Star Gazing and Far Away Places
http://www.educationbuzz.net/articles/2617/1/Star-Gazing-and-Far-Away-Places/Page1.html
Tracy Pridemore
Children are naturally curious and at Science With Me we want to encourage them to learn all the science they can in a fun and exciting way on our science for kids website. By Tracy Pridemore
Published on 04/17/2009
Take the stars, for example. Why not start by explaining to your 3-4year old that these are huge, very, very hot balls that live far, far away. (The more millions and millions of miles you give them, the more your child will be enthralled!)
Long, long ago in a galaxy far away' makes the celestial bodies to which we look for answers about our universe seem impossibly inaccessible. Especially when we want to condense information about them into a form that will teach our children about them. Actually, the wealth of astronomical knowledge to which we have access - thanks to our sophisticated space programs and scientific research- can be broken down into digestible pellets for young hungry minds.
Take the stars, for example. Why not start by explaining to your 3-4year old that these are huge, very, very hot balls that live far, far away. (The more millions and millions of miles you give them, the more your child will be enthralled!)
Children who are a little older can easily appreciate the following story about a star's formation and life; Stars are born when huge clouds of very cold gas are collapsed - squished - into large, heavy balls. A gas called hydrogen then reacts with the huge ball to create very high temperatures. This extreme heat, which is liberated by fusion reactions occurring at the center of the star, is called thermal radiation. Thermal radiation moves outward from the center of the star and finally escapes causing the emission of light particles. These light particles, or photons, are what make us see a shining star . The effect is like lighting a match - there'll be a hot part in the middle and flames and light on the outside. Some stars are extremely big and are much larger than our sun - which, by the way, is also a star.
As the star ages, and the supply of hydrogen gas comes to an end, the star actually enters a death phase and begins to burn out. When the hydrogen gas has run out, the star collapses and forms one of a few different things. Very large stars, much bigger than the sun, may form a black hole or a supernova.
A supernova is a huge explosion that completely destroys a dying star. It is called super-NOVA (or 'new') because it may appear suddenly as a new star since the explosion that forms it causes a brief period of increased light emission. It is, sort of, a cosmic firecracker producing a brief, unimaginable amount of light, burning for a while, and then petering out.
Black holes are dead, collapsed stars that are dense and unable to release anything unfortunate enough to enter them. This includes light. Because not even light can escape these areas in the universe, they appear as very dark areas that just suck everything that passes by right into them. This is why they are called black holes. You can demonstrate this effect to your children by having them watch a raisin being drawn into a vacuum cleaner while it's powered on.
So, the next time you are outside on a clear night and the sky appears bejeweled with its millions of flickering lights, stop for a moment and help your child ponder those lights. 'Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are'. Now, they'll know.
Take the stars, for example. Why not start by explaining to your 3-4year old that these are huge, very, very hot balls that live far, far away. (The more millions and millions of miles you give them, the more your child will be enthralled!)
Children who are a little older can easily appreciate the following story about a star's formation and life; Stars are born when huge clouds of very cold gas are collapsed - squished - into large, heavy balls. A gas called hydrogen then reacts with the huge ball to create very high temperatures. This extreme heat, which is liberated by fusion reactions occurring at the center of the star, is called thermal radiation. Thermal radiation moves outward from the center of the star and finally escapes causing the emission of light particles. These light particles, or photons, are what make us see a shining star . The effect is like lighting a match - there'll be a hot part in the middle and flames and light on the outside. Some stars are extremely big and are much larger than our sun - which, by the way, is also a star.
As the star ages, and the supply of hydrogen gas comes to an end, the star actually enters a death phase and begins to burn out. When the hydrogen gas has run out, the star collapses and forms one of a few different things. Very large stars, much bigger than the sun, may form a black hole or a supernova.
A supernova is a huge explosion that completely destroys a dying star. It is called super-NOVA (or 'new') because it may appear suddenly as a new star since the explosion that forms it causes a brief period of increased light emission. It is, sort of, a cosmic firecracker producing a brief, unimaginable amount of light, burning for a while, and then petering out.
Black holes are dead, collapsed stars that are dense and unable to release anything unfortunate enough to enter them. This includes light. Because not even light can escape these areas in the universe, they appear as very dark areas that just suck everything that passes by right into them. This is why they are called black holes. You can demonstrate this effect to your children by having them watch a raisin being drawn into a vacuum cleaner while it's powered on.
So, the next time you are outside on a clear night and the sky appears bejeweled with its millions of flickering lights, stop for a moment and help your child ponder those lights. 'Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are'. Now, they'll know.