# Here it is: Your astronomy and Earth quiz! (sort of long) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 17, 2002, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-it-is-your-astronomy-and-earth-quiz-sort-of-long/104054 "2002-04-17T02:03:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Yo\_La\_Tengo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/41988e/32.png) [@Yo\_La\_Tengo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yo_La_Tengo)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-it-is-your-astronomy-and-earth-quiz-sort-of-long/104054/1 "2002-04-17T02:03:58Z")
I’m amazed at how many people don’t know the nine planets. Hopefully you guys can show me that all people aren’t idiots when it comes to astronomy and the Earth. I’ll wring out a few questions, and I want to see if you all can answer them. I’m guessing you can, because I know the answers by heart. No cheating or looking at encyclopedia (or anything else that can give you answers), though. Only pure memory.[ol] [li]What are the nine planets, in order, starting from the sun?[/li][li]What are the nine planets, in order, from largest to smallest?[/li][li]What planets are known as gas planets?[/li][li]What are the names of all the planets that have (known) rings?[/li][li]What is the densest planet in the solar system?[/li][li]What is the least dense planet in the solar system?[/li][li]What planet has the longest day?[/li][li]What planet has the shortest day?[/li][li]What planet has the most moons?[/li][li]What is the hottest planet?[/li][li]What is the coldest planet?[/li][li]How many moons does Earth have?[/li][li]How many moons does Mercury have?[/li][li]How many moons does Venus have?[/li][li]How many moons does Pluto have?[/li][li]How many moons does Mars have?[/li][li]What is the name of Mars’ moon(s)?[/li][li]What is the name of Pluto’s moon(s)?[/li][li]On what planet is the tallest mountain in the solar system?[/li][li]What is that mountain called?[/li][li]What is it’s (approximate) height?[/li][li]How often does Halley’s comet come around Earth?[/li][li]What is strange about Pluto’s orbit?[/li][li]What is strange about Pluto’s orbit? (Another)[/li][li]What planet has The Great Dark Spot?[/li][li]What planet has a “severe tilt” to it?[/li][li]What is the Oort Cloud?[/li][li]What is the closest star to the Earth?[/li][li]What is the 2nd closest star to the Earth?[/li][li]What’s the name of the Red Supergiant that sounds a lot like a “person” you could find at Universal Studios?[/li][li]What color are the hottest stars?[/li][li]What’s our galaxy called?[/li][li]What kind of galaxy is our galaxy?[/li][li]What are the three main kinds of galaxies?[/li][li]What is a light-year? (definition)[/li][li]How long is a light-year? (number)[/li][li]What is the most abundant element the universe?[/li][li]Will the sun ever go supernova?[/li][li]What’s odd about the sun’s rotation?[/li][li]In what year did Sputnik I go up?[/li][li]How long does it take sunlight to reach the Earth?[/li][li]About how old is the Earth?[/li][li]What’s the Earth’s (approximate) diameter?[/li][li]About what percent of the Earth’s water is in the oceans?[/li][li]What is the most abundant element in the Earth’s atomsphere?[/li][li]What is the tilt of the Earth on its axis?[/ol][/li]I wonder how long this will take to be finished. I’m guessing that one or two people will come along and answer them all in a few minutes. Could be wrong though. You don’t have to answer them all, just the ones you know. Anyway, have fun. And no cheating. I’ll be around to declare if an answer is right or not… ---
**Author:** ![Earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/90db22/32.png) [@Earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthling)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-it-is-your-astronomy-and-earth-quiz-sort-of-long/104054/2 "2002-04-17T02:18:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Yo La Tengo \* > **What planets are known as gas planets?** Uranus is one, of course 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Press](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7993a0/32.png) [@Press](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Press)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-it-is-your-astronomy-and-earth-quiz-sort-of-long/104054/3 "2002-04-17T02:53:11Z")
Aaaaagh, this is gonna take forever…I can answer most of them, methinks. 1. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto 2. Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune 3. Jupiter 4. Venus 5. Pluto 6. 1 7. None 8. One, methinks 9. None 10. None 11. Doesn’t have one 12. Doesn’t have one 13. Mars 14. Once every 76 years, I think 15. It interloops with Neptune’s 16. It’s all oblong and whatnot, making it the eighth planet every once in a while 17. Neptune 18. Sol 19. Alpha Centauri 20. Dark freakin’ red (That’s a real color, I called Crayola) 21. The Milky Way 22. Spiral Galaxy 23. How far light travels in one year 24. 5.88 Trillion miles 25. Carbon 26. Yeah, methinks 27. Eight minutes 28. Two billion years? 29. It’s either 28,000 miles or 36,000 miles…I think it’s 28,000. 30. …75%? I should know that Sputnik one, too…dangit. Doesn’t matter, I was born WAY after it was launched. Unlike you fossils. Hehe. ---
**Author:** ![White\_Lightning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@White\_Lightning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/White_Lightning)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-it-is-your-astronomy-and-earth-quiz-sort-of-long/104054/4 "2002-04-17T03:28:49Z")
A quick perusal, to correct some errors. I read enough of the questions to know that I probably couldn’t answer roughly half of them from memory. 1. Isn’t Mercury the hottest planet? 2. I remember reading that Pluto has a moon. For a while they were talking about it might be another planet or something, right? Something like that. Don’t know its name. 16-17. Mars has two moons: Deimos and Phobos (I think). ---
**Author:** ![Linus\_Van\_Pelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@Linus\_Van\_Pelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Linus_Van_Pelt)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-it-is-your-astronomy-and-earth-quiz-sort-of-long/104054/5 "2002-04-17T03:35:42Z")
Here are my answers. I’ll skip the ones that I think Press got right. 1. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Earth, Venus, Mars, Mercury, Pluto 2. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune 3. See #3 (I think) 4. Earth 5. Jupiter 6. Mercury 7. Jupiter 8. Nope, I think it’s none 9. One 10. Two 11. Demos and Phobos (Panic and Fear - Named after Mars’ Dogs, I think) 12. Charon (The boatman) 13. Mars 14. (I think) Mons Olympus 15. Don’t know 16. It’s higly elptical, passing inside of Neptune’s 17. It passes way out of the plane of the eliptic that the rest of the planets are in. 18. The Great Red Spot is on Jupiter - I’m not certain about the “Great Dark Spot” 19. The Oort cloud is the very large cloud of objects _way_ outside the orbit of Pluto where most comets are believed to come from. 20. Proxima Centaurus 21. Betelguise 22. Blue - White 23. Hmmm. Let me think a bit. 24. Hydrogen. By far. 25. Nope. Way two small. 26. By odd I would assume that you mean different from other stars, so I’m not sure. 27. 1959 28. About 5 billion. Years, that is. 29. About 7000 miles (11,000 Kilometers). 30. Don’t know. I’ll guess and say 95% 31. Nitrogen (about 78% I think) 32. Don’t know. If I had to guess, I’d say about a 5 degree tilt. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-it-is-your-astronomy-and-earth-quiz-sort-of-long/104054/6 "2002-04-17T03:45:31Z")
**Yo La Tengo** , this isn’t an (extremely clever) attempt to get us to do your science homework, is it? ---
**Author:** ![Caught\_Work](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/919ad9/32.png) [@Caught\_Work](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caught_Work)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-it-is-your-astronomy-and-earth-quiz-sort-of-long/104054/7 "2002-04-17T04:12:12Z")
But, but, there aren’t anywhere near enuff Uranus jokes. Like … where did that alien come from? Uranus. ---
