Astronomy and Space Quiz

Question: Chandra X-ray Observatory is named after which astrophysicist?

Answer: Chandra X-ray Observatory is named after Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, who with William A. Fowler won Nobel Prize for physics in 1983.

Question: Who was the first female commander of the International Space Station (ISS)?

Answer: Peggy Whitson was the first female commander of the International Space Station (ISS). She also holds the record among American astronauts and among women for spending the most time in space, nearly 666 days.

Question: When did the Steady-state theory, an alternative theory to the evolution of the universe, emerge?

Answer: Steady-state theory was first put forward in 1948 by British scientists Sir Hermann Bondi, Thomas Gold, and Sir Fred Hoyle.

Question: Which part of the Sun can be seen with the naked eye?

Answer: The Photosphere is the visible surface of the Sun, from which is emitted most of the Sun’s light that reaches Earth directly.

Question: Who won the 2019 Nobel Prize for Physics for physical cosmology?

Answer: James Peebles, a Canadian-born American physicist, was awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize for Physics for his work on physical cosmology. His major works include Cosmic Microwave Background, Cold Dark Matter.

Question: What is the name of the first space tourist?

Answer: Dennis Tito became the first space tourist to fund his trip at the cost of $20 million.

Question: How many times larger is the radius of the Sun than that of the Earth?

Answer: The radius of the Sun is 109 times that of the Earth.

Question: With which US spacecraft did Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, Jr. land on the moon?

Answer: On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, Jr. became the first people to land on the moon on Apollo 11.

Question: Which was the first spacecraft to have a hard landing on another celestial object?

Answer: Luna 2 was launch on September 12, 1959, became the first spacecraft to strike the Moon.

Question: Which year is Halley''s Comet expected to return to the solar system?

Answer: Halley''s Comet or Comet P/Halle is expected to return to the inner solar system in the year 2061.

Question: What are the clouds of interstellar gas and dust that emit light in different colors called?

Answer: An emission nebula is a cloud of high-temperature gas. The ultraviolet light from the star ionizes nearby hydrogen atoms that emit visible light.

Question: When did the International Astronomical Union adopt the dwarf planet category?

Answer: The International Astronomical Union adopted dwarf planet category of solar system bodies in August 2006, designating Pluto, Eris, and the asteroid Ceres as the first members of the category.

Question: Which is the name of a radio source that is very far from Earth?

Answer: A quasar is an astronomical object of very high luminosity found in the centres of some galaxies. Its name is derived from the manner in which these objects were discovered: via radio surveys of the sky. The name quasar means “quasi-stellar radio source.”

Question: When was the first extrasolar planet discovered?

Answer: Extrasolar planet, also called exoplanet are any planetary body that is outside the solar system. They were first discovered in 1992.

Question: Which of these objects is the farthest from the Sun?

Answer: 90377 Sedna (or, simply, Sedna) is 13 billion km (8.1 billion miles) from the Sun.

Question: Who invented the telescope?

Answer: Hans Lippershey (c. 1570–c. 1619), a spectacle maker in the Netherlands, is traditionally credited with the invention of the telescope.

Question: Who won the Nobel Prize for the discovery of dark energy in 2011?

Answer: Adam G. Riess won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2011 for his discovery of dark energy, a repulsive force that is the dominant component (69.4 percent) of the universe.

Question: The doughnut-shaped zones of highly energetic charged particles trapped at high altitudes in the magnetic field of Earth are known as:

Answer: Named after James A. Van Allen, the Van Allen radiation belt was discovered in the year 1958, using data transmitted by the U.S. Explorer satellite.

Question: Which planet''s axis is almost parallel to its orbital plane, making it spin nearly on its side?

Answer: Uranus’s axis lies almost parallel to its orbital plane, which means that the planet spins nearly on its side, its poles taking turns pointing toward the Sun as the planet travels in its orbit.

Question: In which year did Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova become the first woman travel to space?

