Exploring Exoplanets 2 Quiz

What is an exoplanet?

• A planet within our solar system

• A moon orbiting an exoplanet

• A planet outside of our solar system

• A star in the Milky Way galaxy

How far away is Proxima Centauri b, the closest known exoplanet to Earth?

• 1 light-year

• 4 light-years

• 10 light-years

• 100 light-years

Which method involves observing the dimming of a star as a planet passes in front of it?

• Transit method

• Radial velocity method

• Direct imaging

• Gravitational microlensing

What was the Kepler Space Telescope's mission?

• To photograph the surface of Mars

• To discover Earth-size planets in the habitable zone

• To study the sun's corona

• To map the Milky Way galaxy

What is the 'Goldilocks zone'?

• A region in space with the highest concentration of stars

• The area around a star where conditions might be right for liquid water

• The central region of the Milky Way galaxy

• A zone around black holes where time dilation occurs

What does a confirmed exoplanet mean?

• A planet that has been observed directly

• A planet that has been detected but not yet observed

• A planet that is hypothesized but not detected

• A planet verified through additional observation using two other telescopes

What is the first part of an exoplanet's name usually derived from?

• The scientist who discovered it

• The telescope or survey that discovered it

• The constellation it is found in

• The nearest star to Earth

What does the lowercase letter in an exoplanet's name represent?

• The distance of the planet from its star

• The temperature of the planet

• The size of the planet

• The order in which the planet was found

Which space telescope was not originally designed to search for exoplanets but became an excellent exoplanet explorer?

• Hubble Space Telescope

• James Webb Space Telescope

• Spitzer Space Telescope

• Chandra X-ray Observatory

What significant milestone did the discovery of six new exoplanets represent?

• The discovery of the smallest exoplanet

• The first exoplanets found in the habitable zone

• The first discovery of Earth-like planets

• Surpassing 5,500 known exoplanets