Listening to the Stars Quiz

Who was Ruby Payne-Scott and what was her significant contribution to radio astronomy?

• A mathematician who calculated the distance to the sun

• A radio astronomer who observed a powerful solar radio burst in 1947

• A physicist who discovered the first black hole

• An engineer who developed the first radio telescope

What are coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and what can they cause when they hit Earth?

• Small solar flares that have no impact

• Billion-ton clouds of plasma that can cause geomagnetic storms

• Minor disturbances in the Earth's atmosphere

• Invisible waves that pass through the Earth without effect

Why is it important for NASA to study solar explosions?

• To improve communication technology

• To protect satellites from unexpected radiation surges

• To find new sources of energy

• To predict weather patterns on Earth

What is the primary goal of the Long Wavelength Array (LWA) in California?

• To study the Earth's magnetic field

• To detect CMEs from the sun

• To detect CMEs from other stars

• To find new galaxies

How might the LWA help in discovering new planets?

• By mapping the surface of distant planets

• By observing the light spectrum of nearby stars

• By detecting low-frequency radio waves from CME echoes

• By measuring the temperature of distant stars