Solar System

1. How many planets are there in our solar

8 planets
system?
2. Which planet has the hottest surface? Venus
3. How many planets have moons? 6
4. The asteroid belt lies between Mars and Jupiter
5. The largest asteroid discovered in the
Ceres
asteroid belt is,
6. Who first suggested the ‘passing star
hypothesis’ to describe the origin of the Louis de Buffon
solar system?
7. How old is our solar system 5 billion years
8. The average distance between the earth and
One astronomical unit
the sun is equal to,
9. Which planet contains Olympus Mons, the
Mars
largest volcano of the solar system?
10. Comets are belived
11. Oort cloud
12. to originate from,

Asteroid
1. What was the first asteroid discovered in
1801 and named after the Roman goddess of Ceres
harvest?
2. When a new asteroid is discovered, it is
The name chosen by the discoverer
named after,
3. When an asteroid is assigned a number in
front of its name, what additional Its orbit has been calculated
information does that provide?
4. In the asteroid belt, some areas are almost
Kirkwood's gaps
free of asteroids. These are known as,
5. The asteroids that cross the earth's orbit are
Apollo objects
known as,
6. What is the name given to the two asteroids
Trojan asteroids
groups sharing the Jupiter's orbit?
7. Collisions among asteroids will give rise to
an asteroid group sharing similar
Hirayama families
composition and orbits. What is the name
given to these asteroid groups?
Total mass of the asteroid belt is less than 20% of
8. The true statement regarding asteroids,
earth's moon
9. Asteroids which are made up of carbon-rich
C-type asteroids
material and have low albedos are called,
10. The origin of the asteroid belt is believed to
Remnants of planetesimals
have resulted from,
 Comet
1. The nucleus of a comet Has an irregular shape
2. How many spacecrafts flew by the nucleus of
comet Halley during 1985 – 1986 period, 5
when it visited the inner solar system?
3. The coma of a comet is, Can be larger than the diameter of the Sun
4. The dust tail of a comet, Often more curved than the gas tail
5. The gas tail of a comet, Has an emission spectrum
6. The TRUE statement about short-period
Comet Halley is an example
comets,
7. The comets are thought to origin from, Both Kuiper belt and Oort cloud
8. Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, Impacted on Jupiter
9. Giotto spacecraft was launched in 1985 to
study the nucleus of a comet. What was the Comet Halley
name of that comet?
10. Which of these comets was the brightest
Comet Ikeya-Seki (1965)
comet observed in recent history?

Moon
1. How old is the Moon? 4.6 billion years
2. The Moon's mass is about, 1/6 of Earth's mass
3. A person weighing 60kg on the Earth would
10 kg on the Moon
weight,
4. How long is the lunar day (from sunrise to
708 hours
the next sunrise)?
5. Which percent of the surface area of the
59 percent
Moon visible is to the Earth?
6. Which of these statements about the
Moon has no atmosphere
Moon's atmosphere are TRUE?
7. The surface layer of the Moon is called, Regolith
8. Compared to earthquakes, 'moonquakes', Are million times weaker
9. How many people have walked on the
12 astronauts
moon?
10. A lunar month (a complete cycle of phases
from new moon to the subsequent new
The Earth moves along its orbit
moon) is longer than the orbital period
because,

Planet Mercury
1. Correct statement about Planet Mercury The closest planet to the Sun
2. Planet mercury does not have Active volcanoes
3. Who discovered the slow rotation period of
Giovanni Schiaparelli
Planet Mercury?
4. Which of the following was used to discover
Arecibo radio telescope
Mercury's rotation period of 59 days?
5. When standing on the surface of Mercury,
176 Earth days
one solar day is equal to,
6. What is the CORRECT relationship between
Rotation = 2/3 orbital period
the Mercury's rotation and orbital periods?
7. Which of the following is NOT a feature Olympus Mons
 found on Mercury?
8. Which of these space missions was sent to
Messenger
Mercury?
9. What is the correct statement about
Next Mercury transit is expected on 2016
Mercury transits?
10. The WRONG statement about observing
Mercury does not show retrograde motion
Mercury

Planet Venus
1. Planet Venus Is the brightest planet in the night sky
2. Venus is different from Earth because Venus
No carbon cycle
has,
3. Which of the following is INCORRECT about
Has no water vapour
Venusian atmosphere?
4. Which of these statements DO NOT describe
Largest crater in the solar system
planet Venus?
5. Which of these features is found ONLY on
Both arachnoids and farra
Venus?
6. The WRONG statement about Venus All surface features are named after mythological
geography women
7. Which of these statements is CORRECT
No crater is found smaller than 3km in diameter
about Venusian craters?
8. Rain on planet Venus Composed of sulphuric acid
9. Which of these statements about Venus is
Escape velocity is 12.04 km/s
INCORRECT?
10. Which of these is the INORRECT statement
Rotational axis is tilted by 23°
about Venus?
11. The CORRECT statement about Venus
They occur as pairs separated by 8 years
transits.
12. The Magnetic field of planet Venus Not formed by an internal dynamo effect

