Q 01/05

How many modern constellations does the IAU recognise, with Orion among them?

A) 9

B) 28

C) 88

D) 270

Answer · why

C) 88

88. The International Astronomical Union settled the list at its first assembly, in Rome in 1922, after astronomers' additions had pushed some star at...

Q 02/05

During which season is Orion most prominent in Northern Hemisphere evening skies?

A) Spring

B) Autumn

C) Summer

D) Winter

Answer · why

D) Winter

Winter. South of the equator the same stars are a summer sight and the hunter stands on his head, and from May to July he is up only by day and so can...

Q 03/05

Which 2nd-century astronomer included Orion among his 48 constellations?

A) Eratosthenes

B) Aristarchus

C) Ptolemy

D) Hipparchus

Answer · why

C) Ptolemy

Ptolemy. His star catalogue, written around AD 150, stayed the standard for more than 1,400 years, until Tycho Brahe measured the sky afresh at the en...

Q 04/05

Which red supergiant marks Orion's right shoulder?

A) Mintaka

B) Arcturus

C) Antares

D) Betelgeuse

Answer · why

D) Betelgeuse

Betelgeuse. Say it aloud and you have 'Beetlejuice': the star's name gave Tim Burton's 1988 film its title and its ghost his name.

Q 05/05

NASA's Orion capsule carried astronauts around the Moon in 2026 in a programme named after which goddess?

A) Artemis

B) Athena

C) Hera

D) Aphrodite

Answer · why

A) Artemis

Artemis. In one telling she loved the hunter Orion and shot him by mistake when her brother Apollo dared her to hit a speck far out at sea; grieving, ...