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Uranus, the Sky-king Star Trivia Quiz

This is a quiz on the gas planet Uranus. Sky-king Star is its Japanese name.

A multiple-choice quiz by jonthomas. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
jonthomas

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
358,103

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
312

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. In what year was Uranus discovered by William Herschel? Hint

1610

1781

1886

1801

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Question 2 of 10

2. Upon its discovery, which of these was NOT a proposed name for Uranus? Hint

Herschel

Minerva

Neptune

Georgium Sidus

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Question 3 of 10

3. Uranus, like Pluto and Ceres, has two official astronomical symbols. One of them combines the symbols of what other two bodies? Hint

Earth and Neptune

Jupiter and Saturn

Venus and Ceres

Mars and the Sun

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Question 4 of 10

4. Uranus's ring system was the second such system to be discovered.

True

False

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Question 5 of 10

5. What are the moons of Uranus named after? Hint

Greek sky spirits

Characters from the works of Shakespeare and Pope

Minor titans

Olympian cities

6. The first and only probe to ever have directly visited Uranus was Voyager 2. However, one other probe was once to have gone to Uranus, but instead opted to explore more of what planetary system? Hint

Jupiter

Saturn

Mercury

Mars

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Question 7 of 10

7. In the early years of its operation, the Hubble Space Telescope witnessed interesting phenomena happening on Uranus. What was it? Hint

Rotation of its axis

Increased atmospheric activity

Several explosions from its sky

It has stopped rotating

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Question 8 of 10

8. What star was Uranus near when it was first historically observed? Hint

Zeta Tauri

Epsilon Eridani

Alpha Centauri

Nu Octantis

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Question 9 of 10

9. Some astronomers do not consider Uranus to be a gas giant. Instead, they refer to it as what? Hint

A dwarf planet

An ice giant

A rocky planet with an extremely dense atmosphere

A brown dwarf

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Question 10 of 10

10. Which layer of Earth's atmosphere does Uranus lack an equivalent to? Hint

Mesosphere

Thermosphere

Troposphere

Exosphere

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In what year was Uranus discovered by William Herschel?

Answer: 1781

To be precise, the planet was first confirmed to be discovered on March 13, 1781. However, it was misidentified as a comet for several months before it was proven to be a planet.

2. Upon its discovery, which of these was NOT a proposed name for Uranus?

Answer: Minerva

Uranus, or rather his Roman equivalent Caelus, was said to be the father of Saturn, who was the father of Jupiter, so it seemed fitting to keep this pattern of paternity intact. It was not until 1850, sixty-nine years after its discovery, that its name became official.

3. Uranus, like Pluto and Ceres, has two official astronomical symbols. One of them combines the symbols of what other two bodies?

Answer: Mars and the Sun

This was chosen because Ouranos, which the planet is named after, was a Greek representation of the sky, which was said to be ruled by the Sun and in the domain of Ares, the equivalent of the Roman Mars.

4. Uranus's ring system was the second such system to be discovered.

Answer: True

Due to its axial tilt of about 90 degrees, Uranus's rings are vertically inclined. The next planet to have its rings discovered was Jupiter, then finally Neptune. It is also speculated that bodies like Pluto and Eris may have ring systems of their own, though none have been discovered.

5. What are the moons of Uranus named after?

Answer: Characters from the works of Shakespeare and Pope

Unlike any other planet, Uranus' moons are not named after mythical beings relating to it, such as water spirits for Neptune or giants for Jupiter. Some examples are Miranda, Ariel, Umbriel, and Sycorax.

Answer: Saturn

The Cassini space probe was being considered for a 12 year journey to Uranus from 2013 to 2025, however this was considered inefficient, and it was instead decided that the Cassini mission would end by destroying the probe in Saturn's atmosphere.

7. In the early years of its operation, the Hubble Space Telescope witnessed interesting phenomena happening on Uranus. What was it?

Answer: Increased atmospheric activity

This was noticed with many auroras appearing on the planet's poles, along with increased cloud cover. When Voyager 2 took the first close pictures of Uranus, astronomers were surprised to find a mostly plain atmosphere.

8. What star was Uranus near when it was first historically observed?

Answer: Zeta Tauri

The earliest confirmed observation of Uranus was in 1690, where John Flamsteed mistook the planet for a star, and designated it 34 Tauri.

9. Some astronomers do not consider Uranus to be a gas giant. Instead, they refer to it as what?

Answer: An ice giant

Uranus, along with Neptune, are sometimes considered to be a different type of planet than Jupiter and Saturn. Some models suggest that they formed differently, and were once much closer to the Sun than they are now.

10. Which layer of Earth's atmosphere does Uranus lack an equivalent to?

Answer: Mesosphere

Uranus is not the only gas giant planet lacking a mesosphere. In our own Solar System, Jupiter also lacks one, and spectroscopic scans of exoplanets has suggested that they too may lack this layer.

Source: Author jonthomas

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