The Milky Way, a galaxy about 100,000 light-years across, is our cosmic neighborhood. Scientists once thought the Milky Way was the only galaxy in the universe, but we now know it’s just one of billions. By studying galaxies and the stars and planets they contain, scientists have learned much about the universe and how it formed. Readers will be amazed when they see the stunning cosmic images of galaxies. Graphic organizers and accessible scientific text help make this volume an informative, enjoyable read.
Galaxies come in different shapes and sizes, ranging from small irregular galaxies with only a few million stars to massive elliptical galaxies with trillions of stars. The most common type of galaxy is the spiral galaxy, which has a central bulge surrounded by a disk of gas, dust, and stars that spiral outwards. The Milky Way, our home galaxy, is a spiral galaxy.
The Milky Way, a galaxy about 100,000 light-years across, is our cosmic neighborhood. Scientists once thought the Milky Way was the only galaxy in the universe, but we now know it’s just one of billions. By studying galaxies and the stars and planets they contain, scientists have learned much about the universe and how it formed. Readers will be amazed when they see the stunning cosmic images of galaxies. Graphic organizers and accessible scientific text help make this volume an informative, enjoyable read.
Prior to the 1920s it was generally thought, with a few exceptions, that our galaxy, the Milky Way, was the entire Universe. Based on the work of Henrietta Leavitt with Cepheid variables, astronomer Edwin Hubble was able to determine that the Andromeda Galaxy and others had to lie outside our own. Moreover, based on the work of Vesto Slipher, involving the redshifts of these galaxies, Hubble was able to determine that the Universe was not static, as had been previously thought, but expanding. The number of galaxies has also been expanding, with estimates varying from 100 billion to 2 trillion. While every galaxy in the Universe is interesting just by its very fact of being, the author has selected 51 of those that possess some unusual qualities that make them of some particular interest. These galaxies have complex evolutionary histories, with some having supermassive black holes at their core, others are powerful radio sources, a very few are relatively nearby and even visible to the naked eye, whereas the light from one recent discovery has been travelling for the past 13.4 billion years to show us its infancy, and from a time when the Universe was in its infancy. And in spite of the vastness of the Universe, some galaxies are colliding with others, embraced in a graceful gravitational dance. Indeed, as the Andromeda Galaxy is heading towards us, a similar fate awaits our Milky Way. When looking at a modern image of a galaxy, one is in awe at the shear wondrous nature of such a magnificent creation, with its boundless secrets that it is keeping from us, its endless possibilities for harboring alien civilizations, and we remain left with the ultimate knowledge that we are connected to its glory.
An insider’s guide to little-known facts from all nine films of the Skywalker Saga. Star Wars: Fascinating Facts is a compendium of hundreds of little-known facts about all nine episodes in the Skywalker Saga—from behind-the-scenes on-set tidbits to stories about how the tale of Star Wars was created. Profiles of important characters and early drafts of scripts show what might have been, details of how famous scenes were filmed, and other firsthand accounts from cast and crew members.
A lyrical narrative voice (the voice of the Milky Way galaxy itself) is augmented by sidebars filled with amazing facts and insights about our galaxy, and by extension, our universe.
We see stars in the night sky as pretty, twinkling objects, but what exactly are they? A lot of the information we find out about stars, helps us understand other objects; pulsars, quasars, galaxies – even the origin of our universe. Here are some fun facts about stars. Do stars twinkle? What are stars made of? Do we know more about the inside of stars or the inside of Earth? Do stars have a life cycle? Is a dead star still a star? How do we measure the speed of stars? The Educational Version has activities that meet Common Core Curriculum Standards. Find out more about stars and amaze your family and friends with these fun facts. LearningIsland.com believes in the value of children practicing reading for 15 minutes every day. Our 15-Minute Books give children lots of fun, exciting choices to read, from classic stories, to mysteries, to books of knowledge. Many books are appropriate for hi-lo readers. Open the world of reading to a child by having them read for 15 minutes a day.
Discover a universe of fun and amazing facts about space! Take an exciting, fact-filled journey that goes where all great space books for kids should--to our solar system and beyond! Super Cool Space Facts is bursting with info about stormy planets, exploding stars, weird black holes, amazing landers, and more. Blast past other space books for kids with: Galaxies of wonder--Launch into learning with awesome and easy-to-digest facts about everything from asteroids hurtling through space to astronauts on the International Space Station. Entertaining information--Fill your outer space adventure with the jokes, big word alerts, and fascinating mysteries of the universe all space books for kids should have. Full-color photos--See how cool space is with incredible pictures of stars, galaxies, planets, constellations, and more. Super Cool Space Facts brings you out-of-this-world fun--and a must have title for anyone interested in space books for kids.
From asteroids to zodiac constellations—500 amazing space facts for kids ages 8 to 12 Do you know a kid who wants to know all about space? This intergalactic entry into space books for kids is bursting with 500 out-of-this-world facts for hours of space exploration from the comfort of Earth. Alongside full-color pictures on every page, kids can adventure through stars, planets, and space technology with this book of astronomy for kids. Go beyond other space books for kids 8-12 with trivia such as: Mars is often referred to as the red planet because its surface is red due to iron oxide, or rust. The average lifespan of a star is 10 billion years. All the other planets in our solar system could fit between Earth and its moon. Kids will light up as they discover ice giants and famous astronomers with this standout among space books for kids.
When we look at clouds in our sky, we can sometimes make out shapes. This is called pareidolia, where the human brain finds shapes or patterns hidden in random images. This can also happen with nebulas – clouds of dust and gas in space. There are two main types of nebulas; bright and dark. There are four types of bright nebulas; emission, reflection, planetary and supernova remnants. This book covers 14 strange and interesting nebulas in our galaxy. Find out more about these fun nebulas in this short 15-minute book. Ages 8 and up. All measurements in American and metric. Reading level: 6.9 LearningIsland.com believes in the value of children practicing reading for 15 minutes every day. Our 15-Minute Books give children lots of fun, exciting choices to read, from classic stories, to mysteries, to books of knowledge. Many books are appropriate for hi-lo readers. Open the world of reading to a child by having them read for 15 minutes a day.
