Archives: Fun and Games

And Beyond…

Beyond Neptune is a disc shaped area called the Kuiper belt named after the astronomer Gerard Kuiper. The dwarf planets Pluto and Eris lie in this far distant region of the Solar System.

From the 1930s, when it was classified, until 2006 Pluto was thought to be the ninth and smallest planet in the Solar System. But in 2005 Eris, which is 27% bigger than Pluto, was discovered deep inside the Kuiper Belt. In 2006 The International Astronomical Union decided that a new classification was needed and Pluto, Eris and the asteroid Ceres became the first dwarf planets. Haumea and Makemake are also now classified as dwarf planets.

In 2015 the New Horizons spacecraft, launched in 2008, became the first to visit Pluto and the Kuiper Belt.

Constellations

The term constellation is used to describe stars that seem to be grouped together in a pattern, when viewed from the Earth. In reality most stars have no actual relationship to one another and can be light years apart but, throughout history, human beings have grouped together stars that appear to be close to one another from Earth.

Here are some of the stars and constellations you can see on your Deep Space Planetarium.

Polaris or North Star
Polaris is the brightest star in the constellation Ursa Minor. If you stand at the North Pole you will see Polaris directly above you. Other stars and planets appear to move with the rotation of the Earth but Polaris seems to stay in the same place. This has made Polaris an important navigation tool for explorers and sailors and a fixed point for astronomers to use as measurement.

 

 

Ursa Major, The Great Bear, Big Dipper or Plough
Ursa Major, the Great Bear, is often called the Big Dipper or Plough because it has an easily recognisable shape. If you follow the line from the two stars at the front of Ursa Major, this line will lead to Polaris.

 

 

 

Hercules
This constellation is named after Hercules, a hero from Geek and Roman mythology. Hercules was one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy. It is the fifth largest of the modern constellations. In mythology Hercules was the son of the god Zeus and Alcmene, a wise and beautiful mortal woman. As such, Hercules was partly immortal himself and was stronger than all mortal men.

 

 

Leo (The Lion)
Some constellations are named after signs of the zodiac. These include Leo, Cancer (The Crab), Aries (The Ram) and Gemini (The Twins), that can all be seen on your Deep Space Planetarium. Leo contains many individual bright stars, such as Regulus or Denebola.

 

 

Orion (The Hunter)
This constellation is named after Orion, The Hunter, a character from Greek mythology. The constellation is located on the equator and can be seen all over the world. It is one of the most well know constellations, easily recognizable by the Belt of Orion-three bright stars that appear in a row. Surrounding the belt are four bright stars representing the hunter’s body. Orion includes many well-known stars including Betelgeuse-a massive red supergiant star nearing the end of its life, Rigel-the sixth brightest star in the night sky and Bellatrix which forms Orion’s left shoulder.

Nebulae

Nebulae
A nebula is a huge interstellar cloud of dust, hydrogen gas and plasma. The gas, dust and other matter join together and eventually become big enough to form a new born star. Nebulae are often referred to as star nurseries. Insert the grey disc into the projector.

 

Bright Stars
This photo from the Spitzer Space Telescope shows two very bright stars in a green mist. The mist is made up of hydrogen and carbon compounds, which are also found on Earth in sooty vehicle exhaust. In space these compounds form in dark clouds which give rise to stars. They are not actually green but are coloured in this photo, so that scientists can study them better.

 

Carina Nebula
A mountain of dust and gas is rising in the Carina Nebula. This pillar of cool hydrogen is three-light-years tall and is being worn away by radiation from nearby stars. Stars within the pillar release jets of gas that seem to stream out from the sides. This photo was taken by the Hubble Telescope to celebrate its 20th anniversary.

 

Lagoon Nebula
The Lagoon Nebula, or M8, is a star forming region in the constellation Sagittarius. This very detailed Hubble Telescope photo shows shapes created by the light and wind from new born stars.

 

Cat’s Eye Nebula
NGC 6543, nick-named the Cat’s Eye Nebula, is one of the most complex nebulae ever seen. It is 3,000 light-years away in the northern constellation of Draco and is over 1,000 years old. Its amazing structure is formed by gas shells, jets of high speed gas and knots of gas. This Hubble photo was created by taking three separate images at different wavelengths.

 

Tarantula Nebula
The Tarantula Nebula is a very active region that is located inside the Large Magellanic Cloud, an irregular galaxy near to the Milky Way. At the lower right of the photo is a cluster of massive, brilliant stars called Hodge 301. This cluster contains many stars that have exploded as supernovae, blasting debris out of the nebula at speeds of over 320km (200 miles) per second.

