THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM
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Altitude: 10 feet below sea level
Founded January 1970
Julian Date: 245908.16
2019-2020: CVII
THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Friday, February 28, 2020
Quiz XXII: Hop Aboard the Solar System Cab!
Sometime in the past, we had a quiz entitled "Solar System Cab." It was
modeled on the Discovery Channel's wonderful game show "CashCab." For the
uninitiated, in this program "unsuspecting" passengers, who have been
thoroughly briefed before their surprise ride, answer questions about a
variety of topics. If the passengers answer three questions incorrectly,
they are kicked out of the cab.
Our version is solar system cab. We start with the Sun and travel through
the solar system. When we reach a celestial body, we'll ask a question
pertaining to that body. If you answer three questions incorrectly, we
kick YOU out at whatever planet you reached when you gave us the wrong
answer. It is on the Honor System, but we would LOVE to know "How far
did you go?"
SOL
1. How hot is the Sun's core (F)?
a. 10,000 degrees
b. 30,000 degrees
c. 10,000,000 degrees
d. 15,000,000 degrees
MERCURY
2. Which ONE of the following statements is NOT true about Mercury?
a. It was named for the Roman Messenger God
b. It has the coldest surface of any terrestrial planet
c. It has a very tenuous atmosphere
d. It is only 22 million miles from the Sun.
VENUS
3. What Soviet Spacecraft fleet actually studied the atmosphere and
surface of Venus?
a. Hell's Sputnik
b. Venera
c. Glasnost
d. Aphrodite Minor II
EARTH
4. As of Feb 28, 2020, Earth's population (humans, not ants) is
approximately what?
a. 5.62 billion
b. 6.14 billion
c. 7.7 billion
d. 8.19 billion
MARS
5. Mars has two moons. What are their names?
a. Phobos and Deimos
b. Click and Clack
c. Titania and Oberon
d. Hydra and Nyx
JUPITER
6. Jupiter's giant red spot, first observed by Galileo in 1610, is
approximately how large?
a. About the size of Mars
b. one million miles across
c. More than twice the size of Earth
d. The size of Rhode Island
SATURN
7. How many KNOWN moons does Saturn have?
a. 10
b. 23
c. 42
d. 61
URANUS
8. Uranus is unique amongst the planets because........
a. it is tilted almost on its side
b. it's upper cloud layers are almost purple
c. it has exactly 100 moons
d. it is the only planet to have a comet in orbit around it
NEPTUNE
9. In order of size, where does Neptune rank. (The largest planet being #
1; the smallest # 9)
a. 2
b. 3
c. 4
d. 6
PLUTO
10. How many known moons revolve around Pluto?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
e. 5
f. 11,189
ANSWERS:
1. d. 15,000,000 degrees
The Sun's core is hot enough to fuse hydrogen into helium. This core
temperature is much higher than that of a red dwarf core, which is around
10,000,000 degrees: the minimum temperature at which fusion reactions can
be ignited and sustained.
2. d. It is only 22 million miles from the Sun.
Mercury's mean distance is 36 million miles. While it's distance does
vary, it never ventures as close to the Sun as 22 million miles. Also,
Mercury DOES have the coldest surface of any terrestrial planet (Mercury,
Venus, Earth and Mars.) Its night side is steeped in a frigid cold:
colder even than Mars can ever be.
3. b. Venera
The Venera crafts (there were more than a dozen) visited Venus. None of
them lasted long once they entered the Venusian atmosphere.
4. c. 7.7 billion
5. a. Phobos and Deimos
The names mean "panic" and "fear." Titania and Oberon are moons of
Uranus; Nyx and Hydra are moons of Pluto;
6. c. More than twice the size of Earth
This monster storm will last for another thousand years. It will shrink
and dissipate, but at the moment, it is more than twice as large as our
entire planet.
7. d. 61
Pay close attention to the word "known." We have no idea how many moons
Saturn actually has. We only know how many have been found. If we ask
this question again next year, the answer might well be different.
8. a. it is tilted almost on its side
Something must have hit Uranus a long time ago. This impact caused the
young Uranus to be pushed over on its side. It has one pole pointed toward
the Sun and the other pointed away.
9. c. 4
The arrangement of planets (in order of size) is:
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Earth, Venus, Mars Mercury, Pluto
10. e. 5
So, tell us: How far did you go?
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