Memorize these and you could recognize 38.7% of all Astronomy clues.
| # | Answer | Appearances | Sample Clue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Venus | 73 | I'll bet that more than seven used-up probes will someday orbit this planet |
| 2 | Mars | 66 | Veronica ____, a TV sleuth |
| 3 | Freddie Mercury | 51 | He's the late lead singer of Queen |
| 4 | Neptune | 50 | Neighbor of Uranus, it's only about 1/2 as dense as Earth |
| 5 | Saturn | 48 | Rocket used to lift the Apollo program capsules into orbit |
| 6 | Pluto | 45 | Only for a 20-year period every 248 years is this planet closer to the Sun than Neptune |
| 7 | Jupiter | 44 | The largest known storm in our Solar System, the Great Red Spot, has been swirling across this planet for centuries |
| 8 | Uranus | 36 | Thisblue-green ice giant was the first planet to be discovered with a telescope |
| 9 | the Earth | 26 | This 1931 novel was written by a missionaries' daughter who went on to win a Nobel Prize |
| 10 | Orion | 21 | This constellation named for the son of Poseidon & Euryale is known as "The Hunter" |
| 11 | the Moon | 15 | Helpful to farmers, the full moon nearest the autumnal equinox is called this |
| 12 | Aquarius | 14 | In 1970, the 5th Dimension won a Grammy singing about this sign of the Zodiac |
| 13 | an asteroid | 14 | Herculina, one of these small bodies orbiting the sun between Mars & Jupiter, has its own moon |
| 14 | Gemini | 11 | Apollo 11 astronauts Armstrong, Collins & Aldrin each also flew in this program |
| 15 | asteroids | 11 | 1 of the 2 types of orbiting bodies classed as minor planets in our solar systems |
| 16 | Halley's Comet | 11 | According to "The Book of Popular Science", the 1st comet definitely recorded was this one |
| 17 | the Milky Way | 9 | Every star we can see with the naked eye is part of this galaxy |
| 18 | Taurus | 9 | People born under this "bullish" sign don't just bellow: many of them are fine singers |
| 19 | Galileo | 9 | His book "Sidereus Nuncius" on telescope use was a best seller of 1610 |
| 20 | Andromeda | 9 | Most distant object the human eye can see unaided, though with a little "strain", is this galaxy |
| 21 | Nicolaus Copernicus | 9 | This Pole's "De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium" was published with a disclaimer to avoid charges of heresy |
| 22 | Libra | 8 | Like M. Douglas & B. Bardot, persons born under this "balanced" sign bear the Venus dimple |
| 23 | Leo | 8 | It's the only sign symbolized by a cat |
| 24 | comets | 8 | Most meteors are bits of debris left by these passing by |
| 25 | a black hole | 8 | To detect one of these "dark" objects, you must observe its gravitational effects on other objects |
| 26 | Ursa Major | 8 | This constellation's 7 main stars are called "The Plough" in Britain & "the Big Dipper" in U.S. |
| 27 | Sirius | 8 | Part of the Big Dog, it appears as the brightest star in our night sky |
| 28 | the sun | 8 | All that we are came from this unmistakable entity |
| 29 | a supernova | 8 | The Crab Nebula was formed by one of these massive exploding stars in 1054 |
| 30 | a solar eclipse | 8 | The last of these in this century will occur on August 11,1999 |
| 31 | stars | 7 | Since ancient Greece, their brightness has been measured in magnitude |
| 32 | Pisces | 7 | While Gemini is represented by 2 humans, this sign is represented by a pair of animals |
| 33 | galaxies | 7 | Stars & these vast collections of stars are called the building blocks of the universe |
| 34 | Cancer | 7 | The "crabby" sign of the zodiac |
| 35 | Aries | 7 | Associated with the onset of spring, this constellation is first in the zodiac |
| 36 | a comet | 7 | The one of these with the shortest known orbit period, 3.3 years, is Encke |
| 37 | Skylab | 7 | On its 34,981st orbit, July 11, 1979, it fell to Earth over Western Australia |
| 38 | the Southern Cross | 7 | The line joining the Gamma & Alpha stars in this constellation points toward the South Pole |
| 39 | rings | 7 | The Cassini Division is a dark gap between these structures orbiting the sixth planet |
| 40 | Scorpio | 6 | This constellation depicts the creature that fatally stung Orion |
| 41 | Sagittarius | 6 | This sign is sometimes represented by a centaur holding a bow & arrow |
| 42 | Johannes Kepler | 6 | German astronomer whose laws of planetary motion were published in 1609 |
| 43 | Virgo | 5 | This sign is represented by a maiden carrying a sheaf of wheat |
| 44 | Cygnus | 5 | The Northern Cross is part of this constellation which is said to look like a swan |
| 45 | craters | 5 | On the moon, these include the Jules Verne, the Plato, & the Giordano Bruno |
| 46 | 12 | 5 | Number of astrological houses or the number of signs |
| 47 | a spiral galaxy | 5 | From the way the arms of the galaxy sweep around, the Milky Way, seen here, is classified as this type of galaxy |
| 48 | the North Star | 5 | Though it's currently Polaris, Vega will become this directional star around 14,000 A.D. |
| 49 | Tycho Brahe | 4 | In 1565 this Danish astronomer had part of his nose sliced off in a duel |
| 50 | the Kuiper Belt | 4 | In July 2005 scientists announced the discovery of Eris, a dwarf planet larger than Pluto, in this belt |