**Author:** ![Protesilaus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Protesilaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Protesilaus)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-it-is-your-astronomy-and-earth-quiz-sort-of-long/104054/8 "2002-04-17T04:33:48Z")
1. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune/Pluto, Pluto/Neptune 2. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Earth, Mars, Venus, Mercury, Pluto 3. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune 4. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune 5. Jupiter 6. Mercury 7. Pluto 12-16. 1, 0, 0, 1, and 2 1. Phobos and Deimos 2. Charon 3. Mars 4. Every 76 years 23&24. It’s very elliptical, and it intersects with Neptune’s. 1. Jupiter 2. Uranus 3. The sun 4. Proxima Centuri 5. Betelgeuse 6. Blue 7. Milky Way 8. Spiral 9. The distance that light can travel in one year. 10. Hydrogen 11. No, it’s too small 12. 1957 13. 8 minutes 14. 4 billion years 15. Nitrogen 16. 23.5 degrees ---
**Author:** ![BalmainBoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6a8cbe/32.png) [@BalmainBoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BalmainBoy)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-it-is-your-astronomy-and-earth-quiz-sort-of-long/104054/9 "2002-04-17T07:33:41Z")
I used to hold the record for the longest sequence of correct answers on this radio quiz, until someone beat me, but he was asked a question before he got to my record that I reckon he answered incorrectly. He was asked “What is the 4th furthest planet from the sun?” He answered “Mars”, and marked correct. But I reckon Mars is the 4th NEAREST to the Sun, and Saturn the 4th furthest. As to unanswered questions, 40 (Sputnik) 1957 - the year I was born. 39 (Suns rotation) the speed of rotation varies (slows down, then speeds up), unlike any of the planets or moons. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-it-is-your-astronomy-and-earth-quiz-sort-of-long/104054/10 "2002-04-17T08:14:08Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by Yo La Tengo \* \*\* [li]What are the nine planets, in order, starting from the sun? [/li][/QUOTE] check [li]What are the nine planets, in order, from largest to smallest? [/li][/QUOTE] check [li]What planets are known as gas planets? [/li][/QUOTE] check [li]What are the names of all the planets that have (known) rings? [/li][/QUOTE] check [li]What is the densest planet in the solar system? [/li][/QUOTE] check [li]What is the least dense planet in the solar system? [/li][/QUOTE] check [li]What planet has the longest day? venus[/li][li]What planet has the shortest day? Jupiter[/li][li]What planet has the most moons? Saturn[/li][li]What is the hottest planet? Mercury[/li][li]What is the coldest planet? Pluto[/li][li]How many moons does Earth have? one[/li][li]How many moons does Mercury have? none[/li][li]How many moons does Venus have? none[/li][li]How many moons does Pluto have? one[/li][li]How many moons does Mars have? two[/li][li]What is the name of Mars’ moon(s)? Phobos, Deimos[/li][li]What is the name of Pluto’s moon(s)? Charon[/li][li]On what planet is the tallest mountain in the solar system? Mars[/li][li]What is that mountain called? Mt. Olympus (there may be a question to that though, another mountain may be taller.)[/li][li]What is it’s (approximate) height? 45,000 feet[/li][li]How often does Halley’s comet come around Earth? 86 years[/li][li]What is strange about Pluto’s orbit? it dips closer to the sun then Neptune every once and awhile.[/li][li]What is strange about Pluto’s orbit? (Another) It has the highest angle with the ecliptic plane[/li][li]What planet has The Great Dark Spot? Neptune[/li][li]What planet has a “severe tilt” to it? Uranus[/li][li]What is the Oort Cloud? A cloud of icy bodies which supplies fresh comets. It stretches way out toward other stars.[/li][li]What is the closest star to the Earth? Proxima Centauri[/li][li]What is the 2nd closest star to the Earth? Aplha Centauri[/li][li]What’s the name of the Red Supergiant that sounds a lot like a “person” you could find at Universal Studios? Betelguise[/li][li]What color are the hottest stars? Blue[/li][li]What’s our galaxy called? the Milky Way[/li][li]What kind of galaxy is our galaxy? A barred spiral[/li][li]What are the three main kinds of galaxies? spiral, elliptical and irregular[/li][li]What is a light-year? (definition) the distant a photon travels in a vacuum within one year[/li][li]How long is a light-year? (number) [/li][/QUOTE] check I have all the needed components in my head but I don’t know the distance itself. I’d need a pen and paper or calculator to work it out. [li]What is the most abundant element the universe? Hydrogen[/li][li]Will the sun ever go supernova? no[/li][li]What’s odd about the sun’s rotation?