 

Spiral Galaxy
This amazing photo is a unique full-colour look at an entire dusty spiral galaxy over 60 million light-years away. The central regions contain older yellow and red stars. The outer arms are bluer due to the formation of young blue stars and are also full of interstellar dust, seen as dark patches and streaks.

 

Eagle Nebula
This strange image, which looks like a snake’s head, is a column of cool molecular hydrogen gas and dust that is a nebula. The stars are forming in extensions at the top that look like fingers. The tip of every “finger” is bigger than our own solar system!

 

Hourglass Nebula
The central sun-like star in this nebula is dying because it has no more nuclear fuel. The outer layers are being ejected, creating this spectacular effect, and the core cooling and fading to become a white dwarf.

Spacecraft & Astronauts

Spacecraft & Astronauts
Insert the white disc into the projector.

Soyuz TMA-6
The Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft is seen here approaching the International Space Station. On board are astronauts representing Russia’s Federal Space Agency, NASA and the European Space Agency. The spacecraft docked with the ISS as they flew over eastern Asia, seen in the background.

 

Apollo 11 Bootprint
This photo is of Buzz Aldrin’s boot print as he took one of the first steps on to the moon in July 1969. The Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the moon, with the famous words “That’s one small step for man, one

 

Space Shuttle Launch
The STS-1 Space Shuttle Colombia was launched in April 1981. Their mission was to orbit the Earth and land at Edwards Air Force base in California. Space Shuttle Colombia was the first space worthy shuttle in NASA’s fleet.

 

Moon Landing
The Apollo 16 mission lands on the moon in 1972. Astronaut John Young is jumping up from the lunar surface and saluting the US flag. The lunar module Orion and the Lunar Roving Vehicle are on the left. The hill in the background is

 

Space Shuttle
The moon is framed between the Space Shuttle Discovery and the Earth.

 

International Space Station (ISS)
The ISS is an international research laboratory that is actually being built in space. Construction began in 1998 and the station is expected to remain in operation until 2020. The ISS can be seen from Earth with the naked eye and is the largest artificial satellite that has ever orbited Earth.

 

Spacewalk
This is the furthest that an astronaut has ever moved away from a spacecraft. The astronaut has a Manned Manoeuvring Unit or MMU, which is a nitrogen jet propelled backpack. Earth is in the background.

 

Saturn V
The Saturn V rocket is being prepared for launch. In the top right of the photo you can see a technician working on the white room on top of the rocket. The white room is where astronauts enter the spacecraft.

Planets and the Moon

Insert the blue disc into the projector.

 

Saturn’s System
Images of Saturn’s system were taken by NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft and put together to make this montage. Saturn’s moon Dione is at the front of the image, with Saturn rising behind. Tethys and Mimas are in the distance on the right, with Enceladus and Rhea off Saturn’s rings to the left. Titan is in its distant orbit at the top.

 

 

 

Moon Surface
This close up view of the moon’s surface was photographed by Apollo 10 astronauts in 1969. Apollo 10 was the fourth manned mission in the NASA Apollo space programme. It was a test mission for Apollo 11 and did not actually land on the Moon.

 

 

 

Jupiter
This photo of Jupiter was taken by Voyager 1. It shows the swirling clouds around Jupiter’s Great Red Spot. The Great Red Spot is a storm that has lasted for at least 180 years and possibly much longer. The spot is large enough to contain two or three planets the size of Earth!

 

 

Venus
The Magellan spacecraft was an unmanned NASA space probe sent to the planet Venus. It took photographs of 98% of Venus’s surface, giving us this very detailed image. The colour-coding shows the height of the different parts of Venus.

 

 

Saturn’s Rings
This photograph was taken by Voyager 2 from 2.7 million km (1.7 million miles) away from Saturn. It is of Saturn’s B ring (coloured blue) and C ring (coloured yellow). The rings of Saturn are made mostly of water ice, with some dust and other chemicals. They are actually the grey colour of dirty ice but have been colour enhanced in this photo.

 

 

Moon Set over Earth
The image of the Moon setting over the Earth was taken by the Space Shuttle Discovery during its STS-70 mission.

 

 

 

 

Mars
This is the best Hubble Telescope image of Mars, taken in 1999 when Mars was the closest that it had been to the Earth in 80 years. This photo is taken in the Martian northern summer with the northern polar cap clearly visible. The large dark feature on Mars is called Syrtis Major.

 

 

 

The Earth and Moon
On its way to the Jupiter system, the Galileo spacecraft took photographs of the Earth and Moon. The image of the Earth shows South America and the Caribbean. The swirling white clouds indicate a storm in the Pacific Ocean. In the bottom left of the Moon, the Tycho impact crater can be clearly seen.