Solar System

Question 1

When was Mars moon discovered, by who and where?

Answer 1

1978 by James Christy, Flagstaff

Question 2

How did James Christy discover Mars’ moon?

Answer 2

Christy spotted something blurry in a photo of Mars that turned out to be its moon.

Question 3

What did the discovery of Mars’ moon mean for knowledge of Pluto?

Answer 3

That Pluto was not as big as they previously thought

Question 4

Where and when was Pluto discovered?

Answer 4

1930’s in Flagstaff

Question 5

Where was Mars discovered?

Answer 5

Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff

Question 6

Why do astronomers think there are many plants out there we don’t know about?

Answer 6

Low albedo (reflection of light) over 6 billion km away meaning they won’t be easily visible

Question 7

What are the planets in order from the Sun?

Answer 7

Mercury – The closest planet to the Sun, known for its extreme temperatures.
Venus – Often called Earth’s “sister planet” due to its similar size, though it has a very thick, toxic atmosphere.
Earth – Our home planet, the only one known to support life.
Mars – Known as the Red Planet, it has the largest volcano and canyon in the solar system.
Jupiter – The largest planet in the solar system, famous for its Great Red Spot and many moons.
Saturn – Known for its spectacular ring system.
Uranus – An ice giant with a unique tilt, causing extreme seasonal variations.
Neptune – The farthest known planet from the Sun, known for its deep blue colour and strong winds.
Pluto used to be considered the ninth planet but is now classified as a dwarf planet.

Question 8

Mnemonic for remembering order of planets from the Sun?

Answer 8

My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Noodles.”

Each initial letter stands for a planet:

My – Mercury
Very – Venus
Educated – Earth
Mother – Mars
Just – Jupiter
Served – Saturn
Us – Uranus
Noodles – Neptune

Question 9

Which planets have moons?

Answer 9

Mercury – No moons.
Venus – No moons.
Earth – 1 moon (commonly called the Moon).
Mars – 2 small moons (Phobos and Deimos).
Jupiter – 95 known moons (including the four largest: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto).
Saturn – 145 known moons (including Titan, which is the second-largest moon in the solar system).
Uranus – 27 known moons (including Titania, Oberon, Miranda, Ariel, and Umbriel).
Neptune – 14 known moons (including Triton, which is the largest of Neptune’s moons).
Pluto, as a dwarf planet, also has moons (Charon, Styx, Nix, Kerberos, and Hydra), though it’s not considered one of the primary planets.

Question 10

How did Percival Lowell contribute to the discovery of Pluto?

Answer 10

He had crazy theories but believed a “planet X” existed after Neptune due to irregularities in the orbits of Uranus and Neptune.

Question 11

How did Clyde Tombaugh contribute to the discovery of Pluto?

Answer 11

He spotted Pluto confirming Lowell’s prediction but he was forgotten and Lowell got credit posthumously.

Question 12

What were the first 2 letters of “Pluto” derived from?

Answer 12

Percival Lowell’s name

Question 13

What does Pluto look like?

Answer 13

An icy dot

Question 14

Where is Pluto found?

Answer 14

Within the Kuiper belt

Question 15

Who theorised about the Kuiper belt and when?

Answer 15

F.C. Leonardin in 1930’s

Question 16

What is the area which is a source of comets that come from the Oort cloud?

Answer 16

The Kuiper belt

Question 17

What is the Kuiper belt?

Answer 17

A source of comets (Hayley’s comet and Hale-Bopp & Hyakutake) that come from the Oort cloud?

Question 18

Name some comets in the Kuiper belt?

Answer 18

Hayley’s comet and Hale-Bopp & Hyakutake.

Question 19

What is significant about Pluto’s orbit?

Answer 19

It is tilted at 17 degrees

Question 20

What is the Oort cloud?

Answer 20

The Oort Cloud is a theoretical, distant, and spherical shell of icy bodies surrounding the solar system. It’s thought to be a vast reservoir of comets and other icy objects that extend far beyond the Kuiper Belt and Scattered Disk.

