1. Astronomy Quiz
1. The Earth is closest to the sun on
(a) January 3
(b) June 21
(c) July 4
(d) December 21
2. What type of galaxy is the Milky Way?
(a) barred spiral
(b) elliptical
(c) spiral
(d) irregular
3. How many times has our solar system orbited the center of our galaxy since planet Earth was
formed?
(a) 2,000,000 times
(b) 2,000 times
(c) 20 times
(d) Not yet once
4. Olympus Mons (Latin for Mount Olympus), is the tallest and largest known mountain in the Solar
System, almost three times as tall as Mount Everest. (Pics below)
In which of the following solar system objects is this located?
(a) Venus
(b) Mars
(c) Titan (Saturn’s Moon)
(d) Io (Jupiter’s Moon)

2. 5. Voyager 1 is the farthest man-made object from Earth. How far is it from us?
(a) Approximately one light-year
(b) A bit more than a light-month
(c) Less than a light-day
(d) Somewhat less than a light-week
6. If you could travel in a space-ship at the speed of light away from the solar system, how long
could you see the sun?
(a) 3 years
(b) 30 years
(c) 300 years
(d) 3000 years
7. Which large but faint constellation, containing a pair of bright globular clusters, M13 and M92, is
named for a Greek hero?
(a) Boötes
(b) Hercules
(c) Cygnus
(d) Pegasus
8. The constellation Lyra may be small but it contains one of the brightest stars in the sky. What is
the name of this magnitude 0 star?
(a) Arcturus
(b) Canopus
(c) Vega
(d) Rigel
9. Gemini, the twins from Greek myth, is named thus because it contains which two bright stars?
(a) Castor and Pollux
(b) Spica and Regulus
(c) Altair and Aldebaran
(d) Canopus and Capella
10. Which constellation would you be looking at if you were looking towards the centre of our Milky
Way galaxy?
(a) Aries
(b) Aquarius
(c) Sagittarius
(d) Capricorn

3. 11. Which constellation of the Northern Hemisphere has a distinct "W" shape. It was named for a
conceited queen who bragged that her beauty was greater than that of Poseidon's daughters?
(a) Taurus.
(b) Ursa Major.
(c) Cassiopeia.
(d) Pegasus.
12. In which arm of the Milky Way Galaxy is our Sun?
(a) Perseus Arm
(b) Orion Arm
(c) Scutum-Crux arm
(d) Sagittarius Arm
13. A shower of meteors is derived from the comet Swift-Tuttle and usually is the most spectacular
one seen from Earth, at least in the northern hemisphere during July and August, and its name
honors the Greek hero who slew Medusa and rescued Andromeda. What meteor shower is this?
(a) Geminids
(b) Leonids
(c) Orionids
(d) Perseids
14. Which of the following is a supernova remnant and corresponds to the bright supernova
recorded on Earth in 1054?
(a) Lagoon Nebula
(b) Orion Nebula
(c) Crab Nebula
(d) Ring Nebula
15. Which of these is classified by astronomers as the largest star (actual diameter)?
(a) VY Canis Majoris
(b) Rigel
(c) Mu Cephei
(d) KY Cygni

4. 16. The Pillars of Creation refers to the below photograph taken by the Hubble Telescope of
elephant trunks of interstellar gas and dust in the ______ Nebula. They are so named because
the gas and dust are in the process of forming, or creating, new stars, while also being eroded by
the light from nearby stars that have recently formed.
In which Nebula is this a part of?
(a) Dumbbell Nebula
(b) Owl Nebula
(c) Eagle Nebula
(d) Trifid Nebula
17. What is the tight open cluster of stars located in the heart of the Orion Nebula named?
(a) Beehive Cluster
(b) The Trapezium
(c) Butterfly Cluster
(d) The Diamond

5. 18. If a star is of apparent magnitude 4.6 and its absolute magnitude is also 4.6, what do you know
for certain about the star?
(a) Its home constellation
(b Its distance from Earth
(c) Its diameter
(d) The fact that it is a type F star
19. What type of telescope mount is generally the best for taking long exposure photographs of the
sky?
(a) Altazimuth
(b) Transit
(c) Dobsonian
(d) Equatorial
20. What is the name of the is the first known extrasolar transiting planet to orbit within the
habitable zone of a Sun-like star ?
(a) Gliese 581 g
(b) Kepler 22b
(c) Bellerophon (51 Pegasi b)
(d) PSR B1620-26 b
21. Which of the following is not a type of telescope?
(a) Newtonian
(b Herschelian
(c) Copernican
(d) Gregorian
22. In the year 14,000 which star will be the pole star?
(a) Thuban
(b) Vega
(c) Polaris
(d) Sirius
23. Pericytherion and Apocytherion are the terms used to describe an object's Closest and Farthest
approaches respectively towards which of the following solar system objects ?
(a) Pluto
(b) Venus
(c) Neptune
(d) Saturn

6. 24. What was the name of the comet that broke apart and collided with Jupiter in July 1994 ?
(a) Comet Hale-Bopp
(b) Halley's Comet
(c) Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9
(d) Comet C/2006 P1
25. What crater of our moon has white spoke like rays appearing from it that are the most visible
from earth using good binoculars?
(a) Maginus
(b) Tycho
(c) Aristotle
(d) Plato
Please mail your answers to manohar.burra@oracle.com