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Astronomy True or False

Can you tell whether these astronomy-related statements are true or false?
Quiz by WolfCam
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Last updated: January 21, 2020
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First submittedAugust 21, 2019
Times taken32,604
Average score72.2%
Rating4.35
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1. Neptune has rings
True ✓
False ✓
2. It takes more than a year for light to travel between the Earth and the Sun
True ✓
False ✓
It takes about 8 minutes
3. The sun is one of the smallest stars in the galaxy
True ✓
False ✓
At least 85% of stars in the Milky Way are smaller than the sun. Large stars tend to have short life spans.
4. Scientists believe that the universe is about 13.8 billion years old
True ✓
False ✓
5. The Earth's moon is the largest moon in the solar system
True ✓
False ✓
Ganymede, Titan, Callisto, and Io are larger
6. The same side of the moon always faces Earth
True ✓
False ✓
Only 59% of the moon can ever been seen from Earth
7. Saturn is the largest planet in the solar system
True ✓
False ✓
Jupiter is larger
8. Saturn is closer to the Sun than it is to Neptune
True ✓
False ✓
9. One astronomical unit is equal to the diameter of the solar system
True ✓
False ✓
One astronomical unit is the distance from Earth to the Sun
10. Pluto has no known moons
True ✓
False ✓
Pluto has five known moons, the largest of which is Charon
11. Humans have never detected a planet outside the solar system
True ✓
False ✓
4160 confirmed "exoplanets" have been discovered as of January 1, 2020
12. It is generally believed that a supermassive black hole lies at the center of the Milky Way
True ✓
False ✓
13. Of all the planets in the solar system, Mars is the closest in size to Earth
True ✓
False ✓
Venus is closest in size to Earth
14. Unmanned spacecraft have landed on Mars
True ✓
False ✓
15. Andromeda is the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way
True ✓
False ✓
16. The distance between the Milky Way and nearly every other galaxy is increasing
True ✓
False ✓
17. Mercury has the hottest surface temperature of any planet
True ✓
False ✓
The surface temperature of Venus is hotter
18. Two spaceships leave earth in opposite directions, each traveling 0.9 times the speed of light. These two spaceships would never be able to communicate with each other.
True ✓
False ✓
Even though, from Earth, these spaceships would appear to be moving away from each other at 1.8 times the speed of light, the relative speed between them would be less than the speed of light. Relativity is weird.
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60 Comments
Carry
+4
Level 63
Jan 21, 2020
I'm sure most people who got #3 wrong misread it. I did and I'm surprised by the number of incorrect guesses. Maybe change the wording to "our galaxy"?
Moos1005
+14
Level 85
Jan 21, 2020
I was missing a point of reference and thought it meant in relation to the size of the biggest and smallest star, and not in relation to all stars. Compared to the size spectrum of all milky way stars the sun is at the smaller end of it, even though 85% of stars are smaller.
Inami
+3
Level 46
Jun 22, 2022
Exactly! It's like asking whether tardigrades are one of the smallest living beings in Earth. I would probably answer True, although if you take into account all bacteria... they are absolutely not in proportion.

Just to be clear, I'm not complaining nor saying the question isn't well formulated. I'm just explaining how someone (like me) can get it wrong :).

roleybob
+11
Level 75
Jan 21, 2020
So you think the question is more likely to be comparing the Sun to the stars in a galaxy that it is not a member of? I think that's daft.

But, to be pedantic, the Sun is one of the smallest stars in the Milky Way - it is in the top ~85% of smallest stars in the Milky Way...

samiamco
+6
Level 68
Jan 21, 2020
Roleybob was restrained in his response, IMHO! Carry, if you think specifying “in our galaxy” is required, then what was question you were actually trying to answer? “The Sun is one of the smallest stars in the Andromeda Galaxy”? That makes the kind of sense that… doesn’t. I think it’s much safer to assume that the folks who got this question wrong were just uncertain of the relative size of the Sun.

However, since I’m here and involved in hair-splitting :-), I’d like to suggest to WolfCam and Quizmaster that “Sun” be capitalized. It is a proper noun (so is Moon) and is the standard way of identifying our star. (Plus, that should hopefully mitigate any argument, such as it is, that Carry might have with the question.)

Beegee1601
+1
Level 29
Feb 25, 2020
Sun and moon should not be capitalised any more so than star
Quizmaster
+6
Level ∞
Jan 21, 2020
The question asks if the sun is one of the smallest stars in the galaxy. This is quite clearly false. Not only is it NOT one of the smallest, but the vast majority of stars are smaller. (At least 85% but likely much higher).
roleybob
+4
Level 75
Jan 21, 2020
QM: I know you clicked reply on Carry's message but if you were partly replying to me then I was only being silly - of course the question is fine and the Sun wouldn't count as one of the smallest stars in the galaxy.

Constantly adding quizzes which you think couldn't possibly be contentious and then always getting pedantry and nitpicking in response must be exhausting, well done for your patience and the odd witty retort.

