Equinox quizz

In summer the Earth is closer to the Sun than in winter

• True

• False

Answer explanation

The Earth is as close to the Sun as possible on January 4, as far from the Sun as possible on July 4. The Earth's orbit is almost circular and has no significant effect on weather and temperature conditions. The main reason for the change of seasons is the tilt of the earth's axis.

Is day always equal to night at the equator?

• True

• False

Answer explanation

The length of the day depends on the angle of the sun. Above the equator, it practically does not change, and therefore the length of day and night is always the same. At the poles, day and night are not equal. The sun rises there once a year and also sets once – on the solstice.

The Earth makes a complete revolution around its axis for...

• 23 hours 56 minutes

• 24 hours 00 minutes

• 24 hours 04 minutes

• 365 days

Answer explanation

Earth rotates once in about 24 hours with respect to the Sun, but once every 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds with respect to other distant stars.

What is the brightest star in Earth's night sky?

• Polaris

• Proxima Centauri

• Aldebaran

• Sirius

Answer explanation

Sirius is the brightest star in Earth's night sky.

The North Star, also known as Polaris, appears to stay fixed in our northern sky. It marks the location of the sky's north pole, or the north celestial pole, the point around which the whole northern sky – full of stars – turns.

Proxima Centauri is the closest star to the Sun, lying just over four light-years away.

The hottest planet in the solar system is…

• Earth

• Mercury

• Sun

• Venus

Answer explanation

Venus has a really thick atmosphere made up of lots of gases that give it yellow clouds. It has a strong greenhouse effect, similar to the one we experience on Earth. Because of this, Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system. The surface of Venus is approximately 465°C!

The moon is always turned to the Earth with one side.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

The Moon orbits Earth once every 27.3 days and spins on its axis once every 27.3 days. This means that although the Moon is rotating, it always keeps one face toward us. Known as “synchronous rotation,” this is why we only ever see the Moon's nearside from Earth.

On which planet is a day longer than a year?

• Mercury

• Venus

• Uranus

• Mars

Answer explanation

A day on Venus is longer than a year. That's 243 Earth days to rotate once – the longest rotation of any planet in the Solar System – and only 224.7 Earth days to complete an orbit of the Sun.

The light reaches from the Sun to the Earth in about

• 4 minutes

• 6 minutes

• 8 minutes

• 10 minutes

Answer explanation

Sunlight travels at the speed of light. Photons emitted from the surface of the Sun need to travel across the vacuum of space to reach our eyes. It takes sunlight an average of 8 minutes and 20 seconds to travel from the Sun to the Earth.