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Exoplanets Trivia Quiz

This is a tough quiz on the strange new worlds being discovered around other stars - the exoplanets.

A multiple-choice quiz by SpudKiwi. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
SpudKiwi

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
233,841

Updated
Sep 19 23

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
1000

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

Last 3 plays: Guest 204 (5/10), Guest 204 (7/10), Guest 204 (8/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. In 1992, astronomers Aleksander Wolszczan and Dale Frail found the first exoplanets around what unusual object? Hint

A pulsar

A marsbar

A quasar

A gamma ray burster

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Question 2 of 10

2. 51 Pegasi b is the first exoplanet discovered around a sun-like star. It has an orbital period of only 4 earth days and is thus known as the prototype of what kind of planet? Hint

Hot Jupiter

Brown dwarf

Ice giant

Near Neptunian

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Question 3 of 10

3. What is the name of the proposed European Space Agency probe to detect earth-like planets? Hint

Darwin

Newton

Erasmus

Bigeye

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Question 4 of 10

4. The 'circumstellar habitable zone' is the area around a star where liquid water, and therefore life might exist. By what curious name is it more commonly known? Hint

Gaia zone

Chthonian region

Hydrous hemisphere

Goldilocks zone

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Question 5 of 10

5. Which of these techniques has NOT been used to detect exoplanets? Hint

Ferengian diffraction

Gravitational microlensing

Radial velocity

Transit method

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Question 6 of 10

6. What was the name of the team that announced in October 1995 the discovery of the first exoplanet around a main-sequence star? Hint

Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus

Urbain Le Verrier and John Adams

Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz

William and Carolyn Herschel

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Question 7 of 10

7. Launched in 2003, the Space Infrared Telescope Facility has directly imaged large 'Hot Jupiter' planets such as Osiris. This telescope is named after which famous theoretical physicist? Hint

Edwin Hubble

James Ussher

Charles Babbage

Lyman Spitzer

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Question 8 of 10

8. Advances in which telescope technology has revolutionized exoplanetary research?
Hint

MMP

THC

HDTV

CCD

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Question 9 of 10

9. A luminary in exoplanet planet research, which astronomer is credited with identifying up to 70 of the first 100 exoplanets discovered? Hint

Bill Oddie

Clyde Tombaugh

Geoffrey Marcy

George Gamow

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Question 10 of 10

10. There is no available technique to detect an earth-sized exoplanet.

True

False

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In 1992, astronomers Aleksander Wolszczan and Dale Frail found the first exoplanets around what unusual object?

Answer: A pulsar

The stylishly named pulsar PSR 1257+12 is believed to be a supernova remnant, meaning that the four planets discovered either survived a huge stellar cataclysm or were formed from supernova debris.

2. 51 Pegasi b is the first exoplanet discovered around a sun-like star. It has an orbital period of only 4 earth days and is thus known as the prototype of what kind of planet?

Answer: Hot Jupiter

Hot Jupiters, or 'roasters' are so close to their parent stars that they are literally boiling. 51 Pegasi b is similar in size to Jupiter, with a star-skimming planetary temperature estimated at 1000 degrees Celsius.

3. What is the name of the proposed European Space Agency probe to detect earth-like planets?

Answer: Darwin

With a launch date around 2015, Darwin features an array of three meter diameter telescopes. Darwin could theoretically detect atmospheric oxygen - a key indicator of life.
NASA's equivalent, the Terrestrial Planet Finder has alas been 'deferred indefinitely'.

4. The 'circumstellar habitable zone' is the area around a star where liquid water, and therefore life might exist. By what curious name is it more commonly known?

Answer: Goldilocks zone

The 'Goldilocks zone' around a star is not too hot and not too cold - just right for life. The exoplanet Gliese 876 c is a gas giant orbiting in the 'Goldilocks zone', where liquid water may exist.

5. Which of these techniques has NOT been used to detect exoplanets?

Answer: Ferengian diffraction

Gravitation microlensing uses the gravity of massive interstellar objects to detect distant objects - like a giant magnifying glass.
The transit method detects light variations caused by a planet eclipsing the host star.
Radial velocity measures star wobbles over time caused by orbiting planets. This technique has been used successfully by amateurs with relatively modest home telescopes and digital camera equipment.

The Ferengi are a fictional race from the television series "Star Trek".

6. What was the name of the team that announced in October 1995 the discovery of the first exoplanet around a main-sequence star?

Answer: Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz

Mayor and Queloz discovered that 51 Pegasi b, informally named 'Bellerophon'. This large exoplanet whizzes around its host star in only 4 earth days, compared with Mercury's leisurely 88 day year.
William and Carolyn Herschel discovered Uranus.
Urbain Le Verrier and John Adams are Neptune's co-discovers.
Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus were better known as Milli Vanilli...

7. Launched in 2003, the Space Infrared Telescope Facility has directly imaged large 'Hot Jupiter' planets such as Osiris. This telescope is named after which famous theoretical physicist?

Answer: Lyman Spitzer

The SST or Spitzer Space Telescope is named in honour of Lyman Spitzer, a key figure in 20th century physics who first envisioned space observatories way back in 1946.

8. Advances in which telescope technology has revolutionized exoplanetary research?

Answer: CCD

CCDs or charge-coupled devices are used in telescopes like turbo-charged digital cameras. In comparison with a 5 megapixel household camera, the 48 inch Oschin telescope at Mount Palomar is the digital equivalent of a whopping 161 megapixel camera.

9. A luminary in exoplanet planet research, which astronomer is credited with identifying up to 70 of the first 100 exoplanets discovered?

Answer: Geoffrey Marcy

Marcy's many discoveries include multiple planet systems, the first Neptune-sized planet and the validation of Mayor and Queloz's 51 Pegasus discovery.
Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto, whilst George Gamow is best known for expounding the 'Big Bang' cosmological theory.
Bill Oddie is a 'Goodie' renowned for his birding documentaries.

10. There is no available technique to detect an earth-sized exoplanet.

Answer: False

Gravitational microlensing can theoretically identify an earth-sized planet with current technology. However, it requires the chance alignment of our earth, a star-sized object and the remote planet. This technique discovered the planet OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb which is only about 5 earth masses, and a distant 20,000+ light years away.

Source: Author SpudKiwi

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor crisw before going online.
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