Cosmic Impacts in Fact and Fiction

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. In what year did the Tunguska Event occur? 1906 1910 1904 1908

2. Which well-known civil-rights activist wrote the short story "The Comet"? Mary McLeod Bethune Carter G. Woodson W.E.B. Dubois Frederick Douglass

3. Meteor Crater outside Winslow, Arizona, was at one time named after what person? Barry Goldwater Eugene Shoemaker Kit Carson Daniel Barringer

4. Which metallic element is commonly associated with the doomsday asteroid believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs? Technicium Vanadium Iridium Platinum

5. Which astronomer is best known for referring to comets as "dirty snowballs"? William Herschel Eugene Shoemaker Fred Whipple Edwin Hubble

6. In the 1979 disaster movie "Meteor", what is the name of the main-belt asteroid splintered by a giant comet? Cerus Orpheus Hermes Vesta

7. Though "Meteor" was a fictional movie, it actually had its basis in fact. What was the name of the 1967 study on asteroid defense that inspired the movie? "Project Hermes" "Project Toutatis" "Project Icarus" "Project Geographos"

8. What popular science fiction author co-wrote "Lucifer's Hammer" with Larry Niven? Jerry Pournelle David Brin Gregory Benford Bruce Sterling

9. What international organization dedicated to asteroid and comet defense is named for a similar program mentioned in an Arthur C. Clarke novel? Spaceguard Foundation Project NEAT Spacewatch Project FreeSpace

10. True or False: During the 20th Century, there were no confirmed reports of any human beings ever being struck by cosmic debris. True False