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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

At peak, Mira can reach magnitude 2.0, but stars like Sirius and Venus still outshine it. It's never the absolute brightest.

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, not exactly 11 months but close.

5.

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

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Hard
✗ FALSE

Mira A has a companion, Mira B, but it's a white dwarf that accretes material from Mira A's stellar wind, not a dramatic exchange.

6.

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

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Hard
✓ TRUE

David Fabricius spotted Mira in 1596, before telescopes were common, but it's often called the first non-nova variable star discovered.

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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