Question 2 of 21

Comets take their name from the Greek phrase 'aster kometes.' What does it mean?

... Aster' means star, and 'kometes' means long-haired; comet comes from 'kometes.'

Question 3 of 21

What is the hard head of a comet called?

... The nucleus is a dirty, rocky ball of ice covered in black carbon goo.

Question 4 of 21

When a comet nears the sun, it warms up and develops an atmosphere of dust and ice called ________.

... The coma consists of gases and particles released by the nucleus, which heats up as it approaches the sun.

Question 5 of 21

A comet's tail always points ________.

... Solar winds push particles out of the coma, away from the sun.

Question 6 of 21

The densest population of comets in our solar system is in ________.

... The Kuiper Belt may contain more than a trillion comets.

Question 7 of 21

Long-period comets, those that appear extremely infrequently, are thought to come from what distant region of space?

... The Oort Cloud surrounds the solar system and is named for its discoverer, Dutch astronomer Jan Oort; it could contain as many as 2 trillion icy objects and extend out more than 100,000 times the distance between Earth and the sun.

Question 8 of 21

Which world leader's assasination was supposedly followed by a comet so bright it could be seen during the day?

... Roman historian Suetonius wrote that 'a comet blazed for seven days together, rising always about eleven o'clock; and it was supposed to be the soul of Caesar, now received into heaven.'

Question 9 of 21

Astronomer Sir Edmond Halley calculated the time between appearances of the comet that bears his name. How often does it pass by Earth?

... When Halley predicted this particular comet would appear in 1758, and it did, it was named for him.

Question 10 of 21

Halley's Comet appears in many works of art, including the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts what battle?

... The Bayeux Tapestry depicts the Battle of Hastings in 1066, the decisive point of Norman conquest of England.

Question 11 of 21

The Italian Renaissance artist Giotto used an image of Halley's Comet to depict what celestial phenomenon?

... Halley's Comet appeared in 1301; Giotto then used it as the Star Of Bethlehem in a fresco, 'Adoration of the Magi,' in a chapel in Padua, Italy.

Question 12 of 21

Pope Calixtus III was supposedly no fan of Halley's Comet, so he ________.

... The legend of a comet excommunication by Calixtus III (1378-1458) was spread through a posthumous biography, and cannot be proved.

Question 13 of 21

Which author said, 'I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it.'

... Twain said he imagined the Almighty saying, 'Now here are these two unaccountable freaks; they came in together, they must go out together.' As Twain predicted, he died in 1910.

Question 14 of 21

Which musical act encouraged a generation to 'Rock Around the Clock?'

... Bill Haley & His Comets were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987, six years after Haley's death and one year after an appearance of Halley's Comet.

Question 15 of 21

Debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle causes what spectacular display?

... The Perseid meteor showers can be seen every August, even though the comet orbits the sun only once in 133 years.

Question 16 of 21

What 1974 comet was named for a prominent astronomer?

... Czech astronomer Dr. Lubos Kohoutek discovered the comet in 1973; Kraftwerk, Journey and R.E.M. are among the bands to have named songs for it.

Question 17 of 21

What comet, discovered in 1995, appeared on track to visit Earth for the first time in 4200 years?

... Two independent skywatchers, Alan Hale of Cloudcroft, N.M. and Thomas Bopp of Stanfield, Ariz., discovered comet Hale-Bopp July 23, 1995.

Question 18 of 21

In earlier centuries, comets were often considered bad omens. What happened as Hale-Bopp passed Earth in 1997?

... Thirty-nine members of the Heaven's Gate cult were found dead in a house north of San Diego.

Question 19 of 21

A NASA mission shares its name with a Robert Duvall film. Which is it?

... The Deep Impact spacecraft sent a probe to crash into the nucleus of comet Tempel 1 in the early morning hours of July 4, 2005.

Question 20 of 21

NASA's Stardust spacecraft was the first to ________.

... In 2004, Stardust flew close to Comet Wild 2 (pronounced 'vilt') and captured particles that arrived back at Earth via return capsule in 2006.

Question 21 of 21

Our understanding of how life spread in the universe was expanded when Stardust found ________ in Wild 2's tail, 242 million miles (390 million km) from Earth.

... Amino acids are among the building blocks of life; Stardust found traces of glycine, the most common amino acid in Earth's proteins, in Wild 2's tail.

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