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Astronomy or Cosmology? Trivia Quiz

All of the questions are related to astronomy or cosmology, even if sometimes tenuously.

A multiple-choice quiz by paulsr. Estimated time: 3 mins.

Author
paulsr

Time
3 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
2,227

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
10201

Last 3 plays: DeepHistory (10/10), Guest 40 (8/10), Guest 100 (8/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. The term dirty snowball refers to a ______? Hint

asteroid

meteorite

meteor

comet

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. What is the name of the closest large spiral galaxy to our own Milky Way? Hint

Leo

Andromeda

M33

NGC2143

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Question 3 of 10

3. Who experimentally discovered the relationship between redshift and distance within the universe? Hint

Hewish

Hoyle

Hubble

Hey

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. Where is the world's first fully steerable giant radio telescope located? Hint

Green Bank

Jodrell Bank

Arecibo

Mount Wilson

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Question 5 of 10

5. What does the 'C' in Einstein's famous equation E=mc^2 stand for? Hint

The age of the universe

Redshift

The speed of light in a vacuum

The Doppler Effect

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Question 6 of 10

6. Who was first person recorded as seeing the moons of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn? Hint

Galileo

Kepler

Lord Kelvin

Copernicus

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Question 7 of 10

7. A Supernova is the explosion of a _______? Hint

Asteroid

Bomb

Star

Planet

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. What is the name of the largest moon of Saturn? Hint

Titan

Titus

Titania

Triton

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Question 9 of 10

9. What is the fuel that powers our sun? Hint

Helium

Hydrogen

Oxygen

Gasoline

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Question 10 of 10

10. What element is at the bottom of the Energy Well? Hint

iron

uranium

lead

mercury

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Most Recent Scores

Jan 25 2026 : DeepHistory: 10/10
Jan 21 2026 : Guest 40: 8/10
Jan 18 2026 : Guest 100: 8/10
Jan 17 2026 : Guest 81: 8/10
Jan 15 2026 : Guest 64: 9/10
Jan 10 2026 : lance23: 7/10
Jan 09 2026 : linkan: 10/10
Jan 06 2026 : Guest 66: 8/10
Jan 06 2026 : mazza47: 10/10

Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The term dirty snowball refers to a ______?

Answer: comet

It is a descriptive term for the core of a comet.

2. What is the name of the closest large spiral galaxy to our own Milky Way?

Answer: Andromeda

Andromeda, also known as M31 and NGC224 is a spiral galaxy similar to our own but twice as large. It contains about 400 billion stars.

3. Who experimentally discovered the relationship between redshift and distance within the universe?

Answer: Hubble

Edwin Hubble, 1889-1953, discovered the true meaning of redshift and first confirmed experimentally that the universe was expanding. The Hubble Space Telescope is named after him.

4. Where is the world's first fully steerable giant radio telescope located?

Answer: Jodrell Bank

Jodrell Bank, England is the site of the Lovell Telescope a 250ft dish which first came online in 1957.

5. What does the 'C' in Einstein's famous equation E=mc^2 stand for?

Answer: The speed of light in a vacuum

The speed of light is approx 186,000 miles per second or 300,000km per second.

6. Who was first person recorded as seeing the moons of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn?

Answer: Galileo

Galileo Galilei 1564-1642 was persecuted by the Roman Catholic church for his belief that the Earth circled the sun, rather than the earth centered universal model proposed by Aristotle.

7. A Supernova is the explosion of a _______?

Answer: Star

One of the most recent Supernovae visible on Earth with the naked eye occurred in the Large Magellanic Cloud in 1987.

8. What is the name of the largest moon of Saturn?

Answer: Titan

Titan is the second largest moon in the solar system, first discovered by Christiaan Huygens in 1655.

9. What is the fuel that powers our sun?

Answer: Hydrogen

Hydrogen is turned into helium by a form of nuclear fusion.

10. What element is at the bottom of the Energy Well?

Answer: iron

All heavy elements are created in supernova explosions. Iron is the most stable and the least likely to break down by atomic fission.

Source: Author paulsr

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