- 1. Pluto, once considered the ninth planet in our solar system, was discovered by the American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh in 1930 at the Lowell Observatory in Arizona. Tombaugh's discovery was significant in the realm of astronomy, as it expanded our understanding of the solar system and highlighted the existence of celestial bodies beyond Neptune. Utilizing a technique called 'comparative astrophotography', he meticulously compared images of the night sky taken on different nights to identify the moving object that had not been previously cataloged. Named after the Roman god of the underworld, Pluto was initially celebrated as a planet until advances in astronomy and a better understanding of the Kuiper Belt led to its reclassification in 2006 as a 'dwarf planet' by the International Astronomical Union. Despite this controversial demotion, Pluto remains a subject of fascination due to its unique characteristics, including its highly elliptical orbit, a significant tilt in its axis, and a complex atmosphere primarily composed of nitrogen, methane, and carbon monoxide. Tombaugh's legacy endures, as he not only revealed Pluto to the world but also ignited interest in the search for other distant objects within our solar system, making his contribution a pivotal moment in astronomical history.
When was Pluto discovered by Clyde Tombaugh?
A) 1920
B) 1930
C) 1910
D) 1940
- 2. Which year was Pluto reclassified from a planet to a dwarf planet?
A) 2006
B) 1999
C) 2015
D) 2010
- 3. How many known moons does Pluto have?
A) 3
B) 5
C) 2
D) 7
- 4. Which spacecraft conducted a flyby of Pluto in 2015?
A) Cassini
B) Voyager 2
C) Juno
D) New Horizons
- 5. Who proposed the name 'Pluto' for the newly discovered planet?
A) Johannes Kepler
B) Galileo Galilei
C) Venetia Burney
D) Isaac Newton
- 6. What is the rotational period of Pluto in Earth days?
A) 9.8 days
B) 4.5 days
C) 2.1 days
D) 6.4 days
- 7. In which zodiac sign was Pluto in at the time of its discovery in 1930?
A) Cancer
B) Leo
C) Virgo
D) Gemini
- 8. What is the largest moon of Pluto?
A) Nix
B) Charon
C) Hydra
D) Styx
- 9. What is the composition of Pluto's atmosphere?
A) Nitrogen, methane, carbon monoxide
B) Oxygen, helium, argon
C) Hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur dioxide
D) Carbon dioxide, water vapor, krypton
- 10. Which scientist made predictions of a ninth planet beyond Neptune, leading to the discovery of Pluto?
A) Edmund Halley
B) Carl Sagan
C) Edwin Hubble
D) Percival Lowell
- 11. What is the name of the region on Pluto where large amounts of nitrogen ice are found?
A) Olympus Mons
B) Mauna Kea
C) Valles Marineris
D) Sputnik Planitia
- 12. Who discovered the first moon of Pluto, Charon?
A) Robert Burney
B) James Christy
C) Audouin Dollfus
D) Clay Sherrod
- 13. Who discovered Pluto?
A) Clyde Tombaugh
B) Isaac Newton
C) Albert Einstein
D) Galileo Galilei
- 14. What is the classification of Pluto?
A) Dwarf planet
B) Terrestrial planet
C) Gas giant
D) Ice giant
- 15. What is the orbital period of Pluto?
A) 92 years
B) 4 years
C) 248 years
D) 365 days
- 16. What is the order of Pluto's discovery in terms of its position in the solar system?
A) 9th
B) 7th
C) 8th
D) 10th
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