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Astronomers Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
Astronomers Quizzes, Trivia

Astronomers Trivia

Astronomers Trivia Quizzes

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9 Astronomers quizzes and 90 Astronomers trivia questions.
1.
  Built on All That We Have Done   best quiz  
Match Quiz
 10 Qns
Famous Astronomers
Can you match each of these astronomers with the information about their contribution to our developing understanding of the universe?
Average, 10 Qns, looney_tunes, Dec 06 22
Average
looney_tunes editor
Dec 06 22
643 plays
2.
Eye on the Sky
  Eye on the Sky    
Photo Quiz
 10 Qns
How many of the following astronomers can you correctly identify?
Average, 10 Qns, nmerr, Mar 14 16
Average
nmerr gold member
441 plays
3.
  Ten Pangalactic Sunny Challengers   best quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
From the dawn of man to the 21st century, some of the greatest minds have challenged and changed humanity's conception of the stars and galaxies. Now I'll challenge you to identify their bios even if I don't explicitly name their most famous discoveries!
Average, 10 Qns, WesleyCrusher, Nov 30 14
Average
WesleyCrusher editor
847 plays
4.
  Astronomers    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Interested in astronomers? Take our challenging quiz and see what you know about them!
Average, 10 Qns, Trufflesss, Jun 25 11
Average
Trufflesss gold member
500 plays
5.
  Early Astronomers One    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
I will ask you a question on an accomplishment in Astronomy (pre 20th Century), and you determine who did it.
Tough, 10 Qns, almach, Apr 19 11
Tough
almach
876 plays
6.
  Early Astronomers Two    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
This quiz is a little more difficult than the first. The astronomers may be from any century.
Tough, 10 Qns, almach, Dec 21 15
Tough
almach
493 plays
7.
  Clyde Tombaugh    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto in 1930. Even though Pluto was demoted to "dwarf planet" in 2006, it was still an incredible achievement for Clyde Tombaugh. He was born on February 4, 1906 and died on January 17, 1997. He was 90 years old.
Average, 10 Qns, almach, Dec 11 11
Average
almach
262 plays
8.
  Early Astronomers Three    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Here is another quiz on Astronomers. This is a much harder quiz than the first two, but give it a try. Some of these Astronomers are from recent years.
Tough, 10 Qns, almach, Dec 21 15
Tough
almach
466 plays
9.
  Historical Cosmologists    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
A brief quiz on people who looked to the skies with questions and provided answers to mankind.
Tough, 10 Qns, Orangeman, Apr 19 11
Tough
Orangeman
511 plays
trivia question Quick Question
Who was the first person to show that some nebulae have pure emission spectra?

From Quiz "Early Astronomers Three"





Astronomers Trivia Questions
1. The Nobel Prize in 1993 was awarded for a joint discovery, made by Joseph H. Taylor Jr. and Russel A. Hulse. What was the discovery?

From Quiz Astronomers

Answer: The first binary pulsar

Joseph H. Taylor Jr. was a radio astronomer and physicist. He studied at Haverford College and got his PhD in Astronomy at Harvard University in 1968. Russel Alan Hulse, a former student of Mr. Taylor's, studied at Cooper Union College in New York and went on to get his PhD in physics from the University of Massachusetts. -Stampede_Gal

2. When Clyde outgrew his small 2 1/4 inch (lens diameter) telescope, what did he do?

From Quiz Clyde Tombaugh

Answer: made his own telescope

He eventually built additional telescopes, around thirty. He also ground his own mirrors for the telescopes. Most people today buy the mirrors already done and just build the rest of the scope.

3. Who identified the first white dwarf star?

From Quiz Early Astronomers Three

Answer: Walter Sydney Adams

He identified Sirius B as the first white dwarf. Minor Planet 3145 Walter Adams is named after him as is a Lunar crater.

4. Who managed to compile the first known star atlas?

From Quiz Early Astronomers Two

Answer: Hipparchus

Hipparchus devised the magnitude system as well. He lived from 190 B.C. to 120 B.C.