[/li][li]In what year did Sputnik I go up? 1957[/li][li]How long does it take sunlight to reach the Earth? a little over 8 minutes[/li][li]About how old is the Earth? about 4.5 billions years old[/li][li]What’s the Earth’s (approximate) diameter? about 8,000 miles[/li][li]About what percent of the Earth’s water is in the oceans? 70%[/li][li]What is the most abundant element in the Earth’s atomsphere? Nitrogen[/li][li]What is the tilt of the Earth on its axis?[/list] about 23%[/li] I wonder how long this will take to be finished. I’m guessing that one or two people will come along and answer them all in a few minutes. Could be wrong though. You don’t have to answer them all, just the ones you know. Anyway, have fun. And no cheating. I’ll be around to declare if an answer is right or not… \*\* I went through that pretty quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-it-is-your-astronomy-and-earth-quiz-sort-of-long/104054/11 "2002-04-17T08:19:26Z")
I wanted to fix my post > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Yo La Tengo \* > \*\*[ol][li]What are the nine planets, in order, starting from the sun?check[/li][li]What are the nine planets, in order, from largest to smallest? check[/li][li]What planets are known as gas planets? check[/li][li]What are the names of all the planets that have (known) rings? check[/li][li]What is the densest planet in the solar system? check[/li][li]What is the least dense planet in the solar system? check[/li][li]What planet has the longest day? venus[/li][li]What planet has the shortest day? Jupiter[/li][li]What planet has the most moons? Saturn[/li][li]What is the hottest planet? Mercury[/li][li]What is the coldest planet? Pluto[/li][li]How many moons does Earth have? one[/li][li]How many moons does Mercury have? none[/li][li]How many moons does Venus have? none[/li][li]How many moons does Pluto have? one[/li][li]How many moons does Mars have? two[/li][li]What is the name of Mars’ moon(s)? Phobos, Deimos[/li][li]What is the name of Pluto’s moon(s)? Charon[/li][li]On what planet is the tallest mountain in the solar system? Mars[/li][li]What is that mountain called? Mt. Olympus (there may be a question to that though, another mountain may be taller.)[/li][li]What is it’s (approximate) height? 45,000 feet[/li][li]How often does Halley’s comet come around Earth? 86 years[/li][li]What is strange about Pluto’s orbit? it dips closer to the sun then Neptune every once and awhile.[/li][li]What is strange about Pluto’s orbit? (Another) It has the highest angle with the ecliptic plane[/li][li]What planet has The Great Dark Spot? Neptune[/li][li]What planet has a “severe tilt” to it? Uranus[/li][li]What is the Oort Cloud? A cloud of icy bodies which supplies fresh comets. It stretches way out toward other stars.[/li][li]What is the closest star to the Earth? Proxima Centauri[/li][li]What is the 2nd closest star to the Earth? Aplha Centauri[/li][li]What’s the name of the Red Supergiant that sounds a lot like a “person” you could find at Universal Studios? Betelguise[/li][li]What color are the hottest stars? Blue[/li][li]What’s our galaxy called? the Milky Way[/li][li]What kind of galaxy is our galaxy? A barred spiral[/li][li]What are the three main kinds of galaxies? spiral, elliptical and irregular[/li][li]What is a light-year? (definition) the distant a photon travels in a vacuum within one year[/li][li]How long is a light-year? (number) check I have all the needed components in my head but I don’t know the distance itself. I’d need a pen and paper or calculator to work it out.[/li][li]What is the most abundant element the universe? Hydrogen[/li][li]Will the sun ever go supernova? no[/li][li]What’s odd about the sun’s rotation?[/li][li]In what year did Sputnik I go up? 1957[/li][li]How long does it take sunlight to reach the Earth? a little over 8 minutes[/li][li]About how old is the Earth? about 4.5 billions years old[/li][li]What’s the Earth’s (approximate) diameter? about 8,000 miles[/li][li]About what percent of the Earth’s water is in the oceans? 70%[/li][li]What is the most abundant element in the Earth’s atomsphere? Nitrogen[/li][li]What is the tilt of the Earth on its axis?