Celestial Challenge: Night Sky Trivia Game

1. Main Menu Shakedown! Instructions Play Game Quit Brought to you by the International Dark-Sky Association Picture Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech

2. How to Play Main Menu • General Rules: • You must have Microsoft PowerPoint and run it in slide show mode in order for this game to work properly • Break class into groups. Suggested group size is 5-6 students per group. • Group one will choose a difficulty level and point value. Click on that square to read the question. Group one will have approximately 30 seconds to discuss the question and attempt to answer it correctly. • If group one does not know the answer to the question, they can choose to pass it to group two. If group two answers the question correctly, they get the points added to their score. It then becomes group two’s normal turn to choose a question. If group two answers the question incorrectly, they receive no points and it becomes group three’s normal turn. • If group one chooses to answer the question, then click on the question to reveal the answer. If they answered the question correctly, they receive the points for the question and it is group two’s turn. If they answer the question incorrectly, they receive no points and it is group two’s turn. • If group two answers the question incorrectly, they get no points, and the turn moves to group three. • Continue in this pattern until all of the questions have been answered. Score board: Students can keep score on paper or on the board. As each group receives points, add them together. At the end, the group with the most points wins. There are three double-plays on the board. When these come up, students receive double points for getting the correct answer. PowerPoint does not keep track of which squares students have already picked. It is recommended to print slide three from PowerPoint before playing the game and cross off the squares as students choose them. See notes for printer instructions. Photo: International Dark-Sky Association

3. Shakedown! Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 50 150 250 350 600 100 200 300 400 700 150 250 350 450 800 200 300 400 500 900 250 350 500 600 1000 Main Menu Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

4. What planet is about the same size as Earth? Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

5. VENUS Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

6. Which planet is the biggest? Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

7. JUPITER Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

8. Which planet is the hottest in the solar system? Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

9. What is light pollution? Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

10. Bad outdoor lighting that causes a glow above a city, interferes with viewing the night sky and disrupts the environment Photo: International Dark-Sky Association

11. Which two planets are closest to Earth? Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

12. Venus and Mars Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

13. What is the coldest planet in the solar system? Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

14. PLUTO Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

15. What is the closest star to Earth? Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

16. The Sun Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

17. Which planets are made of gas? Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

18. SATURN JUPITER NEPTUNE URANUS Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

19. Which of the following • Is not affected by light pollution? • Birds • Insects • Amphibians • Reptiles • Humans • None of the above Double Points! Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

20. Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Photo: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Charles H. Smith F) None of the above. All are affected. Photo: International Dark-Sky Association

21. What planet has the biggest storm? How many of Earth’s diameters can fit inside? Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

22. Jupiter: 2 times Earth’s diameter Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

23. Which planet has a longer day than its year and how is this possible? Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

24. Venus: it takes longer for it to rotate around than it does for it to orbit all the way around the sun Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

25. How many moons does Mars have? Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

26. 2 Deimos Phobos Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

27. What is the first planet to be discovered by mathematics tather than observation? Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

28. NEPTUNE Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

29. Which planet rotates on its side? Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

30. URANUS Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

31. Which one causes light pollution? • Fully-shielded lighting • Excessive outdoor night lighting • Motion sensors on security lights • Turning off lights when not in use Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

32. B) Excessive outdoor night lighting Photo: International Dark-Sky Association

33. What is VallesMarinaris and how big is it? Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

34. Valles Marineris is the largest canyon in the solar system and is about 3,000 miles long Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

35. Light pollution negatively • Affects astronomy. How? • It keeps everyone from seeing the stars at night. • It’s hard to study the universe in telescopes • It makes it more expensive to study deep space • All of the above Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

36. D) All of the above Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

37. How many times have humans been to the moon? Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

38. 6 Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

39. What does ‘no atmosphere’ on Mercury mean? Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

40. No Wind No Rain No Erosion

41. Name two things that are unique to Pluto's orbit. Double Points! Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

42. 1) Pluto's orbit is very oval shaped 2) Pluto orbits with Kuiper belt objects 3) Pluto's orbit sometimes brings it closer to the sun than Neptune 4) Pluto's orbit is not in the same disk as the rest of the planets Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

43. How do plate tectonics affect the surface of Venus and Earth? Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

44. Mountains Volcanoes Tidal Waves Earthquakes Sea Trenches

45. Double Points! What is a shooting star? Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

46. A meteor falling to Earth Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

47. What is the Kuiper Belt? Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

48. An expanse of thousands of small objects orbiting the sun outside of the orbit of Pluto Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

49. Name two things you can do to protect the world from light pollution. Photo: NASA/JPL-Caltech

50. Use motion sensors • Use timers • Turn lights out when not in use • Use fully-shielded lights • Use energy efficient lights • Make sure lights aren’t too bright Photo: International Dark-Sky Association