5. Who discovered the moons of Jupiter in 1610?

From Quiz Early Astronomers One

Answer: Galileo

The four largest satellites of Jupiter, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, would all be visible to the unaided eye (at night) if Jupiter was not in the way.

6. During the 3rd Century B.C., the Earth's circumference was estimated to be 25,000 miles (a rather close estimate) by:

From Quiz Historical Cosmologists

Answer: Eratosthenes

Eratosthenes used the angle on the sun in the sky over Syene and Alexandria at noon (calculated based on the distance between the cities). Posidonius tried the same thing, but used Rhodes and Alexandria. Unfortunately, he had the wrong distance between the 2 cities. Ptolemy used Posidonius' erroneously small circumference in his geography treatise (a document which influenced Christopher Columbus). Hipparchus, though a great astronomer, is not known for this feat.

7. What radical theory did Copernicus propose in his book "On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres"?

From Quiz Astronomers

Answer: That the Earth and the other planets orbit the Sun

Nicolaus Copernicus was born in 1473 and died in 1543. Uncomfortable with Ptolemy's views of the universe, he proposed the heliocentric model of the universe thereby placing the sun in the center of the solar system. Copernicus started work on his radical theories early in the 16th century but the book itself was not published until just prior to his death. Initially there was little opposition by the church to the book, partly because it was not widely distributed. The views promoted by Copernicus would greatly influence Galileo a century later. -StetsonHat

8. Clyde Tombaugh originally made sketches of what?

From Quiz Clyde Tombaugh

Answer: Mars and Jupiter

He would send them to Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, to get some advise on his drawings. Lowell Observatory offered him a job to operate a new photographic telescope which he accepted.

9. Who first proposed a large telescope in space?

From Quiz Early Astronomers Three

Answer: Lyman Spitzer, Jr.

Lyman Spitzer, Jr. was born on June 26, 1914. He proposed the large telescope in 1946. He was analyzing data from the Hubble Space Telescope the day he died, on March 31, 1997. Minor Planet 2160 Spitzer is named after him.

10. Who made the first accurate estimate of the size of the Milky Way galaxy?

From Quiz Early Astronomers Two

Answer: Harlow Shapley

Harlow Shapley was born on November 2, 1885, in Nashville, Missouri. As a result of his work, the size of the galaxy grew by about a factor of ten (This estimate did not account for the absorbtion rate of interstellar dust). He died on October 20, 1972, just short of his 87th birthday.

11. Who discovered the division in the rings of Saturn?

From Quiz Early Astronomers One

Answer: Cassini

Giovanni Cassini, the Italian-French astronomer discovered the division.

12. Which astronomer is credited with discovering the existence of other galaxies?

From Quiz Historical Cosmologists

Answer: Hubble

At the dawn of the 20th century, most astronomers thought that the Milky Way Galaxy was the universe, and it measured only a few thousand light-years across. Hubble examined the Andromeda nebula in 1923 and 1924 and detected stars similar to those in our own galaxy.

13. What other big interest, besides astronomy, did Clyde Tombaugh have?

From Quiz Clyde Tombaugh

Answer: steam engines

His father was a engineer on a steam engine rig and Clyde loved the machinery.

14. Who discovered the first Trojan asteroid, 588 Achilles?

From Quiz Early Astronomers Three

Answer: Maximilian Franz Joseph Cornelius Wolf

The first Trojan asteroid is 588 Achilles. Max Wolf founded and directed the Königstuhl Observatory in Heidelberg. Max Wolf has a lunar crater named after him as well as an asteroid.

15. Who wrote the Theory of Relativity?

From Quiz Early Astronomers Two

Answer: Albert Einstein

Albert Einstein wrote it in 1905 while still in his twenties.

16. Who discovered the planet Uranus?

From Quiz Early Astronomers One

Answer: Herschel

William Herschel discovered Uranus in 1781.

17. In the 19th century, which astronomer used astral parallax to directly observe Earth's movements?

From Quiz Historical Cosmologists

Answer: Bessel

Although the heliocentric (sun-centered) model of the solar system was already accepted by most, this was one of the first times someone had observed earth moving around the sun by looking at the stars. In 1838, Friedrich Bessel measured the tiny displacement, or parallax, of a nearby star relative to the more distant stars throughout the progress or a year.

