Cover by George
Galaxies By Graeham I had so many questions I wanted answered!!!! There is so much more to learn about galaxies!!!!!! What is a galaxy? A galaxy is a cluster of stars, dust, and gas held together by gravity. How many galaxies are there in the universe? We don’t know for sure, but scientists think there are at least 100 billion! Around the 1800’s astronomers decided that the stars exist in a huge cluster shaped like a pancake. This cluster of stars is called a galaxy. The word galaxy comes from the Greek word “galactos”, which means milk, as in the Milky Way. What is the Milky Way? The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy that looks like a puddle of spilled milk. It is the name given to the galaxy that contains our solar system. It also has between 200-400 billion stars! How big is the Milky Way? The Milky Way is huge. It is about 100,000 light-years across and 1,000 light-years thick! It takes the sun about 250 million years to orbit once around the center of the Milky Way!!! The Hubble telescope was launched into space in 1990. It is 347 miles from Earth. With a high power telescope in space, the Earth’s atmosphere would not interfere with the view of our galaxies. What is a light year? A light year is a measurement for distance in space. One light–year is about 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion kilometers). Did you know that our galaxy is on a collision course with our closest neighbor galaxy, Andromeda? Scientists think it should happen in a few billion years! There is so much to study!
Galaxies By Graeham Millions of stars, Many planets...... space. Cartwheel, whirlpool or spiral, Sombrero, tadpole, irregular A spiral galaxy and a smaller galaxy collide A spiral galaxy’s arms unravel Andromeda galaxy is going to collide With Milky Way galaxy In a few billion years.
By Luke F.
Ever wonder what forms a star? A nebula is a cloud of gasses. In Latin, the word “nebula” means cloud. A nebula is made when little particles combine. They can combine when a star explodes. The star’s shock waves push together the little particles into a cloud which is a nebula. There are about one trillion particles in a nebula. Nebulae have a lot of hydrogen and some helium for its gasses. The closest nebula to Earth is the Owl Nebula. It’s a planetary nebula. At a certain time of year the Owl Nebula is in Ursa Major. Nebulae are measured in AUs. One AU is the distance from the Sun to Earth. One AU is 93,000,000 miles long. Nebulae have been observed by the Hubble telescope and satellites. There have been many amazing images taken by the Hubble telescope and satellites. For example, the Hubble telescope took a very beautiful image of the Eagle Nebula. The Ring Crab, Horseshoe, Owl, and Eagle are some very famous nebulae. It can take hundreds of millions of years for the gasses to compress and make a star. It is important to remember that eventually, nebulae form stars.
Nebulae Luke Fitzgerald Up in the black open space, Different gasses come into place. They are mostly hydrogen and some helium, Group together with different colors Shining oh so bright. They can combine when a star explodes, Its shock waves push them into place. They will stay for many millions of years. Then they get pushed together to form a shining star. A nebula life cycle.
Space is Not a Slow Place BY Damon Space is not a slow place. The sun and stars have solar flares. The sun and stars can explode!!!! Planets orbit, Galaxies grow‌ Asteroids zooming through space, Oh the places we know!!!!!!
Space Rockets and Shuttles by Damon I created a web with the questions I wanted to research for our Personal Interest Space Projects. Here they are: What were the first animals sent into space? The first animals were a dog in 1957 and a monkey in 1959. Since then they have sent up fish, mice, spiders, a newt, turtles, frogs, guinea pigs, cats, bees, and chickens. Which spacecraft was the first to have humans land on the moon? Who were they? Apollo 11 was the first rocket on the moon. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins were on Apollo 11. It launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida. What is the longest period of time a US astronaut has spent in space? The astronaut, Shannon Wells Lucid, at age 53, was in space the longest. She spent 188 days aboard the Russian Space Station. The longest consecutive time in space was completed by Cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov. Who was the first woman in space from the United States? Russia? The first woman from the United States was Sally Kristen Ride. The first woman in space from Russia was Lt. Valentina Terashkova.
What was the name of the first rocket launched? The first rocket launched by the US was the V2 rocket which was first a missile from Germany but was captured by the US and used as a rocket. The V2 rocket did not make it into space. Which country was the first to send a man in space? The Soviet Union, now known as Russia, sent cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into space. What are space ships powered on now? Some are powered on hydrogen and oxygen and others are powered on gases and fuels. ‌.I learned so much about space, spaceships, and astronauts. I was most surprised to learn about the V2 rocket and how it was a missile used in WWII.
Voyager studied the planets in our Milky Way galaxy.
