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Astronomical Terms Trivia Quiz

This first quiz on Astronomical terms will be relatively (no pun intended) easy! I will give you the description and you determine the term.

A multiple-choice quiz by almach. Estimated time: 3 mins.

Author
almach

Time
3 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
91,335

Updated
Jan 25 23

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
9718

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

Last 3 plays: Guest 154 (8/10), Guest 89 (6/10), Gupster17 (7/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. What is a bright streak of light seen in the sky? Hint

Meteorite

Asteroid

Meteroid

Meteor

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. Light travels at 186,282 miles per _______________. Hint

minute

hour

year

second

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. What is a depression on a terrestrial planet or satellite called? Hint

Hill

Ridge

Mountain

Crater

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Question 4 of 10

4. The uppermost region of the Sun is called the? Hint

Photosphere

Ionosphere

Chromosphere

Corona

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Question 5 of 10

5. A medium sized icy solar system object is called a? Hint

Comet

Star

Planet

Asteroid

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Question 6 of 10

6. What is a fireball that produces a sonic boom called? Hint

meteorite

No such object

Bolide

Comet

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Question 7 of 10

7. What is the brightness scale of stars called? Hint

Albedo

Density

Temperature

Magnitude

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. 3.26 light years is called? Hint

the distance to the nearest star

an astronomical Unit

a parsec

nothing

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Question 9 of 10

9. What is a bright region in the Sun called? Hint

Prominence

Sunspot

Plage

Flare

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. What is the technical name for the motion of an object that orbits backwards around another object? Hint

Normal

Prograde

Retrograde

Upside down

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Most Recent Scores

Dec 02 2024 : Guest 154: 8/10
Nov 21 2024 : Guest 89: 6/10
Nov 20 2024 : Gupster17: 7/10
Nov 18 2024 : Guest 96: 9/10
Nov 09 2024 : Guest 67: 8/10
Nov 09 2024 : Guest 98: 9/10
Nov 09 2024 : Guest 32: 8/10
Nov 04 2024 : Guest 75: 10/10
Nov 04 2024 : Guest 97: 10/10

Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What is a bright streak of light seen in the sky?

Answer: Meteor

A meteroid is the object before it encounters the Earth's atmosphere. A meteorite is the object that survives the journey through the atmosphere to impact on the Earth. Asteroids are objects made of rock and iron and most are in the main asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars.

2. Light travels at 186,282 miles per _______________.

Answer: second

Or about 300,000 kilometers a second. The nearest star system to our Sun is some 4.3 light years away. This is easier to say than 25 trillion miles away.

3. What is a depression on a terrestrial planet or satellite called?

Answer: Crater

Craters are mostly oval or round in shape. They result when an asteroid or comet impacts a world.

4. The uppermost region of the Sun is called the?

Answer: Corona

The corona is what we see during a total solar eclipse. The corona is about 1 million degrees Kelvin. The chromosphere is between the photosphere and the corona of the Sun. The ionosphere is the upper part of a planet's atmosphere.

5. A medium sized icy solar system object is called a?

Answer: Comet

Comets are mostly ice and rock with some dust and asteroids are mostly rock and metal.

6. What is a fireball that produces a sonic boom called?

Answer: Bolide

A fireball is a meteor that is brighter than -3 magnitude, almost as bright as the planet Venus gets.

7. What is the brightness scale of stars called?

Answer: Magnitude

The magnitude system was actually invented by Hipparchus, an astronomer that lived from 190 B.C. to 120 B.C. Magnitude 1 is 2.512 times as bright as magnitude 2.

8. 3.26 light years is called?

Answer: a parsec

As seen from the Earth, a parsec is the distance from the Sun which results in a parallax of 1 second of arc. 10 parsec is the distance for measuring the absolute magnitude of stars. One astronomical unit is the mean distance between the Sun and the Earth. The nearest star is 1.3 parsecs away (Proxima Centauri).

9. What is a bright region in the Sun called?

Answer: Plage

These are bright regions seen in the Sun's chromosphere. Sunspots are "cooler" regions on the Sun. Prominences follow the Sun's electromagnetic lines and flow back into the Sun. Flares are matter that has been ejected from the Sun in a violent explosion, this matter does not return to the Sun but continues out into the solar system.

10. What is the technical name for the motion of an object that orbits backwards around another object?

Answer: Retrograde

Triton (Neptune's satellite) is the largest satellite that is retrograde around its planet. There are smaller satellites in the solar system that are also retrograde around their planet.

Source: Author almach

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