18. Who was an accomplished composer, as well as the discoverer of Uranus and two of its moons?

From Quiz Astronomers

Answer: William Herschel

Herschel was German-born but spent most of his adult life in Britain. In 1781, he discovered the planet Uranus, although he initially thought it was a comet. Apart from his astronomical work he was a prolific telescope builder as well as the composer of multiple symphonies and other musical works. -StetsonHat

19. Where was Clyde Tombaugh born?

From Quiz Clyde Tombaugh

Answer: Streator, Illinois

He was born on a ranch on February 4, 1906.

20. Whose early photographs of Mars helped to disprove that canals existed on Mars?

From Quiz Early Astronomers Three

Answer: William Henry Pickering

William Henry Pickering also discovered Phoebe, a small satellite of Saturn in 1898. He was born on July 19, 1846 and died on February 3, 1919. Minor Planet 784 Pickeringia, is named after him.

21. Who discovered the fourth closest star to the Sun?

From Quiz Early Astronomers Two

Answer: Edward Barnard

Edward Barnard discovered "Barnard's Star" in 1916, it is six light years away. The only closer stars are the three stars of the Alpha Centauri system at 4.3 light years away.

22. Who discovered the moons of Mars?

From Quiz Early Astronomers One

Answer: Hall

Asaph Hall discovered the moons of Mars from the U.S. Naval Observatory in 1877.

23. The term 'Big Bang' was coined by:

From Quiz Historical Cosmologists

Answer: Hoyle

Ironically, Fred Hoyle was one of the developers of the steady-state theory, which holds that the universe has always existed and has always looked the same. He coined the term 'Big Bang' to describe the competing theory, while looking for a snappy, memorable phrase for a radio audience.

24. Which astronomer compiled a catalogue of nebulae, clusters and galaxies in the late 18th century?

From Quiz Astronomers

Answer: Charles Messier

Messier was fascinated by comets having seen one when he was 14. As his studies in astronomy continued, his methodical ways of recording his observations allowed him to create the catalogue. In his observations he found that non-stellar objects, such as nebulae, sometimes look like comets. For this reason, he began to catalogue the objects positions. -Stampede_Gal

25. When Clyde Tombaugh retired in 1973, what did he do?

From Quiz Clyde Tombaugh

Answer: he lectured across the country

Later on in life, for about five years, between 1985 - 1990, he gave lectures across the USA specifically to raise money for his Tombaugh Scholars program at New Mexico State.

26. Who is the father of U.S. rocketry?

From Quiz Early Astronomers Three

Answer: Robert Goddard

Robert Goddard invented the liquid propulsion system. Although his first rocket only flew for 2.5 seconds, he believed space flight to the Moon was possible.

27. Who is the 200-inch telescope on Mt. Palomar named after?

From Quiz Early Astronomers Two

Answer: George Ellery Hale

It is known as the Hale telescope. George Ellery Hale also helped in building the largest refractor in the world, the Alvan Clark 40", at Yerkes Observatory and the 100 inch Hooker (reflector) telescope at Mount Wilson.

28. Who discovered the first asteroid, Ceres?

From Quiz Early Astronomers One

Answer: Piazzi

Giuseppe Piazzi discovered Ceres on January 1, 1801.

29. One of the pioneers of the 10 dimensional superstring theory, postulated to be the ultimate theory of everything, is:

From Quiz Historical Cosmologists

Answer: Dr. Michio Kaku

Dr. Kaku's weekly national science radio show can now be heard over the Internet and in New York City, L.A., the Bay Area, Portland, Tampa, West Hartford, and the KU National Radio Satellite.

30. J. L. E. Dreyer compiled a more comprehensive catalogue of deep sky objects beginning with the "NGC" and later expanded with two "IC" or "Index Catalogue" addendums. What does "NGC" stand for?

From Quiz Astronomers

Answer: New General Catalogue

The New General Catalogue, spanning objects of all kinds and numbered NGC 1 through NGC 7840, was first published in 1888. Apart from the NGC catalogue, Dreyer is also noted for his biography of Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe. -StetsonHat

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