The Milky Way ‌.by Sriram The Milky Way is very bright. Billions of bright stars Glistening at once. Many planets orbiting The largest star, the sun. Some of the planets have moons. Earth has one. Other planets can have many more
Voyager Program by Sriram The Voyager program is an American science program that launched two space probes, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. They were sent to study Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune and they continue their mission into the outer solar system. They were launched in 1977 to take advantage of an alignment of the planets during the second half of the 1970’s. Although their primary mission was to study the planetary systems of Jupiter and Saturn, the space probes had the ability to continue their mission into the outer solar system. Voyager took a lot of pictures and sent them back to Earth. Voyager space probes will drift in space for a long time after they go beyond radio range. Voyager space probe was the farthest man-made object to travel in space. Learning about this project has taught me more about the outer solar system. I researched questions that I had and I found out the answers. The Voyager's mission has taught us a lot about the outer solar system.
Sun by
Luke A.
The sun, Huge ball of blazing gas in the sky. The light from the sun lights your day, every day. The huge bonfire Stays alive for billions of years. The huge bomb that lets things live.
Sun....by Luke A. I raised questions about the sun. I made a web of my questions and found the answers. Here are some of them below. The sun is about 93 million miles away from Earth. The sun is the closet star to Earth. The sun may look like a fireball in the sky but it is a huge ball of gasses. The sun has huge storms that take place on its surface. The sun’s core is very hot. It is 27 million degrees. The sun is about 5 billion years old. The sun has enough hydrogen to shine for another 5 billion years. What is a solar flare? A solar flare is a huge burst of hot gas. What temperatures are found on the sun? It is 27 million to 15,000 degrees F. When will the sun become a white dwarf? The sun will become a white dwarf in 5 billion years. The sun is a small star compared to other stars in the Milky Way. The surface of the sun is about 9,932 degrees F. which is about as hot as lightning. The gases in the sun are so tightly packed that you can see spots on the sun that are white! The best part of this project was making a presentation display. I liked how the cardboard I used attached to a box so I could put on more information. I also gave a quiz to my class about my research.
Mercury by Sumner In this report you will learn about Mercury. I had many questions that I wanted to research. There is a lot to k now about Mercury. Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. Mercury is thirty-six million miles from the sun. Because Mercury is so close to the sun and because it spins so slowly, if anyone were to go to mercury, they could freeze to death or die of heat. Mercury is a small planet compared to the other planets. The planet Mercury got its name from Roman mythology and the speedy messenger. The side that is facing the sun can be 750 degrees F. The dark side can be negative 328 degrees F. Parts of Mercury in the craters never see the sun and could have ice in them. Venus and Mercury are the only planets without moons. No one has ever landed on Mercury. Did you know that Mercury is a solid planet? Mercury takes eighty-eight days to orbit the sun. One day on Mercury is about fifty-eight earth days. There is so much to learn about Mercury!!!!
Mercury By Sumner Mercury is hard to see From Earth. Even though it sometimes looks brighter than‌. Any star in the sky.
Venus By Armand
Venus is insanely hot! It is hotter than Mercury. Venus is a very interesting planet. It has no moons, is very hot, and is a gas planet. No one has gone on it and likely never will. Venus has been known since prehistoric times. It is called Earth's twin sister. The atmosphere is made of 96.5% carbon dioxide. Venus rotates very slowly. To me, what I think is so cool is that when viewed from the night sky, Venus is brighter than any planet. Venus and Mercury are the only planets without moons. I am very happy that I chose this planet and learned all these facts. I learned a lot about this planet that I never knew before.
Venus By Armand
Venus is hot. Second planet Closest to the sun. About the size of Earth. Venus is never cold. Blanketed in deadly clouds of carbon dioxide, Clouds 40 miles thick. Venus is hotter than Mercury. One of the driest places in the solar system. Closest to Earth but it is nothing like Earth!
t h e m o o n by Perside Earth's moon is bright. Shining... Changing shape over the month. It looks like it has a face!
The Moon by Perside We see the moon from Earth. The moon is bright. It does not make its own light. The sun makes its light. Sunlight reflects off of the moon. It takes about thirty days for the moon to orbit the earth. The moon is dusty. The moon has craters. Humans visited the moon. Maybe someday I will be able to visit the moon!
Mars
by George
Did you know that Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun? It would take six months to get to Mars in a space ship. Mars has the biggest mountain in the galaxy. There is so much to know! I had so many questions. Why is Mars red? Mars is red because metal in the soil is rusting. What have we discovered about Mars? Rovers on Mars have found a small chance of life! How many moons orbit Mars? Scientists have found two moons that orbit Mars. How did Mars get its name? Mars is named after the Roman god of war! Why did everyone think aliens from Mars were invading Earth? People thought aliens from Mars were invading Earth because a man made a book “War of the Worlds� and people believed it! I also found out that the surface of Mars is very rocky and has lots of mountains.
