Roland's
Amateur Astronomy Quiz

Highest Difficulty

1. Which of the following is a barred spiral galaxy ?
a. The Whirlpool Galaxy b. M109 c. M31 d. Small Magellanic Cloud

2. The Taurids are associated with ...
a. Encke's Comet b. Halley's Comet c. Comet Tempel-Tuttle d. Asteroid Phaethon

3. Mars's closest approach to Earth this Century is in....
a. June 2001 b. August 2003 c. November 2005 d. December 2007

4. Which is not one of the 109 Caldwell Objects ?
a. Saturn nebula b. Needle Galaxy c. Black Eye Galaxy d. Blinking nebula

5. Which star is known to have the greatest proper motion ?
a. Barnard's star b. Kapteyn's star c. Alpha Centauri d. Polaris

6. Due to libration, at different times, how much of the Moon's surface can we see ?
a. 64% b. 59% c. 54% d. 49%

7. By how much is the Earth's rotational period slowing each day ?
a. 0.003 sec b. 0.03 sec c. 0.3 sec d. 0.0003 sec

8. Which spectral type of star could become a runaway star ?
a. A b. O c. M d. K

9. The Solar cycle ( periodic fluctuation in the number of sunspots ) lasts...
a. 11 yrs b. 2 yrs c. 23 yrs d. 1 yr

10. Which is not an Open cluster in Auriga ?
a. M35 b. M36 c. M37 d. M38

11. How far away are the Pleiades ?
a. 8000 ly b. 40 ly c. 400 ly d. 80,000 ly

12. The width of the great square of Pegasus is...
a. 7 deg b. 17 deg c. 10 deg d. 13 deg

13. Which star is in Eridanus ?
a. Achernar b. Hadar c. Canopus d. Fomalhaut

14. Which is the brightest star, as seen from Earth ?
a. Capella b. Vega c. Rigel d. Arcturus

15. Perseus saved Andromeda from which creature ?
a. Cepheus b. Taurus c. Cetus d. Hydra

16. Which constellation was never a part of Ptolemy's Argo Navis ?
a. Crux b. Vela c. Carina d. Puppis

17. Which star is not in Orion's belt ?
a. Alnitak b. Alnilam c. Mintaka d. Saiph

18. At its brightest Venus reaches magnitude...
a. -2.9 b. -3.5 c. -4.7 d. -5.2

19. Ganymede, one of Jupiter's Moons, can reach magnitude
a. 8.9 b. 6.7 c. 4.4 d. 2.4

20. Deimos, one of Mars's two Moons has a diameter of...
a. 9 miles b. 19 miles c. 39 miles d. 59 miles

21. Which is not part of the Sun ?
a. Corona b. Chromosphere c. Proteus d. Photosphere

22. Where was a lot of deuterium produced ?
a. In the big bang b. In the formation of the solar system c. On the sun d. On Earth

23. Mir was launched in...
a. 1977 b. 1981 c. 1986 d. 1991

24. In which constellation is the Sombrero galaxy ?
a. Virgo b. Cygnus c. Gemini d. Leo

25. The Tunguska Event in Siberia, caused by a meteorite, occurred in...
a.1807 b. 1856 c.1908 d.1953