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The Fascinating Solar System Trivia Quiz

The Solar System is a fascinating place to find fascinating facts. How much of the following facts about the Solar System do you know?

A multiple-choice quiz by giantcomet4. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
giantcomet4

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
190,612

Updated
May 31 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
2613

Last 3 plays: Guest 1 (2/10), Guest 174 (5/10), Guest 76 (7/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Mercury was named by the Romans, but for what reason? Hint

It seemed to move slower than any other planet

It seemed to move faster at one part of its orbit around the Sun

It seemed to halt at one part of its orbit around the Sun

It seemed to move faster than any other planet

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. Old astronomers called Venus the morning star and the evening star. Why was that? Hint

They believed that it was two joint bodies

They believed that it was two separate bodies

They thought that a crack ran through the middle of Venus

Because they thought that Venus was a moon

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. The distance from the Sun to the Earth is about 150 million kilometres. Earth's atmosphere is made up mainly of nitrogen. What percentage does nitrogen make up of the Earth's atmosphere? Hint

21 percent

78 percent

1 percent

83 percent

4. The fourth planet from the Sun is Mars, also referred to as the Red Planet. The colour of its rocks and soil is the reason why it is called the Red Planet. The ancient Egyptians called this planet "Her Descher" which meant? Hint

The Angry One

The Great One

The Peaceful One

The Red One

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Question 5 of 10

5. Jupiter is the fifth and biggest planet of our solar system. If Jupiter was hollow instead of having the most mass of the nine planets, more than one thousand Earths would fit inside it. Jupiter has a ring system but it cannot be seen with the naked eye. When was this ring system discovered? Hint

1978

1979

1989

1988

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Question 6 of 10

6. The sixth planet of the Solar System is Saturn. Voyager 1 discovered a lot of what we know about Saturn. Saturn's day takes 10 hours and 39 minutes. How long does Saturn take to make a full orbit around the Sun? Hint

20.5 Earth years

39.5 Earth years

21.5 Earth years

29.5 Earth years

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. Uranus is the seventh from the Sun. The distance between Uranus and the Sun is about 2.87 billion kilometres. We know of 22 satellites that orbit Uranus. What are the names of the two largest satellites? Hint

Oberon and Titania

Belinda and Titania

Ariel and Belinda

Oberon and Ariel

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. 4,504,300,000 kilometres away from the Sun is Neptune, the eighth planet and the last of the ice giants. Compared to Jupiter, it could only hold a measly sixty Earths. Six moons of Neptune's eight were discovered by Voyager. On the 23rd of September, 1846 Neptune was discovered but by whom? Hint

Daniel Kirkwood

William Huggins

Sir George Airy

Johann Gottfried Galle

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Question 9 of 10

9. Finally comes Pluto, the smallest and is usually the farthest planetoid of the Solar System because it is closer to the Sun than Neptune for twenty years. When was this planetoid discovered? Hint

1930

1932

1931

1933

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Question 10 of 10

10. The Solar System doesn't only include planets but also moons, asteroids and various other things. Asteroids do orbit the Sun but they are too small to be planets. What asteroid has a diameter of about 1000 kilometres? Hint

Annefrank

Ceres

Mathilde

Eros

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Dec 19 2024 : Guest 1: 2/10
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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Mercury was named by the Romans, but for what reason?

Answer: It seemed to move faster than any other planet

Titan and Ganymede are bigger than Mercury. Titan is one of Saturn's moons and Ganymede is one of Jupiter's moons. Earth is 40 percent bigger than Mercury and the Moon is 40 percent smaller than Mercury. The Romans named it after the messenger of the gods.

2. Old astronomers called Venus the morning star and the evening star. Why was that?

Answer: They believed that it was two separate bodies

Venus is called Earth's sister because they have the following similarities: They both have about the same density, they have nearly the same mass, they also are about the same size.

3. The distance from the Sun to the Earth is about 150 million kilometres. Earth's atmosphere is made up mainly of nitrogen. What percentage does nitrogen make up of the Earth's atmosphere?

Answer: 78 percent

21 percent is the gas that we breathe, oxygen. The other one percent is made up of carbon dioxide and other gases.

Answer: The Red One

Astronomers used to think that Mars had straight lines on the planet's surface. These lines were thought to be canals built by clever creatures that lived on the planet.

Answer: 1979

Its faint ring system was discovered by Voyager 1. Jupiter has 28 moons that we known of. Io and Ganymede are two of them. Jupiter also has a diameter of 142,000 kilometres.

Answer: 29.5 Earth years

Saturn's atmosphere is made up of mostly hydrogen but there are small amounts of helium and methane.

Answer: Oberon and Titania

The air on Uranus is full of hydrogen which makes up 83 percent, it has 15 percent of helium and it also has two percent of methane.

Answer: Johann Gottfried Galle

Louis d'Arrest and Urban Jean Joseph Le Verrier helped Johann make his discovery of Neptune.

9. Finally comes Pluto, the smallest and is usually the farthest planetoid of the Solar System because it is closer to the Sun than Neptune for twenty years. When was this planetoid discovered?

Answer: 1930

At the time of writing this quiz, Pluto has not been visited by a spacecraft. The distance of Pluto makes it hard to know detailed information about Pluto.

Answer: Ceres

Annefrank is about four kilometres in diameter, Mathilde is fifty-two kilometres in diameter and Eros is 330 kilometres across. Thank you for playing this quiz. I hope you have enjoyed it and learned more about the Solar System.

Source: Author giantcomet4

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor crisw before going online.
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