Variable star Quiz

The brightness of a star can change with time. When observing from earth, the flickering of stars is due to minor turbulence in the earth's atmosphere. But when measured more accurately, many stars show a degree of variability in their brightness. There are many different types of variable stars.
The two main types of variable stars are,
                                          1. Intrinsic variable stars
                                          2. Extrinsic variable stars.
Intrinsic variable stars change their brightness due to changes in the properties of that star, while the mechanism of an extrinsic variable star involves an object outside the star.

If you are confident about your knowledge in variable stars, try this Variable star Quiz.

Organizing a Quiz 4: Participants

So you have organized a quiz, and ready to have the participants. Like in any other quiz, it's important to invite them early, with time to get ready. This will help the quiz, since prepared teams will make an interesting competition. It will also improve the number of teams turning up for the event.

Send a letter with clear instructions detailing the format, time, venue of the quiz and any special details which you might think helpful. Include contact details in case they need further clarifications.

It is important to help them quiz teams perform their best in the quiz. Do guide them on the day of the quiz and assign few persons to attend to the quiz teams.

Scale of the planets

This is an animation done to help understand the scale of the solar system. We often have misguided ideas about the true sizes of the planets. People often tend to think that they are more or less the same size. Hope the animation is educational.

Binocular Basics

While telescope are a the popular choice, binoculars are more suited if you are a beginner. Also their comparatively wider viewing angles make them better tools to view deep sky objects. It is important to know how to select a binocular and what all the numbers mean. When you say a binocular of 10 x 50, it means a binocular has aperture of 50mm and a magnification of 10 and a exit pupil of 5. To learn the binocular basics, read this article, binocular basics

Organizing a Quiz 3: Making questions

Questions are without a doubt the most important component in a quiz. They can mean the difference between a good and a bad quiz. Good questions doesn't always have to be difficult questions. But they are too easy, then everyone will get them right, creating problems to the organizers.

How do you make good questions? Unfortunately there are no proven way. Since the audience, competitors and the levels of quizzes varies remarkably, it is difficult to give a standard method suitable for all types of quizzes. Let us check the different types of questions first,

Mercury Quiz

The mercury Quiz at the AstronomyQuiz.info website is a multiple choice quiz and is ideal if you are getting ready for a quiz. The questions are based on different topics related to the planet. The structure, magnetic field, surface features, planetary motion, observations and space missions are all covered in this quiz. It can be used as a trigger to learn about mercury. Do the quiz first and then read about the planet, so you will be more focused to the important facts about the planet.
Take the quiz now! Mercury Quiz

Vote for your favourite planet

We all have our favourites. So which planet is closest to your heart in our solar system? Is it the mighty Jupiter which is larger than all other planets put together. Or is it Mars, the red planet with so much mystery. Saturn with it's graceful rings maybe your choice. Or you might prefer your own world, the planet earth.

Update!

The Poll is now closed. But you are free to try some Quizzes on Planets. Choose your favourite planet and start the quiz

• Mercury
• Venus
• Mars
• Jupiter
• Saturn
• Uranus
• Neptune

Good Luck!

Milky Way Quiz

Milky Way galaxy is our home. The galaxy we know most about. If you think you know enough about it, then try this quiz. It's in multiple choice format and with just three choices to choose from, you can get lucky with your answers. At the end of the quiz, you can calculate your score. Don't forget to leave feedback!
Take the quiz

Orbital motions of the inner planets

This is an animation i created in flash to show the orbital motions of the inner planets. The orbital speeds are according to proportion. The diameters have been exaggerated to improve clarity. Hope you enjoy it. More animations can be found, with sinhala text at my youtube. www.youtube.com/user/astronomyquiz

Organizing a Quiz 2: Deciding on the Format

There are several types of quizzes. The table quiz seems to be the most popular among schools. Each one of the formats have their advantages and drawbacks.

Table Quizzes comprise of many teams sitting together with each team occupying 'a table'. They will answer a common set of questions. Since all will answer the same questions, there is no disparity between easy and difficult questions. Everyone will get an equal opportunity. It is easy on the organizers of the quiz, since less

Organizing a Quiz 1: Finding a Name

While there are many astronomy quizzes, only few will stand out. One simple difference lies in the name itself. When you have a lot of  generic 'astronomy quizzes' it's difficult to identify your one against the many others.
When I was involved in designing the astronomy quiz in Anandian Astronomical Association, we wanted to differ from others. There were quite a few astronomy quizzes but we got permission to get the Sir Arthur C Clarke's name, simply because we thought differently. Many would have thought it might get rejected, but no one has tried.

Space exploration: getting the facts right

Questions on space explorations are nothing less than general knowledge type questions. You need to remember the facts to answer most of the questions. But a general understanding of astronomy can narrow down your options, which itself can lead you to the answer. Familiarize yourself with different space missions in different times of the year. Some are more significant than the others. Some missions failed which some made breakthroughs in science.


If you think you have mastered enough about space missions, then try this,
Space Exploration Quiz

Questions on the solar system

Solar system and planets will be featured in any astronomy quiz competition. So it is important to know them well. You will appreciate that if you know something about the formation and evolution of the individual planets, then most questions are easy. Questions on names, like the surface features, can only be memorized. Also try to find out who comes top in the lists. For instance the largest volcano, hottest planet, brightest planet etc.

Follow these links of you want to practice planet quizzes

• Mercury Quiz
• Venus Quiz
• Mars Quiz
• Jupiter Quiz
• Saturn Quiz

'Show and tell' type of questions

In a quiz competition you might be asked to identify certain images related to astronomy. Telescopes are a tempting for anyone making a quiz. So try to identify the most famous telescopes and why they are significant. Sometimes you get a easily identifiable image, with a question you are not very familiar.