Answer: Valentina Tereshkova traveled into space on June 16, 1963, and completed 48 orbits in 71 hours.

Question: Who discovered the Crab Nebula?

Answer: The discovery of the Crab Nebula is attributed to the English physician and amateur astronomer John Bevis

Question: What is the scientific term used for the twinkling of stars?

Answer: Scintillation is the twinkling of stars to the unaided eye, a commonly known result of turbulence in the higher reaches of the atmosphere.

Question: In 1921, Albert Einstein received the Nobel Prize for Physics for which of his following work?

Answer: Albert Einstein won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921 for his explanation of the Photoelectric Effect. Photoelectric Effect is a phenomenon in which electrically charged particle.

Question: The number of terrestrial planets in the solar system is:

Answer: Mercury to Mars is called the terrestrial planets, and Jupiter to Neptune are called giant planets or Jovian planets.

Question: The day on which the Sun’s direct rays cross the celestial equator is called:

Answer: On the equinox, the day on which the Sun’s path crosses the celestial equator, night and day are of equal length.

Question: In which year did the space shuttle Columbia disaster take place?

Answer: The fatal U.S. space shuttle Columbia took place on February 1, 2003, killing all astronauts on board.

Question: What is the acceleration of gravity at Earth''s surface?

Answer: At Earth’s surface, the acceleration of gravity is about 9.8 meters per second per second. Thus, for every second an object is in free fall, its speed increases by about 9.8 meters per second.

Question: What two motions do all planets have?

Answer: All planets have two types of motion, known as orbit and spin.

Question: In which year was the exoplanet Kepler-452b discovered?

Answer: Kepler-452b was discovered in the year 2015. It is the first approximately Earth-sized planet to be found in a Sun-like star’s habitable zone - the orbital region where an Earth-like planet could possess liquid water

Question: For how long did the first artificial satellite Sputnik 1 stay in Earth''s orbit?

Answer: Sputnik 1 was launched on October 4, 1957, and stayed in orbit until January 4, 1958.

Question: Which astronomer formulated the modern big bang theory?

Answer: Georges Lemaître, a Belgian astronomer and cosmologist formulated the modern big-bang theory, which states that the universe began in a cataclysmic explosion of a small, primeval “super-atom.”

Question: When was Pluto removed from the list of planets?

Answer: In August 2006 the International Astronomical Union voted to removed Pluto from the list of planets and give it the new classification of dwarf planet.

Question: Approximately how many miles (or kilometres) are there in a light-year?

Answer: A light-year is the distance light travels in a vacuum in a year—about 5.9 trillion miles, or 9.5 trillion kilometers.

Question: In which year was India''s first mission to Mars Mangalyaan launched?

Answer: Mars Orbiter Mission was launched on November 5, 2013. It was India''s first Interplanetary mission to Mars.

Question: Who was the first person to enter outer space twice?

Answer: Soviet cosmonaut Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov is the first person to make two spaceflights and the first human to die in a space flight.

Question: In which galaxy was a black hole discovered in the year 2017?

Answer: In 2017, the Event Horizon Telescope obtained images of the central region of M87 that showed an asymmetric ring of radio emission surrounding a dark object.

Question: The first satellite to operate in geostationary orbit is:

Answer: Launched in the year 1963, Syncom 2 became the first successful geostationary satellite to demonstrate the feasibility of the Hughes concept before commercial use.

Question: Who was the first to suggest the idea of an artificial satellite?

Answer: The idea of an Earth satellite in orbital flight was first suggested by Sir Isaac Newton in his book Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica (1687).

Question: Who discovered the phenomenon of “Baily’s beads”?

Answer: Francis Baily detected the phenomenon called “Baily’s beads" during an annular eclipse of the Sun on May 15, 1836.

Question: What makes a planet a dwarf planet?

Answer: In 2006, Pluto, Eris, and Ceres were classified as dwarf planets because of their size and shape.

Question: Which type of telescope is used for examining the moon and other planets of the solar system?

