Our Sun has been the nourisher of life on the 3rd rock from it, the Earth in a quaint corner of the Milky Way. Sun’s light, heat, gravitational pull, the magnetic hold have all been in the just the right proportions for life to take root on the Earth. Here’s the ultimate astronomy quiz on our very own Sun – also the nearest star to us.
- What is the fuel that powers the Sun?
- What process produces the enormous amount of energy in the Sun?
- As per Indian mythology, who is the Sun god?
- What is the surface temperature of the Sun?
- How old is the Sun approximately?
- What is the gaseous halo around the Sun visible during an eclipse called?
- Which NASA spacecraft had an orbit around the Sun that allowed it to “touch” the Sun’s surface?
- What is the outer shell of the Sun from which light is radiated?
- What is the name given to tongues of fire that leap out of the Sun’s surface and stretch outward for several thousand kilometers and loop back to the Sun?
- What Indian spacecraft is being planned for a late 2022 launch to study the Sun?
- By what name do we know the dark spots on the Sun’s surface which are relatively cooler than the surrounding areas?
- What is the name given to the distance between the Sun and the Earth?
- When does a Solar Eclipse occur on Earth?
- What was the first astronomer to propose that the Sun and not Earth is the center of the known Universe during his time?
- How will the Sun end its life?
- What day of the week derives its name from the Sun?
- How long does it take for Sun’s light to reach Earth?
- What is the name given to the ejection of particles from the Sun that travel across the Solar System?
- What rays of the Sun have antiseptic properties?
- What is unique about Sun’s shape?
Bonus Question on the Sun
What are the 12 names given by Indian astrologers to the Sun?
Answers to the quiz on Sun
- Hydrogen gas
- Nuclear Fusion – The conversion of hydrogen into helium by fusing hydrogen atoms together under enormous pressure and temperature.
- Surya – He is pictured as a deity who ascends the sky on his 7 horse chariot driven by the charioteer Aruna (Dawn)
- About 5000-6000 degrees Kelvin
- 4.6 billion years old. He will continue to burn for another equal number of years.
- Corona – derived from the word ‘crown’
- Parker Solar probe – The Parker Solar Probe is the first spacecraft to fly into the low solar corona.
- Photosphere
- Solar Prominences
- Aditya – L1
- Sunspots that intensify once in 11 years
- Astronomical Unit (AU) – 1 AU is approximately equal to 150 million kilometers
- When the Moon comes between the Sun and the Earth
- Nicholas Copernicus, a Polish astronomer – His theory called the ‘Heliocentric Theory’ was supported by Galileo Galilei after he observed Jupiter and its four main satellites
- Sun will puff up its outer layers to become a Red Giant before it eventually loses its outer layers and turn into a White Dwarf.
- Sunday
- 8 minutes and 19 seconds
- Solar winds
- UV rays – Ultraviolet rays
- Sun is almost a perfect sphere – The difference between the radius at the Equator and the Poles is less than 10 kilometers.
Answer to Bonus Question on Sun
- Mitra (The Friend),
- Ravi (The Radiant),
- Surya (Giver of Beauty),
- Bhanu (Lusture provider),
- Khaga (Awesome),
- Pushna (Nourisher),
- Hiranya Garba (The All-Inclusive),
- Marica (Destroyer of Darkness),
- Aditya (Illuminator of the Way),
- Savitra (The Arouser),
- Arka (Flash of Warmth)
- Bhaskara (Liberator);
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