[/ol] about 23%[/li] > I wonder how long this will take to be finished. I’m guessing that one or two people will come along and answer them all in a few minutes. Could be wrong though. You don’t have to answer them all, just the ones you know. > > Anyway, have fun. And no cheating. I’ll be around to declare if an answer is right or not… \*\* I went through that pretty quickly. But then I would be shocked if I didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Press](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7993a0/32.png) [@Press](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Press)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-it-is-your-astronomy-and-earth-quiz-sort-of-long/104054/12 "2002-04-17T10:49:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by White Lightning \* > 10. Isn’t Mercury the hottest planet? Nope. Venus has a much thicker atmosphere, and it’s like greenhouse effect gone mad in there. The surface of mars is…500 F, IIRC. The surface of Venus is about 900. I could have those numbers wrong, but you get the idea. ---
**Author:** ![Press](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7993a0/32.png) [@Press](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Press)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-it-is-your-astronomy-and-earth-quiz-sort-of-long/104054/13 "2002-04-17T10:53:41Z")
Aw, crap. Can’t believe I didn’t notice the word ‘diameter’ in that question about the Earth. I figured he meant the distance around it. ::Smacks self in head:: Oh well. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-it-is-your-astronomy-and-earth-quiz-sort-of-long/104054/14 "2002-04-17T11:07:02Z")
[Mercury](http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/welcome/mercury.htm) [Venus](http://pds.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/welcome/venus.htm) Your numbers are way off Press according to these sites. But Venus still wins, but by a much smaller margin. Mercury max is 700K. Venus mean is 726K. Dammit, I had debated said Venus might be it but I caved and went for Mercury, nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-it-is-your-astronomy-and-earth-quiz-sort-of-long/104054/15 "2002-04-17T11:09:56Z")
Hmm, I see you have F not K so I’ll take back the way off. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-it-is-your-astronomy-and-earth-quiz-sort-of-long/104054/16 "2002-04-17T11:22:00Z")
I’m guessing five of these are wrong. But oh well … I’m an English major; it ain’t my job to know science:) [ol] [li]What are the nine planets, in order, starting from the sun?[/li]Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto [li]What are the nine planets, in order, from largest to smallest?[/li]Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Mars, Earth, Venus, Neptune, Mercury, Pluto [li]What planets are known as gas planets?[/li]Saturn and Jupiter [li]What are the names of all the planets that have (known) rings?[/li]Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus [li]What is the densest planet in the solar system?[/li]Mars [li]What is the least dense planet in the solar system?[/li]Saturn [li]What planet has the longest day?[/li]Venus [li]What planet has the shortest day?[/li]Pluto [li]What planet has the most moons?[/li]Jupiter [li]What is the hottest planet?[/li]Venus [li]What is the coldest planet?[/li]Pluto [li]How many moons does Earth have?[/li]1 [li]How many moons does Mercury have?[/li][li]How many moons does Venus have?[/li]0 [li]How many moons does Pluto have?[/li]1 [li]How many moons does Mars have?[/li]2 [li]What is the name of Mars’ moon(s)?[/li]Phobos and Deimos [li]What is the name of Pluto’s moon(s)?[/li]Charon [li]On what planet is the tallest mountain in the solar system?[/li]Mars [li]What is that mountain called?[/li]“Hey, You really big fucking mountain!” [li]What is it’s (approximate) height?[/li]Several miles [li]How often does Halley’s comet come around Earth?[/li]Every 76 years [li]What is strange about Pluto’s orbit?[/li]It crosses Neptunes twice [li]What is strange about Pluto’s orbit? (Another)[/li]It’s a different shape from the orbits of the other planets. [li]What planet has The Great Dark Spot?[/li]Neptune [li]What planet has a “severe tilt” to it?[/li]Uranus. It’s on its “side”. Rings vertical [li]What is the Oort Cloud?[/li][li]What is the closest star to the Earth?[/li]The Sun [li]What is the 2nd closest star to the Earth?[/li]Alpha Centauri [li]What’s the name of the Red Supergiant that sounds a lot like a “person” you could find at Universal Studios?