Stars, Constellations & Galaxies

41 questions · Answers revealed below each question · Print this set

1.Which constellation is the herdsman holding bright Arcturus?
- A. Sagittarius
- B. Boötes
- C. Virgo
- D. Ursa Minor
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Boötes
Did you know? Boötes trails the Big Dipper's handle across the sky.
2.Which deep-sky object is the dark nebula beside the Southern Cross?
- A. the Coalsack
- B. Omega Centauri
- C. the Ring Nebula
- D. the Orion Nebula
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the Coalsack
Did you know? The Coalsack blocks the Milky Way's glow beside Crux.
3.Which galaxy is the third-largest galaxy of the Local Group?
- A. the Hubble Deep Field
- B. the Triangulum Galaxy
- C. the galactic halo
- D. the galactic year
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the Triangulum Galaxy
Did you know? The Triangulum Galaxy may be a distant companion of Andromeda.
4.Which star is the blue-white ear of wheat in Virgo?
- A. Arcturus
- B. Deneb
- C. Spica
- D. Canopus
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Spica
Did you know? Spica is actually two hot stars whirling tightly together.
5.Which star type is a spinning neutron star that beams radiation like a lighthouse?
- A. a Type Ia supernova
- B. a brown dwarf
- C. an eclipsing binary
- D. a pulsar
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a pulsar
Did you know? Pulsar beams sweep past Earth in precise flashes.
6.Which constellation is the "13th zodiac" constellation the Sun also crosses?
- A. Ophiuchus
- B. Ursa Major
- C. Canis Minor
- D. Aquila
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Ophiuchus
Did you know? The Sun spends more days in Ophiuchus than in Scorpius.
7.Which deep-sky object is the dark nebula silhouetted in Orion?
- A. the Horsehead Nebula
- B. the Orion Nebula
- C. the Crab Nebula
- D. the Eagle Nebula
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the Horsehead Nebula
Did you know? Bright gas behind the Horsehead outlines its shape.
8.Which galaxy is the giant galaxy whose black hole was first photographed?
- A. Messier 87
- B. a quasar
- C. the galactic halo
- D. the Hubble Deep Field
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Messier 87
Did you know? The Event Horizon Telescope revealed M87's black hole in 2019.
9.Which star is the royal heart of Leo, the Lion?
- A. Aldebaran
- B. Regulus
- C. Capella
- D. Canopus
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Regulus
Did you know? Regulus lies almost exactly on the ecliptic.
10.Which star type is the long stable stage where stars burn hydrogen?
- A. a pulsar
- B. the main sequence
- C. a supermassive black hole
- D. a Type Ia supernova
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the main sequence
Did you know? Most stars, including the Sun, are main sequence stars.
11.Which constellation carries the bright star Altair?
- A. Aquila
- B. Ursa Minor
- C. Canis Minor
- D. Cetus
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Aquila
Did you know? Aquila the Eagle lies beside Cygnus in the summer sky.
12.Which galaxy is the Milky Way's smaller southern satellite?
- A. the Sombrero Galaxy
- B. the galactic year
- C. the Small Magellanic Cloud
- D. the Pinwheel Galaxy
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the Small Magellanic Cloud
Did you know? Both Magellanic Clouds are named for Magellan's voyage.
13.Which star is the lonely "Solitary One" of the southern autumn?
- A. Vega
- B. Altair
- C. Betelgeuse
- D. Fomalhaut
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Fomalhaut
Did you know? Fomalhaut is ringed by a wide disk of dusty debris.
14.Which sky patch was revealed to hold thousands of galaxies?
- A. the Small Magellanic Cloud
- B. the Hubble Deep Field
- C. the galactic year
- D. the Local Group
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the Hubble Deep Field
Did you know? Hubble stared at one "empty" spot for days in 1995.
15.Which star is the brilliant blue supergiant of Orion?
- A. Rigel
- B. Capella
- C. Spica
- D. Algol
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Rigel
Did you know? Rigel shines tens of thousands of times brighter than the Sun.
16.Which galaxy are a colliding pair throwing out star-forming arcs?
- A. the Pinwheel Galaxy
- B. the Antennae Galaxies
- C. the Cartwheel Galaxy
- D. the Sombrero Galaxy
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the Antennae Galaxies
Did you know? The Antennae's tails earned them their name.
17.Which star is the distant luminous tail of Cygnus, the Swan?
- A. Altair
- B. Deneb
- C. Alpha Centauri
- D. Betelgeuse
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Deneb
Did you know? Deneb may shine over a hundred thousand times brighter than the Sun.
18.What is the roughly 230-million-year lap the Sun makes around the galaxy?
- A. the Sombrero Galaxy
- B. the galactic year
- C. the Whirlpool Galaxy
- D. the Small Magellanic Cloud
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the galactic year
Did you know? The last galactic year began before the dinosaurs.
19.Which star is the famous "wonderful star" that swells and fades?
- A. Canopus
- B. Aldebaran
- C. Deneb
- D. Mira
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Mira
Did you know? Mira's brightness swings over roughly 11 months.
20.Which galaxy is the nearest active radio galaxy?
- A. Centaurus A
- B. the Sombrero Galaxy
- C. the Hubble Deep Field
- D. the Large Magellanic Cloud
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Centaurus A
