Solar System Wonders Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mars

This is a photo of Mars. It has two moons, Phobos and Deimos. Many astronomers have predicted that Phobos, which orbits very close to the planet, is going to crash into it sometime in the next 30-50 million years. The gravitational pull of the planet will smash the moon into small pieces of debris which will stay in orbit making rings around the planet like those seen around some of the other planets in our solar system. Eventually, these pieces will rain down on Mars.

The craters seen on Mars lead some scientists to believe that there may have been other smaller moons in the past that have suffered the same fate.

Answer: Ganymede

Ganymede is the largest moon in our solar system and is larger than both Pluto and Mercury. It is thought to consist of silicate rock and water ice with a liquid core. Some astronomers think that there may be an underground saltwater ocean that lies sandwiched between layers of ice.

This moon has a thin atmosphere that contains oxygen and ozone. Ganymede was discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610. The other three options are all moons of Saturn.

Answer: Nebula

This beautiful image is of the Butterfly Nebula taken by the Hubble Space Telescope in the 1990s. Found in the Monoceros constellation it is one of the most extensively studied nebulae in space. In the center of this cloud of gas and dust is a bright binary star. The luminosity of this solar phenomena varies due to the layers of dust surrounding it.

Answer: Spiral galaxy

The Milky Way is considered to be a barred spiral galaxy. All galaxies are a mixture of dust, gas, and dark matter, all mixed with a large group of stars. Our own galaxy is thought to have over a billion stars in it, although estimates vary greatly. Many astronomers believe that at the center of our galaxy lies a supermassive black hole.

Answer: Neptune

The beautiful blue planet of Neptune gets its color from the presence of methane in its atmosphere. Named after the Roman god of the sea, Neptune is the stormiest planet on our solar system. It has winds three times as strong as the winds found in a Earthly hurricane. Neptune is the farthest planet from the sun and takes 165 years to orbit the sun.

Answer: The Maxwell Gap

There are many gaps in the rings of Saturn. Of the options listed only the Maxwell Gap is one of them. These flamboyant looking rings consist of ice and rock. Galileo Galilei discovered the rings in 1610, but it was not until later the same century that it was realized that what was seen was not a solid disk, but rings of loose material.

Answer: Venus

This image shows three of the largest craters on the planet Venus. Other than the moon, Venus is the brightest object in the night sky. The sulfuric acid clouds and levels of carbon dioxide are just a couple of the components that make Venus the hottest planet on our solar system even though it is not the closest planet to the sun. Venus is also known for its retrograde rotation as well as having the longest rotation period of any planet on the solar system.

Answer: Supernova

This beautiful photo depicts a supernova, the final act in the life of a giant star. This occurs to every sufficiently large star once it runs out of the energy it needs to make light and heat. The star collapses in on itself, after which it explodes with very great force. The result of this natural phenomena is the creation of either a black hole or a neutron star.

Answer: Halley's Comet

On the date of the both the birth and the death of American author Mark Twain, Halley's Comet was overhead. English astronomer Edmond Halley (1656-1742) successfully predicted the return of this comet and it was named in his honor. Comets are made of ice, dust, and small rock particles. Halley's comet was the first comet to be recognized by scientist to be periodic even though it is suspected that some earlier cultures may have been aware of this fact much earlier.

When close, it can be seen clearly without the use of a telescope.

It is predicted to return in the year 2061.

Answer: Hubble Space Telescope

This is a photograph of the Hubble Space telescope which was launched into space in 1990 aboard the space shuttle Discovery. This magnificent piece of science equipment is responsible for most of the photos in this quiz. This telescope has made fantastic space images available to the world. It is just one of the many man-made objects in orbit around the planet Earth.