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Quiz about Heavenly Bodies and Phenomena

Heavenly Bodies and Phenomena Trivia Quiz

Join in me in a bit of space exploration. Together we will visit, among other things, planets, constellations and galaxies.

A photo quiz by gme24. Estimated time: 3 mins.

Author
gme24

Time
3 mins

Type
Photo Quiz

Quiz #
378,199

Updated
Feb 02 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Easy

Avg Score
8 / 10

Plays
1611

Awards
Top 20% Quiz

Last 3 plays: Guest 204 (7/10), ncterp (8/10), alythman (9/10).

One at a Time - Single Page

Question 1 of 10

1. Our planet is named Earth, from soil, or simply the world. What was the ancient Greek name for Earth? Hint

Rhea

Terra

Gaia

Chaos

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Question 2 of 10

2. As the Earth travels in space its upper atmosphere is disturbed by solar wind in the form of electrons and protons. The result is the emission of light which is visible in areas that surround both Polar Regions. What is the name of this phenomenon in the Northern Hemisphere? Hint

Southern Christmas Tree

Aurora Australis

Aurora Borealis

Northern Christmas Tree

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Question 3 of 10

3. One of the planets of our solar system is famed for its red spot which is in fact a giant storm. Which gas giant hosts this storm? Hint

Jupiter

Mars

Neptune

Mercury

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Question 4 of 10

4. This celestial body in our solar system was discovered in 1930 and was named after the Roman god of the underworld. What is the name of the scientist that discovered it? Hint

Galileo Galilei

Clyde Tombaugh

Percival Lowell

Giovanni Domenico Cassini

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Question 5 of 10

5. Our Solar System consists of planets, some of which have moons orbiting them, asteroids, comets and other matter like dust and gas. The whole Solar System is but a small portion of a greater body called a galaxy. What is the name of the galaxy that contains our Solar System? Hint

Black Eye

Cartwheel

Cigar

Milky Way

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Question 6 of 10

6. The nearest galaxy to our own is designated by the letters M31. Without putting yourself in too much of a strain what is the name of this galaxy? Hint

Cassiopeia

Andromeda

Pegasus

Perseus

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Question 7 of 10

7. This bear of a constellation contains an asterism with seven recognizable stars the brightest of which is Alioth. What is the name of this constellation which is the third largest in the sky? Hint

Ursa Minor

Ursa Major

Taurus

Lupus

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Question 8 of 10

8. This celestial body is a star cluster and it is commonly known as Seven Sisters. What is the name of this cluster which is also known as M45? Hint

Butterfly

Hyades

Pleiades

Beehive

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Question 9 of 10

9. The Crux is the smallest of the 88 constellations and it has the distinctive shape of a kite. What is the popular name of this constellation that features on the flags of Australia and New Zealand? Hint

Northern Cross

King's Cross

False Cross

Southern Cross

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Question 10 of 10

10. This icy body contains dust and gases like methane and carbon dioxide. As it gets closer to the sun the ice gives out a cloud called coma. Can you deduce the name of this celestial body? Hint

Asteroid

Meteor

Meteorite

Comet

Most Recent Scores

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Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Our planet is named Earth, from soil, or simply the world. What was the ancient Greek name for Earth?

Answer: Gaia

The Greeks called our planet Gaia or Gaea which is the equivalent of soil. Terra was the Latin name for our planet, Chaos was the primordial void and Rhea was the daughter of Gaia and Uranus. Our planet is the third rock from the Sun. It spins (rotates) on its axis and, at the same time, revolves around the Sun.

Answer: Aurora Borealis

Aurora Borealis means dawn of the north. Aurora was the Roman goddess of dawn and Boreas was the Greek god of the north wind. The phenomenon is cyclic and peaks every 11 years. The name Australis in Latin means Southern.

3. One of the planets of our solar system is famed for its red spot which is in fact a giant storm. Which gas giant hosts this storm?

Answer: Jupiter

The size of the storm is more than twice the size of planet Earth. It is a high pressure storm which is similar to a hurricane. According to information released by NASA in 2014 the great red spot is shrinking. Mercury and Mars are terrestrial planets.

4. This celestial body in our solar system was discovered in 1930 and was named after the Roman god of the underworld. What is the name of the scientist that discovered it?

Answer: Clyde Tombaugh

Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto from the Lowell Observatory. Tombaugh's ashes traveled with the spacecraft New Horizon on its long journey to Pluto and beyond. Percival Lowell is the founder of the observatory and Galileo and Cassini, famed for their astronomical work, were not around in the twentieth century.

Answer: Milky Way

Our solar system belongs to the Milky Way galaxy. The word galaxy stems from the Greek word for milk (gala). According to Greek Mythology Zeus allowed the infant Heracles to suckle on his wife while she was asleep. When she woke up and realised what was happening she pushed the child away and her milk shot up in the sky thus forming the galaxy. Our spiral galaxy is immense.

It stretches for over 120 thousand light years and contains over 200 billion stars. Gas and dust make about 15% of the galaxy.

The other three options are also galaxies.

6. The nearest galaxy to our own is designated by the letters M31. Without putting yourself in too much of a strain what is the name of this galaxy?

Answer: Andromeda

Andromeda M31 is 2.5 million light years from Earth. It is the largest galaxy of our local group. The galaxy was named after the princess rescued by Perseus, because it appears to occupy the same space as the Andromeda constellation.

7. This bear of a constellation contains an asterism with seven recognizable stars the brightest of which is Alioth. What is the name of this constellation which is the third largest in the sky?

Answer: Ursa Major

Ursa Major contains the asterism called the big dipper or the plough and the other six stars are Merak, Dubhe, Megrez, Phecda,MIzar and Alkaid. Ursa is the Latin name for bear.

8. This celestial body is a star cluster and it is commonly known as Seven Sisters. What is the name of this cluster which is also known as M45?

Answer: Pleiades

Pleiades is an open star cluster as are all the other options given. It is about 400 light years from Earth and it is one of the most recognizable objects in the night sky. The names of the brightest stars are Alcyone, Atlas, Electra, Maia, Merope, Taygeta, Pleione and Celaeno.

The Pleiades belong to the constellation of Taurus and the cluster is fairly new being only about 115 million years old.

Answer: Southern Cross

The ancient Greeks thought that it was part of the constellation Centaurus. It was named as a separate constellation in 1516. The brightest of the five stars of the Crux is Alpha Cruxis.

10. This icy body contains dust and gases like methane and carbon dioxide. As it gets closer to the sun the ice gives out a cloud called coma. Can you deduce the name of this celestial body?

Answer: Comet

Comets are thought to be leftovers from the creation of our Solar System. The most famous of all is Halley's comet which makes an appearance approximately every 76 years. The photograph shows Comet ISON that was discovered in 2012 and was torn apart by the Sun in November 2013.

Source: Author gme24

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