ItzIngenious
+1
Level 62
Jul 14, 2021
I thought it said the universe.
KiloNova
+1
Level 53
Apr 22, 2023
ez
cshtthomas
+1
Level 59
Jan 21, 2020
Wrong. The Sun-facing part of Mercury is very hot, but just that the average is lower than that of Venus.
samiamco
+36
Level 68
Jan 21, 2020
Nope! The day (Sun-facing) side of Mercury gets up to ~425°C, whereas Venus is a blazing 462°C all over, all the time.

I only know this because I Googled it just now, which I feel is the least we can do before we adamantly declare a question wrong in the comments. I think we can confidently extend a little bit of faith that quiz creators actually research their facts carefully, and that Quizmaster proofs submitted quizzes for accuracy before featuring them.

(And by the way, I love this quiz, because I am a space weenie. Nice job!)

RobNobody
+2
Level 78
Feb 26, 2020
Yup! The greenhouse effect is a helluva thing.
plattitude
+4
Level 96
Jan 21, 2020
Excellent quiz. The only nit I'd pick is that while the distance is increasing between the Milky Way and nearly every other galaxy, 'moving away' seems to indicate some repellent force--that they're moving in a radial direction from us.. Nearly all galaxies are moving away from a central point (likely where the big bang happened) as space expands, but it's more that our paths are diverging than that they're running directly away from us.

It's like saying the Milky Way is moving away from all other Galaxies, in every direction, simultaneously.

plattitude
+4
Level 96
Jan 21, 2020
(Also, because the Saturn-Neptune proximity question reminded me of it. Here. You're welcome.)
vermiciousknid
+1
Level 89
Jul 1, 2022
neat video, thanks!
sillie
+3
Level 76
Jan 21, 2020
Take a balloon. Draw dots on it with a marker, maybe 1cm apart. Blow air into the dotted balloon. Measure distance between dots. Most, if not all, distances have grown bigger. That's somewhat how it's been explained to me, although the example is a plane and the real world has more dimensions.
Quizmaster
+8
Level ∞
Jan 21, 2020
That's a valid point @platitude. The galaxies are not "moving" away from the Milky Way, rather the space between them is expanding. This is a very important distinction. For example, no two objects can "move" apart from each other faster than the speed of light. However, the space between them can expand faster than the speed of light. The distance between Milky Way and some faraway galaxies is expanding at nearly 3 times the speed of light, meaning we will never be able to communicate with them.
thatindiangirl
+1
Level 18
Feb 14, 2024
If thats so..what does it mean when they say that milky way and andromeda are in the path to collision in future if the space between them is expanding?
Arp2600
+4
Level 87
Jan 21, 2020
This is a very nice quiz, congratulations. A especially like the relativity question... I may be a specialist, I had to think a while, though I felt it was indeed false ;).
roleybob
+4
Level 75
Jan 22, 2020
Arp - Maybe you can answer something I've been wondering about:

Say you have a perfectly rigid rod which you are holding at end A. If you twist your end (A) then the whole rod twists, right up to the other end (B). As the rod is perfectly rigid, end B moves at the same time as end A, thereby transferring information instantly from end A to end B, seemingly contravening the law that information cannot travel faster than the speed of light. How can this be?

My guess would be that there is no such thing as perfectly rigid and end B actually moves at a later time than end A? I guess it takes a non-zero amount of time for the EM force from each atom to affect the atoms around it?

Edit: think I just answered my own question - the EM force is carried by photons so by definition it moves at the speed of light right?

Arp2600
+6
Level 87
Jan 22, 2020
Even without going into quantum or relativistic considerations, a true "solid" doesn't exist. Everything can be deformed and has a flexibility, especially long objects. I don't know of any material hard enough to seem to move ideally if you take, say, a three meter rod made out of it. If you move one end, it will take time for the movement to propagate, you will see and feel the deformation and waves in the rod. Now, of course your explanation holds too, the cohesion forces in any material are indeed electromagnetic and any movement or deformation will not propagate faster than the speed of light.
roleybob
+1
Level 75
Jan 23, 2020
Thank you
tom88
+1
Level 74
Feb 24, 2020
Thanks for the interesting question and the interesting explanation.
shortyoh
+2
Level 82
Feb 26, 2020
Realistically, there isn't such a thing as a perfectly rigid rod, though it is a fun thought experiment.

In practice, if you're deforming a material as you describe, the deformation is generally limited to traveling at the speed of sound in the material - so well below the speed of light.

Now, of course, engineers often will assume things like perfectly rigid rods because the component in question may be much stiffer than other parts, and the rigid assumption doesn't change the results significantly...

mrnafe
+1
Level 83
Jan 22, 2020
That last question is a lovely thing.
WolfCam
+2
Level 66
Jan 23, 2020
This whole debate has inspired me to make this. A Quiz that Proves that Quantum Physics Makes No Sense, which includes the above question
kalbahamut
+1
Level 81
Feb 24, 2020
Quantum physics and Relativity are not the same thing.. actually many of the things we understand about Relativity and Newtonian Physics stop working at Quantum scales. I'm not a physicist but that's at least my understanding.
Findlay
+1
Level 81
Jan 29, 2020
This was a great quiz. I'd love to see more like it. I especially enjoyed the last question.
CTRH1
+2
Level 66
Feb 24, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed the quiz. However, I'm not too happy about Question 11. A planet, by definition, has to be in our solar system. Therefore, there are no planets outside the solar system. An exoplanet is not a planet. Personally, I think exoplanets should be included in the definition of a planet, but until they are, the answer to Question 11 is technically wrong.
WolfCam
+6
Level 66
Feb 24, 2020
To quote Merriam Webster: “Definition of planet

