Astronomy

List the 8 planets in order from the Sun.

Hint: My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Nachos

Which four planets are the rocky (terrestrial) planets?

Hint: The four closest to the Sun are small and rocky

Which four planets are the gas/ice giants?

Hint: Jupiter and Saturn are gas giants; Uranus and Neptune are ice giants

What is the largest planet in our solar system?

Hint: It has a famous Great Red Spot

What is the smallest planet in our solar system?

Hint: It's also the closest to the Sun

Which planet is famous for its visible ring system?

Hint: Its rings are made mostly of ice and rock

What type of star is our Sun?

Hint: It's a medium-sized, medium-temperature star

What is the name of our galaxy?

Hint: It's a spiral galaxy

What moon phase occurs when the Moon is between the Earth and Sun (not visible)?

Hint: The moon's illuminated side faces away from Earth

What moon phase occurs when the entire face of the Moon is lit?

Hint: Earth is between the Sun and Moon

List the 8 moon phases in order starting from new moon.

Hint: Waxing = growing, waning = shrinking

What does 'waxing' mean in moon phases?

Hint: Waxing = increasing

What does 'waning' mean in moon phases?

Hint: Waning = decreasing

How long does it take Earth to rotate once on its axis?

Hint: This rotation causes day and night

How long does it take Earth to orbit (revolve around) the Sun?

Hint: This is why we have a leap year every 4 years

Which planet is known as the 'Red Planet'?

Hint: Its red color comes from iron oxide (rust) on its surface

Which planet is the hottest in our solar system?

Hint: Its thick atmosphere traps heat — even though Mercury is closer to the Sun

Where is the asteroid belt located in our solar system?

Hint: It separates the rocky planets from the gas giants

What is the distance light travels in one year called?

Hint: It's a unit of distance, not time

What is a pattern of stars as seen from Earth called?

Hint: Orion and the Big Dipper are examples

What primarily causes ocean tides on Earth?

Hint: The side of Earth closest to the Moon bulges outward

What type of tide occurs when the Sun, Moon, and Earth are aligned (new or full moon)?

Hint: These are the STRONGEST tides; the Sun and Moon pull together

Which planet has the shortest year (fastest orbit) and almost no atmosphere?

Hint: It's the closest planet to the Sun — just 88 Earth days per orbit

Which planet is the farthest from the Sun and has the strongest winds in the solar system?

Hint: It appears blue due to methane in its atmosphere

During a first quarter moon, how much of the Moon's face appears lit?

Hint: 'Quarter' refers to one quarter of the way through the lunar cycle, not the amount lit

A shadow is shortest around midday. Which object is highest in the sky then?

Hint: Short shadows happen when the light source is high overhead

Which description best fits a galaxy?

Hint: Think much larger than one star or one solar system

The solar system is part of which galaxy?

Hint: This is our home galaxy

Which is the largest: a planet, a solar system, a galaxy, or all of space?

Hint: It includes all galaxies

Astronomers say a star is many light-years away. What does a light-year measure?

Hint: It is how far light travels in one year

Andromeda is best described as what kind of object?

Hint: It is a large system of many stars

A telescope image shows many distant galaxies. What does that observation show about the universe?

Hint: Each distant galaxy is a huge star system

Why can we see stars in the night sky?

Hint: A star is not a moon or planet

A group of stars appears to make a named pattern in the sky. What is this called?

Hint: Ancient observers named many of these star patterns

A traveler finds Polaris in the night sky. Which direction does it help identify?

Hint: Polaris is a steady guide for this direction

Stars seem to move across the sky during the night. What causes this apparent motion?

Hint: The ground is turning, so the sky appears to shift

In general, which star color usually indicates a hotter star?

Hint: Blue-white stars are usually hotter than red stars

The Big Dipper is most useful as an example of what kind of sky pattern?

Hint: It is a familiar pattern made by stars

What is the Sun?

Hint: It makes its own light and heat, like the twinkling points you see at night.

How many planets travel around our Sun?

Hint: Count them: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.

Which is the largest planet in our solar system?

Hint: It is a giant ball of gas with a famous Great Red Spot.

Which planet has beautiful rings made of ice and rock that are easy to see through a telescope?

Hint: It is the second-largest planet and is famous for the rings around it.

What does the Sun give to Earth that helps plants grow and keeps us warm?

