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Quiz about A Starry Night
Quiz about A Starry Night

A Starry Night Trivia Quiz


I have chosen five of my favourite (northern hemisphere) constellations to ask you about. Come join me as I travel the stars!

A photo quiz by reedy. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
reedy
Time
4 mins
Type
Photo Quiz
Quiz #
372,829
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
910
Awards
Top 35% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 81 (6/10), luannwright (4/10), Guest 160 (1/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. In the constellation Orion, the indicated star is known by the Bayer designation 'Alpha Orionis'. By what other name is this red supergiant known? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Orion's Belt is composed of three main stars, their Bayer designations Zeta, Epsilon, and Delta Orionis. Which of these is NOT one of the common names of the stars of Orion's Belt? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. The seven stars that make up Big Dipper make up the entirety of the constellation Ursa Major.


Question 4 of 10
4. Merak (Alpha Ursae Majoris) and Dubhe (Beta Ursae Majoris) have another job, apart from being part of a constellation. When an imaginary line is drawn from them, they indicate the location of the North Star. For this reason, Merak and Dubhe are also known by what nickname? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. The North Star is a colloquial name for Alpha Ursae Minoris, the brightest star of the constellation Ursa Minor. What is its actual name? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. At the opposite end of Ursa Minor from Polaris are the two stars Pherkad and Kochab. By what nickname are they known? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. This distinctive 'W' (or 'M') seen in our sky is made up of five stars named Segin, Ksora, Cih, Shedir and Caph (in order in the photo). What is the name of this constellation? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. North of Shedar and northeast of Caph is located the remnant of a supernova that was observed between 1572 and 1574. Although he was not the first to discover it, which astronomer's name has been associated with this supernova after writing the treatise "Concerning the Star, new and never before seen in the life or memory of anyone"? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Alright, so the Summer Triangle is an asterism and not a constellation, but I like it anyways. It is visible in northern latitudes from spring through to autumn, but is most prominently overhead in the summer. What third smallest constellation lies completely within the Summer Triangle? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Deneb, Vega and Altair make up the points of the Summer Triangle, but each of them have their own constellations. Which of these constellations is not involved? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Oct 02 2024 : Guest 81: 6/10
Sep 28 2024 : luannwright: 4/10
Sep 12 2024 : Guest 160: 1/10
Sep 12 2024 : bernie73: 9/10
Aug 22 2024 : WhosWhat1177: 4/10
Aug 17 2024 : Guest 174: 9/10
Aug 15 2024 : Guest 174: 2/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. In the constellation Orion, the indicated star is known by the Bayer designation 'Alpha Orionis'. By what other name is this red supergiant known?

Answer: Betelgeuse

The four named stars make up the left and right shoulders of Orion (Betelgeuse and Bellatrix), and his feet (Saiph and Rigel).

Betelgeuse is the second brightest star in Orion (after Rigel) with an apparent magnitude that varies between 0.2 and 1.2. It also happens to be one of the three stars that makes up the Winter Triangle (along with Procyon and Sirius).

Apparent magnitude is how bright a celestial object appears as seen from Earth - using the star Vega (in the constellation Lyra) as a comparison. A star (or planet) with a 0.0 apparent magnitude would seem to be the same brightness as Vega. The higher the number, the dimmer the star. Negative numbers are brighter.
2. Orion's Belt is composed of three main stars, their Bayer designations Zeta, Epsilon, and Delta Orionis. Which of these is NOT one of the common names of the stars of Orion's Belt?

Answer: Pollux

Alnitak (Zeta Ori), Alnilam (Epsilon Ori), and Mintaka (Delta Ori) make up the three stars of Orion's Belt as seen left to right in the photo.

Alnitak is actually a triple star system, with a close binary and a third that orbits the primary (Alnitak A) at a greater distance. Together, they have an apparent magnitude of 2.0 (about 16% of Vega's brightness).

Alnilam is the brightest of the three with an apparent magnitude of 1.7. It is a blue-white supergiant, and the fourth brightest star in the Orion constellation.

Mintaka is a binary star system with an apparent magnitude of 2.21.
3. The seven stars that make up Big Dipper make up the entirety of the constellation Ursa Major.

Answer: False

The Big Dipper is actually only an asterism (a formation of stars recognized within a greater constellation, like Orion's Belt within the constellation Orion) within the larger constellation Ursa Major. The 'handle' of the Big Dipper is actually the tail of the Great Bear, while the 'ladle' is just part of the Great Bear's torso.