I learned that Mars has a red surface. Rovers on Mars have made
lots of tracks on the surface of Mars. The best part of this project was learning how rovers were sent to Mars.
Mars by George Mars is quiet, no life. No people on this planet. If you were there, What would it be like on this planet? Cold or warm, light or dark, windy or still? Rovers have told us these things. We send the rovers to Mars to find out more about this planet I am talking about. I wonder if when you grow up you will be able To go to this planet. If you do.... Tell me what it's like!
Did you know that nobody has ever landed on Jupiter? Jupiter is a gas planet. I found out that Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system. It is so big that more than 1300 Earths could fit inside it. Jupiter has a very strong magnetic field. It takes 10 earth hours for Jupiter to make one rotation! I had many more questions to research....What is Jupiter made of? Jupiter is made of hydrogen and helium and also contains a rocky core. How old is Jupiter? It is about 4.6 billion years old! Why is there a red spot on Jupiter? There is a red spot on Jupiter because it is a storm that has never stopped and astronomers have watched this storm for more than 300 years! I am glad that I studied Jupiter because I think it is cool to study about the big storm on the planet. There is a lot to know!
SPACE By Brooke
SPACE IS DARK. What is up there? Planets and the Sun are up there. The sun is hot and bright. Stars are sparkling up in space reflecting the sun’s light. The sun is bigger than Jupiter. space is dark. What is up there in space? Stars are sparkling up there in space. Is there a house up there in space? Does someone live up there in the house? Space is dark. What is up there?
Saturn Did you know that Saturn has bright rings? They are made up of pieces of rock and ice. Saturn is the sixth planet from the sun in our solar system. There is a lot to know about the second largest planet. I had many questions about Saturn and found some answers..... How many moons does Saturn have? There are sixty-two moons that have been discovered so far. What is the average temperature of Saturn? -285 degrees F When was Saturn first discovered? In 1610 How far away is Saturn from the sun? 891,000,000 miles I found many facts about Saturn. I found out that Titan, one of Saturn's moons, is larger than the planet Mercury. Also, Saturn is just a little bit smaller than Jupiter. Earth is about ten times closer to the sun than Saturn. It is a gas planet!!!! There is so much to know about Saturn. I hope more images of Saturn are sent to Earth. I would like to study them so I'll know a little more about Saturn.
Saturn By Emmanuella Saturn has bright rings, Made with pieces of rock and ice. As you look up into the velvety black sky You can see Saturn, Way above our heads, Twinkling beautifully in the night sky. You might not see it But it's there. Saturn..... sixth planet. Lots to know about the second largest planet in the solar system.
Uranus by Ava
Rapid blue waves of gas. Does it have a core? Maybe so, maybe not. What makes it blue? I will give you a clue. Lots of gasses So hot, so cold. The blue is so bold.... Rushing clouds Millions of miles away among billions of twinkling stars above.
All about Uranus By Ava Did you know that Uranus is the seventh planet from the sun? William Herschel discovered Uranus in 1781. The name Uranus came from the Greek God of Heaven, who was also the ruler of the world. If Uranus were hollow about 50 Earth sized planets could fit inside of it! Before the Voyager 2 flew by, astronomers thought Uranus had nine rings but it actually has eleven. The rings on Uranus are the color of a sunset. These rings are made of black ice and rock. Uranus is mostly made of gases. Most of Uranus’ atmosphere is made of hydrogen, helium and methane. The atmosphere has a lot of ice, which is why astronomers call it an “ice giant”. Neptune is also referred to as an “ice giant”. My favorite thing about Uranus is its color. The blue-green color comes from the atmosphere surrounding the planet. The atmosphere actually blocks the red wavelengths, so only the blue-green color is visible. I also like how it’s tilted on its axis.
By Shane Fast winds, violent storms... There sits Neptune up in space, Spacecraft zoom near its place. Eight moons orbit....Really close to its base. Ring slowly turns, in the gas planets. Clouds cover Neptune. .... Almost. All of these things = NEPTUNE!
