TheSkySearchers

Yep, time for another quiz!
https://forms.gle/ThkD9uK2QtXTgKKA8

This month our guest Quizmaster is Pat Donnelly, who for many years has done a quiz at the Fremont Peak Star-B-Que, which inspired me to begin doing them for my club. Since there was no Star-B-Que this year, I invited him to send some questions. When taking this quiz, you should pretend to be sitting at a picnic table, munching a burger.

I think you’ll find this one rather challenging.. I did!
Note: all fill-in answers are one word only, or in one case an integer (whole number).
In line with Pat’s practice, correct spelling does not matter. (I will adjust scores for misspelled answers.)

Remember:
1. No online research allowed, your own pure brain only!
2. On multiple choice questions, feel free to guess. You may get lucky!
3. Please do not repeat the quiz, at least not until after I announce the Champs sometime next week.

By the way, the quiz header image is the Fremont Peak Observatory.

Enjoy!

I got 10/20…..

11/20. Which is way better than I thought I did!

Got 7, oh the shame! But missed the hint on the observatory location, and a math error on the trick question.

Too tuff!
Steve

12/20 ....

I did not do very well, but it was a good one. I liked it.

BABO

BTW, I find it strange that you can always see Altair but you can't always see Pollux... DEC is +28 Altair is +08 So are we talking about some trees that block the view or what ???

BABO

7/20!

Regards

Graeme

515bonner wrote: ↑Fri Oct 16, 2020 1:54 am12/20 ....

That should have been 11/20....fat fingers on the keyboard! :sigh:

BABOafrica wrote: ↑Sat Oct 17, 2020 3:58 am BTW, I find it strange that you can always see Altair but you can't always see Pollux... DEC is +28 Altair is +08 So are we talking about some trees that block the view or what ???

BABO

My thinking is that Pollux is near the ecliptic, so it's below the horizon at night during the Summer months

A spelling mistake dropped me a point, but considering the tough nature of the quiz I'm fairly happy with 9/20

Oh, it looks like i'll get that point reinstated, thanks!

Gfamily wrote: ↑Sat Oct 17, 2020 2:40 pm

BABOafrica wrote: ↑Sat Oct 17, 2020 3:58 am BTW, I find it strange that you can always see Altair but you can't always see Pollux... DEC is +28 Altair is +08 So are we talking about some trees that block the view or what ???

BABO

My thinking is that Pollux is near the ecliptic, so it's below the horizon at night during the Summer months

A spelling mistake dropped me a point, but considering the tough nature of the quiz I'm fairly happy with 9/20

Oh, it looks like i'll get that point reinstated, thanks!

I got that question right but it was purely a guess...

Wow - I am REALLY bad at these. Like - REALLY.

5/20

That's just embarrassing!

Last call for responses!
https://forms.gle/ThkD9uK2QtXTgKKA8

Tomorrow I plan to reveal all, and announce the Champ!

(By the way, haven't heard yet from our defending Champion, Lady Fraktor. Somebody wake her up!

Whoa!

Bob was a really good guesser on this one --- 14/20.

Thanks for participating guys! Total of 15 responses this month.

The 15 questions scored 20 points.
Overall average score: 9.87 points = 49.4%

You guys are good... that is a MUCH higher average than my astronomy club!

The honorable mentions:
One scored 14 points = 70%
Bob
Bravo!

One scored 15 points = 75%
DAS
Bravo, Bravo!

And now.. (drum roll please) here is your Champion!
One scored 20 points = 100%
KT4HX
Way to go, Alan! I wouldn't have thought anyone could ace this one.

As for me, I scored 12 points. Since it was Pat's quiz, I got to compete with my own customers

===
Answers, stats, comments…

1. The globular cluster M79 is located in which constellation? (1)
Lepus, 9/15 correct. An unusual place for a globular, on the opposite side from the Galactic Center.

2. Of the twenty (20) brightest stars in the sky, which one is the farthest from the Sun? (1)
Deneb, 10/15 correct. Estimated to be about 2,600 light years away.

3. Of the four natural states of matter, which is the most plentiful in our Solar System? (1)
Plasma, 10/15 correct. Plasma is what makes up the sun.

4. Which of Saturn’s moons is responsible for Cassini’s Division? (1)
Mimas, 5/15 correct. Surprised me… thought it would be a moon within the gap, like Pan within Encke’s Division.

5. Which of these spacecraft did NOT visit Jupiter? (1)
Mariner 10, 12/15 correct. Apparently the easiest question, but I missed it.

6. Which day of the week belongs to Venus? (1)
Friday, 4/15 correct. I would have gotten this had I remembered my days of the week in Spanish.

7. Which is the brightest globular cluster in the Messier Catalog? (1)
M22, 7/15 correct. Many answered M13, which may appear brighter because it gets much higher in the sky from our latitude.

8. “Galocs” are a type of: (1)
Eyepiece, 4/15 correct. No, not overshoes, nor galactic locusts.

9. Which one of these animals is NOT a constellation visible from the Fremont Peak Observatory? (1)
Camel, 7/15 correct. Tricky… you might think Camelopardalis is a camel, but no, it’s a giraffe.

10. In which constellation is the “False Comet”? (1)
Scorpius, 4/15 correct. The head of the “comet” is NGC 6231, very low in the sky from our latitude.

11. What is the angle in degrees between the Ecliptic Plane and the Earth’s rotational axis? (integer number only) (2)
66 or 67, 5/15 correct. Most answered 23, which is the angle between the Ecliptic Plane and Earth’s equator.

12. Which one of these bright stars is NOT visible for at least part of every clear night from the Fremont Peak Observatory? (2)
Pollux, 7/15 correct. Pollux is the star closest to the Ecliptic. Many (including me) answered Altair.

13. If one could travel to Alpha Centauri (RA 14h 40m, Dec -60.7°), in which constellation would the Sun be located? (2)
Cassiopeia, 12/15 correct. I really liked this question, as did others. Fun to imagine the 0.5 magnitude Sun among the familiar starry W.

14. Which of these first magnitude stars is NOT a member of a multiple star system? (2)
Vega, 4/15 correct.

15. What is the Bayer designation of the brightest star in Capricornus? (spelled out Greek letter) (2)
Delta, 5/15 correct. Apparent magnitude 2.81.

16. Optional comments..
Yikes!
Fun!
That was hard!

See ya next month!

Wow Alan, congrats.

Great job Alan [mention]kt4hx[/mention] !

Just goes to show I am full of odd and in some cases useless information! While I might forget to zip my pants once in a while I know that Friday is the day of Venus.

It's interesting that if you know the Spanish names for the days of the week, you'll know which planet is associated with that day!

JT

Hey Raymond (@Raymondhow any chance of posting a new quiz? I know there was an EAS quiz that you ran recently. Cheers and Happy Holidays!