THE SOUTHWORTH PLANETARIUM 70 Falmouth Street Portland, Maine 04103 (207) 780-4249 usm.maine.edu/planet 43.6667° N 70.2667° W Altitude: 10 feet below sea level Founded January 1970 2021-2022: LXI "Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory." -Dr. Seuss THE DAILY ASTRONOMER Friday, January 7, 2022 Quiz # 14: 2021 2021 is over and done. 2022 has just begun. So, now, let's have a bit of fun with a quiz about the year 2021. [It's a shame to know that I'll have to wait a whole decade before being able to write such a stunning poem again.] How much do you remember about yesteryear? Well, as is typical in modern day, quite a lot happened in 2021. This quiz will test your memory of the year that ended less than one week ago. *1. First things first. How do you write 2021 in Roman numerals?* a. MMXXI b. MMCXXI c. MMCDXXVI d. MMXXII *2. _______________ is the first place on Earth that celebrates the new year.* a. New Zealand b. Vanuatu c. Kiribati d. Australia *3. ______________ is the last place on Earth that celebrates the new year.* a. American Samoa b. Baker and Howard Islands c. Tonga d. Solomon Islands *4. Which ONE of the following celebrities did not die in 2021?* a. Michael Collins (of Apollo 11 fame) b. Archbishop Desmond Tutu c. Steven Weinberg (Nobel prize winning physicist) d. Prince Philip e. Betty White f. Sean Connery *5. In October 2021, NASA launched the Lucy spacecraft, which is designed to study _______________.* a. the Kuiper Belt b. Trojan asteroids c. the solar corona d. the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation *6. In September 2021, _______________ became the first country to accept Bitcoin as official currency.* a. Belarus b. Singapore c. El Salvador d. Belgium *7. COP26, the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, was held in which city?* a. Paris b. Tokyo c. Copenhagen d. Glasgow *8. The horrific surfside condo building collapse occurred in early 2021 in which city?* a. Miami b. Boston c. Atlanta d. Los Angeles *9. The world population at the end of 2021 was approximately ________.* a. 7.78 billion b. 7.81 billion c. 7.87 billion d. 7.93 billion *10. Joe Biden was inaugurated in January 2021 and became the _________ president of the United States.* a. 44th b. 45th c. 46th d. 47th ANSWERS *1. First things first. How do you write 2021 in Roman numerals?* a. MMXXI *2. _______________ is the first place on Earth that celebrates the new year.* c. Kiribati *3. ______________ is/are the last place(s) on Earth that celebrate(s) the new year.* b. Baker and Howard Islands These islands are US territories that, being uninhabited, are not exactly notorious for their unbridled new year's celebrations. *4. Which ONE of the following celebrities did not die in 2021?* f. Sean Connery 007 died on October 31, 2020 *5. In October 2021, NASA launched the Lucy spacecraft, which is designed to study _______________.* b. Trojan asteroids Trojan asteroids refer to the two asteroidal regions within Jupiter's orbit. One region is centered sixty degrees ahead of Jupiter, the other sixty degrees behind. [image: trojan-asteroids.png] Lucy is scheduled to fly by its first Trojan asteroid -3548 Eurybates in the "Greek camp"- in August, 2027. *6. In September 2021, _______________ became the first country to accept Bitcoin as official currency.* c. El Salvador *7. COP26, the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, was held in which city?* d. Glasgow *8. The horrific surfside condo building collapse occurred in early 2021 in which city?* a. Miami *9. The world population at the end of 2021 was approximately ________.* c. 7.87 billion According to the most recent UN estimates, the world population is expected to reach 8 billion by 2023. *10. Joe Biden was inaugurated in January 2021 and became the _________ president of the United States.* c. 46th So, how did you do? Are you really ready for 2022? To subscribe or unsubscribe from the Daily Astronomer: https://lists.maine.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=DAILY-ASTRONOMER&A= <https://lists.maine.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=DAILY-ASTRONOMER&A=1>