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Trivia answers
Bookmark Trivia Answers
- How old is CFHT?
CFHT began operations in 1979, making 2007 it's 28th year.
- How many telescopes are on the summit of Mauna Kea?
According to the University of Hawaii, there are currently 13 telescopes on the summit.
- What is the farthest object that we can see using our telescope?
That's actually a really good question! The astronomers that use CFHT are often discovering objects farther and farther than one can possibly imagine. Currently the furthest object that has been seen is at a redshift of z=6.17. Check the front page and news sections to see the latest discoveries on Mauna Kea.
- What was the first telescope on Mauna Kea?
The University of Hawaii's 0.6m (24 inch) began operations in 1968 and was followed by the University of Hawaii's 2.2m (88inch) in 1970.
- Other than Mauna Kea, name other place in the world this is home to many telescopes?
Lots of places have telescopes but Kitt Peak in Arizona, Cerro Pachon in Chile and the Canary Islands are home to multiple large telescopes, similar to the ones on Mauna Kea.
- How large is our mirror?
Our mirror measures 3.6 meters or 11.8 feet
- How large is the largest telescope mirror in the world?
Techincally, this is a tie between the twin Keck telescopes on Mauna Kea. Their mirrors measure 10m or 32.8 feet. The Keck mirrors are segmented though, meaning they're made up of lots of smaller mirrors. The largest solid glass mirrors in the world are 8m or 26.2 feet. Several telescopes have mirrors this size. Astronomers and engineers around the world are working on making even larger telescopes. These telescopes may have mirrors as large as 20-30meters. That's 65.5-98.4feet!
- Whar is the sun's nearest neighbor?
Alpha Centauri is located 4.22 light years away. The star that we call Alpha Centauri is actually made up of three stars orbiting each other.
- How fast does light travel?
Light travels at 299,792,458 m/s or 186,000 miles/sec
- Do astronomers know where any black holes are located?
Since black holes don't emit light like stars do, astronomers can't actually see them. However, astronomers can see the gravitational effects of black holes on the stars that are near them. Some astronomers believe that supermassive black holes exist in the center of most galaxies, including our own Milky Way. The best explaniation for quasars is that they're caused by active supermassive black holes at the center of distant galaxies. Quasars are very bright, very far away and very compact.
- Who discovered the four largest moons around Jupiter?
Io, Callisto, Europa and Gamymede are known as the Galiean satellies, after the famous astronomer Galileo who discovered them in the 17th century.
Mary Beth Laychak
Last modified: Wed Jun 30 08:17:37 HST