Astronomy & the Universe Quiz

Question 1

What is a light-year?

Accepted Answer

The distance light travels in one year (~9.46 trillion km)

Answer

The time it takes light to travel from the Sun to Earth

Answer

One million kilometres

Answer

The distance between the Sun and Neptune

Question 2

What is the Big Bang Theory?

Accepted Answer

The universe began about 13.8 billion years ago from an extremely hot, dense state and has been expanding ever since

Answer

The universe has always existed in its current form

Answer

The universe began as an explosion of a star

Answer

Stars collide to create new galaxies

Question 3

What is a black hole?

Accepted Answer

A collapsed star so dense that nothing, not even light, can escape its gravity

Answer

A region of space where nothing exists

Answer

A type of dark nebula

Answer

A hole between two universes

Question 4

Our solar system is located in which galaxy?

Accepted Answer

Milky Way Galaxy

Answer

Andromeda Galaxy

Answer

Triangulum Galaxy

Answer

Large Magellanic Cloud

Question 5

What is a nebula?

Accepted Answer

A cloud of gas and dust in space, often a star-forming region

Answer

A type of galaxy

Answer

A dead star

Answer

A moon around a gas giant

Question 6

What type of star will our Sun eventually become when it exhausts its fuel?

Accepted Answer

A white dwarf

Answer

A neutron star

Answer

A black hole

Answer

A supernova remnant

Question 7

What is the closest galaxy to the Milky Way (and destined to merge with it)?

Accepted Answer

Andromeda Galaxy (M31)

Answer

Triangulum Galaxy (M33)

Answer

Large Magellanic Cloud

Answer

Centaurus A

Question 8

What causes a star to shine?

Accepted Answer

Nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium, releasing enormous energy

Answer

Burning of hydrogen like a fire

Answer

Friction as gas clouds collapse

Answer

Reflection of light from nearby stars

Question 9

What is the cosmic microwave background (CMB)?

Accepted Answer

Background radiation left over from the Big Bang, now cooled to microwave wavelengths

Answer

Radiation from active galaxies

Answer

The radiation of the Milky Way's black hole

Answer

The collective light from all stars in the universe

Question 10

What is a pulsar?

Accepted Answer

A rapidly rotating neutron star emitting beams of electromagnetic radiation

Answer

A star that explodes as a supernova

Answer

A type of black hole

Answer

A very bright galaxy nucleus

Question 11

What is dark matter?

Accepted Answer

Invisible matter that makes up about 27% of the universe, detected only by gravitational effects

Answer

Matter found in black holes

Answer

Dark-coloured interstellar gas

Answer

Matter between galaxies

Question 12

What is the speed of light in a vacuum?

Accepted Answer

299,792 km/s

Answer

150,000 km/s

Answer

300,000 km/s exactly

Answer

199,792 km/s

Question 13

A supernova is:

Accepted Answer

The explosive death of a massive star, briefly outshining entire galaxies

Answer

A new star being born

Answer

A star with many moons

Answer

A galaxy merger

Question 14

What is the Hubble Space Telescope?

Accepted Answer

A space telescope launched in 1990 providing remarkable images of deep space

Answer

A ground-based observatory

Answer

The telescope used to discover Neptune

Answer

A NASA spacecraft that landed on Mars

Question 15

What is the approximate age of the universe?

Accepted Answer

13.8 billion years

Answer

4.5 billion years

Answer

10 billion years

Answer

20 billion years

Question 16

What phenomenon did Edwin Hubble discover about distant galaxies?

Accepted Answer

They are all moving away from us — the universe is expanding

Answer

They contain no stars

Answer

They are all moving toward us

Answer

They are moving away from us — the universe is expanding

Answer

They are all the same size

Question 17

What is an exoplanet?

Accepted Answer

A planet orbiting a star other than the Sun

Answer

A planet in our solar system beyond Neptune

Answer

A dwarf planet like Pluto

Answer

A moon of a gas giant

Question 18

What is the event horizon of a black hole?

Accepted Answer

The boundary beyond which nothing can escape the black hole's gravity

Answer

The visible glow around a black hole

Answer

The outer edge of the accretion disc

Answer

The point where a black hole begins to form

Question 19

Which space probe has travelled furthest from Earth and is now in interstellar space?

Accepted Answer

Voyager 1

Answer

Pioneer 10

Answer

Voyager 2

Answer

New Horizons

Question 20

What is 'dark energy'?

Accepted Answer

A mysterious force causing the universe to expand at an accelerating rate, making up about 68% of the universe

Answer

Energy released by black holes

Answer

The energy of dark matter

Answer

Energy from stars in dark nebulae