[/li]Superstar [li]What color are the hottest stars?[/li]White [li]What’s our galaxy called?[/li]Milky Way [li]What kind of galaxy is our galaxy?[/li]Spider [li]What are the three main kinds of galaxies?[/li]Spider, cluster and cloud [li]What is a light-year? (definition)[/li]Distance light travels in a year [li]How long is a light-year? (number)[/li]6 billion miles? [li]What is the most abundant element the universe?[/li]This one’s either hydrogen or helium, I think. I’m gonna go with Hydrogen [li]Will the sun ever go supernova?[/li]Sure. [li]What’s odd about the sun’s rotation?[/li]It wobbles [li]In what year did Sputnik I go up?[/li]1957 [li]How long does it take sunlight to reach the Earth?[/li]8 minutes. [li]About how old is the Earth?[/li]6 thousand years. Wait…6 billion. Left off a few 0s. [li]What’s the Earth’s (approximate) diameter?[/li]8K miles. [li]About what percent of the Earth’s water is in the oceans?[/li]66. [li]What is the most abundant element in the Earth’s atomsphere?[/li]Nitrogen [li]What is the tilt of the Earth on its axis?[/ol][/li]17%. ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-it-is-your-astronomy-and-earth-quiz-sort-of-long/104054/17 "2002-04-17T11:25:12Z")
**M** any **V** ampires **E** at **M** y **J** ugular **S** ucking **U** p **N** asty **P** otions That’s how I remember the order anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-it-is-your-astronomy-and-earth-quiz-sort-of-long/104054/18 "2002-04-17T11:37:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by iampunha \* > \*\*[li]What is the closest star to the Earth?[/li]The Sun > > [li]What is the 2nd closest star to the Earth?[/li]Alpha Centauri > \*\* con flarnit rootin rip fragin’! I always ALWAYS miss that closest star to the Earth. Always. People can ask that question to me tomorrow and I will answer Proxima Centauri. Every gosh dang fleep florging time. And I’ll tell you why, everytime I think of the question I don’t see the Earth I see the Solar System. [The following said dejectedly] You can always remember Proxima Centauri as the closest star to the sun because the name Proxima comes from proximity. 2 more wrong. That’s 4 wrong! Blast! Sigh. I guy from my alma mater won a prize in 84 for coming up with My Very Erotic Mate Joyfully Satisfies Unusual Needs Passionately. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-it-is-your-astronomy-and-earth-quiz-sort-of-long/104054/19 "2002-04-17T15:23:11Z")
What are the nine planets, in order, starting from the sun? Mercury,Venus,Earth,Mars.Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus,Neptune,Pluto. [li]What are the nine planets, in order, from largest to smallest?[/li]this isnt a easy question! ok, let me see i am taking a few WAGs here but: Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus,Neptune,Earth,Mars,Venus,Mercury,Pluto. [li]What planets are known as gas planets?[/li]Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus,Neptune. [li]What are the names of all the planets that have (known) rings?[/li]Jupiter,Saturn,Uranus? [li]What is the densest planet in the solar system?[/li]Mercury (thanks isaac asimov!) [li]What is the least dense planet in the solar system?[/li]dunno [li]What planet has the longest day?[/li]Mercury? [li]What planet has the shortest day?[/li]Jupiter? [li]What planet has the most moons?[/li]Jupiter [li]What is the hottest planet?[/li]Mercury or may be Venus [li]What is the coldest planet?[/li]Pluto [li]How many moons does Earth have?[/li]One [li]How many moons does Mercury have?[/li]0 [li]How many moons does Venus have?[/li]0 [li]How many moons does Pluto have?[/li]One, i think [li]How many moons does Mars have?[/li]Two [li]What is the name of Mars’ moon(s)?[/li]Fobos and Deimos [li]What is the name of Pluto’s moon(s)?[/li]Caronte [li]On what planet is the tallest mountain in the solar system?[/li]Mars [li]What is that mountain called?[/li]Olympus Mons [li]What is it’s (approximate) height?[/li]dunno [li]How often does Halley’s comet come around Earth?[/li]76 years [li]What is strange about Pluto’s orbit?[/li]it’s very elliptic? (i know than sometimes is closer to the sun than neptune) [li]What is strange about Pluto’s orbit? (Another)[/li]dunno [li]What planet has The Great Dark Spot?[/li]dunno, Jupiter has the Great Red Spot. [li]What planet has a “severe tilt” to it?[/li]dunno [li]What is the Oort Cloud?