Everything Kids' Astronomy Book by Kathi Wagner Read Free Book Online

come rushing out.
    Mapping the Stars
    Have you ever watched an airport beacon’s light sweeping through the air? Their beacons use many different combinations of colors and rotating speeds of light to indicate what type of airport it is. Astronomers found a new type of variable star in the constellation Cepheus that pulsates like these beacons, which helps to tell them what type of star it is. A Cepheid is a star that is unstable because it is slowly dying. Its temperature, size, and radiation are causing its brightness to change at a regular rate, but the rate or period of brightness is not the same for every star. Once astronomers learn a star is in a Cepheid stage and how long its pulsation period is, they can calculate how far away it is. This is just one more way of measuring the immense distances to the stars. Other methods are:
    Found out in Space
    Look carefully at this letter grid through your telescope. How many of the deep space objects from the word list can you find? Answers can go side to side, or up and down.
    FUN FACT
    Sun or Star?
    Any star the same size of Earth’s sun or smaller is considered to be a dwarf star. The sun is known as a yellow dwarf star.
    1. Using radar within the solar system.
    2. Calculating increasing distances using geometry.
    3. Comparing the brightness of different stars.
    4. Figuring out the speed of rotating galaxies.
    5. Photographing the explosions of the supernovae.
    Just for Fun
    Pie in the Sky
    How about a sky you can eat? All you need is a paper plate covered in whipped cream. Add a drop or two of blue food coloring and stir it with a spoon. To make your stars in the sky you can add marshmallows, candy pieces, cookie crumbs, or star shaped pieces of flavored gelatin. Then eat.
    Because of all of this, in less than a century astronomers have progressed from believing that the sun was the center of the universe to learning that the universe extends for somewhere close to 13 billion light years. If you remember each light year is about 6 trillion miles, how many total miles is that? Will your calculator handle that many numbers?

Demo version limitation

Appendix A

Glossary
    alien
    Beings thought to live somewhere else out in space are called aliens. No one is sure if there is any other life in the universe, other than here on Earth. Another name for an alien is an extraterrestrial.
    asteroid
    An asteroid is a small object similar in several ways to a planet. Many asteroids are made of rock and orbit the sun.
    astrology
    A belief that stars and other objects in space can be used to predict future happenings or events.
    People who are born under certain signs are expected to have certain characteristics and qualities.
    astronaut
    Explorers who travel out into space are known as astronauts. Some astronauts have become famous for taking the first steps in space or being the first woman or man to leave the Earth’s atmosphere.
    astronomy
    The study of all things in space. The people who watch the skies for new stars or planets or changes in the ones that have already been discovered are called astronomers. Astronomy is a type of science.
    atmosphere
    The gases contained around an object in space are called its atmosphere. Earth’s atmosphere contains a combination of gases that produce the air we breathe.
    aurora
    One of nature’s most spectacular light shows is called an aurora. These light shows take place close to the Northern and Southern Poles as solar particles collide with the earth’s magnetic fields.
    axis
    Like a top, each planet has a center line known as an axis that it revolves around. Earth’s axis would run from its North Pole straight through to its South Pole.
    comet
    A comet is an object that appears to have a glowing tail as it travels through space. One famous comet is Halley’s comet, known for its timely return trips.
    constellation
    A group of stars that together form an image in the sky. One constellation that is well known is