78 The Milky Way Galaxy Trivia Questions with Answers
78 public questions with answers, drawn from the well. How many can you answer?
The Milky Way Galaxy trivia explores our home galaxy’s structure, center, star clusters, radio sources, rotation, and place in the surrounding universe. Questions range from the globular cluster discovered by Abraham Ihle in 1665 to the astronomers who identified Sagittarius A*, the radio source associated with the Galactic Center.
You may also encounter the Fermi bubbles, infrared surveys that revealed the Milky Way’s central bar, the dense IRS 13 cluster, and the Local Group’s neighboring underdense region. This set suits astronomy classrooms, science quizzes, astronomy clubs, and curious stargazers. It blends well-known discoveries with specialized terms from galactic astronomy, making it approachable but rewarding for experienced space enthusiasts.
Which two astronomers discovered Sagittarius A* in 1974?
Answer
Bruce Balick and Robert Brown
Which gamma-ray space telescope discovered the Milky Way's Fermi bubbles?
Answer
Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope
Which NASA space telescope helped reveal the Milky Way's central bar in infrared surveys?
Answer
Spitzer Space Telescope
What supernova remnant is one component of the Sagittarius A radio source?
Answer
Sagittarius A East
Which dense cluster near the Galactic Center is named for five infrared sources?
Answer
Quintuplet Cluster
What vast underdense region of space lies adjacent to the Local Group?
Answer
Local Void
What are the constants A and B used to describe local Milky Way rotation called?
Answer
Oort constants
What radio line first mapped the Milky Way's spiral structure after 1952?
Answer
21-centimeter line
What gas stream extends behind the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds?
Answer
Magellanic Stream
What is the third-largest galaxy in the Local Group, after Andromeda and the Milky Way?
Answer
Triangulum Galaxy
Which galaxy cluster forms the heart of the Virgo Supercluster?
Answer
Virgo Cluster
What plane does the bright band of the Milky Way trace across the sky?
Answer
Galactic plane
Which supercluster includes the Virgo Supercluster and the Milky Way?
Answer
Laniakea Supercluster
Which dense young star cluster lies near the Milky Way's Galactic Center?
Answer
Arches Cluster
Who used globular clusters to show the Sun is far from the Milky Way's center?
Answer
Harlow Shapley
Which Milky Way supernova remnant contains the Crab Pulsar?
Answer
Crab Nebula
Which Milky Way nebula is cataloged as Messier 42?
Answer
Orion Nebula
Which Milky Way open cluster is also called the Seven Sisters?
Answer
Pleiades
Which giant molecular cloud lies about 120 parsecs from the Milky Way's center?
Answer
Sagittarius B2
Which dense gas region spans the center of the Milky Way?
Answer
Central Molecular Zone
What Latin name for the Milky Way means 'milky road'?
Answer
Via Lactea
What galactic latitude marks the Milky Way's midplane?
Answer
0 degrees
Which coordinate system uses the Milky Way's plane as its equator?
Answer
Galactic coordinate system
What class of object is Sagittarius A*?
Answer
Supermassive black hole
Which major galaxy is predicted to collide with the Milky Way in the future?
Answer
Andromeda Galaxy
Which telescope network produced the first image of Sagittarius A*?
Answer
Event Horizon Telescope
Who coined the name Sgr A* in 1982?
Answer
Robert L. Brown
In galactic coordinates, what longitude marks the Galactic Center?
Answer
0 degrees
What constellation contains the north galactic pole?
Answer
Coma Berenices
What ancient merger remnant in the Milky Way is also called the Gaia Sausage?
Answer
Gaia-Enceladus
What long wave-shaped gas structure near the Sun was announced in 2020?
Answer
Radcliffe wave
What local cavity of hot gas contains the Sun?
Answer
Local Bubble
Which Milky Way X-ray source was the first widely accepted black hole?
Answer
Cygnus X-1
What phrase names the area of sky obscured by the Milky Way?
Answer
Zone of Avoidance
Which smaller naked-eye satellite galaxy is paired with the Large Magellanic Cloud?
Answer
Small Magellanic Cloud
Who first resolved the Milky Way's band into individual stars with a telescope in 1610?
Answer
Galileo Galilei
What compact radio source marks the Milky Way's central black hole?
Answer
Sagittarius A*
What galaxy contains the Solar System?
Answer
Milky Way
The Milky Way Galaxy trivia — quick answers
What are good Milky Way Galaxy trivia questions?
Good Milky Way trivia questions cover the galaxy’s center, structure, motion, and neighboring space. Examples include identifying Sagittarius A*, naming the telescope that mapped the central bar in infrared, recognizing the Fermi bubbles, identifying a famous globular cluster, and naming the constants used to describe local galactic rotation.
How hard is Milky Way Galaxy trivia?
Milky Way Galaxy trivia is usually moderate to advanced. Basic questions about the galaxy’s spiral structure and central black hole are accessible, while questions about radio sources, globular clusters, infrared surveys, Oort constants, and Galactic Center objects require astronomy knowledge. It is especially well suited to science classes and astronomy clubs.
What is Sagittarius A*?
Sagittarius A* is a compact radio source at the center of the Milky Way and the location of the galaxy’s supermassive black hole. It lies in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius, about 26,000 light-years from Earth. Astronomers infer its mass from the rapid orbits of nearby stars.
What are the Milky Way’s Fermi bubbles?
The Fermi bubbles are two enormous lobes of high-energy emission extending above and below the plane of the Milky Way. They were discovered in gamma rays by NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. Their origin is linked to energetic activity in the Galactic Center, possibly involving past outbursts from the central black hole.
What are the Oort constants?
The Oort constants, commonly called A and B, describe the local rotation and shear of the Milky Way around the Sun. They are named after Dutch astronomer Jan Oort. Together, they help astronomers characterize how nearby stars move in relation to Galactic rotation and estimate properties of the Galaxy’s local dynamical environment.
What is the Local Void?
The Local Void is a vast region of relatively empty space near the Local Group, the galaxy group that includes the Milky Way and Andromeda. It is not completely devoid of matter, but it contains far fewer galaxies than dense cosmic structures. Its neighboring underdensity helps describe the Milky Way’s large-scale cosmic environment.