95+ Best Solar System Trivia Questions & Answers

Question: Which month throws a starry sky party every year called the Perseid meteor shower?

Answer: August

Question: What’s the cosmic limit for solar eclipses in one year before Earth says, “That’s enough drama”?

Answer: 5

Question: How long does it take for sunlight to slide into Earth’s DMs after leaving the Sun?

Answer: 8 minutes

Question: Which country is home to the massive Vredefort crater left behind by a space rock with no chill?

Answer: South Africa

Question: In what year did the Viking Lander become the first robot to touchdown on Mars like it owned the place?

Answer: 1976

Question: How many months on average do we wait between those epic total solar eclipse shows?

Answer: 18 months

Question: What’s the spacey term for when one celestial body does a “peek-a-boo” by crossing in front of another?

Answer: Transit

Question: What are those dark, moody spots on the sun’s surface that kinda look like interstellar pimples?

Answer: Sunspots

Question: What do you call a rebel planet that decided the solar system wasn’t big enough for it?

Answer: Exoplanet

Question: Oberon, Titania, and Miranda sound like a girl group—but which planet do they actually orbit?

Answer: Uranus

Question: Which planet is so extra it almost became a star but didn’t quite make the cut?

Answer: Jupiter

Question: What do you call a space rock that’s orbiting the Sun like it’s on a permanent road trip?

Answer: Asteroid

Question: What mysterious cosmic hole is born when a star collapses in on itself like a drama queen?

Answer: Black

Question: NASA's Cassini space probe went all in to study which planet and its glamorous rings?

Answer: Saturn

Question: Which fiery sky streak is basically a space rock burning up like it’s making a grand entrance?

Answer: Meteor

Question: Which planet has the bragging rights of hosting Ganymede, the solar system’s largest moon?

Answer: Jupiter

Question: Triton, the moon with attitude, belongs to which distant and chilly planet?

Answer: Neptune

Question: Which planet hangs out with two spooky-sounding moons named Phobos and Deimos?

Answer: Mars

Question: Which icy-blue world calls Triton its cosmic sidekick?

Answer: Neptune

Question: Who gets credit for having Triton as their biggest moon—no repeats, just the cold hard truth?

Answer: Neptune

Question: Which planet looks like it’s wearing a cosmic hula hoop all the time?

Answer: Saturn

Question: How many gas giants are vibing in our solar system’s outer neighborhood?

Answer: 2

Question: How many moons does Venus have, or is it flying solo like a space introvert?

Answer: 0

Question: Mars keeps two tiny moons in orbit—can you guess how many Martian sidekicks there are?

Answer: 2

Question: How many solid-surfaced “land lover” planets are hanging out in our solar system?

Answer: 4

Question: Which giant planet throws the biggest moon party with over 75 orbiting guests?

Answer: Jupiter

Question: Uranus is in no rush—it takes how many Earth years to make one lap around the Sun?

Answer: 84

Question: Which planet wins the title of coldest in the solar system’s ultimate freeze-off?

Answer: Uranus

Question: Which planet brings the heat with surface temps that could fry a pizza at 450°C?

Answer: Venus

Question: One year on Mercury is so short, it wraps up in how many speedy Earth days?

Answer: 88

Question: Which planet is the runner-up in size to tiny Mercury in the solar system’s small squad?

Answer: Mars

Question: Which planet spins so fast it’s basically the breakdancer of the solar system?

Answer: Jupiter

Question: What’s the space-age term for the man-made stuff floating around Earth like clutter in orbit?

Answer: Space Junk

Question: Which country took the first shot at Mars in 1960 with a probe named Marsnik 1?

Answer: USSR

Question: Which country said “Konnichiwa, Venus!” with its weather-watching Akatsuki mission?

Answer: Japan

Question: Which NASA mission boldly went to Pluto and beyond like a real-life space road trip?

Answer: New Horizons

Question: Which country is behind the iconic space paparazzi known as the Hubble Space Telescope?

