Category Astronomy

In the middle of the 20th century the USA and the Soviet Union were struggling to be the most powerful country in the world. Both countries wanted to be the first to send spacecraft and people into space, and so the Space Race began.

The first man-made object to travel into space was the Soviet satellite Sputnik 1. It was launched on 4 October 1957.

A month later, on 3 November 1957, the Soviet Union sent a dog into space. She was called Laika, and became the first living creature to orbit the Earth.

In April 1959, the US introduced its first group of astronauts, known as the Mercury 7. They were an elite group of pilots who did special training to travel to space.

But the Soviet Union sent a human to space first! On 12 April 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbited the Earth.

In September 1962, US President John F. Kennedy set the goal of landing a man on the Moon by the end of the decade.

But the Soviets were still ahead, and in June 1963, Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to travel the space.

In a further triumph, on 18 March 1965 the Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov became the first person to walk in space!

However, the United States were first to the Moon. The Apollo 11 mission launched on 16 July 1969 and successfully landed on the Moon four days later.

On 20 July 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first people to walk on the Moon. The Space Race was over.

 

Picture Credit : Google

The Moon is our closest neighbour and the only place in the Solar System, other than Earth, that humans have set foot on. The Moon is desert-like, with plain, mountains and valleys, and a black sky. It is covered with craters, because there is no atmosphere to protect it from space rocks.

Moon landings

Twelve people have walked on the Moon, the first being Neil Armstrong. People have driven cars on the Moon, called Lunar Rovers, and even played golf!

Moon Exploration

People last visited the Moon in 1972, but the footprints they left will last for millions of years because there is no wind to blow them away. This means future Moon explorers will be able to see them.

Earthrise

Apollo 8 was the first manned mission to orbit the Moon. The photograph was taken on Christmas Eve 1968.

Solar eclipse

Sometimes when the Moon passes between the Earth and the Sun, the Moon briefly blocks out light from the Sun, causing an eclipse to be seen on Earth.

Mining the Moon

In the future there could be a Moon base, where people could live. Some scientists are even interested in mining the Moon for resources they could turn into rocket fuel.

How the Moon formed?

Scientists think the Moon was formed when the Solar System was very young and an object about the size of Mars collided with the young Earth. They think the Moon is debris from the collision, pulled together in Earth’s orbit by gravity.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Although there may be life elsewhere in our Solar System, we haven’t discovered it yet. The only place we know has life for sure is Earth. Our home planet is at just the right distance from our Sun for liquid water to exist, and has all the other key ingredients to make life possible.

Recipe for life

 In the mixing bowl are the key ingredients needed for life as we know it. You will need:

Raw material

The raw materials needed for life are found all over Earth – for example in soil. However soil needs water and energy from the Sun before life can appear.

Water

Liquid water is essential for life. It allows crucial changes to take place between raw materials.

Energy

Life on Earth would not be possible without a constant source of energy, such as the Sun.

What are we made of?

From the biggest whale in the ocean to a tiny mouse, all life on Earth has one thing in common – it is all made from the same stuff. It may not look like a whale, but a mouse is made of the same raw materials.

Stardust

Nearly everything that makes up our bodies, and everything else on Earth, was created when dying stars exploded. These explosions send raw materials like carbon and oxygen hurtling across space, and these raw materials are what we are made of. That means that you are made of stardust!

 

Picture Credit : Google

Earth and Venus are about the same size, and are made up of similar rocky materials, but that’s where the similarities end! Venus is a deadly world. It’s boiling hot, covered in volcanoes, and cloaked in an atmosphere of deadly poisonous gases.

Venus:

Volcanoes

Venus is covered in volcanoes. There is evidence that some may still be erupting.

Barren surface

There are no rivers or lakes on the surface of Venus. The only rain it gets is acid rain that would burn through your skin.

Toxic clouds

Venus is covered in clouds of sulphuric acid. The atmosphere is so thick it would crush you in seconds.

Earth:

Atmosphere

Earth’s atmosphere protects it from dangerous space radiation, and contains gases like oxygen that we need to breathe.

Life

Earth is home to an amazing variety of plants and animals.

Water

About 71 per cent of Earth’s surface is covered by water. It is a vital ingredient for life.

Temperature

With its distance from the Sun, Earth is the perfect temperature for life – neither too hot nor too cold.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun and the least explored of the four inner rocky planets. Its surface is covered in grayish-brown dust and looks similar to our Moon, with lots of craters where it has been hit by space rocks. Scientists think there is no possibility of life here.

Smallest planet

Mercury is the smallest of the eight planets in our Solar System – it is only slightly bigger than the Earth’s Moon.

Extreme temperatures

Mercury is a world of extreme temperatures. By day it is scorching hot, but at night it is very cold.

What’s inside?

Mercury has a rocky surface, but inside is a very large metallic core, part of which is molten (liquid).

Planet-gazing

People have been observing Mercury for a very long time, but nobody knows who discovered it. Sometimes it can be seen from Earth around sunset and sunrise.

Visible at night

Mercury is not the only planet that can be seen with the naked eye. The others are Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

 

Picture Credit : Google

Located at the centre of the Solar System is the Sun. it is a star, like the ones you see in the night sky. A burning ball of gas, made of mostly hydrogen and helium, it provides us with the heat we need to survive. The Sun is so massive that its gravity – the force that pulls things together – keeps the planets in orbit around it.

Our Star

Energy is constantly being generated deep within the Sun. it can take up to 100,000 years for energy to reach the surface, but then it only takes 8 minutes to reach the Earth!

Solar flare

Huge eruptions from the surface of the Sun are called solar prominences. They form loops because of the Sun’s invisible magnetic field.

Sunspot

Dark patches that appear on the surface of the Sun are called sunspots. They are cooler areas that usually last for a few weeks.

How big is the Sun?

The Sun is so ginormous that all of the planets of the Solar System could fit inside it hundreds of times over.

Auroras

As well as heat and light, the Sun blasts out special particles called solar wind. When these get trapped by Earth’s magnetic field near the poles they can create spectacular light shows, called auroras.

 

Picture Credit : Google