Question 21

What is “Trans-Neptunian” ?

Answer 21

The term “Trans-Neptunian” refers to objects located beyond the orbit of Neptune in the solar system. These objects are part of a region known as the Trans-Neptunian region or the Trans-Neptunian Solar System.

Question 22

What are the main categories of the Trans-Neptunian?

Answer 22

Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs): These are small icy bodies located in the Kuiper Belt, a region extending from about 30 to 55 AU (astronomical units) from the Sun. This includes many of the known dwarf planets, like Pluto, Haumea, and Makemake.

Scattered Disk Objects (SDOs): These are objects in a more eccentric and inclined orbits compared to those in the Kuiper Belt. They can come very close to the Sun and then travel far out into the solar system. Eris is an example of an SDO.

Oort Cloud Objects: Although more speculative due to its distance, the Oort Cloud is a proposed spherical shell of icy bodies that is thought to surround the solar system far beyond the Kuiper Belt and Scattered Disk. It is believed to be the source of long-period comets.

Question 23

In what month and year were 600 additional Trans-Neptunian (including Varuna) objects discovered on Plutinos.

Answer 23

December 2002

Question 24

What is Nicolaus Copernicus famous for?

Answer 24

Formulating the heliocentric model of the universe, which posited that the Sun, rather than the Earth, is at the centre of the universe.

Question 25

What was Nicolaus Copernicus’ published work and what year was it published?

Answer 25

“De revolutionibus orbium coelestium” (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres). 1543.

Question 26

Who formulated the heliocentric model of the universe?

Answer 26

Nicolaus Copernicus

Question 27

Which planets have moons?

Answer 27

Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

Question 28

Which planets do not have moons?

Answer 28

Mercury and Venus

Question 29

Many planets have moons - of those, how many moons does each planet have?

Answer 29

Earth: 1
Mars: 2
Jupiter: 95
Saturn: 83
Uranus: 27
Neptune: 14

Question 30

What are the most well known names of the moons for each planet (that has moons)?

Answer 30

Earth’s moon is commonly known as “the Moon,” though it’s also called “Luna” in scientific contexts.

Mars’ moons are named Phobos and Deimos.

Jupiter’s 95 moons include well-known ones like Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. However, many of its smaller moons, especially those discovered more recently, have more technical or less familiar names, like 2020 AV2 or 2018 VG18.

Saturn’s moons include famous ones like Titan and Rhea. Like Jupiter, Saturn has many smaller moons with names like Enceladus, Mimas, and Hyperion.

Uranus’ moons are named after characters from the works of Shakespeare and Alexander Pope. They include Titania, Oberon, Miranda, and Ariel, among others.

Neptune’s moons include Triton and Nereid. It also has smaller moons with names like Proteus and Larissa.

Question 31

When were Voyager crafts launched and why at this time?

Answer 31

Aug & Sept 1977 because Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune were aligned in a way which enabled the crafts to use “gravity assist” for travel - this happens every 175 years.

Question 32

How long did it take Voyage craft/s trying to reach Uranus?

Answer 32

It took them 9 years to reach Uranus.

Question 33

Who calculated the chances of life in the cosmos using their equation based on diminishing probabilities and when?

Answer 33

Frank Drake 1960’s

Question 34

What type of equation did Frank Drake come up with to determine the chances of life in the cosmos?

Answer 34

An equation based on diminishing probabilities.

Question 35

Hypothetically, if there were civilisations on other planet systems, how many light years away from us would they be and what does this mean?

Answer 35

200 light years away and this means if they had the technology to see us, they would be seeing us 200 years in the past.

Question 36

Pluto was once ruled as a planet, then downgraded as a small planet, when were these decisions made and by who?

Answer 36

International Astronomical Union ruled Pluto as a planet in 1999 but downgraded it to a dwarf planet in 2006.