NEPTUNE by Shane Why did I select Neptune? I chose to study Neptune because it is the planet with the largest storms and fastest winds! Also, it is an extremely cold planet and I love the cold! Neptune is named after the Roman God of the Sea. It is also referred to as the Blue Planet. It is the eighth planet, most of the time, from the sun. Neptune becomes the furthest planet from the sun every 248 years when Pluto passes inside Neptune’s orbit. This switch last happened in 1999. The Planet Neptune is 31,000 miles across. This makes it the fourth largest of the nine planets in our solar system. A solar system is made up of a group of planets that orbit a star. In our solar system that star is the sun. Neptune is about 2.8 million miles from the sun. It orbits the sun once every 165 years. It will not finish its current orbit until 2014. Voyager Two found rings around Neptune. These rings are made from fragments of rock and ice that form a circle around the planet. The rings are made out of carbon, which is very dark metal. The clouds of frozen methane gas give Neptune its blue color. In other words, Neptune appears blue because there is methane gas in the atmosphere. No one has ever landed on Neptune because of the high winds and the extremely cold surface temperature. It can reach as low as -373 degrees Fahrenheit. Neptune is surrounded by eight moons. The largest moon is called Triton. This is the coldest object in the solar system! The temperature can fall to -391 degrees Fahrenheit! The smallest moon is Naiad and this moon is only 36 miles wide. Neptune is an interesting planet to research because it has high winds and many storms. Someday I would like to see a spacecraft take more pictures and videos of Neptune so that we can learn even more about this planet.
All You Need to Know about Pluto
By Kate
I studied about Pluto because it is a small planet. I thought I could learn some interesting facts. Here are some of the facts I learned about by doing research. The temperature on Pluto ranges from -387 to -369 degrees Fahrenheit. Pluto has three moons: Charon, Nix and Hydra. Pluto is in the 9th position in the solar system. Pluto is a solid planet made up of rocky ice, but there are also gases-methane and nitrogen that are frozen until it is closer to the Sun. Pluto is 3.7 billion miles away from the Sun. It takes Pluto 248 years to orbit the Sun. It takes Pluto 6.4 earth days to orbit around Charon. Did you know that Pluto’s name came from the granddaughter of the man who discovered Pluto? Pluto was the name of the Roman god of the underworld. No one has landed on Pluto. In 2015 there is a space mission to land a spaceship on Pluto. I was definitely surprised by some of the facts I found. I learned that in 2011, astronomers discovered a fourth moon orbiting Pluto!!!! Pluto rotates in the opposite direction as Earth!!! Are you surprised? I am!
Pluto by Kate Pluto is dark and cold. Asteroids crash on Pluto... Boom! Boom! Have you wondered what it would be like on Pluto? Cold...Freezing....So far away from the Sun. What made you so small? I would never like to land on Pluto.. But, someday, a space mission may take someone there! Please don't take off your helmet!!!! Not safe for humans!!!!!!!
Eris What do you know about Eris? Did you know that it is a dwarf planet? It is the eleventh planet form the sun! Eris was the Greek goddess of discord, or fighting. Eris is the coldest and most distant planet in our solar system, with an orbit that is more oval than round. The dwarf planet Eris and its moon, Dysnomia, orbits at the farthest parts of our solar system. It is about 16 miles (26KM) wide and 10 miles (16KM) long. Eris is in an egg shape. NASA probes are sending us information about Eris so that we know more stuff about this dwarf planet.....Amazing!!!!
Eris By Sylvia Lynn Tarver Eris is brown, Eris is not that light. Eris does not light up The best place in space. When I think about this space I have a smile on my face. When I think about all of space, It really makes a smile Appear on my face‌.This dwarf planet.
Stars By Patrick
So bright, so much light. How can you tell stars apart? Some are big, some are small. They get black once but not again. Evaporating into space, The darkness of space. Will there be another star again, Or will there not? Nobody knows. Only space and the stars In the wide galaxies With so much light.
Black Holes by Patrick Scientists think there is a black hole at the center of our Milky Way— and at the center of most galaxies. I wanted to know more. These are the questions I chose to research: What is a black hole?
1.
A black hole is not a hole! It is very big star that dies and collapses in on itself. Black holes are very massive. They suck and pull space objects like asteroids and comets, in them with their powerful gravity. Why do stars become black holes?
2.
A star becomes a black hole when it runs out of fuel. The fuel was the gas cloud that made the star. If a black hole is a star at first, why is it black?
3.
A black hole is black because its gravity is so strong that it pulls light in and the light cannot escape. Has any space probe been sucked into a black hole? Why or why not?
4.
A space probe has never been sucked into a black hole because there are not black holes in our solar system. If a space probe ever did get close to a black hole it could get sucked in if was traveling too slow. It would be difficult to determine the exact speed needed to orbit a black hole, and even more difficult to fly a spacecraft without being pulled in or pushed away further into space. 5.
Is earth ever going to be sucked into a black hole? Why? It is unlikely that the earth will be sucked into a black hole because black holes are too far away. Our sun is not massive enough to become a black hole when it dies, but without the sun it will still be the end of our world!
6.
How long can a black hole live? Black holes live for billions of years. Over a very long time, they evaporate. Stephen Hawking, the famous physicist, discovered this in 1974. Cool sites for kids to learn more about black holes!
kidsastronomy.com
chandra.harvard.edu-kids
fermi.gsfc.nasa.gov
nasa.gov – kids