50 free Neil DeGrasse Tyson trivia questions with answers — science & nature quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Neil deGrasse Tyson is probably the most recognisable scientist alive: director of the Hayden Planetarium since 1996, host of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, creator of the StarTalk podcast and the astrophysicist who cheerfully took the blame for Pluto's demotion. This quiz follows his whole story, from the Bronx High School of Science and a teenage eclipse cruise with Neil Armstrong and Isaac Asimov, through Harvard, Texas and Columbia, to the $210 million rebuild of the planetarium and a shelf of bestselling books. Easy questions cover the planetarium, Cosmos and Pluto. Harder ones ask about the pen name he used in StarDate magazine, the star he picked as Krypton's sun for DC Comics, the term he coined for the Manhattan sunset alignment, the moon his daughter is named after, the frog that carries his name and the rapper's album on which he plays God. Every answer was checked against the Wikipedia biography, and each question carries the sentence that backs it up. Good for science teachers, StarTalk listeners and pub quiz hosts who want a Tyson round that goes deeper than "he's the Cosmos guy". If you enjoy this, try our Astronomy and Famous Physicists quizzes next.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What is Neil deGrasse Tyson's scientific field?
Astrophysics
He has spent his research career on cosmology, stellar evolution and galactic bulges.
Q 02Which New York institution did Tyson become director of in 1996?
The Hayden Planetarium
It sits inside the Rose Center for Earth and Space on Manhattan's Upper West Side.
Q 03Which 2014 documentary series did Tyson host as a successor to a beloved 1980 PBS original?
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey
Thirteen episodes aired in the first season, and Tyson said he would hand the hosting job to someone else if a second were made.
Q 04What is the name of the weekly podcast Tyson began hosting in 2009?
StarTalk
It began as a syndicated Sunday-afternoon radio show that lasted just thirteen weeks before being revived.
Q 05In which New York City borough did Tyson grow up?
The Bronx
He lived first in Castle Hill and later in Riverdale, and attended public schools throughout.
Q 06Which specialised public institution did Tyson graduate from in 1976, as captain of the wrestling team?
The Bronx High School of Science
He was also editor-in-chief of the school's Physical Science Journal.
Q 07At what age did Neil deGrasse Tyson's interest in astronomy begin, after visiting the Hayden Planetarium?
Nine
He later said the imprint of that night sky was so strong that "the universe called me."
Q 08Which famous astronomer personally tried to recruit the teenage Tyson to Cornell University?
Carl Sagan
Sagan invited the 17-year-old to spend a day in Ithaca and offered him a bed for the night if his bus home did not come.
Q 09Where did Tyson earn his bachelor's degree in physics in 1980?
Harvard
He turned down Sagan's Cornell and lived in Currier House, rowing as a freshman before returning to wrestling.
Q 10Where did Tyson's first doctoral committee dissolve, ending his PhD attempt there?
University of Texas at Austin
By his own account he spent too little time in the lab; he finished a doctorate elsewhere in 1991.
Q 11From which university did Tyson receive his PhD in 1991?
Columbia
His advisor R. Michael Rich secured NASA funding that let him observe from Chile and hire students for data reduction.
Q 12Roughly how much did the planetarium reconstruction project Tyson oversaw cost?
$210 million
The rebuild was completed in 2000 and produced the glass-cube Rose Center that now houses the planetarium.
Q 13Which magazine carried Tyson's monthly "Universe" column from 1995 to 2005?
Natural History
Some of those essays were later collected in his 2007 book Death by Black Hole.
Q 21What was the title of the 2020 follow-up season that Tyson hosted?
Cosmos: Possible Worlds
Its premiere had been delayed from March 2019 while networks investigated misconduct allegations against him.
Q 22Which network launched Tyson's late-night celebrity talk show in April 2015?
National Geographic
On it he interviews pop-culture celebrities about their experiences with science.
Q 23Which word came closest to describing his stance on religion, Tyson told Big Think?
Agnostic
He complained that atheists kept editing his Wikipedia page to claim him, so he re-worded it himself.
Q 14Under what pen name did Tyson answer readers' questions in StarDate magazine?
Merlin
The column became the books Merlin's Tour of the Universe and Just Visiting This Planet.
Q 15What did Tyson name the days when the setting sun aligns with Manhattan's street grid?
Manhattanhenge
He coined it in 1996, inspired by the sun's solstice alignment with Stonehenge, and popularised it in a 2002 column.
Q 16Which president appointed Tyson to the 2001 aerospace and 2004 "Moon, Mars, and Beyond" commissions?
George W. Bush
Soon afterwards he received the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, the agency's highest civilian honour.
Q 17Which PBS programme did Tyson host from 2006 to 2011?
NOVA ScienceNow
He had earlier hosted the four-part Origins miniseries for Nova in 2004.
Q 18Which body's demotion is Tyson widely blamed for, his planetarium exhibits refusing to call it the ninth planet?
Pluto
He says the decision brought him large amounts of hate mail, much of it from children.
Q 19In what year did the IAU formally demote the object Tyson's exhibits had already refused to count as a planet?
2006
Tyson later told the whole saga in a 2009 book subtitled The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet.
Q 20Which comedian co-hosted Tyson's original 2009 radio talk show?
Lynne Koplitz
The show ran thirteen weeks, then returned in December 2010 with Chuck Nice and Leighann Lord as co-hosts.
Q 24What academic discipline did Tyson call "useless" on a 2014 Nerdist Podcast episode, drawing criticism?
Philosophy
Philosopher Massimo Pigliucci publicly took him to task for dismissing it.
Q 25How much of each U.S. tax dollar did Tyson tell the Senate that NASA's budget represents?
Half a penny
The remark inspired the Penny4NASA campaign, which asks for the budget to be doubled to one percent.
Q 26Which host jokingly called Tyson "an absolute monster" in the book I Am America (And So Can You!)?
Stephen Colbert
Tyson was a regular guest on The Colbert Report throughout its run.
Q 27Which 2008 documentary included footage Tyson filmed near the World Trade Center on 9/11?
102 Minutes That Changed America
He lived near the towers and wrote a widely circulated letter describing what he saw that day.
Q 28In which sci-fi series did Tyson appear as himself alongside Bill Nye in the episode "Brain Storm"?
Stargate Atlantis
He also turned up as himself in The Big Bang Theory episode "The Apology Insufficiency".
Q 29Which real star did Tyson select for DC Comics as the sun that Superman's home planet Krypton orbited?
LHS 2520
He chose it in the constellation Corvus, the Crow, because the crow is the mascot of Smallville High School.
Q 30In which 2016 superhero film did Tyson make a minor appearance as himself?
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
It followed his 2013 turn in Action Comics #14, where he helped locate Krypton.