May 15, 2017 7:30-9:30PM

Der Wolfskopf

Talk 1

Talk 2

Quiz Questions / Answers

1. Last week, a scientific feud occurred regarding what theory describing the extremely fast expansion of the early Universe? Inflation
2. What is the approximate diameter of the Milky Way's disk in light years? 100,000 - 200,000 ly (r~20 kpc)
3. Last month, the "Event Horizon Telescope" started operating--what was it looking at? Sgr A* & M87
4. Rank these objects in increasing order of their magnetic field strength: neutron star, sun, earth, moon.
5. Where on the Earth did the dinosaur-killing asteroid strike 65 million years ago? Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
6. Favored by science fiction authors, what proposed structure attaches to the Earth's surface but extends up roughly 25,000 miles into space? Space Elevator
7. When the Death Star is destroyed at the end of Star Wars: A New Hope, it is in orbit around what planet? Yavin
8. There are many "seas" on the Moon, but there is only one "ocean", what is it? Oceanus Procellarum
9. What was the first black hole candidate, which was identified by its booming x-ray signal? Cygnus X-1
10. What method for detecting exoplanets has yielded the most discoveries to date? Transit