YOU CAN EXPLORE THE UNIVERSE Exploring the Universe is really fun! This book will give you loads of inspiration so that YOU CAN go and discover loads of interesting stuff about the Universe. Wait until nightfall, adjust your eyes to the dark, and prepare to explore the Universe! This book is full of activities that you can do from your own back garden, the park, or even from the comfort and warmth of your own bedroom. Discovering how fascinating the Universe really is can be done everywhere! There is something for everyone – whether you want to explore gravity, make a pinhole projector, plan a trip to hunt for the Northern Lights or even travel back in time, this book will help you do just that. There are also plenty of spaces for you to jot down what you’ve found, draw the constellations you can see and record how dark your skies are. So what are you waiting for? Read on, and then go and explore the Universe!
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The Universe is where you live. It is an enormous place filled with galaxies, stars, planets and other things. People have thought about the Universe for thousands of years, and astronomers have been exploring it for centuries. The Universe is simply amazing! You can explore the Universe from your home. By going out and looking at the night sky, you can discover things you might never have thought about before, see strange and beautiful sights, and follow in the footsteps of great astronomers from the past. Maybe you want to hunt for alien worlds, see the shadow of the Earth, make a device to show you the surface of the Sun or become a stellar storyteller. It’s all ahead of you in this book. Get ready to start a new hobby that’s out of this world!
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AN ASTRONOMICAL TORCH Being outside in the dark is great for exploring the night sky, but it should always be done safely. Unfortunately, a standard torch spoils your ability to see well in the dark. Luckily, there is a way to safely see what you’re doing and also avoid ruining your dark-adapted vision at the same time – use red light!
Red light doesn’t spoil your ability to see in the dark, and you can use it to see where you’re going and to make sure you don’t bump into anything outdoors at night. 10 YC ETU.indd 10
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MAKE A RED LIGHT FILTER What to do
out a strip of 1 Cut card 2.5 cm wide and
You’ll need: card red see-through sweet wrapper sticky tape stapler scissors a torch
wrap it around the end of your torch.
the card so it becomes a 2 Tape cylinder and take it off your torch. your sweet wrapper 3 Stretch across the top of the cylinder and tuck it over the sides.
it tight and use tape to 4 Pull stick it in place. a second identical piece of 5 Cut card and roll it around the cylinder, covering the edges of the wrapper.
the stapler to secure the two 6 Use pieces of card together with the edges of the wrapper between them.
now have a red light filter 7 You you can slide onto the end of your torch when you want to use it for stargazing. Take this book outside and try reading it with your red torch light. The colours will be harder to see, but you can still make sketches and read the words.
TIP! Secure the filter to your torch with a piece of sticky tape if it is too loose. 11
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BELT OF VENUS Every clear night when the Sun goes down, you can find the Belt of Venus. It’s not a big belt wrapped around a planet! The Belt of Venus is an old name for a beautiful, orange-pink glow in the sky.
KNOW WHERE TO LOOK At sunset, look away from the Sun to see the Belt of Venus above the horizon in every other direction. Sometimes it’s very colourful!
WHAT CAUSES THE BELT OF VENUS? The Belt of Venus is sunlight bouncing off the air from the opposite direction to the Sun. As the light passes through lots of air to reach us, a variety of shades of pink can be seen, layered one above the other. Beneath the pink belt you can sometimes see a dark blue band above the ground. This is the shadow of the Earth in space.
DID YOU KNOW? Sunlight is made up of all the colours of the rainbow. Blue light bounces around more in the atmosphere, making the sky blue during the day. Around sunrise and sunset, red light passing through the atmosphere makes the horizon look very colourful. By the time the light reaches your eyes, most of the blue has been taken out! 58 YC ETU.indd 58
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RECORD THE COLOURS OF THE BELT OF VENUS What to do
coloured pens to record the colours of the Belt of Venus, 1 Use with the horizon at the bottom and the blue sky at the top. 2 Try to make your picture as colourful as the real Belt of Venus. see the shadow of the Earth, remember to include it in 3 Ifyouryoupicture just below the belt.
Draw and colour the Belt of Venus here.
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THE WINTER HEXAGON
DID YOU KNOW? The Winter Hexagon is one of the largest asterisms in the sky, involving more constellations than any other. It is easiest to see in late December and early January when it is high up in the south at midnight.
During the winter months, high up in the night sky, you can find a large hexagon made of six bright stars from six different constellations. The bright orange star Betelgeuse is near the centre.
THE STARS OF THE WINTER HEXAGON (clockwise from the top) Capella in Auriga the Charioteer Aldebaran in Taurus the Bull Rigel in Orion the Hunter Sirius in Canis Major the Big Dog Procyon in Canis Minor the Little Dog Pollux in Gemini the Twins
Capella
Aldebaran Pollux
Betelgeuse Rigel
Procyon Sirius
The Winter Hexagon includes constellations in the Zodiac, so the Moon passes through it. When the Moon is inside the hexagon, it is surrounded by a ring of stars bright enough to be seen even through its halo. 68 YC ETU.indd 68
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Draw what you see! First, find the Winter Hexagon – use Stellarium if you need help locating it in the night sky. Sketch the constellations around the brightest stars. Try to match the sizes of the constellations to the size of the Hexagon. You can see that even large constellations like Orion seem small compared to the Hexagon.
Draw your constellations here.
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