Starry, Starry Night Trivia Quiz

Answer: SN1572

Tycho's Supernova, otherwise known as "SN1572", appeared on 11 November 1572 while he was at Herrevad Abbey.

Having studied astronomy since a young child, he observed that this star was in the constellation Cassiopeia and was unusual and brighter than anything he had ever seen.

He was not the first to sight this star, which according to some sources, was first seen by W. Schuler on 6 November 1572.

Answer: Baby star

A baby star (protostar), has been discovered more than 10,000 light-years away!

"We have discovered the most massive protostar known in our galaxy and a beautiful network of filaments funneling even more matter onto it," said Gary Fuller, a co-author on the discovery and an astronomer at the University of Manchester in England.

At some time in the distant future the swirling clouds will fuse within the star creating a sun more than a million times brighter than our Sol.

Answer: Carina

The Carina constellation is home to Miaplacidus, meaning "placid waters" which is the 29th brightest star in the sky.

The constellation also contains the major star, Canopus, which is the second brightest star in the night sky.

The name "Carina" means the keel of a ship.

Answer: Tarantula nebula

The star, known as R136a1, is enormous, approximately 265 times the mass of our Sun.

R136a1 is more than 165,000 light-years from the Earth and can only be seen from the southern hemisphere with a very very powerful telescope.

Monster-sized stars are only found in very dense star clusters, which makes them quite rare.

Answer: Hubble's Law

Hubble, in 1930, came up with a theory that explained his observations as a result of the expansion of the universe. As he had seen, the farther away a nebula seemed to be, the faster it seemed to rush away from Earth.

Enormous speeds are involved - up to thousands of miles per second. Mind-bogglingly fast!

Answer: Elenin

Scientists always knew that Elenin was never able to cause predicted events, like the Earth shifting axis, melting ice on Mars, etc. It was really a puny comet that disintegrated and never even got close enough for us to see without a telescope.

Some might have chosen The Mayan. The Mayan Apocalypse was a silly belief with even less scientific backing, and wasn't a comet and didn't happen.

Answer: Canis Major

Commonly known as the "dog star", and the origin of the term "dog days of Summer" Sirius is found in the constellation of Canis Major. The constellation is densely packed with blue and white stars, including several white dwarfs.

Answer: Andromeda galaxy

Observations made by the Hubble Space Telescope, together with astronomers from NASA, have predicted that the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies will collide in approximately four billion years' time.

Although the Milky Way contains the solar system and Earth, it is predicted that Earth will not be affected by this collision.

Answer: A star that changes, or appears to change, brightness

Most stars seem to shine with a constant light, apart from twinkling due to the light passing through the atmosphere.

A variable star can actually change its brightness on a cycle over time and, if it's sufficiently nearby, this effect can be seen with the naked eye or with the aid of binoculars.

Answer: Halley's Comet

The Star of Bethlehem is one of the most famous stars in history. Many theories have been put forth, but some scientists say now that the star could have been Halley's Comet, which appeared in 12 B.C.

The debate goes on with many novas and comets and other phenomena as candidates.

They include Halley's Comet, which really did appear in 12 B.C., but Halley's Comet was named a lot later by Edmund Halley who predicted its orbital period in 1705.