Answer: United States

Question: The Hubble Space Telescope chills how many miles above Earth, snapping cosmic selfies?

Answer: 350 miles

Question: The Cassini-Huygens mission was a global team-up by NASA, the European Space Agency, and which pasta-loving country?

Answer: Italy

Question: In what year did the Hubble Space Telescope launch and forever change our view of the universe?

Answer: 1990

Question: NASA's Mars Curiosity Rover packed its bags for the Red Planet in which groundbreaking year?

Answer: 2011

Question: Which gas makes up a blazing 92.1% of the Sun, basically making it a giant ball of this element?

Answer: Hydrogen

Question: The Sun is kind of a big deal—what percent of the solar system’s total mass does it hog?

Answer: 99.80%

Question: Besides hydrogen, which gas is the Sun’s co-pilot in its fiery journey through space?

Answer: Helium

Question: How many Earths lined up could match the Sun’s colossal size—spoiler: it’s a lot?

Answer: 110

Question: What’s the Sun’s jaw-dropping diameter in kilometers—hint: it’s not something you’d drive across?

Answer: 1.4 million kilometers

Question: What powerhouse process fuels the Sun like an eternal nuclear engine?

Answer: Nuclear fusion

Question: What’s the name of the Sun’s outermost layer, also known as the crown that never comes off?

Answer: Corona

Question: The Sun’s surface sizzles at what average temperature in degrees Celsius—hot enough to toast anything?

Answer: Around 5,500 degrees Celsius

Question: How long does it take for sunlight to pull up to Earth’s doorstep after leaving the Sun?

Answer: About 8 minutes

Question: What fusion-powered process turns hydrogen into helium and lights up our solar system?

Answer: Nuclear fusion

Question: What’s the fancy name for the Sun’s “surface” that we can actually see from Earth?

Answer: Photosphere

Question: The Sun outweighs Earth by how much—think in terms of cosmic gym gains?

Answer: About 333,000 times the mass of the Earth

Question: How many little Earths could throw a party inside the Sun’s massive interior (with room to spare)?

Answer: Approximately 1.3 million Earths

Question: The Sun’s made mostly of which two besties from the periodic table?

Answer: Hydrogen and helium

Question: What do we call the Sun’s fiery tantrums that show up as sudden bright flashes?

Answer: Solar flare

Question: How old is the Sun, give or take a few million candles on its birthday cake?

Answer: Around 4.6 billion years

Question: What’s the name of the magnetic force field the Sun throws deep into space like a superhero cloak?

Answer: Heliosphere

Question: How long does it take for the Sun to spin once at its equator—think of it as a really slow dance?

Answer: About 25 days

Question: What’s the dramatic moment called when the Moon photobombs the Sun and blocks it completely from view?

Answer: Total solar eclipse

Question: In which century did astronomers spot the very first asteroid and go, “Wait, that’s not a star!”?

Answer: 19th

Question: Which year did Uranus crash the planet party and get discovered—without a telescope filter, mind you?

Answer: 1781

Question: What space invader is blamed for the dinosaur extinction—basically Earth’s ultimate “unfriend” moment?

Answer: Asteroid

Question: Planets in our solar system come in two flavors: Gas Giants and what rocky gang?

Answer: Terrestrial

Question: What word completes the icy region beyond Pluto—starts with Kuiper, ends with cosmic mystery?

Answer: Belt

Question: What’s the dreamy name for those glowing clouds of dust and gas where stars are basically born?

Answer: Nebula

Question: Galaxies come in a few shapes—how many main types are there in the cosmic design catalog?

Answer: 3

Question: Our galaxy has arms too—how many spiral arms does the Milky Way flex in space?

Answer: 4

Question: What do you call a chilly mix of gas, dust, and rock that zooms through space like a dirty snowball?

Answer: Comet

Question: Which planet doubles as the “morning star” even though it’s totally not a star?