Mars
1. Correct statement about planet Mars, Orbit is inside the asteroid belt
2. Mars is called the red planet. What causes
Iron oxide on its surface
this red colour on Mars?
3. Compared to earth, Mars does not have, A magnetic field
4. Which one of these is NOT a Martian moon? Mimas
5. Which statement is TRUE regarding water on
Polar ice caps are mostly made up of water ice
Mars?
6. Polar ice caps on Mars are A permanent surface feature
7. Which of these surface features is NOT
Cytherian Mountains
found on Mars?
8. The TRUE statement about Martian
Has a low atmospheric pressure
atmosphere
9. Which of these space missions to Mars was a
Mars Global Surveyor
success?
10. Which of these is INCORRECT regarding
Not visible to naked eye
observing planet Mars?
 Jupiter
1. Planet Jupiter Is larger than all other planets combined
2. Composition of Jupiter Closely resembles primordial solar nebula
3. Planet Jupiter Emits more energy than it receives from the sun
4. The WRONG statement about the Atmospheric turbulences are powered by energy from
atmosphere of Jupiter the sun
5. The Great Red Spot of Jupiter Rotates in the counter-clockwise direction
6. Which of these statements is TRUE about
Sometimes appear in white colour
the Great Red Spot?
7. The INCORRECT statement about Jovian
Does not cause auroras
magnetic field
8. Viewed from earth Jupiter appears brightest
Opposition
when it is in,
9. Which of these spacecrafts reached Jupiter,
but failed to take any photographs, because Ulysses
it had no camera installed?
10. The rings of Jupiter Are made of dust

Saturn
1. Planet Saturn is Sixth planet from the sun
2. Density of Saturn is Lesser than water
3. Which of these statements is FALSE? Saturn has a slow rotational period
4. How long does Saturn take to complete one
10,759 earth days
orbit around the sun?
5. Saturnian atmosphere Has wind speeds exceeding Jupiter
6. The Great White Spot Used to calculate rotational period of Saturn
7. Magnetic field of Saturn Is weaker than the Earth
8. Which of these is not a part of the ring
Kepler gap
system of Saturn?
9. Regarding moons of Saturn Some moons have ring systems of their own
10. Which of these spacecrafts was not sent
Pioneer 10
Saturn?

Uranus
1. Who discovered planet Uranus? William Herschel
2. Uranus was discovered while, Measuring the parallax of bright stars
3. The name 'Uranus' was suggested for this
J. E. Bode
planet by,
4. The orbital period of Uranus is, 84 years
5. The rotational period of Uranus is calculated
The rotation of its magnetic field
using,
6. What is the largest moon orbiting Uranus? Titania
7. Which compound in the atmosphere gives
Methane
Uranus its blue colour?
8. The magnetic field of Uranus is, Tilted to its rotational axis by 60°
9. How many natural satellites have been
27
discovered to orbit Uranus?
10. Which of these spacecrafts explored Uranus? Voyager 2
 Neptune
1. Planet Neptune is, Named after the Roman god of the sea
2. What was the first name to be suggested for
Janus
Neptune?
3. Which of these astronomers had observed
Neptune and recorded its position, but failed Galileo Galilei
to identify it as a planet?
4. The 'great dark spot' on Neptune was
Voyager 2
discovered by,
5. How long does it take for Neptune to
164 years
complete one orbit around the sun?
6. The number of moons orbiting Neptune is, 13
7. What is the largest moon orbiting Neptune? Triton
8. The ring system of Neptune was discovered
Voyager 2
by,
9. Neptune's rings are named after, Astronomers involved in the discovery of the planet
10. The magnetic field of Neptune is similar to
Uranus
that of,

Telescope
1. Who was the first astronomer to use an
Galileo Galilei
optical telescope?
2. The primary mirror or lens that gathers and
The objective
focuses light is called,
3. Catadioptic telescopes use, Both lenses and mirrors
4. The eye piece of the Galilean Telescope uses, A concave lens
5. What was Johannes Kepler's contribution to
The astronomical telescope
optical telescopes?
6. Who was the first to suggest a practical
design for a reflecting telescope, in the James Gregory
publication OpticaPromota?
7. Which of these improves the angular
Increasing the diameter of primary mirror or lens
resolution of a telescope?
The ratio between focal length and aperture of
8. What is the f-number of a telescope?
primary mirror/lens
9. The light gathering power of an optical
The square of the aperture
telescope is related to, 
10. Adaptive optics in optical telescopes is used, To reduce atmospheric distortion of light

Night Sky
1. What is the brightest star in the night sky? Sirius
2. What is the brightest planet in the night sky? Venus
3. How many constellations are there in the
88
skys?
4. What is the brightest star in the
Regulus
constellation Leo?
5. Name the three stars which make up the
Altair, Deneb, and Vega
summer triangle
6. The ‘big dipper’ is part of which
Ursa major
constellation?
7. In which constellation lies the andromeda
Andromeda
galaxy?
8. What name is used in observational
astronomy to describe galaxies, nebulae and Deep sky objects
star clusters?
9. Lunar eclipse always occurs, On a full moon day
10. Which of these is NOT visible to the naked
Planet Neptune
eye?