Did you know? Centaurus A's dust lane crosses an elliptical galaxy.
21.Which star is the red supergiant at the heart of Scorpius?
- A. Antares
- B. Vega
- C. Deneb
- D. Aldebaran
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Antares
Did you know? Antares's name means "rival of Mars."
22.Which galaxy shows a bright bulge ringed by a dust lane?
- A. the Hubble Deep Field
- B. the Large Magellanic Cloud
- C. Centaurus A
- D. the Sombrero Galaxy
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the Sombrero Galaxy
Did you know? The Sombrero Galaxy sits near the Virgo galaxy cluster.
23.Which star is the orange "eye" of Taurus, the Bull?
- A. Aldebaran
- B. Antares
- C. Mira
- D. Canopus
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Aldebaran
Did you know? Aldebaran sits beside the Hyades cluster in our sky view.
24.Which star is the golden "Goat Star" of Auriga?
- A. Altair
- B. Capella
- C. Algol
- D. Pollux
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Capella
Did you know? Capella is actually several stars orbiting closely.
25.Which star is the second-brightest star in the night sky?
- A. Mira
- B. Canopus
- C. Deneb
- D. Vega
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Canopus
Did you know? Canopus shines high over the Southern Hemisphere.
26.Which constellation is the sea monster constellation hosting Mira?
- A. Gemini
- B. Lyra
- C. Canis Major
- D. Cetus
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Cetus
Did you know? Cetus stretches across the autumn equatorial sky.
27.Which deep-sky object is the grandest globular cluster of the southern sky?
- A. the Pleiades
- B. Omega Centauri
- C. the Ring Nebula
- D. the Horsehead Nebula
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Omega Centauri
Did you know? Omega Centauri packs millions of ancient stars.
28.Which galaxy was the first "spiral nebula" recognized as a spiral?
- A. the Whirlpool Galaxy
- B. a quasar
- C. the Pinwheel Galaxy
- D. the Hubble Deep Field
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the Whirlpool Galaxy
Did you know? Lord Rosse sketched the Whirlpool's arms in 1845.
29.Which star is the bright star once used as the North Star?
- A. Algol
- B. Vega
- C. Pollux
- D. Deneb
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Vega
Did you know? Earth's axis slowly shifts, and Vega will be the pole star again.
30.Which star type is a "failed star" too small to sustain hydrogen fusion?
- A. a red giant
- B. a brown dwarf
- C. a pulsar
- D. a supermassive black hole
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a brown dwarf
Did you know? Brown dwarfs glow faintly in infrared light.
31.Which constellation is the second-largest constellation in the sky?
- A. Virgo
- B. Taurus
- C. Leo
- D. Aquila
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Virgo
Did you know? Virgo holds Spica and points toward rich galaxy fields.
32.What is the spherical fringe of old stars around a galaxy's disk?
- A. the galactic halo
- B. the Antennae Galaxies
- C. the Hubble Deep Field
- D. the Whirlpool Galaxy
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the galactic halo
Did you know? Globular clusters swarm in the galactic halo.
33.Which star is the bright orange star of Boötes?
- A. Vega
- B. Deneb
- C. Arcturus
- D. Procyon
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Arcturus
Did you know? Arcturus is among the brightest stars of the northern sky.
34.Which star type is a star pair whose dips repeat as one passes before the other?
- A. a neutron star
- B. a Type Ia supernova
- C. an eclipsing binary
- D. a black hole
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an eclipsing binary
Did you know? Astronomers read eclipsing binaries by their light curves.
35.Which constellation is the small arc called the Northern Crown?
- A. Aquila
- B. Corona Borealis
- C. Virgo
- D. Cygnus
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Corona Borealis
Did you know? Corona Borealis's semicircle shines between Boötes and Hercules.
36.Which galaxy is a grand-design spiral facing us nearly face-on?
- A. the Local Group
- B. Messier 87
- C. the Pinwheel Galaxy
- D. the Antennae Galaxies
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the Pinwheel Galaxy
Did you know? The Pinwheel Galaxy spans about twice the Moon's width.
37.Which star is the "Little Dog Star" of Canis Minor?
- A. Procyon
- B. Mira
- C. Pollux
- D. Betelgeuse
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Procyon
Did you know? Procyon rises shortly before Sirius in the evening.
38.Which star type is a neutron star with an extreme magnetic field?
- A. a Type Ia supernova
- B. a magnetar
- C. a white dwarf
- D. a binary star
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a magnetar
Did you know? Magnetar fields are quadrillions of times Earth's strength.
39.Which constellation is marked by the Great Square of autumn?
- A. Leo
- B. Lyra
- C. Pegasus
- D. Cygnus
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Pegasus
Did you know? One corner of Pegasus's square is shared with Andromeda.
40.Which star is the bright head of the Summer Triangle?
- A. Rigel
- B. Antares
- C. Aldebaran
- D. Altair
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Altair
Did you know? Altair spins so fast it is visibly flattened.
41.Which constellation winds between the Big and Little Dippers?
- A. Leo
- B. Ophiuchus
- C. Draco
- D. Virgo
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Draco
Did you know? Draco's tail coils around the north celestial pole.

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