Answer: Venus

Question: In what year did Pluto get kicked out of the planet club and join the dwarf squad instead?

Answer: 2006

Question: What comes after 'Kuiper' in the name of a chilly region of space hanging out near Neptune?

Answer: Belt

Question: What comes after 'Swift' in the name of a comet that makes a rare VIP appearance every 133 years?

Answer: Tuttle

Question: What comes after 'Oort' in the name of a mysterious space zone way out on the solar system’s edge?

Answer: Cloud

Question: What’s the name of the icy outer shell of space objects beyond the Kuiper Belt—like the solar system’s frosty secret?

Answer: Oort Cloud

Question: Halley’s Comet is set to swing by for another Earth visit in which future year—mark your space calendars!?

Answer: 2061

Question: In which totally rad decade did Halley’s Comet last cruise past Earth like a celestial rockstar reunion tour?

Answer: 1980s

Question: The Kuiper Belt chills out beyond the orbit of which big blue outer planet?

Answer: Neptune

Question: The asteroid belt plays interplanetary traffic cop between Mars and which gas giant?

Answer: Jupiter

Question: Which planet wins the moon hoarding contest with 67 confirmed and named orbiting sidekicks?

Answer: Jupiter

Question: In which century did William Herschel look up and say, “Hey, that’s a whole new planet!” about Uranus?

Answer: 18th

Question: Which was the first planet to be officially discovered by scientists rather than ancient sky-watchers?

Answer: Uranus

Question: In what year was Jupiter’s famous Great Red Spot spotted—centuries before red flags were trendy?

Answer: 1665

Question: Which moon reigns as the biggest in the entire solar system, out-sizing even Mercury?

Answer: Ganymede

Question: What are the two tiny tagalongs that orbit Mars like cosmic bodyguards?

Answer: Phobos and Deimos

Question: Which fiery moon of Jupiter throws volcanic tantrums that put Earth’s volcanoes to shame?

Answer: Io

Question: Which Saturnian moon is rocking the only thick atmosphere in moon history?

Answer: Titan

Question: What’s the name of Neptune’s biggest moon, always showing up for the deep-space photo ops?

Answer: Triton

Question: Which moon of Uranus has a wild, tumbling rotation that says “rules are optional”?

Answer: Miranda

Question: Which moon of Saturn has a giant space-scar, a ridge running straight along its equator?

Answer: Iapetus

Question: Which moon of Jupiter is famous for being icy, mysterious, and a bit of an overachiever in surface style?

Answer: Europa

Question: What’s the name of Pluto’s ride-or-die moon that’s nearly half its size?

Answer: Charon

Question: Which icy moon of Saturn is out here shooting water jets into space like it’s got built-in geysers?

Answer: Enceladus

Question: Which moon of Neptune moonwalks backward through space with a rare retrograde orbit?

Answer: Triton

Question: What’s the name of the chonkiest moon orbiting Saturn—seriously, it’s thicc?

Answer: Titan

Question: Which dark and mysterious Uranian moon has a feature literally called “The Great Dark Spot”?

Answer: Umbriel

Question: What’s the name of the largest moon of Venus—wait, plot twist: does it even have one?

Answer: None (Venus does not have any moons)

Question: Which four famous moons of Jupiter were discovered by Galileo back in 1610 using a not-so-HD telescope?

Answer: The Galilean moons (Io, Europa, Ganymede, Callisto)

Question: Which planet is basically named after the original Roman goddess of love and glow-ups?

Answer: Venus

Question: How much gravity does the Moon have compared to Earth—enough for some sweet slow-motion jumps?

Answer: Sixth

Question: What’s the name of the invisible space “fence” that marks the end of our solar system’s backyard?

Answer: Heliopause

Question: How many days does it take the Moon to do one full lap around Earth—no shortcuts allowed?

Answer: 27.3

Question: Which country can claim Johann Bode, the astronomer who helped bring Uranus into the cosmic spotlight?

Answer: Germany