Q 01/05

Mars looks red because its dust and rocks are coated in what?

A) Copper

B) Rust

C) Red clay

D) Soot

Answer · why

B) Rust

Rust: iron in Martian rock and dust has oxidised, yet that same fine dust scatters light so that sunsets on Mars glow blue.

Q 02/05

The five planets visible to the naked eye are named after gods from which mythology?

A) Norse

B) Roman

C) Egyptian

D) Aztec

Answer · why

B) Roman

Roman: when Uranus was discovered, Johann Bode broke the pattern and named it after the Greek god of the sky.

Q 03/05

Whose planetarium left out Pluto in 2000?

A) Stephen Hawking

B) Neil deGrasse Tyson

C) Michio Kaku

D) Lawrence Krauss

Answer · why

B) Neil deGrasse Tyson

Neil deGrasse Tyson: his Hayden Planetarium set Pluto apart from the planets years before astronomers demoted it, drawing angry letters from children ...

Q 04/05

In French and Spanish, which day of the week is named after Mercury?

A) Tuesday

B) Wednesday

C) Thursday

D) Friday

Answer · why

B) Wednesday

Wednesday: French mercredi and Spanish miércoles both mean 'Mercury's day', but English swapped in Woden, a Germanic god equated with Mercury.

Q 05/05

The word 'planet' comes from a Greek word meaning what?

A) Wanderer

B) Giant

C) Watcher

D) Guardian

Answer · why

A) Wanderer

Wanderer: ancient skywatchers saw planets drift from night to night against the fixed stars, so the Greeks called them wanderers.