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Find out what it's like on other planets. Learn how far away the stars are. Try a fun, space-themed project.
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Constellations can help you sort the twinkling dots scattered across the night sky. Connect the stars to see what deep-sky wonders emerge.
By
Glenn Chaple |
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Sharpen your scope skills with these 26 tips.
By
Michael E. Bakich |
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Find your way by watching the stars and "following the drinking gourd."
By
Nalini Chandra, John Percy |
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The Sun, an average-sized, middle-aged star, formed almost 5 billion years ago from a cloud of gas and dust.
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Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, takes only 88 days to orbit the Sun.
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The surface of Venus, the brightest object in the sky after the Sun and Moon, is covered with craters, mountains, volcanos, and lava plains.
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Earth is the third planet from the Sun and takes 23 hours, 56 minutes to spin on its axis one time.
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The Moon, located 238,000 miles from Earth, has a temperature of 225° F during the day and drops down to –243° at night.
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Rust in the soil creates the Red Planet's signature color.
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Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system, with a diameter of 89,000 miles.
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Saturn, the sixth planet from the Sun, has a ring system made up of ice and rock particles, some as big as a minivan.
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Uranus, the third-largest planet in the solar system, has an average temperature of –350° F and does not have a solid surface.
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Neptune has 13 moons; the two largest are Triton and Nereid.
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Pluto, reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006, is located nearly 40 times as far from the Sun as Earth.
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Asteroids, chunks of rock and metal that orbit the Sun, sometimes collide with the Earth. This is one possible explanation for the extinction of dinosaurs.
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Comets, thought to be leftovers of the early solar system, are made of dust, rocks, organic compounds, and ice.
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Observe the changing position of the Sun to determine the cardinal points.
By
Nalini Chandra, John Percy |
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Explore the behind-the-scenes secrets of a planetarium show's creation.
By
Rebecca Kleefisch |
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Grab a thick blanket to lie back on and your favorite pair of binoculars. It's time to take your child on a tour of the Milky Way.
By
Andrea Gianopoulos |
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Make yourself looney by viewing craters and even making your own.
By
Andrea Gianopoulos |
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