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Mira Trivia Questions

How much do you really know about Mira? Below are 8 true or false statements. Click each one to reveal the answer and explanation.

1.

Mira’s name comes from Latin meaning 'wonderful' or 'astonishing', given due to its variable brightness.

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Easy
✓ TRUE

Johannes Hevelius named it 'Mira' (Latin for 'wonderful') in 1662, referencing its surprising changes in brightness.

2.

Mira is located in the constellation Orion and is visible year-round from most of the Northern Hemisphere.

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Easy
✗ FALSE

Mira is in Cetus (the Whale), not Orion, and is best seen in autumn and winter, not year-round.

3.

Mira is the brightest star in the night sky when it reaches its maximum brightness.

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Medium
✗ FALSE

Mira's peak brightness is around magnitude 2.0, while Sirius, the brightest star, shines at magnitude -1.46. Mira never surpasses it.

4.

Mira is a red giant star in the constellation Cetus that changes brightness over 11 months.

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Medium
✓ TRUE

Mira is indeed a variable red giant in Cetus, with a pulsation period averaging 332 days, which is approximately 11 months.

5.

Mira has a companion star that is a white dwarf, and they exchange material in a binary system.

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Hard
✓ TRUE

Mira is a binary system: Mira A is a red giant, Mira B is a white dwarf. Mira A sheds material via stellar wind, which is accreted by Mira B, constituting a transfer of material.

6.

Mira was officially the first variable star ever discovered after the invention of the telescope.

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Hard
✗ FALSE

Mira was discovered by David Fabricius in 1596, over a decade before the telescope was invented. It is thus not the first variable star discovered after the telescope's invention.

7.

Mira travels through space so fast it leaves a 13-light-year-long trail of gas behind it.

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Hard
✓ TRUE

Mira zips along at 130 km/s, shedding material that forms a comet-like tail visible in ultraviolet light, spanning 13 light-years.

8.

Mira is a dying star that will eventually explode as a supernova within the next million years.

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Hard
✗ FALSE

Mira is a low-mass red giant; it will shed its outer layers to form a planetary nebula, not explode as a supernova.

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