Look Up There! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Seven

The Big Dipper is composed of the seven brightest stars of the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear. Four stars compose the bowl, and three more stars compose the curved handle. The Big Dipper is not a constellation. It is what is known as an asterism, a pattern of stars that people recognize.

The Big Dipper is always found in the northern sky, and can be seen throughout the year in the northern hemisphere. The state flag of Alaska contains an image of the Big Dipper.

Answer: Polaris

The two right stars of the "bowl" of the Big Dipper are called Merak, the lower one, and Dubhe. By extending an imaginary line from Merak to Dubhe, you can find Polaris. Polaris is not a very bright star, but can still be seen in the city. It is the first star of the the handle of the seven-star asterism known as the Little Dipper, which you can imagine as a smaller, upside-down ladle, pouring into the Big Dipper.

More importantly, Polaris is known as the "North Star" because it is very close to the north celestial pole.

Therefore, Polaris always indicates the north direction from anywhere it can be seen, making it very useful for navigation.

Answer: Arcturus

Arcturus is the fourth brightest star in the night sky. It is an orange giant star over 100 times as bright as our sun in the visible light spectrum. It is a handy mnemonic to remember that the "arc" of the Big Dipper leads to "Arc-turus."

Continuing along the same arc leads to another bright star, Spica, in the constellation Virgo. Spica is very close to the ecliptic, that is, the plane of the earth's orbit around the sun.

Answer: Regulus

Regulus is the brightest star in the constellation Leo, the Lion. It is at the base of an asterism known as the Sickle, composed of a two-star "handle" and a curve of four stars that can been seen as the "blade." Imagining that the Sickle is the mane and chest of the Lion, look to the left to see the rear legs of the Lion and its tail. Regulus, like Spica, is located on the ecliptic.

Regulus is really a group of at least four stars. Recent measurements show that the main star is spinning quite rapidly, rotating with a speed of over one million KPH at its equator. This has led astronomers to speculate that there may be a white dwarf, that is a dead star, nearby.

Answer: Rigel

Rigel is a member of the constellation Orion which is not seen during the summer months of the Northern Hemisphere. Even if you are in a major city with light pollution, the Summer Triangle of the bright stars Vega, Deneb, and Altair stands out predominantly. You may even be able to see that Deneb is the central star in the Northern Cross, which is an asterism that is part of the constellation Cygnus, the Swan. If you are out of a light-polluted city, you will see that Cygnus, containing Deneb, is superimposed on the Milky Way, the "river" of stars that we observe when looking through the ring of our galaxy.

Answer: The Teapot

Four stars form a trapezoid that resemble the pot. Two stars to the left form the handle. One star to the right makes the spout, and one more star above the trapezoid completes the lid. Outside of the city, where it is dark enough, the image is even stronger since part of the Milky Way appears to be steam rising from the spout.

Answer: Betelgeuse

Betelgeuse, pronounced like, "Beetlejuice," is the ninth brightest star in the night sky. It is one of the largest stars that we can see. If it were in the place of our sun, its surface would engulf the orbit of Mars and the asteroid belt, perhaps even reaching to the orbit of Jupiter! Supergiant and hypergiant stars do not last a long time. Betelgeuse is expected to become a supernova in about a mere million years. For perspective, our sun has been around for over four billion years and is expected to last a few billion years more.

Answer: Sirius

In the light-polluted cities we miss a lot of stars, but in recompense the brightest stars and asterisms really stand out. Perhaps you will be known as the "Sky Expert" for being able to identify the stars in the Winter Hexagon. (Note, your friends will actually call you the "Star Geek." Well, own it!)

Start with Rigel, the lower right star of Orion. Move to the left to the brightest star in the night sky, Sirius. Point up and slightly to the left to Procyon. (At this point you can say, "That last one was Sirius, but this one is just goofing around." Well, if you want to own the geek title, that is.) Above Procyon are the twin stars Pollux and Castor. Pollux, the left one, is in the hexagon. Now point to the right to the bright star Capella, then nearly straight down to Aldebaran. The imaginary line of the hexagon from Aldebaran goes back to Rigel where we started.

Answer: Neptune

It is possible, but very difficult, to see Uranus with the naked eye. In addition to keen eyesight, you would need the planet to be at its brightest, you would have to be in a very dark place, and you would need a star map or app to know where to look. Neptune cannot be seen without at least a good pair of binoculars.

Venus is the brightest object in the sky after the sun and the moon. Jupiter is the second brightest. Sirius outshines the other planets, but we can easily see Mars, Saturn, and Mercury with our unaided eyes.

Answer: M or W

Cassiopeia has a distinctive M shape. At certain times its orientation in the sky causes it to be called, "the big W." It is a good celestial reference point that makes it easy to find the nearby Great Square of Pegasus and the constellation Andromeda. Using stars from the "M", Pegasus, and Andromeda, an observer can find the Andromeda Galaxy that can be seen with the naked eye, although not in places of great light pollution. Andromeda is not the only galaxy that can be seen with the naked eye. In the Southern Hemisphere the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are separate galaxies that are easy to see.