Space Trivia
How long does it take the Earth to rotate/spin all the way around?
24 hours
How long does it take the moon to orbit the Earth?
29 days
How long does it take Earth to orbit around the sun?
365 days
How far away is Alpha Centuri?
4.3 light years
How long does it take the sun's light to reach Earth?
8 minutes
How far away is the sun?
93-million miles
Pluto is not a planet. What is it?
A dwarf planet. (planetiod)
What is the big red spot on Jupiter?
A giant wind storm.
What is a constellation?
A group of stars that forms the shape of a person, animal, or object.
What is the International Space Station?
A large satellite where astronauts/scientists can live and work.
What's the difference between a waxing moon and a waning moon?
A waxing moon is getting larger and a waning moon is getting smaller.
What star is second closest to the Earth?
Alpha Centuri
What is a supernova?
An exploding star
What is a satellite?
Anything that orbits a planet.
Like Earth, Mars is covered with air. What type of gas makes up most of Mars' air?
Carbon Dioxide
Why is Venus hotter than Mercury?
Clouds cover the planet and keep heat in.
An American space explorer is an astronaut. What is a Russian space explorer?
Cosmonaut
If you are standing above the North Pole looking down, which way would the Earth rotate?
Counter-clockwise
Where is the North Star located?
Directly over the North Pole of the Earth
Name the 5 space shuttles built in America.
Discovery, Columbia, Challenger, Atlantis, and Endeavor
Name all the planets that people have walked on.
Earth (the moon is not a planet)
What is the name of the large space telescope that orbits the Earth?
Hubble Space Telescope
Name Jupiter's two largest moons.
Io and Europa
Why can't you land on Jupiter?
It's a large gas planet.
Which planet is nicknamed 'The Red Planet'?
Mars
What planet is closest to the sun?
Mercury
Which is the smallest planet?
Mercury (Pluto is not considered a planet any longer)
Which two planets do not have moons?
Mercury and Venus
Name all the planets in order, from closest to the sun to farthest away?
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. And Pluto, kinda.
Who were the first two people to walk on the moon?
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin
Which planet used to have the 'Great Dark Spot'?
Neptune (the spot was a large storm that mysteriously disappeared in the 1990's)
How many moons does Jupiter have?
Over 57
What is another name for the 'North Star'?
Polaris
What was the name of the first man-made satellite in space?
Sputnik (Russian)
What is the name of our galaxy?
The Milky Way
What is the Earth's biggest satellite?
The moon
What's a blue moon?
The second full moon in a month.
Why can't you see Neptune or Pluto without a telescope?
They are too far away and it's too dark in that part of the solar system.
Where does gravity pull people/objects?
Toward the CENTER of a planet or star.
Which planet spins on its side?
Uranus
Which is the hottest planet?
Venus
Which planet is nicknamed 'The Cloudy Planet'?
Venus
Which planet is nicknamed 'The Morning Star' and 'The Evening Star'?
Venus (it's not really a star, but a planet instead)
Which two planets are closest to Earth?
Venus and Mars
Why can't we see Alpha Centuri at night?
You can only see it in the southern hemisphere.
How many stars are in our galaxy?
billions (nobody knows exactly how many)
How many dwarf planets are in our solar system?
five
How many stars are in our solar system?
one (our solar system-the sun and the objects that orbit it)
How many stars are in the big dipper?
seven
What is the star closest to Earth?
the sun
