The Shining Trivia Quiz

Answer: Both

Venus, the brightest object in the sky after our sun, is called the Morning Star when it follows Earth in its orbit. Every 584 days it overtakes the Earth and is then called the Evening Star because of its position in relation to our own. It is bright enough to be seen at midday if you know where to look.

Answer: Mars

Treated with apprehension by the ancients, Mars is also known as the "Red Planet". Iron oxide on its surface gives it the red tint. It seems to glow redder at certain times of the year, causing ancient peoples to wonder if it was angry with them.

Answer: Southern Cross

The Southern Cross is an asterism, a pattern of stars, in the constellation Crux (latin for cross). It is featured on the flags of Australia, New Zealand and other southern hemisphere nations.

Answer: Orion

Named by the Greeks, Orion the hunter, the heavily-armed subject of myth and awe, is one of the brightest constellations. It dominates the northern winter sky. We can easily recognize Orion's shoulders, legs, belt and bow; the Orion Nebula is visible in his sword. Not so easy to see anymore because of atmospheric pollution are his head and quiver of arrows.

Answer: the moon

Earth's natural satellite seems to be the Rodney Dangerfield of moons in our solar system; it gets so little respect that it doesn't even have a name. It is known as "the moon". Throughout history it has sometimes been called Luna, a Roman goddess who was their theological personification of the moon. The moon has often had a sinister reputation: creepy things are said to come out when the moon is full, and wolves and coyotes howl at it. Actually, so do beagles, but I'm trying to set a mood here.

Answer: Lyra

Lyra, the lyre, has only six stars. It is one of the 48 constellations listed by the astronomer Ptolemy in the second century. It can be difficult to see because of haze and atmospheric pollution but is visible in the northern hemisphere from spring through autumn. In the southern hemisphere it is low in its northern sky during the winter.

Answer: aurora

The auroras, borealis in the northern hemisphere and australis in the south, are caused by the collision of charged particles and atoms in Earth's thermosphere. Aurora is the Latin word for sunrise. It's not unusual for the auroras to light up the sky. Because Earth's magnetic field controls both auroras, they mimic each other almost simultaneously. They are also known as the northern lights and southern lights, respectively.

Answer: Andromeda

The constellation Andromeda is another of the 48 constellations catalogued by Ptolemy. It was named for Andromeda, the daughter of Cassiopeia, a figure in Greek mythology. The constellation is easiest to see in the northern hemisphere on autumn evenings. In the southern hemisphere it can only be seen north of 40-degrees south latitude. The brightest star in Andromeda is Alpha Andromedae which is actually a binary star, meaning two stars that closely orbit each other.

Answer: Pegasus

The Greeks said that Pegasus was a winged horse that sprang from the blood of Medusa when Perseus cut off her head. Pavo means peacock, Scorpius means scorpion and Volans means flying fish.

Answer: Canis Major

Canis Major means greater dog in Latin. It is said to be one of the dogs in the night sky following Orion the hunter. The bright star Sirius, called the dog star, is a part of Canis Major. The other constellations won't get you any bragging rights: Vulpecula means fox, Dorado means goldfish and poor little Musca means fly in Latin.