Watching the Night Sky

Watching the Night Sky, But if you live out in the country, away from all the city lights, you can see a sky full of stars! But stars aren't the only things up there.   School science teaches us that there are eight planets in the solar system. After Mars comes the asteroid belt; a ring of massive rocks floating in space.   The other planets are incredibly far away. You will need a lot of space! The sun needs to be about the size of a soccer ball, Earth would be a peppercorn, and Neptune would be a peanut. Then take 10 steps away. Then take 9 more steps to reach Venus, and 7 paces after that. To reach  the spot where Neptune should be, you would need to take 751 more steps!  That's really far. Mercury and Venus can be seen in the early evening; they look like really bright stars. Saturn often appears very large because of its rings, and with a simple telescope, you can even spot some of its moons. It's not a UFO, it's just one of the thousands of manmade things we put into space.   Be sure to wave at it - someone may be watching!  Other times, you might see bright streaks of light across the sky. Some even hit the ground! If a meteor reaches the ground, it becomes a meteorite.   Learning about constellations is very popular in school science. Some of the most popular stories come from Greek myths; according to the myths, there is a giant lion in the sky, there are gods and goddessses, a winged horse, and even a scorpion. Comets are massive balls of frozen ice, rock, and gases. It's hard to tell when a new comet may cross the night sky, so be sure you look up from time to time. Join the thousands of kids to play with Science Score and do well in Science. WHAT'S UP