Cosmic Clues: Teenage Space Challenge

Test your cosmic smarts with puzzles on planets, stars, and space history—perfect for sharp teens craving a challenge.

  1. Which planet has the highest day-side temperature despite not being the closest to the Sun?
    1. Mars
    2. Mercury
    3. Venus
    4. Jupiter
  2. What is the primary process that powers stars like the Sun?
    1. Fission
    2. CNO cycle
    3. R-process
    4. Proton–proton
  3. Which force prevents a neutron star from collapsing further into a black hole (before exceeding its limit)?
    1. Thermal pressure
    2. Electron degeneracy
    3. Radiation pressure
    4. Neutron degeneracy
  4. What phenomenon causes a galaxy's spectral lines to shift toward longer wavelengths when it's receding?
    1. Gravitational lensing
    2. Blueshift
    3. Doppler brightening
    4. Redshift
  5. Which region around a black hole marks the boundary beyond which nothing can escape?
    1. Accretion disk
    2. Photon sphere
    3. Event horizon
    4. Ergosphere
  6. What term describes planets that orbit stars outside our Solar System?
    1. Dwarf planets
    2. Exoplanets
    3. Rogue planets
    4. Comets
  7. Which measurement unit is commonly used to express astronomical distances within our galaxy?
    1. Light-year
    2. Astronomical unit
    3. Parsec-second
    4. Kilometer

Answers and explanations

  1. Question: Which planet has the highest day-side temperature despite not being the closest to the Sun?
    Answer: Venus
    Explanation: Venus's dense CO2 atmosphere creates an extreme greenhouse effect that traps heat, making its surface hotter than Mercury's; fun fact: surface temperatures exceed melting point of lead.
  2. Question: What is the primary process that powers stars like the Sun?
    Answer: Proton–proton
    Explanation: In Sun-like stars, the proton–proton chain fuses hydrogen into helium, releasing energy; fun fact: the Sun converts about 4 million tons of mass into energy every second.
  3. Question: Which force prevents a neutron star from collapsing further into a black hole (before exceeding its limit)?
    Answer: Neutron degeneracy
    Explanation: Neutron degeneracy pressure, arising from the Pauli exclusion principle for neutrons, supports the star until mass exceeds the Tolman–Oppenheimer–Volkoff limit; fun fact: above that limit it likely becomes a black hole.
  4. Question: What phenomenon causes a galaxy's spectral lines to shift toward longer wavelengths when it's receding?
    Answer: Redshift
    Explanation: Cosmological redshift stretches light due to universe expansion, shifting spectra toward red; fun fact: the greater the redshift, the farther and older the object appears.
  5. Question: Which region around a black hole marks the boundary beyond which nothing can escape?
    Answer: Event horizon
    Explanation: The event horizon is the point of no return where escape velocity exceeds light speed; fun fact: it has no observable surface—information loss puzzles physicists.
  6. Question: What term describes planets that orbit stars outside our Solar System?
    Answer: Exoplanets
    Explanation: Exoplanets are planets around other stars; fun fact: over 5,000 confirmed exoplanets exist with diverse types like hot Jupiters and super-Earths.
  7. Question: Which measurement unit is commonly used to express astronomical distances within our galaxy?
    Answer: Light-year
    Explanation: A light-year is the distance light travels in one year and is handy for galactic scales; fun fact: the nearest star, Proxima Centauri, is about 4.24 light-years away.