Discuss each question with your team. Be prepared to explain the reasoning behind your team's answers after the quiz.

  1. Supernova SN1054, which formed the Crab Nebula, occurred approximately 6500 light years from Earth in the year 1054. How bright was the supernova when viewed from Earth?
    • To dim to be observed
    • So dim that a telescope had to be used to view it
    • Barely visible to the naked eye
    • Bright enough to be obvious in the night sky
    • So bright that it could be seen in the daytime sky
  2. Which of the following is not a method used by astronomers to find supernova?
    • Determining the time giant stars will explode so that were ready to watch before it happens
    • Examining hundreds of galaxies every night with an optical telescope, looking for signatures of a new star
    • Monitoring the upper atmosphere for ionization caused by the radiation from a supernova
    • Searching the skies for gamma ray bursts
  3. Roughly how many supernovae occur on average in a galaxy per millennia?
    • 0.1
    • 1
    • 10
    • 100
  4. How many naked eye supernovae have been observed?
    • 0
    • 2
    • 4
    • 6
    • 8