Astronomy & Space

Based on a "They Might Be Giants" song and current scientific understanding, what is the sun made of?

• The sun is a mass of incandescent gas

• The sun is a kettle of red hot metal

• The sun is a miasma of incandescent plasma

• The sun is a sliver of boiling hot silver

Answer explanation

The band They Might Be Giants released a song in 1993 with the lyric "the sun is a mass of incandescent gas" however in 2009 they released an updated song to correct scientific inaccuracies in their earlier song

What color are the sunsets on Mars?

• The sunset is orange

• The sunset is green

• The sunset is blue

• The sunset is pink

Answer explanation

Fine dust in Mars' atmosphere make the blue spectrum more visible as opposed to red/orange sunsets on Earth

Which planet in our solar system has the longest years?

• Venus

• Neptune

• Uranus

• Pluto

Answer explanation

Venus has the longest days (1 Venus day is 243 earth days) but its years are only 225. Uranus's orbit is 84 years, Pluto's is 248 years but it is no longer a planet. Neptune's orbit is 164.8 years

Which planet radiates more heat than it receives from the sun?

• Earth

• Venus

• Saturn

• Mercury

Answer explanation

Saturn emits about 2.6 times as much energy as it receives from the sun indicating it has a very powerful internal heat source.

Which planet has the coldest recorded temperature?

• Pluto

• Neptune

• Uranus

• Saturn

Answer explanation

Again Pluto is not a planet. Neptune despite being father is slightly warmer (-214c vs. -224c). It is believed that in its past Uranus hit something large enough to flip it on its side as well as release a sizeable amount of primordial heat causing its tempeature to plummet)

Which planet or moon has the tallest mountain?

• Mars (Olympus Mons)

• Iapetus (Equatorial Ridge)

• Venus (Maxwell Montes)

• Io (Boosaule Montes)

Answer explanation

Olympus Mons is over 15 miles high. The others are Iapetus: 12 miles, Io: 11 miles, Venus: 7 miles

Which planet in our solar system has the most moons?

• Saturn

• Jupiter

• Neptune

• Uranus

Answer explanation

Saturn currently is known to have 145 moons whlie Jupiter has 95. Uranus has 27 and Neptune has 14 (although it is easier to detect moons around closer planets than distant ones so the outer planets might have more moons than currently known).

What is in the center of the Milky Way?

• A supermassive black hole (Sagittarius A*)

• A hypergiant star (UY Scuti)

• A spiral nebula (NGC 262 Halo Cloud)

• Empty Space

Answer explanation

Sagittarius A* lies in the center of the Milky Way with a mass of 4.3 million times that of our sun

What element makes up the majority of the sun's mass?

• Hydrogen

• Helium

• Iron

• Dilithium

Answer explanation

Hydrogen makes up about 98% of the mass of the sun

Where is the Sea of Tranquility located?

• Titan

• Mars

• Europa

• The Moon

Answer explanation

The Sea of Tranquility is the site of the first moon landing and the first extraterrestrial celestial body that humans ever visited