Astronomy Trivia Quiz

Answer: third rock

That's right folks, we are the third rock from the sun! The order goes: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. Pluto used to be there at the end, but has since been demoted.

Answer: 2000

WITH the use of a powerful telescope, you could see millions of stars in just one small part of the sky.

Answer: when the moon moves between the earth and the sun

During a solar eclipse, the moon blocks some or all of the light from the sun. A lunar eclipse is when the Earth moves between the sun and the moon.

Answer: constellation

Two constellations named after heroes in their myths include, Hercules and Orion. Some constellations named for what they looked like include Lyra (a harp), Corona Borealis a (crown), Leo ( a lion), Lupus (a wolf), and Ursa Major (a bear). One of the most famous constellations in the Northern Hemisphere is Ursa Major, the Big Bear.

This is where you will find the Big Dipper, which looked to the ancient people like, what else, a huge dipper in the sky!

Answer: the earth's atmospheric layers bend their light rays

If you were in space, the stars would usually shine with a steady light. But their light rays, when passing through the different layers of air in our atmosphere, are bent, making them appear to twinkle!

Answer: Sol

The name 'Sol' is the word the ancient Romans gave to our sun. It was named after their sun god, Sol.

Answer: 93 million miles

If we could travel at the speed of 25,000 miles per hour, it would take more than 5 months to reach the sun. But I don't think we would want to get that close!

Answer: they reflect light from the sun

Planets are like huge mirrors in the sky. The sun shines light onto the planets, and that light is reflected back out into space, making them visible to us.

Answer: wanderer

Atlas, according to a Greek myth, was a giant whose shoulders supported the heavens. A comet is a fuzzy snowball. Planets move in a path around the sun. Each planet has a different and unique orbiting path around the sun.

Answer: a cloud of gas and dust

Nebula comes from the Latin word meaning cloud. One famous nebula is the Orion Nebula, where new stars are being born. Another is the Crab Nebula, which is the remains of a gigantic star that was viewed exploding in the year 1054 A.D. Another you might have heard of is the Horsehead Nebula, that looks like a giant horse's head!