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Bing Space Quiz: 15 Questions on Planets, Stars and Space Missions
Night-sky photos, eclipses, rocket launches and Moon landings are regular subjects on the Bing homepage. This space quiz has 15 questions on the planets, the Sun, stars, galaxies and the missions that explored them.
Every answer includes a short explanation. For more lunar trivia, play our Moon Quiz.
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Pick A, B or C for each question. The right answer turns green and a short fact explains it.
All 15 questions and answers
Every question with its answer and explanation. Open “Show answer” after you guess.
1 Which planet is closest to the Sun?
- A Mars
- B Mercury
- C Venus
Show answer
✓ Answer: B. Mercury
Did you know? Mercury orbits the Sun in just 88 Earth days.
2 Which is the hottest planet in the solar system?
- A Mars
- B Mercury
- C Venus
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✓ Answer: C. Venus
Did you know? Venus's thick carbon dioxide atmosphere traps heat, so its surface is hotter than Mercury's, at about 465°C.
3 What is the largest planet in the solar system?
- A Saturn
- B Jupiter
- C Neptune
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✓ Answer: B. Jupiter
Did you know? Jupiter is more than twice as massive as all the other planets combined.
4 Which planet is known as the Red Planet?
- A Mars
- B Mercury
- C Jupiter
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✓ Answer: A. Mars
Did you know? Iron oxide, or rust, in its soil and dust gives Mars its red color.
5 What type of star is the Sun?
- A A white dwarf
- B A yellow dwarf
- C A red giant
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✓ Answer: B. A yellow dwarf
Did you know? The Sun is a G-type main-sequence star, about 4.6 billion years old.
6 Roughly how long does sunlight take to reach Earth?
- A 8 minutes
- B 8 seconds
- C 8 hours
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✓ Answer: A. 8 minutes
Did you know? Sunlight covers about 150 million km in around 8 minutes 20 seconds.
7 What is the name of our galaxy?
- A The Milky Way
- B Andromeda
- C The Whirlpool Galaxy
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✓ Answer: A. The Milky Way
Did you know? The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy about 100,000 light-years across.
8 In what year did Pluto officially become a dwarf planet?
- A 2015
- B 2006
- C 1997
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✓ Answer: B. 2006
Did you know? The International Astronomical Union changed the definition of 'planet' in August 2006.
9 Who was the first person to travel into space?
- A Neil Armstrong
- B Alan Shepard
- C Yuri Gagarin
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✓ Answer: C. Yuri Gagarin
Did you know? Gagarin orbited Earth in Vostok 1 on April 12, 1961.
10 Which space telescope launched in December 2021 and observes mainly in infrared light?
- A James Webb
- B Hubble
- C Kepler
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✓ Answer: A. James Webb
Did you know? The James Webb Space Telescope orbits near a point 1.5 million km from Earth, called L2.
11 Which planet has the most prominent ring system?
- A Saturn
- B Mars
- C Uranus
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✓ Answer: A. Saturn
Did you know? All four giant planets have rings, but Saturn's ice rings are by far the brightest.
12 What is a light-year a measure of?
- A Distance
- B Time
- C Brightness
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✓ Answer: A. Distance
Did you know? It is the distance light travels in one year, about 9.46 trillion km.
13 Which spacecraft was the first to leave the heliosphere and enter interstellar space?
- A Pioneer 10
- B Voyager 1
- C New Horizons
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✓ Answer: B. Voyager 1
Did you know? Voyager 1, launched in 1977, crossed into interstellar space in 2012.
14 What is the closest star to Earth after the Sun?
- A Proxima Centauri
- B Sirius
- C Betelgeuse
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✓ Answer: A. Proxima Centauri
Did you know? Proxima Centauri is about 4.2 light-years away. Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky.
15 Which planet rotates on its side, with an axis tilted about 98 degrees?
- A Venus
- B Neptune
- C Uranus
Show answer
✓ Answer: C. Uranus
Did you know? Scientists think a giant collision long ago knocked Uranus over.
How to remember the planets
The eight planets in order from the Sun are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. A common memory aid is 'My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nachos'. The first four are small and rocky. The outer four are giants made mostly of gas or ice.
Pluto was reclassified as a dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union in 2006, so older quizzes that list nine planets are out of date. For official mission facts and images, NASA's solar system pages are the best reference.
Space Quiz FAQ
Is this the official Bing Space Quiz?
No. BingQuiz.net is independent and not affiliated with Microsoft. This is a free practice quiz on astronomy and space exploration, written by us. For the official daily quiz with Microsoft Rewards points, see today's Bing Homepage Quiz answers.
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