The seven stars of the Big Dipper are Alkaid, Mizar, Alioth, Megrez, Phecda, Merak, and Dubhe. About one light year beyond the second star of the handle (Mizar) is another star, named Alcor.
4. Merak (Alpha Ursae Majoris) and Dubhe (Beta Ursae Majoris) have another job, apart from being part of a constellation. When an imaginary line is drawn from them, they indicate the location of the North Star. For this reason, Merak and Dubhe are also known by what nickname?

Answer: The Pointers

Merak and Dubhe are not the only stars in the night sky that are used to locate other significant stars, but they are known simply as 'The Pointers' because they point to that most significant celestial navigation tool - the North Star.

Other examples of pointer stars are the Southern Pointer Stars, Alpha Centauri and Beta Centauri (Hadar), that point to the Southern Cross, and Orion's Belt which point out the location of Sirius, the brightest star in the sky aside from our own sun.
5. The North Star is a colloquial name for Alpha Ursae Minoris, the brightest star of the constellation Ursa Minor. What is its actual name?

Answer: Polaris

Polaris, or Alpha Ursae Minoris, is the star closest to the axis of the Earth's rotation. Thus, it seems as though the sky is rotating around that star. Polaris is not quite exactly centered on the axis, but it is close enough to count.

Polaris is the brightest star of Ursa Minor, with an apparent magnitude of 1.97. It is actually a multiple star, with two close companions to the primary (a supergiant), and two distant components.
6. At the opposite end of Ursa Minor from Polaris are the two stars Pherkad and Kochab. By what nickname are they known?

Answer: Guardians of the Pole Star

Pherkad's Bayer designation is Gamma Ursae Minoris, and it is the dimmer of the two 'Guardians', with an apparent magnitude of 3.05. The name 'Pherkad' comes from Arabic 'aḫfa al farkadayn', which translates as 'the dim one of the two calves'.

Kochab, or Beta Ursae Minoris, is the second brightest of the constellation, with an apparent magnitude of 2.08.

From roughly 1500 BC until AD 500, Pherkad and Kochab actually served as twin pole stars, although neither of them (then) were as close to the rotational axis of the earth as Polaris currently is.
7. This distinctive 'W' (or 'M') seen in our sky is made up of five stars named Segin, Ksora, Cih, Shedir and Caph (in order in the photo). What is the name of this constellation?

Answer: Cassiopeia

The Bayer desginations for the five main stars of Cassiopeia are as follows:

Segin - Epsilon Cassiopeiae (apparent visual magnitude: 3.4)
Ksora - Delta Cassiopeiae (apparent visual magnitude: 2.68)
Cih - Gamma Cassiopeiae (apparent visual magnitude: 2.47)
Shedir - Alpha Cassiopeiae (apparent visual magnitude: 2.2)
Caph - Beta Cassiopeiae (apparent visual magnitude: 2.3)

The other answer options are all constellations that border Cassiopeia. Andromeda can be found to the south, Perseus in the southeast, and Cepheus to the north.
8. North of Shedar and northeast of Caph is located the remnant of a supernova that was observed between 1572 and 1574. Although he was not the first to discover it, which astronomer's name has been associated with this supernova after writing the treatise "Concerning the Star, new and never before seen in the life or memory of anyone"?

Answer: Tycho Brahe

'Tycho's Supernova', or B Cassiopeia, appeared in the sky in 1572 and soon grew brighter than Venus, easily visible in the daytime. It faded from sight in 1574, and the supernova remnant was not rediscovered until 1952 by R. Hanbury Brown and C. Hazard.
9. Alright, so the Summer Triangle is an asterism and not a constellation, but I like it anyways. It is visible in northern latitudes from spring through to autumn, but is most prominently overhead in the summer. What third smallest constellation lies completely within the Summer Triangle?

Answer: Sagitta (Arrow)

Overall, Sagitta is not a very bright constellation, with the brightest of four main stars being Sham (Alpha Sagittae), with an apparent magnitude of 4.37. That said, it is a yellow bright giant star about 340 times more massive than our own sun.
10. Deneb, Vega and Altair make up the points of the Summer Triangle, but each of them have their own constellations. Which of these constellations is not involved?

Answer: Virgo

Altair (Alpha Aquilae) is the brightest star in the constellation Aquila, with an apparent magnitude of 0.77. It is an A-type main sequence star, similar to our own sun.

Deneb (Alpha Cygni) is the brightest star in the constellation Cygnus, with an apparent magnitude of 1.25. It is a blue-white supergiant.

Vega (Alpha Lyrae) is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, and is the standard by which the whole scale is measured in regards to apparent magnitude.
Source: Author reedy

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor rossian before going online.
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