[/li]Cometary Origins? [li]What is the closest star to the Earth?[/li]The Sun [li]What is the 2nd closest star to the Earth?[/li]Proxima Centauri [li]What’s the name of the Red Supergiant that sounds a lot like a “person” you could find at Universal Studios?[/li]ummm Betelgeuse? dont know other Red Supergiants [li]What color are the hottest stars?[/li]dunno [li]What’s our galaxy called?[/li]The Milky Way [li]What kind of galaxy is our galaxy?[/li]Spiral [li]What are the three main kinds of galaxies?[/li]Dunno [li]What is a light-year? (definition)[/li]Distance traveled by light in a year [li]How long is a light-year? (number)[/li]C \* (number of seconds in a year) 😉 [li]What is the most abundant element the universe?[/li]Hydrogen… or stupidity [li]Will the sun ever go supernova?[/li]nope [li]What’s odd about the sun’s rotation?[/li]dunno [li]In what year did Sputnik I go up?[/li]195— something [li]How long does it take sunlight to reach the Earth?[/li]8 minutes [li]About how old is the Earth?[/li]billions of years [li]What’s the Earth’s (approximate) diameter?[/li]dunno [li]About what percent of the Earth’s water is in the oceans?[/li]dunno [li]What is the most abundant element in the Earth’s atomsphere?[/li]oxygen? dont think so, may be hidrogen? [li]What is the tilt of the Earth on its axis?[/list][/li]dunno ---
**Author:** ![Orual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orual](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orual)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2002, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-it-is-your-astronomy-and-earth-quiz-sort-of-long/104054/20 "2002-04-17T17:11:11Z")
[li]What are the nine planets, in order, starting from the sun?[/li] Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune/Pluto, Pluto/Neptune [li]What are the nine planets, in order, from largest to smallest?[/li] Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Earth, Venus, Mars, Mercury, Pluto [li]What planets are known as gas planets?[/li] see first 4 above [li]What are the names of all the planets that have (known) rings?[/li] Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, (Neptune?) [li]What is the densest planet in the solar system?[/li] not a clue [li]What is the least dense planet in the solar system?[/li] Saturn [li]What planet has the longest day?[/li] Pluto [li]What planet has the shortest day?[/li] Venus [li]What planet has the most moons?[/li] Saturn [li]What is the hottest planet?[/li] Venus [li]What is the coldest planet?[/li] Pluto [li]How many moons does Earth have?[/li] 1 [li]How many moons does Mercury have?[/li][li]How many moons does Venus have?[/li] both have 0 [li]How many moons does Pluto have?[/li] 1: Charon [li]How many moons does Mars have?[/li] 2: Phebos and Deimos [li]On what planet is the tallest mountain in the solar system?[/li] Mars. [li]What is that mountain called?[/li] Olympus Mons [li]What is it’s (approximate) height?[/li] ?? [li]How often does Halley’s comet come around Earth?[/li] ca.70 years [li]What is strange about Pluto’s orbit?[/li] very elliptical and tilted [li]What planet has The Great Dark Spot?[/li] Neptune [li]What planet has a “severe tilt” to it?[/li] Uranus [li]What is the Oort Cloud?[/li] I forgot. [li]What is the closest star to the Earth?[/li] Alpha Centauri [li]What is the 2nd closest star to the Earth?[/li] ?? [li]What’s the name of the Red Supergiant that sounds a lot like a “person” you could find at Universal Studios?[/li] Betelgeuse [li]What color are the hottest stars?[/li] White [li]What’s our galaxy called?[/li] Milky Way [li]What kind of galaxy is our galaxy?[/li] Spiral [li]What are the three main kinds of galaxies?[/li] ?? [li]What is a light-year? (definition)[/li] the distance light travels in one year of earth-time [li]How long is a light-year? (number)[/li] i forgot. [li]What is the most abundant element the universe?[/li] Hydrogen [li]Will the sun ever go supernova?[/li] no. [li]In what year did Sputnik I go up?[/li] 1957 [li]About how old is the Earth?[/li] 5 billion years [li]About what percent of the Earth’s water is in the oceans?[/li] 90% [li]What is the most abundant element in the Earth’s atomsphere?[/li] Nitrogen Do I get any prizes???😛 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/here-it-is-your-astronomy-and-earth-quiz-sort-of-long/104054.md?page=2)