A logical question crossed Ãlvaro's mind: -And which star is closest to the Sun?- he asked. -Alpha Centauri, which is j
Author and illustrations FERNANDO G. RODRIGUEZ
EDITORIAL WEEBLE
2012 Editorial Weeble Author: Fernando G. Rodríguez
[email protected]
Ilustrations: Fernando G. Rodriguez Translation: Amanda D’Singh http://eng.editorialweeble.com
Licence: Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0
Madrid, Spain, October 2012
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Álvaro was at the park with his friends Alonso and Guillermo, playing his favourite game: football. He still hadn’t decided whether he wanted to be a goalkeeper or a striker, so he kept swapping positions with his friends. 2
-Your turn, Alonso- said Guillermo, which meant that Alonso was to be in goal for a while.
This was how the three friends spent their time having fun after a hard day at school. Their mothers kept a watchful eye on them from afar, whilst they chatted away.
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Álvaro took a shot at the goal and Alonso saved it, spinning in mid air. -Great save- yelled Guillermo. -Now it’s your turn, Guillermo, shoot!- said Álvaro. Guillermo kicked the ball as hard as he could and…
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The ball was not saved by Alonso, but by someone who looked rather strange… -Ahhhhhh!- screamed a very frightened Alonso. He and Guillermo ran away.
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But Álvaro recognised him at once. -PrufProf-X60!- he exclaimed, and ran towards him to give him a hug. By then Alonso and Guillermo had reached their mothers.
-Hello Álvaro, how are you?- said PrufProf-X60. -Very well thank you, I’ve missed you since our last adventure. -Me too- laughed PrufProf-X60. -Are you going to take me somewhere this time?- asked Álvaro, eager to go with him.
You promised.
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-I’m not sure, I haven’t anything in mindanswered PrufProf-X60. -Please, please- begged Álvaro. -Alright, alright- he laughed, -I will take you somewhere. I’ll have a think on the way.
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Just as they did on their previous trip, they both boarded PrufProf-X60’s spaceship and took off.
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-Where shall we go?- asked Álvaro. -Ermmmm, let me think…We already travelled through the Solar System on the previous trip, so I’ll take you further. But fasten your seat belt because we will travel at the speed of light.
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-Do you know what stars are, Álvaro? -Yes, they are like suns, aren’t they? -Yes, that’s right. In reality, they are bright, burning balls of gas which produce their own light and energy by means of a process known as nuclear fusion.
-And are all stars the same?- asked Álvaro. -No. Like people, stars are born, grow and then die. There are stars of many sizes and colours. Your Sun is a yellow, medium-sized star. The stars that are smaller than your Sun are blue, and those that are bigger are a reddish colour. 11
-Look, there they are. -Wow, there are so many!- said Álvaro in amazement. -There are millions of stars in the universe. You cannot see them in the city because there is too much light. You need darkness to see them. -Some shine more than othersobserved Álvaro. -The biggest stars normally shine more. Those that are closer to Earth will also shine brighter than more distant stars.
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A logical question crossed Álvaro’s mind: -And which star is closest to the Sun?- he asked. -Alpha Centauri, which is just over four light-years away. In other words, if the light from the Sun takes eight minutes to reach Earth, the light from Alpha Centauri takes over four years to reach Earth. -Wow, so it is a long way away…and if that is the closest…- Álvaro remained pensive. -The universe is enormous- he thought.
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The spaceship continued on its course, travelling faster, faster and faster, without a single sound, the lights went by, they were surrounded by stars. Everything was fantastic, a feast for the eyes.
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-Did you know that by joining several stars together you can see shapes?- PrufProf-X60 said to Álvaro. -Really?- he replied in surprise. -Yes. Since ancient times, men have pictured certain shapes when looking at the night sky, by joining up the stars with imaginary lines. These imaginary figures are called constellations and are named after animals, mythological creatures and other objects. -I see. Well, show me some of those constellations then, PrufProf-X60. -We’re going to see them close up- said PrufProf. -
Great!- replied Álvaro. 15
-Look Álvaro, we’ll start by looking at the Great Bear. It is also shaped like a dipper, so it’s also known the Big Dipper. It is made up of seven stars. It will also help us to discover other constellations. -Yes, it is easy to see it in the sky. My dad showed me it once when we were on holiday. -Very good, Álvaro- laughed PrufProf-X60. Great Bear
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-From there we can find the Little Bear or Little Dipper and reach the North Star. It is also made up of seven stars in the shape of a dipper, but the other way round. The most important star in the Little Bear is the North Star, also known as Polaris, which remains fixed in the sky and points to the North Pole of the Earth. In ancient times, it was used by navigators as a guide on their voyagesexplained PrufProf-X60. -It is easy to find it using the pictures- said Álvaro.
Little Bear
Great Bear
North Star
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-Look Álvaro, now if we draw an imaginary line between Alioth in the Great Bear and the North Star, we reach the Cassiopeia constellation, which is shaped like a W.
Little Bear Great Bear
Cassiopeia
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-Now we will leave the North Star and head towards the Vega star in the Lyra constellation. Vega is the brightest star that we can see in the northern hemisphere. -Wow, it’s bright! How beautiful- said Álvaro, who continued to be surprised by all that he was seeing.
Lyra
North Star
Vega
Little Bear
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-Looking at Vega it is easy for us to see the Cygnus constellation, which is like a large cross, to the east of Lyra. Deneb stands out as the brightest star in this constellation. -Yes, they are close to each other, how funny. -Its shape means that it is sometimes known as the Northern Cross. Later I’ll show you another big cross that can be seen from the southern hemisphereexplained PrufProf-X60.