Answer: Refracting telescopes or refractors are used to study the moon and other objects of the solar system.

Question: What is a group of old stars closely packed in a symmetrical form called?

Answer: A globular cluster is a large group of old stars giving symmetrical or rough spherical appearance. It is the largest and most massive star cluster.

Question: What is the minimum speed of a meteoroid when it enters Earth’s atmosphere?

Answer: When a meteoroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere, it travels at a minimum speed of more than 11 km per second (25,000 miles per hour), which is many times faster than a bullet leaving a gun barrel.

Question: Who developed the theory of auroral phenomena?

Answer: Fredrik Størmer, a Norwegian geophysicist and mathematician developed a mathematical theory of auroral phenomena where he explained about the formation of auroras.

Question: The instance when the Sun is exactly above the Equator and day and night are of equal length is called:

Answer: Vernal equinox is two moments in the year when the Sun is exactly above the Equator and day and night are of equal length; also, either of the two points in the sky where the ecliptic and the celestial equator interse

Question: Which of these comprise the intermediate layers of a neutron star?

Answer: A Neutron star, any of a class of extremely dense, compact stars thought to be composed primarily of neutrons. The intermediate layers are mostly neutrons and are probably in a “superfluid” state.

Question: What term describes the alignment of three celestial bodies?

Answer: When three celestial bodies appear to be in a straight line, as sometimes happens, hey are said to be in syzygy.

Question: Which planets do not have a natural satellite?

Answer: All the planets in the solar system except Mercury and Venus have natural satellites.

Question: What is the dark center of a sunspot called?

Answer: The dark centre of a sunspot is called the umbra; the outer, lighter ring is the penumbra.

Question: What is the visible part of the Sun called?

Answer: The outer region of the Sun that is normally visible from the Earth is called the photosphere, which means “sphere of light.”

Question: The amount of light emitted by an object in a unit of time is known as:

Answer: Luminosity is the amount of light emitted by an object in a unit of time. It is an absolute measure of radiant power; that is, its value is independent of an observer’s distance from an object

Question: Which type of star is the Sun classified?

Answer: The Sun is classified as a G2 V star. The spectra of G-type stars are dominated by the characteristic lines of metals, particularly those of iron, calcium, sodium, magnesium, and titanium.

Question: What is the outermost region of the Sun’s atmosphere called?

Answer: Corona is the outermost region of the Sun’s atmosphere which consists of plasma. It has a temperature of approximately two million kelvins and an extremely low density.

Question: Which spacecraft was Laika, the first living creature sent into space?

Answer: Sputnik 2, launched on November 3, 1957, carried Laika into space and orbit Earth.

Question: Who discovered dark matter?

Answer: Fritz Zwicky, a Swiss astronomer and physicist discovered the existence of dark matter, a component of the universe making up 30.1% of the matter-energy composition.

Question: What is the smallest planet in the solar system by mass?

Answer: Mercury, the innermost planet of the solar system, is the smallest by mass (and size).

Question: Which of these was discovered in the year 1998 using Type Ia supernovae?

Answer: Dark energy was discovered in 1998 with the use of the Type Ia supernovae. It is a repulsive force that is the dominant component (69.4 percent) of the universe.

Question: Who discovered the laws of planetary motion?

Answer: Johannes Kepler a German astronomer discovered the three majorlaws of planetary motion.

Question: What is the nucleus of a comet made of?

Answer: The nuclei of comets are small solid bodies composed of roughly equal parts of volatile ices, fine silicate dust, and organic materials. 

Question: The atmosphere in Mars is mostly composed of:

Answer: According to astronomer Gerard P. Kuiperascertained, the Martian atmosphere is composed mainly of carbon dioxide.

Question: In total, how many space flights were carried out by Spacelab?

Answer: From 1983 to 1998, altogether 25 flights were made with Spacelab for astronomical, solar, microgravity, life sciences, and materials sciences research.

Question: When did the Space Age begin?

Answer: The Space Age began on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite.