Sara Seager — Questions and answers
Read the full story
What important science is Dr. Sara Seager known for pioneering?
Choices
- A. The science of building new rockets.
- B. The science of studying the air around planets outside our solar system. ✓
- C. The science of discovering new types of stars.
- D. The science of making telescopes stronger.
Answer: B. The science of studying the air around planets outside our solar system.
From page 1
What did Sara Seager create to help scientists understand the air around many different kinds of planets?
Choices
- A. A new kind of telescope lens.
- B. A 'universal equation' or generalized theory. ✓
- C. A faster way to travel to planets.
- D. A special type of rocket fuel.
Answer: B. A 'universal equation' or generalized theory.
From page 4
What big idea does Sara Seager support to help scientists directly 'see' a planet and its atmosphere?
Choices
- A. Building super-fast spaceships to fly to planets.
- B. Using huge, flower-shaped 'starshades' to block a star's bright light. ✓
- C. Sending tiny robots to land on planets.
- D. Creating stronger telescopes that can see through stars.
Answer: B. Using huge, flower-shaped 'starshades' to block a star's bright light.
From page 7
How has Sara Seager's work helped with new space telescopes, like the James Webb Space Telescope?
Choices
- A. She helped astronauts learn how to use them.
- B. Her ideas help decide which planets to look at for signs of life. ✓
- C. She helped invent the fuel for the telescopes.
- D. She painted the telescopes a special color.
Answer: B. Her ideas help decide which planets to look at for signs of life.
From page 8
What types of planets has Sara Seager thought could have life, even if they are very different from Earth?
Choices
- A. Planets that are completely frozen.
- B. Planets with no air at all.
- C. 'Mini-Neptunes' and 'hycean planets' (planets with lots of hydrogen and oceans). ✓
- D. Planets that are exactly the same size as Earth.
Answer: C. 'Mini-Neptunes' and 'hycean planets' (planets with lots of hydrogen and oceans).
From page 9
What big question does Sara Seager's work help us ask about the universe?
Choices
- A. How many stars are there in the sky?
- B. How old is our Earth?
- C. Are we alone in the universe? ✓
- D. How fast can a rocket travel?
Answer: C. Are we alone in the universe?
From page 10