Quiz

(Some Facts Figures, Questions, and Answers)

Surprises of the Solar System

Some of the facts and Figures from the Talk

If you came to “Surprises of the Solar System” at the HAS Public Night on 6 May 2026, you heard a lot of unusual and fascinating facts about our Solar System. Even though the talk covered a lot of ground, you may be surprised by how much you remember. But whether or not you were there, try the quiz below - it’s a fun way to test your knowledge of more unusual Solar System facts.

You will need to record your answers separately (we dont record your answers). You can find answers at the end.  If you want to keep your score, for anyone who may be new to these facts about the Solar System, a score of 1 or higher is good! Learning any new fact is a bonus. 

More infomation from the talk is below the answers.



QUIZ QUESTIONS

Q1. What is the most volcanic body in the Solar System?
Q2. What is the densest moon in the Solar System?
Q3. The Death Star moon! What is its real name?
Q4. What planet does the above moon orbit?
Q5. When heavier and lighter materials separate into different layers (for example an iron core surrounded by a rocky mantle), we call this diff _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ion?
Q6. Europa (one of Jupiter’s many moons) has an induced magnetic field. What does this indicate?
Q7. The moon below has geysers erupting from its south pole. It orbits Saturn. Which moon is it?
a. Titan
b. Enceladus
c. Rhea
d. Tethys

Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute (Cassini)

Q8. Three of Jupiter's moons orbit Jupiter in a 4:2:1 resonance. Io is one of these moons. What are the other two?
Q9. Name a moon of Uranus.
Q10. Which of these two moons is only partially differentiated?

ANSWERS

Q1. What colour is our Sun? White
Q2. Our Solar System is named as such because another name for the Sun is… Sol
Q3. Modern estimates of the number of stars in the Milky Way Galaxy… d. 200 to 400 billion
Q4. Two large natural objects in the Solar System that have sodium tails are Mercury and the Moon
Q5. As at May 2026: The confirmed dwarf planets are: Ceres Eris Haumea Makemake Pluto The candidates are Gonggong Ixion Orcus Quaoar Salacia Sedna
Q6. For every 3 orbits Neptune completes around the Sun, Pluto completes Two (a 2:3 orbital resonance)
Q7. Other objects in the 2:3 resonance (also written 3:2 when Neptune is involved) have the general name… Plutinos
Q8. There are about 100 objects that orbit the Sun once for every two orbits of Neptune (a 1:2 resonance). These are called… Twotinos
Q9. The only planet discovered from the USA was Pluto (which is now classified as a dwarf planet)
Q10. As at May 2026, Jupiter has 115 identified moons. Saturn has 292 identified moons to date.
Q11. The four largest planets have rings. As at May 2026, there are four other objects with rings. Chariklo, Chiron, Haumea, and Quaoar
Q12. It is TRUE that comets typically have more than one tail. TRUE
Q13. Asteroid "2002VE68" is often called Zoozve because 2 written badly can look like the letter Z, and 0 can look like the letter o. Zoozve
Q14. 2002VE68 ("Zoozve") is known as a quasimoon
Q15. In the clouds of Venus, between about 55 km and 80 km above the surface… The temperature is a bit cooler - between 30 and 70 degrees celsius The air pressure there is about the same as that on Earth's surface c (both a and b are true)