Common Astronomy Trivia Quiz

Answer: Hydrogen

Hydrogen is present in the 75 percent of the sun. The rest is contributed by helium and some other elements like sulphur, carbon dioxide and nitrogen.

Answer: Venus

Venus revolves in a period of 224.7 earth days, while it takes 243 earth days for a rotation.

Jupiter has a rotation period of ten hours with a revolution period of twelve years, which is one of the biggest differences between rotation and revolution in the Solar System.

Answer: Copernicus

Born in Poland, Nicolas Copernicus was one of the most prominent astronomers of his time, providing the world with many discoveries. There is no wonder that he is regarded as the 'father of astronomy'.

Copernicus lived from 1473 to 1543.

Answer: Aristotle

Copernicus and Galileo were astronomers who disputed the geocentric model, where the Earth was believed to be the centre of the universe. They were firm believers in the heliocentric theory - that the Sun was the centre of the universe, not the Earth.

Aristotle was a student of Plato, who also was a firm believer in the geocentric universe.

Answer: Sun

The sun is the nearest star to the earth. It is the source of heat and light in the solar system.

Sirius is the brightest star visible in the night sky.

Proxima Centauri, also known as Alpha Centauri C is the nearest star to the Sun.

Answer: Andromeda galaxy

Andromeda, being 2.5 million light years beyond us, is the farthest celestial body which can be seen without artificial aids.

The Andromeda galaxy, also known as M31, is visible as a dim, fuzzy star in the dark sky. The elliptical shape of this galaxy can be viewed clearly using binoculars.

It is fully visible in early evening, rising in the east in September, until it begins to set in the west in February.

Answer: 4 October 1957

Sputnik 1 was the first artificial satellite launched by mankind. It completed
about 1400 orbits of the Earth.

Every year, October 4th to October 11th is observed as Space Week in remembrance of the launch of this satellite. World Space Week is the largest public space event in the world, with more than 3700 events, spread over more than 80 countries. Each year has a different theme.

Answer: Mangalyaan

Mangalyaan, or MOM (Mars Orbital Mission), is the space probe to Mars sent by India, making India the first country to successfully launch a mission to Mars on the first try. India is the fourth nation to successfully land a spacecraft on Mars, the first three countries being Russia, The United states of America (NASA), and Europe (European Space Agency).

India's ISRO launched Mangalyaan on 5 November 2013.

Answer: 1846

Neptune was discovered on 23 September 1846. It was mathematically predicted
before it was directly observed.

After it was discovered, it turned out it had been observed many times before but not recognized as a separate planet, and there were others who made various calculations about its location which did not lead to its observation.

Answer: Titan

Titan is the largest satellite of Saturn. It is the only moon in the solar system which is known to have a dense atmosphere. Stable bodies of surface liquid have been discovered on Titan, throwing up the possibility of existence of life on the satellite.