I became interested in astronomy when I was about eight years old.
This soon led to a life-long love of science fiction and, naturally,
STARGÅTE SG-1.

So going back to basics, here's a little astronomy quiz which is really
just an excuse for some pretty pictures of the night sky.

Run your mouse cursor along the 'ANSWER' line to highlight the answer,
or over 'CLUE' for a crappy clue. (Well, duh. You already guessed that!)

P.S. If, like me, you don't have broadband, you might like
to go and make a pot of coffee or something, as it takes
a while to load, but the pics are worth waiting for.

1. Name this constellation

CLUE: Aw, come on, this one's so easy, even for those of you in the southern hemisphere... Okay then - this is not Ursa Minor, the Little Bear.

ANSWER: Ursa Major, the Great Bear, the Plough, the Plow, the Big Dipper - whatever stirs your coffee!

2. Here's another one, and with a strong Stargate connection. Yes, it's
Orion, but that's too easy. <eg> Name the arrowed red supergiant star.

CLUE: Sounds like what you might get from squashed creepy-crawlies - or a film starring Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder.

ANSWER: Betelguese

3. This one's for our Antipodean sibs. Name this constellation

CLUE: Antipodean, no? Well then, it's on Oz and Kiwi flags.

ANSWER: The Southern Cross, Crux Australis.

4. Name this constellation whose brightest star is Regulus.

CLUE: Symbol of M.G.M.?

ANSWER: Leo, the Lion.

5. Closer to home, can you name this beautiful giant planet?

CLUE: Its divine Roman namesake was well equipped for making toast.

ANSWER: Neptune.

6. Name this star cluster, found in the constellation of Taurus the bull.

CLUE: In Greek mythology, they were the daughters of Atlas.

ANSWER: The Pleiades or the Seven Sisters.

7. This is the first 'nebula', M1, in Messier's catalogue. It's actually
the mess left over from a star that went supernova in 1054 A.D. Name it.

CLUE: It's in the constellation of Taurus, not Cancer.

ANSWER: The Crab Nebula.

8. Name this dark nebula in the Orion nebula.

CLUE: An unwelcome present from the Maffia?

ANSWER: The Horsehead nebula.

9. Name this constellation whose brightest
star is the red supergiant, Antares.

CLUE: A character played by Wayne Pygram in 'Farscape'.

ANSWER: Scorpius, the scorpion - Scorpio for astrologers.

10. Name this moon of Jupiter. It's so volcanically
active that craters don't survive long there.

CLUE: What's the number of this question?

ANSWER: Io.

11. Name this beautiful galaxy, which can be seen with the naked eye.

CLUE: A ship's avatar that fell for Gabriel - well, who wouldn't? ;-)

ANSWER: Andromeda, M31.

12. Name this distinctive comet which graced our skies in 1997.

CLUE: Hearty dancing? Well, you were warned they're crappy clues. <g>

ANSWER: Comet Hale-Bopp.

And finally, if you ever wondered where my name comes from,
here's the constellation of Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown.

This page added 7 AUG 2004