Q 01/05

Which Hindu festival celebrates the arrival of spring?

A) Holi

B) Diwali

C) Onam

D) Pongal

Answer · why

A) Holi

Holi's eve is marked with bonfires recalling a legend in which Holika tried to burn young Prahlad alive, only to perish herself while he was unharmed.

Q 02/05

By roughly how much is Earth's axis tilted relative to its orbital plane?

A) 23.4°

B) 28.7°

C) 33.1°

D) 45°

Answer · why

A) 23.4°

Earth's obliquity is about 23.4°; it wobbles between 22.1° and 24.5° over a 41,000-year cycle, one of the Milankovitch cycles that pace ice ages.

Q 03/05

What is Earth's closest point to the Sun in its orbit called?

A) Perihelion

B) Aphelion

C) Perigee

D) Apogee

Answer · why

A) Perihelion

Perihelion falls in early January, during northern winter, so the Sun's distance is not what drives the seasons.

Q 04/05

Which seabird flies from the far north to the far south and back each year, seeing two summers?

A) Arctic tern

B) Atlantic puffin

C) Wandering albatross

D) Herring gull

Answer · why

A) Arctic tern

The Arctic tern meanders across the oceans instead of flying straight, so one year's round trip can cover tens of thousands of kilometres.

Q 05/05

The word 'solstice' comes from Latin words meaning what?

A) Sun and circle

B) Sun and stand still

C) Longest and day

D) Light and turning

Answer · why

B) Sun and stand still

Sun and stand still are the meanings of sol and sistere, because at a solstice the Sun's daily path reaches its limit and seems to pause before revers...