Hint: Think about how it feels outside on a bright, sunny day.

What do we call a planet's path as it travels around the Sun?

Hint: It is the curved path that takes a planet all the way around the Sun.

Which two words describe a planet TURNING around in place, like a spinning top?

Hint: Earth does this once a day, which gives us daytime and nighttime.

What is the band of rocky chunks between Mars and Jupiter called?

Hint: It is full of space rocks circling the Sun between the inner and outer planets.

What do we call a space rock that streaks through the sky as a bright glowing trail, often called a 'shooting star'?

Hint: It is the quick flash of light you see when a small space rock burns up in the sky.

What is Pluto now called by scientists?

Hint: It is round and orbits the Sun, but it is too small to be one of the 8 main planets.

Earth has one Moon. Which planet has the MOST moons?

Hint: It is a giant ringed planet with dozens and dozens of moons circling it.

Which planet is the hottest in our solar system, even though it is not the closest to the Sun?

Hint: It is wrapped in thick clouds that trap heat like a blanket.

The first four planets near the Sun are small and made of rock. What do we call this group?

Hint: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars are solid worlds you could stand on.

What causes day and night on Earth?

Hint: Think about how Earth turns around once each day.

How long does it take Earth to travel all the way around the Sun one time?

Hint: This trip around the Sun is what we count birthdays by.

Where does the Sun appear to rise each morning?

Hint: It is the opposite side of the sky from where the Sun sets.

Why does the Moon shine in the night sky?

Hint: The Moon has no light of its own; light bounces off it.

What does the Moon travel around?

Hint: The Moon is Earth's closest neighbor in space and circles it.

What do we call the Moon phase when we cannot see the lit Moon at all?

Hint: It is the phase where the Moon's bright side faces away from us.

What causes Earth's seasons, like summer and winter?

Hint: Earth leans a little as it travels around the Sun.

The Sun appears to move across the sky during the day. What really causes this?

Hint: The Sun stays put; it is the ground beneath you that turns.

What is mostly responsible for the rise and fall of ocean tides?

Hint: Earth's nearest neighbor in space tugs on the oceans.

A solar eclipse happens when which object passes between the Sun and Earth?

Hint: Something moves in front of the Sun and casts a shadow on Earth.

When the lit part of the Moon we see is growing bigger each night, what is the Moon doing?

Hint: Think of the word that means getting larger, not smaller.

During a lunar eclipse, whose shadow falls on the Moon?

Hint: Our own planet gets between the Sun and the Moon.

What is a star mostly made of?

Hint: A star is not solid like a planet; it shines on its own

Which star is the closest one to Earth?

Hint: We see it every day and it lights the sky

Why do stars seem to twinkle when we look at them from the ground?

Hint: Think about the layer of air between you and the star

The North Star, Polaris, sits at the end of the handle of which star pattern?

Hint: It is the smaller dipper-shaped pattern near the other dipper

What is the name of the brightest star we can see in Earth's night sky?

Hint: It is nicknamed the Dog Star

Two stars give off the same amount of light, but one looks brighter from Earth. Why?

Hint: A nearby flashlight looks brighter than a faraway one

A star looks reddish in the sky. What does its red color usually tell us about it?

Hint: Remember that blue-white stars are the hot ones

What holds the many stars of a galaxy together?

Hint: It is the same invisible pull that keeps you on the ground.

Many galaxies have a beautiful shape with curving arms. What is this shape called?

Hint: Think of arms that curl outward like a pinwheel.

A nebula in space is best described as a cloud of what?

Hint: It is a soft, glowing cloud, not something hard you could stand on.

Compared with our whole solar system, how big is the universe?

Hint: The universe holds countless galaxies, and each galaxy holds many solar systems.

Why do astronomers use telescopes to study faraway galaxies and nebulae?

Hint: A bigger telescope collects more light than your eyes can.

A galaxy and a solar system are both groups of objects in space. How do their sizes compare?

Hint: A galaxy is like a whole city of stars, and each star can have its own family of planets.

If a galaxy is said to be 100,000 light-years across, what does that tell you?

Hint: A light-year measures distance, not time.

A flagpole casts a long shadow in the morning and a shorter shadow near noon. What causes the change?

Hint: Think about where the Sun appears during the day

During a full Moon, Earth is generally between which two objects?

Hint: The Moon's near side is fully lit from our view