Astronomy Q&A Game

[Nicool002]

[SOLVED] Astronomy Q&A Game

Hi guys! Most of you know how this works but for the newcomers:

The rules are this: someone will ask a question and if the question is not answered correctly within 3 days then a new question will be posted. If an answer to a question is posted and the person that posted the question does not respond to the answer within 2 to 3 days, then the first person to have answered the question will then be able to post their own question. HAVE FUN AND LEARN!

I will start:

Question: What is the brightest star in the Northern Sky? (excluding the sun)

 

[Sting]

I'm making an educated guess here:

Alpha Canis Majoris (Sirius)?


Techincally, I think Deneb is the "brightest" but only in absolute magnitude. It's so far away that it really doesn't make much of a difference since its apparent magnitude is not as bright as Sirius.

Hey it's only a guess.

 

[Phobos]

oh, man. I better lock this now before you guys swamp our server resources again.
-jk

 

[Nicool002]

haha *hurt look* us? Phobos why ever would you say that? hehe


Yes sting you are correct, your go.

 

[Sting]

My go? My turn to ask a question (I never participated in the original thread so I have no idea how this works)?

Okay, my question: What is the name of the large multiringed basin located on Mercury at a longitude of 180 degrees?

 

[Nicool002]

I believe that it is the Caloris Basin. Am I correct?

 

[Sting]

$#%^! I sure pick easy questions don't I?

Yes, you got it right. I guess, it's "your go"

 

[Nicool002]

I knew that from when I studied Astronomy for Science Olympiad (By the way guys I got a gold medal in Astronomy for the Competition )


Ok. True Or False

Do we havea supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy?

 

[Sting]

Shoot, that was quick...

Uhhh truefalse...

Actually, I don't know if it was ever "proven" but I'm going with "true"

 

[Nicool002]

Correct, it is true. On Discover, they lookd at something like 37 galaxies and in each one, they found a supermassive black hole. Then, they looked at our galaxy and guesss what they found... Oh wait, sting already said it.

 

[Sting]

Yippee!

Okay, I guess it's my turn:

What is the name given to the energy generation in which a stellar object initiates helium burning by the triple-alpha process?

 

[Nicool002]

OK I don't think I know this one but I'm going to go out on a limb and say the Nuclear Fusion that a star relies on to live... but I am not sure if that's right.

 

[Kerrie]

for how many years does pluto enter into neptune's orbit, and how many years does it take pluto to make one revolution around the sun?

no cheating...

 

[Nicool002]

Kerrie I'm going to answer your question but first The way I put it in the rules was that one question had to be answered before the next was asked that way you don't have a bunch of questions going on at once

Answer: Pluto takes 247 years that is the first answer. The second is... well I am not sure but I think it is around 100 years although that is basicaly just a guess.

 

[Sting]

OK I don't think I know this one but I'm going to go out on a limb and say the Nuclear Fusion that a star relies on to live... but I am not sure if that's right.

Generally, yes, but I was thinking more of a specific name but I'll give you a clue (two words)

 

[bogdan]

helium fusion...?

 

[damgo]

What is the 'helium flash'?

 

[Raavin]

how many years does it take pluto to make one revolution around the sun

Well if I was being tricky I would say exactly 1. Plutonian year that is

Raavin

 

[axeeonn]

Darn, I do believe damgo got it.

 

[RuroumiKenshin]

Originally posted by Raavin
Well if I was being tricky I would say exactly 1. Plutonian year that is

Raavin

It takes pluto 250 Earth years to make one revolution around the sun.

 

[Raavin]

I think Damgo got it too. The 'initiation' would seem to be the helium flash which continues into helium fusion. I think that's right, as the helium fuses to carbon 12, then you then have carbon flash and I assume you could have oxygen and neon flash but, for reasons that elude me, it would seem that it is naturally unlikely do to the changes/reduction in pressure until it gets to iron.

Raavin

 

[Sting]

Yep, he's right.

Helium flash was the answer I was looking for.

 

[damgo]

:) Hmm... okay, what does /\-CDM stand for, and what is it?

 

[jjalexand]

Can we have a normal Astronomy category

This may sound a bit sour but... now we are starting a new leaf, how about you starting a separate topic called "Astronomy Questions Game" so we can use the word "Astronomy" for a general topic of Astronomy without turning it into a sort of "Who wants to be a Millionaire" (an Aussie TV program :)

By the way, what happened to all the old posts, have they been classified due to the impending war or something?

[ome]

 

[bogdan]

...cold dark matter...
...cold dark matter is composed of objects massive enough to move at sub-relativistic velocities...

 

[cragwolf]

Originally posted by damgo
:) Hmm... okay, what does /\-CDM stand for, and what is it?

As the previous poster pointed out CDM stands for cold dark matter, but the /\ stands for the dark energy or cosmological constant. I couldn't begin to tell you what cold dark matter is or what dark energy is, because no one knows!

 

[bogdan]

I have turned to the darkside...
For I have tasted the truth...
(CEO Morgan's Recycling Tanks of Humour)

 

[damgo]

Yep, cragwolf got it... it's the cosmological model with large lamda, omega_matter mostly dark.

 

[Nicool003]

Well first off JJalexand were you on the old PF? and second off it's because this was the name on the old PF and I didn't want to change it and this thread IS about astronomy. I made it a game so it would be more fun.


(as you can see I had to change my name having login troubles seeing what we can do about it)

 

[cragwolf]

Originally posted by damgo
Yep, cragwolf got it... it's the cosmological model with large lamda, omega_matter mostly dark.

Hi damgo, can you award the prize to Bogdan, since he got most of the question right, and I'm feeling generous?

 

[Nicool003]

Well right now I don't know the answer to your question. I will try to find the answer but I can't really guarantee anything. Does anyone know the answer?

 

[bogdan]

What question ?[?]

 

[damgo]

sure...

 

[Nicool003]

I believe it is CragWolf's question now am I right? SO go ahead and ask away crag.

 

[cragwolf]

No, it's bogdan's question. Go ahead, bogdan, ask any astronomy question you like.