Discovery Space: Human Beings in Space Space is an unfamiliar and extremely dangerous environment for human beings. People are only able to create environments for living and working in space with extensive technical support. An unprotected person in space would be exposed to an environment that is airless and a near vacuum. Without the pressure … Read more
People have been fascinated with space for thousands of years. New machines are always being invented to help us travel farther and learn more about the universe Did You Know: Space – How do we look into space? We can use devices called telescopes to look into space. They can be used to look closely … Read more
Did You Know: Space – What shines the brightest in the universe? Quasars are the brightest objects in the universe. They are powered by huge black holes, called supermassive black holes, where stars, gas, and dust are being pulled inward. Some quasars can shine hundreds of times brighter than the whole of the Milky Way. … Read more
Did You Know: Space – Are there any planets outside our solar system? When you look up at the night sky, most of the stars you can see probably have at least one planet orbiting around them. There are many planets outside our solar system and more are being discovered all the time What are … Read more
Did You Know: Space – Why do stars twinkle? On a clear, dark night, you can see hundreds of stars shining in the sky. But stars don’t actually twinkle, they only appear to do so because we are viewing them through the thick layers of the Earth’s atmosphere. Star patterns Collections of stars in the … Read more
Did You Know: Space – What shape is the Milky Way? Our solar system is in the Milky Way galaxy. Galaxies, like planets and stars, are constantly spinning through space and hold many solar systems within them. The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy with arms that are made of clumps of stars. Bright arms … Read more
Did You Know: Space – What happens when stars die? Just like everything else in our universe, stars are born and eventually die. Some stars have very quiet deaths, and others end with massive explosions. Follow this diagram to see how different stars change throughout their lives. Average star An average star is a star … Read more
Did You Know: Space – What is a black hole? Black holes are among the most mysterious and incredible things in the universe. They aren’t real holes, but are areas where matter has been squashed into a tiny space. It is thought that black holes have strange powers… Keep your distance! Don’t get too close … Read more
Did You Know: Space – What is a light-year? A light-year is the distance light is able to travel in a year. In space, things are very far apart, so astronomers use light-years to measure how far away things are from each other. In one year, light can travel nearly 6.2 trillion miles (10 trillion … Read more
Did You Know: Space – Are all stars the same? Stars come in lots of different sizes and colors. Some are gigantic, many times bigger than the sun. Other stars are tiny and not very bright. Here are some of the types of star that have been discovered in the universe so far. Red supergiant … Read more
