"All constellations great and small."
THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Friday, June 17, 2016
Quiz: Solar System Cab II
Sometime in the past, we had a quiz
entitled "Solar System Cab." It was modeled on the Discovery Channel's
wonderful game show "Cash Cab." 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?"
in the second ride of the SOLAR SYSTEM CAB.
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 June 25, 2009, Earth's population (humans, not ants) is approximately what?
a. 5.62 billion
b. 6.14 billion
c. 6.76 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 # 8)
a. 2
b. 3
c. 4
d. 6
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. 6.76 billion
One fifth of these are in China! One half are on Forest Avenue at 5:00 p.m. weekdays
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
So, tell us: How far did you go?
We'll put your name next to the planet on our board of champions