majora's Mask from a travelling salesman. Link travels through time over the course of three days in order to set everything right, and free four giants to stop a falling moon (complete with large, angry face) from obliterating Clock Town.

When the giants are summoned and stop the moon, Majora's Mask reveals itself to have been controlling the skull kid, possesses the moon, and attempts to set it on a rampage. Link travels into the moon and defeats the incarnation of the mask. He returns the mask to its original owner, setting Termina right once again.

Answer: singing

Ghroth the Harbinger is one of the deities conceived by Ramsey Campbell, for the Cthulhu mythos. Ghroth is a large moon (or small planet) whose most salient feature is a large, red eye. As it passes by a planet, it will sing a song that awakens any Old Ones or other Lovecraftian entities on the planet. Utter annihilation and mass extinctions generally follow such happenings.

Ghroth appears in the Cthulu roleplaying game, Delta Green, where it awakens every 10,000 years and eats a planet. Here Ghroth is said to have two eyes, which are often mistaken for oceans. Players that encounter Ghroth and realize what they are looking at end up losing sanity points from the experience.

Answer: Transformer

Appearing in the 1986 "Transformers: The Movie", Unicron was a planet that consumed everything in his path, including the moons of Cybertron, home planet of the Transformers. When challenged by his minion Galvatron, Unicron transformed into a planet-sized robot and attacked Cybertron. He was destroyed by Rodimus Prime, wielding the Matrix of Leadership. Ironically enough, Unicron's head became Cybetron's new moon.

Unicron was first voiced by Orson Welles, who recorded his lines days before his death. He insightfully described the role as follows: "I play a planet. I menace somebody called Something-or-other. Then I'm destroyed. My plan to destroy Whoever-it-is is thwarted and I tear myself apart on the screen."

Answer: Mongul

Warworld was an artificial planet built by a race of aliens called Warzoons, who eventually went extinct. It eventually came into the hands of the villain Mongul, who used it as both a weapon and a gladiatorial arena. At one point, Superman was captured and forced to be a gladiator there, but eventually broke free and overthrew Mongul. Warworld was later used to attack Earth, and was eventually destroyed.

In the "Justice League" cartoon, Superman and J'onn J'onzz were captured and taken to Warworld. Superman was made to fight Draaga, an honor-bound warrior who fought because he felt he had to. After some misgivings, Superman and Draaga fought together and beat Mongul.

Answer: Borg

The Borg are a race of advanced aliens introduced in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" that regularly threatened the United Federation of Planets. They seek out and assimilate entire species in order to upgrade themselves; when they do, they leave nothing behind of the original species. The Borg often travel in cubic or spherical ships that are much larger than average Federation starships.

In "Star Trek: Voyager", the Borg were revealed to have a Unicomplex in the Delta Quadrant, which housed countless cubes and spheres. This complex, along with the Borg Queen and trillions of drones, was destroyed when Kathryn Janeway travelled to the past to help herself and her crew reach Earth. The Borg were not completely destroyed by these events, and years later, a Borg cube managed to absorb/eat Pluto.

Answer: Doctor Who

"The Pirate Planet" is an episode of the sixteenth season of Dr Who. Written by Douglas Adams, it tells the story of the Mentiads and their planet, Zanak. Though the Mentiads are a good people, they are ruled by the tyrannical Queen Xanxia, and her consort, the Captain. Xanxia had her planet hollowed out and turned into a ship, which would visit other planets to take their resources and destroy them. Xanxia would use these resources in an attempt to become immortal.

With the help of the Mentiads and the Captain, Doctor Who put an end to Xanxia's tyranny. In doing so, he gained control of Calufrax, a planet that had been shrunk to miniature size by Xanxia. Calufrax was one of the segments of the Key to Time, which kept the universe in balance.

Answer: Dyson Sphere

The concept of the Dyson Sphere was (appropriately) first proposed by Freeman Dyson, a theoretical physicist. In 1960, he suggested that an advanced alien race would be able to completely surround a star with artificial constructs, which would capture most of the star's energy output. Dyson Spheres have been featured in various sci-fi universes, such "Star Trek", "Halo", and "Warhammer 40,000".

Though they may make for interesting science fiction, the concept of Dyson Spheres has been criticized as impractical. It would take more matter than is in the solar system to construct one, and likely take more energy than would ever be captured by it. Freeman Dyson points out that his concept is a loose collection of constructs, not a solid sphere, which he concluded would be "mechanically impossible."