Extra Solar Worlds Quiz | Astronomy

Extra Solar Worlds Trivia Quiz

With advances in our technology, we can now detect worlds around other stars. This is a very difficult quiz, unless you are up on what's "new up there".

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

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What constellation was the first extra solar planet found in?

Answer: Coma Berenices

The star HD 114762 has the first confirmed planet. Coma Berenices is a rather small constellation in the northern hemisphere. The planet was discovered in 1989. Having 11 times the mass of Jupiter, it is just under the brown dwarf limit (which is around 13 Jupiter masses). The planet, HD 114762 b, orbits in about 84 days.

2. The closest star that has a known planet is 10.5 light years away. Which star is it?

Answer: Epsilon Eridani

It takes this planet almost seven of our years to make one revolution around its parent star. The planet is about 1.5 times the mass of Jupiter. Epsilon Eridani is the 10th closest star system to Earth. Proxima Centauri is the nearest star to our Sun, 16 Cygni is about 55 light years away and 51 Pegasi is about 50 light years away.

3. How are the extra solar planets named?

Answer: by small letters

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) decided it would be impractical to give the planets actual names. So small letters are used. The letter b would be given to the first planet found in that star system, then c, d, etc.

4. The planet around 109 Piscium was discovered in 1999. What is an interesting fact about this planet?

Answer: It lies within the habitable zone of its star

Although this world is six times as massive as Jupiter, it is about the same diameter as Jupiter. It takes about three years for this planet, 109 Pisicum b, to orbit its sun. It is about 200 million miles distant from its sun. 109 Piscium is about 98 light years distant from Earth.

5. A pulsar is a fast rotating star that is the remains of a supernova explosion. Are there any pulsars known to have planets?

Answer: Yes

The star PSR 1257+12 is a pulsar with at least three known planets. It is about 1,000 light years away in the constellation of Virgo and the star is less than 20 miles across. It is possible that this star had a companion star, and when PSR 1257+12 went nova it captured a disk of material from the companion star, that eventually formed the planets that have been detected.

Other pulsars could also have planets.

6. Are any of the three known planets in orbit around the star Gliese 876 a gas giant?

Answer: Yes

Gliese 876 b is about two Jupiter masses, while Gliese 876 c is only about half the mass of Jupiter, making them both gas giants. Only Gliese 876 d is a terrestrial planet, being only 7 times as massive as Earth. The Gliese 876 system is just 15 light years distant from us.

7. 51 Pegasi B was the third extra solar world discovered around a "sun-like" star.

Answer: False

Actually, it was the first one discovered around a sun-like star. However, it orbits less than 5 million miles from its parent star and is about half the mass of Jupiter. The planet was discovered in 1995.

8. Have any extra solar planets been found in globular clusters?

Answer: Yes

The globular cluster known as M4 in the contellation Scorpius is home to a planet named PSR B1620-26c. The mass of this world is about twice that of Jupiter and could be as old as 13 billion years, making it the oldest known planet.

9. With all the detection methods that are used, have any planets been found more than 10,000 light years distant from us?

Answer: Yes

The farthest planet is over 21,000 light years away toward the center of our galaxy. This planet is over 240 million miles from the parent star, OGLE-2005-BLG--390L, and is only about 5 times as massive as the Earth.

10. What star, that has a planet, resembles our Sun?

Answer: 47 Ursae Majoris

47 Ursae Majoris is virtually the same mass as our Sun and radiates at 5800 Kelvin, compared to our Sun at 6000 Kelvin.

Source: Author Almach

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

Extra Solar Worlds Trivia Quiz

With advances in our technology, we can now detect worlds around other stars. This is a very difficult quiz, unless you are up on what's "new up there".

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