Trivia Quiz on Astronomy

1. Which planet was discovered by William Herschel in 178l

A) Uranus

B) Neptune

C) Ceres

D) Pluto

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2. In Gustav Holsts planets suite which planet is the magician

A) Mercury

B) Jupiter

C) Neptune

D) Uranus

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3. What celestial body gets its name from the Greek long haired

A) Comet

B) Nebula

C) Asteroid

D) Galaxy

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4. What two seasons do the equinoxes occur in

A) Spring and winter

B) Summer and spring

C) Autumn and winter

D) Spring & autumn

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5. In which U.S. state is the Lowell Observatory

A) Arizona

B) New Mexico

C) California

D) Utah

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6. What natural phenomenon can never be seen at noon

A) Solar eclipse

B) Rainbow - sun must be 40 deg or less

C) Aurora borealis

D) Stars (visible only at night)

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7. Phobos and Deimos are moons of which planet

A) Venus

B) Mars

C) Jupiter

D) Saturn

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8. How many years does it take for Saturn to orbit the Sun

A) 29

B) 28

C) 30

D) 84

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9. What's the only day named for a planet

A) Sunday

B) Saturday

C) Wednesday

D) Mercury

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10. Which is the largest planet in our solar system

A) Jupiter

B) Saturn

C) Earth

D) Neptune

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11. Uranus' moons are all named after

A) Shakespearean women

B) Shakespearean male characters

C) Greek mythological figures

D) Roman gods

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12. The name of which constellation me 'harp'

A) Orion

B) Cygnus

C) Lyra

D) Aquila

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13. What planet has a magnetic field 50 times stronger than that of Earth

A) Jupiter

B) Uranus

C) Neptune

D) Saturn

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14. What is the spiral galaxy nearest ours

A) Triangulum Galaxy

B) Whirlpool Galaxy

C) Andromeda

D) Milky Way

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15. What does the latin "luna" mean ?

A) Moon

B) Sun

C) Earth

D) Star

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16. Which stars name means chained maiden

A) Cygnus

B) Cassiopeia

C) Delphinus

D) Andromeda

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17. Which star is the nearest to Earth?

A) Proxima Centauri

B) Sirius

C) Betelgeuse

D) The Sun

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18. What did NASA launch a$100 million search for in 1992

A) habitable planets beyond Earth

B) Aliens

C) microbial life on Mars

D) water on the Moon

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19. The word planet comes from Greek what's it literally mean

A) Stars

B) Sky gods

C) Heavenly bodies

D) Wanderers

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20. What is the English name for the constellation Mensa

A) Orion

B) Table

C) Andromeda

D) Cygnus

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21. The Greek for circle of animals gives it name to what

A) Zodiac

B) Astrology

C) Astronomy

D) Zoology

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22. When ocean tides are at their highest, they are called what

A) Spring tides

B) Neap tides

C) King tides

D) Perigean tides

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23. Phobos is a moon of which planet

A) Earth

B) Jupiter

C) Mars

D) Venus

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24. What name is given to the part of the sundial that casts the shadow

A) Dial plate

B) Gnomon

C) Nodus

D) Shadow rod

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25. What planet was pummeled by pieces of Shoemaker levy 9 in 1994, producing 2000 mile high fireballs

A) Saturn

B) Jupiter

C) Uranus

D) Neptune

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26. What's a disk of gas orbiting a star of black hole called

A) Protoplanetary disk

B) Accretion disk

C) Circumstellar disk

D) Disk galaxy

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27. What astronomical unit of distance is used for measurements beyond the solar system

A) Light-year

B) Megaparsec

C) Parsec

D) Astronomical unit (AU)

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28. When is the shortest day in the northern hemisphere

A) June

B) March

C) September

D) December

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29. Which star, the brightest in the constellation Taurus, is known as the 'Eye of Taurus'?

A) Elnath

B) Betelgeuse

C) Aldebaran

D) Rigel

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30. The name for the group of stars which form a hunter with a club & shield is ________

A) Ursa Major

B) Cygnus

C) Scorpius

D) Orion

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31. Who formulated the laws which first explained the movements of the planets properly

A) Copernicus

B) Galileo

C) Ptolemy

D) Kepler

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32. What's the smallest known planet in our solar system

A) Mercury

B) Ceres

C) Eris

D) Pluto

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33. What animal is represented by the constellation Lacerta

A) Dragon

B) Lizard

C) Snake

D) Gecko

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34. The star Castor is in which constellation

A) Orion

B) Gemini

C) Taurus

D) Lyra

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35. The star constellation Grus has what English name

A) The Pelican

B) The Crane

C) The Swan

D) The Goose

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36. Jimmy Carter once thought he saw a UFO; what was it

A) Jupiter

B) Venus

C) a weather balloon

D) the Moon

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37. What season begins with the vernal equinox

A) Summer

B) Spring

C) Autumn

D) Winter

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38. Which planet in the solar system has the longest day?

A) Mercury

B) Earth

C) Mars

D) Venus

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39. Where would you find Volans

A) Northern Sky – Const Flying Fish

B) Equatorial Sky – Const Flying Fish

C) Southern Sky – Const Flying Fish

D) Southern Sky – Constell Flying Fish

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40. In which constellation is the night's brightest star, Sirius

A) Orion

B) Ursa Major

C) Canis major

D) Canis minor

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41. Where in the solar system would an observer see the "Cassini's Division"

A) Rings of Jupiter

B) Asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter

C) Rings of Neptune

D) Rings of Saturn

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42. When does a full moon rise

A) Midnight

B) Dawn

C) Sunset

D) At noon

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43. What Planet Is Sometimes Refered To As Lucifer

A) Venus

B) Mercury

C) Mars

D) Jupiter

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44. If venus is the second planet from the sun, what is jupiter

A) Fifth

B) Third

C) Fourth

D) Sixth

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45. Saturday is named for which planet

A) Mars

B) Jupiter

C) Saturn

D) Venus

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46. What is earth's galaxy called

A) Andromeda Galaxy

B) Triangulum Galaxy

C) Whirlpool Galaxy

D) Milky way

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47. As what is the north star also known

A) Kochab

B) Vega

C) Polaris

D) Sirius

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48. What planet does the moon charon orbit

A) Earth

B) Pluto

C) Jupiter

D) Saturn

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49. What country has the third most satellites in orbit

A) United States

B) China

C) Russia

D) France

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50. February 1865 only month ever not to have what

A) New Moon

B) Blue Moon

C) Full Moon

D) Last Quarter

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