Earth, as seen from space Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Sun's gravity has a larger effect on it than Earth's

A concept called the Tug-of-War is something used to determine the relationship between the Sun's gravity and the gravity of whatever the object orbits. Earth is the only planet-moon system where the Sun's gravity is stronger than the primary body. Because of this, the Moon moves away from us at a rate of about an inch a year.

Answer: 26,000 years

This phenomenon is called precession of the equinoxes. It changes the view of the night sky and therefore, the ecliptic, which is the path the Sun seems to trace through the universe as we revolve around it. This is why there are more than 12 constellations in the ecliptic.

Answer: Earth as seen from the Moon

As photographed by astronauts that went to the Moon, Earth was seen rising from the Moon's horizon much as the Sun or Moon does from our perspective on Earth. It was also partially obscured, leading to an apparently crescent shaped Earth.

Answer: Geocentric system

Because it was not possible to see Earth from outside the atmosphere before space travel, only other objects could be seen moving through the sky, so ancient civilizations believed that Earth was static and everything else orbited it. This was first questioned with the discovery of Jupiter's largest moons, which contradicted the geocentric theory.

Answer: Luna 1

Sputnik 1 was the first man-made object to make it to space, but it was merely a satellite. Luna 1, launched by the Soviet Union, attempted to go to the Moon, but it missed by several thousand miles. It then veered off into inter-planetary space, becoming the first man-made object to leave Earth's gravitational influence.

Answer: The time it takes for Earth to complete an orbit of the Sun in respect to the position of the stars

In ancient times, people would make note of the sky's appearance. Eventually, they noticed that after a period of time, the sky would look the same again. This was one of the first ways of recording Earth's passage around the Sun and also one of the first contradictions to the geocentric theory.

Answer: December 22

In December, Earth is actually closest to the Sun. Because of this change in distance and Earth's tilt, the Sun's gravity affects Earth's rotation ever so slightly. The average length of a full rotation of Earth takes 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 47 seconds. However, on December 22, it is usually recorded to be about 24 hours and 23 seconds.

Answer: It is about the same distance from the Sun, so Earth's gravity affects it

Cruithne is what is called a quasi-satellite. This means that it is locked in a specific orbit by Earth, so the length of one full orbit of the Sun is nearly identical. Cruithne does not actually enter Earth's orbit, so it is not considered a real moon.

Answer: Oblate spheroid

No object in space is known for sure to be perfectly spherical. Due to the Moon's gravitational influence, water on Earth is pulled toward it, creating tides. This also significantly changes Earth's shape, making it as if the poles were pushed down.

Answer: It actually is, it's just not a Greco-Roman god

If traced far enough back in time, the very first use of the name Earth to describe our planet was in prehistoric times. Proto-Germanic languages used the name Erthō, which evolved into Jörð, used by the Norse as the name of Thor's mother, and this ultimately became what we now say as "Earth".

This is why Earth is referred to as female, such as the name Mother Nature. In Greek, Earth is named Gaia, who was the wife of Ouranos. Gaia was said to have created the lands.