Solar Eclipses
1. What is the correct alignment during a solar
Sun, Moon, Earth
eclipse?
2. What is the maximum number of solar
eclipses that can occur during a calendar 5
year?
3. What is the minimum number of solar
eclipses that can occur during a calendar 2
year?
4. Total solar eclipses occur due to a unique
feature common to both the sun and the Same angular diameter
moon. What is this feature?
5. During a solar eclipse, an observer on the
Earth partially covered by moon's shadow
moon, looking at the earth would see,
6. Solar eclipses always occur on, New moon
7. What is the average duration of 'totality' in a
2 – 3 minutes
total solar eclipse?
8. In which type of solar eclipse can the
Total solar eclipse
'diamond ring' effect occur?
9. The same pattern of solar eclipses will
repeat every 18 years 11 days 8 hours. This Saros cycle
is known as the,
10. How often will the same solar eclipse occur
54 years and 1 month
at the same place on earth?

Lunar Eclipse
1. Lunar eclipses always occur during, Full moon
2. What is the maximum number of lunar
eclipses that can occur during a calendar 3
year?
3. A lunar eclipse results when, Moon passes through Earth's shadow
4. What is the correct alignment during a total
Sun, Earth, Moon
lunar eclipse?
5. The umbra of earth's shadow always points, Directly away from the sun
6. During a total lunar eclipse, an observer on
Moon turning into red colour
earth would see,
7. During a total lunar eclipse, an observer on
Brightly illuminated ring of earth's atmosphere
the moon would see
8. Which of these is TRUE regarding a
Moon shows no noticeable change in brightness
PENUMBRAL lunar eclipse?
9. The red colour visible during a lunar eclipse Dust in Earth's atmosphere
 is due to,
10. The duration of a lunar eclipses is, Longer than a solar eclipse

Sunspot
1. Sun spots appear in the, Photosphere
2. Who was the first astronomer to observe
Thomas Harriot
sunspots?
3. The average size of a sunspot is about, Twice the diameter of the earth
4. What is the average temperature of a
4200 K
sunspot?
5. Magnetic fields in a sunspot is, Stronger than the rest the sun
6. Which astronomer discovered that sunspots
Heinrich Schwabe
varies in a cycle of 11 years?
7. Early in a solar cycle, sunspots appear, Around middle latitudes
8. Which one of these statements is TRUE
Sunspots appear in pairs
about sunspots?
9. Maunder butterfly diagram shows, Sunspot latitude plotted against time
10. Which model explains the reversal of sun's
magnetic field from one solar cycle to Babcock model
another?

History of Astronomy
1. Ancient Greeks believed, the earth to be the
centre of the universe. What do we call this Geocentric universe
model?
2. Who first suggested that the earth rotated
Aristarchus
on its axis?
3. Ancient astronomers used 'epicycles' to
Retrograde motion
explain,
4. In the model proposed by Nicolaus
Copernicus', which object was at the centre Sun
of the universe?
5. Which of these statements is correct about
First to observe moons around jupiter
Galileo Galilei?
6. Tycho Brahe's biggest contribution to
Accurate observations of stars and planets
astronomy was,
7. Astronomer Johannes Kepler, Suggested elliptical orbits for planets
8. Ancient astronomers believed that the earth
No parallax was observed in the stars
did not move because,
9. Which of these evidences supported a
Phases of venus
Copernican model of the solar system?
10. Correct pairing of
astronomer/mathematician and their Nicolaus Copernicus – Heliocentric universe
contribution?

Astrobiology
1. Life on earth is based on, Carbon
2. Genetic information in cells are stored and
DNA
passed on to the next generation through,
3. Who was the famous scientists to conduct
an experiment to simulate the conditions of
primitive earth and demonstrate that amino Stanley Miller
acids, fatty acids and urea could be formed
in nature?
4. What are 'stromatolites'? Fossil structures made by bacteria
5. Apart from the earth, what is the most likely
Mars
place to find life in our solar system?
6. A planet orbiting a small star cannot harbour
The life zone is too close to the star
intelligent life because,
7. Planets around a binary star system is not
suitable for development of intelligent life Have unstable orbits
because the planets,
8. What is the definition of a life zone around a Temperature range in which water can exist in liquid
star? form
9. What is the equation used to estimate the
number of intelligent civilizations in our Drake equation
galaxy?
10. What is the name of the argument which
suggests that the universe is 'fine-tuned' to Anthropic principle
our existance?