1a(1) : any of the large bodies that revolve around the sun in the solar system

(2) : a similar body associated with another star”

CTRH1
+1
Level 66
Feb 24, 2020
I prefer the International Astronomical Union's definition:

https://www.iau.org/static/resolutions/Resolution_GA26-5-6.pdf

RobNobody
+5
Level 78
Feb 26, 2020
CTRH1 - Yes, but that IAU definition is specifically only about bodies within our Solar System. It's saying that, of the bodies in our Solar System, these are defined as planets. Heck, the title is "Definition of a Planet in the Solar System." It says nothing whatsoever about any bodies outside of our Solar System one way or another.
Malbaby
+9
Level 70
Feb 24, 2020
CTRH1 wins the 'Golden Nitpick Award' for February 2020...... congratulations.
Jacktheguy
+1
Level 91
Feb 24, 2020
How many of those 'Golden Nitpick Awards' do you have stockpiled in your home?
CTRH1
+6
Level 66
Feb 24, 2020
Yay! I've been recognised!
SpartanLlama
+1
Level 71
Feb 24, 2020
14/18. Last question is interesting
bostjan
+2
Level 71
Feb 24, 2020
I cannot find a definition of "major galaxy." What makes Andromeda a "major galxay" that doesn't apply to Barnard's galaxy, for instance?
rphxx
+1
Level 71
Feb 24, 2020
There is no definition. But Barnard's Galaxy and the Magellanic Clouds are Dwarf Galaxies, which orbit a "Major Galaxy" like the Milky Way or the Androma Galaxy.
nomad14
+1
Level 68
Feb 24, 2020
What an amazing quiz!
NauruPalau
+1
Level 49
Feb 24, 2020
Got all but the last one
aishwariya03
+1
Level 42
Feb 25, 2020
Relativity is weird. Period.
Theponderer
+1
Level 38
Feb 25, 2020
The moon rotates on its axis, yet we never see one side of it? Am I missing something?
WolfCam
+1
Level 66
Feb 26, 2020
Because of tidal forces, the moon rotates once per revolution around the Earth, meaning the same side will always face us.
JimUK
+3
Level 33
Sep 23, 2020
Here in the UK, it is widely known that soft nougat is at the centre of the Milky Way! ;-)
Thomas1VL
+1
Level 64
Sep 24, 2020
Personally, I wouldn't say the Sun is 'one of the smallest stars in the galaxy' when it's just in the top 15% of smallest stars. With 'one of the smallest stars', I thought you meant like at least top 1% of smallest stars
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Sep 24, 2020
I think you read the question wrong. The sun is NOT one of the smallest stars in the galaxy. It is larger than 85% of stars in the galaxy.
geowiz1206
+1
Level 22
Feb 19, 2021
I found question 12 a bit misleading since it seems to imply that only the Milky Way has a supermassive black hole in its centre, when in fact all galaxies have one.
quantummidget
+2
Level 33
Feb 15, 2022
With the last question, what is meant by "Communicate"? How would they be able to communicate with each other, regardless of relative speed?
quantummidget
+1
Level 33
Feb 15, 2022
Also, I was going to complain about Andromeda actually approaching the Milky Way but then I reread the question which said "Nearly", whoops
RobNobody
+1
Level 78
Jun 21, 2022
Radio waves, or some other sort of speed-of-light communication. It would take longer and longer to get a response the farther they got away from each other, but the messages would get there eventually.
belor
+1
Level 60
Jun 21, 2022
I was expecting to get a couple wrong, guess I'm not as bad as I thought?
MDW
+3
Level 53
Jun 21, 2022
I refuse to do this quiz for another 6 months, because tonight is the WINTER solstice.
Dimby
+2
Level 79
Jun 21, 2022
You’re in the wrong hemisphere!
MalyJacus
+1
Level 58
Jun 21, 2022
100% first try, 1:10
LollYHop0MASTER
+1
Level 27
Jun 26, 2022
so 1 astronomical unit is the distance between sun and earth. so if anyone could answer what is light year without googling.
henriluvsu
+1
Level 43
Aug 28, 2022
kind of weird to have an opinion here... "one of" is not a measurement and is based entirely on your own views of what "one of" means. when i think of "one of", i think top 5
ShievaAndGolly
+1
Level 57
Dec 5, 2022
Can you add a caveat for how you define spacecraft because I missed the Mars question
cyceryx
+1
Level 53
Apr 30, 2024
17/18, completely forgot about relativity
Unobtainium
+1
Level 34
May 9, 2024
Maybe we could find a way to communicate across long distances beyond the electromagnetic spectrum. "Would never be able to communicate" stood out to me. We don't know what's not possible.
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