Lyra
Vega
Cygnus
Deneb
-Yes, it really does look like a cross, the swan is harder to see- laughed Álvaro. 20
-So, you already know Vega and Deneb, well, along with another star called Altair, they make up what is known as the Summer Triangle. They are three stars which can be seen clearly in the summer and they are all very bright, so it is easy to see them when you go on holiday with your dad. -Which constellation is Altair in?asked Álvaro. Vega -Good question, I didn’t saylaughed PrufProf-X60. -It is in the Aquila constellation. What’s more, Altair is also close to your Sun, only sixteen light-years away.
Deneb Altair
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The spaceship continued on its course, travelling faster and faster, it turned, and darted about, backwards and forwards… The stars shined all the while, and they twisted and turned amongst them, their light flooding everything…
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-Let’s go back to the Great Bear. We’ll look for Arcturus, a star that is easy to find by joining up two stars from the tail of the Great Bear. It is the red giant that is closest to you, just thirty-five light-years away. You can spot it immediately due to its brightness; it is the third brightest star in the sky. It is in the Boötes constellation. -It really does shine and it is easy to spot from the Great Bear- said Álvaro.
Boötes
Great Bear Arcturus
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-Now let’s go and see one of the bestknown constellations, Orion, the hunter. Its bright stars are visible from both hemispheres on Earth. The best-known star is Betelgeuse, which is large and bright, since it is a red supergiant, a star that has already consumed its fuel.
Orion Betelgeuse
-How huge is it? Is it very big?-Yes, Álvaro, it is. If it were in the Sun’s place, it would reach Mars, swallowing Mercury, Venus and the Earth. -Wow!- said Álvaro, surprised, although he could not properly understand such enormous dimensions.
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-We have two more constellations to see and then we’ll go back, we don’t have enough time to see more. We could spend years and years looking at stars but you need to eat something, don’t you? -Yes, my tummy is rumbling- agreed Álvaro. -Well I’m sorry but we don’t have any food for human beings in the spaceship- laughed PrufProf-X60.
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-Do you remember where the North Star was? The question took Álvaro by surprise. -Erm…- he thought, -I can’t remember…- and he did not answer. -I understand, the position of the constellations is something that you have to practise by looking at them at night, you cannot learn it all in a single day. So now you know, when you go back to Earth, go for an evening walk with your dad when you are at the holiday camp.
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-Look over there, at the Little Bear. Moving towards the southeast, close to the horizon, there is a beautiful constellation: Scorpius. Its shape reflects its name perfectly.
Antares
Scorpius
towards the North Star
Antares stands out at the top of the tail due to its bright reddish colour. It is a supergiant star, bigger than Betelgeuse.
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-The last one, Álvaro- said PrufProf-X60. -Ohhh- replied Álvaro with resignation. -In the southern hemisphere, you can see the unmistakable Southern Cross, one of the most well-known constellations even though it is very small. It is very useful for orientation because it helps to locate the south of the Earth, just as the North Star helps us to find the north.
Southern Cross
Now we must quickly return…28
Álvaro attempted to continue looking at everything with his eyes open, as if trying to record everything that he could see. Maybe he would never see it again… or maybe he would return on another trip with his friend. The stars twisted and turned, the spaceship darted through the sky, and he started to feel dizzy. Finally, the Earth appeared below them: so blue, so small, but so welcoming. They were nearly home.
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The spaceship landed smoothly close to the park where Álvaro had been playing with Alonso and Guillermo. -Where can they be?thought Álvaro, -And what about mum?He started to worry about finding himself alone. -I’ll leave you here- said PrufProf-X60. -Thank you for accompanying me. You liked it, didn’t you? -Yes, very much!- replied Álvaro, who was still very excited. -Well, until the next time, I have to go. -Goodbye PrufProf-X60, take care and thank you very much for the tour. -Goodbye!- Álvaro stood there waving as the spaceship took off. 30
Now Álvaro had to find his mother, would she still be there? How much time had passed? He looked worriedly from side to side. -Yes, there she is, I can see her macaroni hair- he thought. He ran towards her… and yes, that macaroni hair could only be hers. Álvaro called his mother’s curls macaroni. Thank goodness- he thought, and a big smile appeared on his face. Then he gave her a big hug.
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He was now back at home, on Earth. Having seen so many wonderful things, when he looked at the sky nothing would ever be the same. He was overcome by a feeling that he wanted to hold on to and look after everything that he had seen, all that beauty. -Yes, that’s what I’ll do- he thought, when he returned home in the car, looking out of the window.
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The Publisher Editorial Weeble is an educational project that actively encourages collaboration in order to promote education in an attractive and modern way. We create and publish educational children’s books which are fun, modern, simple and imaginative. Books which can be used at home or at school as supporting material. Best of all, they are free! In order to achieve this, we publish in electronic formats. We want to make this new way of learning accesible to everyone. We are committed to the development of imagination and creativity as basic pillars in children’s development. Through our books we are seeking to redefine the way that children learn, making it more enjoyable and practical. If you would like to find out more about us, visit us at: http://eng.editorialweeble.com Regards, The Editorial Weeble team
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Other books from the same publisher:
My first voyage through the Solar System The discovery of America Amundsen, the polar explorer The Trojan War Discovering Mozart Discovering Dali Discovering van Gogh Apollo XI
Cooking with a little science Adventures and misadventures of a travelling drop My firt voyage to the Galaxies Children Atlas of Europe Children Atlas of South America
to download these books visit our website at eng.editorialweeble.com
2012 Editorial Weeble Author: Fernando G. Rodríguez
[email protected]
Ilustrations: Fernando G. Rodriguez Translation: Amanda D’Singh http://eng.editorialweeble.com Madrid, Spain, October 2012
Licence: Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial-Share Alike 3.0
