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Physical Environment > Planets |
 | Build a Telescope: GalileoClick for detailsGalileo looked to the stars in wonder. His curiosity put Earth in its place when he finally convinced the world that the sun is the center of our universe. Explore the planets and stars like the first astronomers. Make a telescope modeled on Galileo's 16th century designs. Recreate the world's first thermometer, and investigate the motion of pendulums. |
 | Cosmic Crusader Science KitClick for detailsFor star-seekers big and small, the Cosmic Crusader is an adult-quality telescope at a child's toy price. The sturdily constructed telescope comes equipped with a dozen hallmarks of good design, including a top-scope 6x target finder; easily interchangeable 50x and 100x lenses; a diagonal mirror housing for more comfortable periscope viewing; a big focus knob; and a sturdy metal tripod. The kit includes a separate star-finder map that lights up in the dark and comes with four maps for each season plus a map of the moon. The Crusader works best with a table to perch it on (the tripod's only 12 inches tall) and, of course, a clear night. (Ages 8 and older) |
 | Earth and Other Planets : Geology and Space Research (New Encyclopedia of Science)Click for detailsPeter John Cattermole December 1995 Describing in readily-understood words and pictures the nature of the solar system, from its origins and evolution to the Earth's plate movements, atmosphere and geography, and natural disasters. Includes sophisticated graphics and glossy color photographs, along with useful timelines and handy facts. |
 | Explorer TelescopeClick for detailsHigh-quality, 15-power, extendible telescope for star-gazing, bird watching and more. |
 | Galactic Explorer (50x-100x Refracting Telescope)Click for detailsThis lightweight, attractive, plastic telescope is 24 inches long and has a 45mm objective doublet lens (the wide end of the instrument). A pair of eyepieces, one for 50x magnification and the other for 100x, are easily attached to a diagonal mirror housing, through which refracted images transpose to right-side-up positions for viewing. A floor-standing tripod is full-size, and an attached finderscope makes it easy to get your bearings while looking up at the night sky. Images are crisp and startlingly large to look at. This is a fine first telescope for any child eager for a deeper look at what's out there. Moon-viewing tips are included with the instructions. Assembly is simple and quick. (Ages 8 and older) |
However, even without the energy supplied by sunlight, he believes these nomadic worlds could still maintain the conditions necessary for life.
Mr Stevenson, of the California Institute of Technology, says the ejected planets would possibly carry with them an atmosphere of hydrogen. This could act to trap any internal heat. It may even exert enough pressure to maintain oceans of liquid water on the planet's surface.
With ammonia and methane gases in the atmosphere, and volcanoes bubbling heat and molten rock to the surface, these lonely planets would look remarkably similar to the Earth when life began here some four billion years ago.
Measurements indicated that this planet had a mass of almost four times the mass of Jupiter, the largest planet in our Solar System. Spurred on by this discovery, the St Andrews team decided to look in detail at the spectrum of the star.
Hidden in the light from the star, they argued, must be a small amount of reflected light actually from the planet. Their problem was how to extract the planet's light from the starlight that was estimated to be tens of thousands of times brighter.
The clue was in knowing the orbit of the planet. With this knowledge, the astronomers were able to look at the spectrum of the star and extract that portion of the star's light that varied over the timescale of 3.3 days. This, they argued, must be the light from the planet.
 | Merlin's Tour of the Universe : A Skywatcher's Guide to Everything from Mars and Quasars to Comets, Planets, Blue Moons, and WerewolvesClick for detailsNeil De Grasse Tyson, August 1997 As charming as it is informed, this collection of answers about the universe presents a delightful tour of the galaxy via conversations with Kepler, Einstein, Doppler, Da Vinci, and other historical figures, as recounted by Merlin, a fictional visitor from the Andromeda Galaxy, Planet Omniscia. Line drawings. |
 | Our Northern Hemisphere Home PlanetariumClick for detailsNo ordinary jigsaw, this puzzle assembles into a 9.5-inch globe with a surface image created from old mariner's charts. To enable freestanding rigidity, the extra-thick cardboard pieces are designed to fit together a mite more snugly than typical puzzle pieces. There are two construction methods: tough (use the numbers and arrows on the back of each piece as a guide) and really, really tough (just use the map image on the front). The specially designed "trap door" at the north pole allows you to master the fiddly but oh-so-satisfying last piece. Cardboard base and full instructions are included. (Ages 12 and older) |
 | Planetarium Gold Gift Set CD-ROMClick for details |
 | Planetarium Play HouseClick for details |
 | Smithsonian Star Tour 3-in-1 PlanetariumClick for details |
 | Solar System Science KitClick for detailsA winner of the National Parenting Center's Seal of Approval, this educational kit teaches a broad range of lessons about astronomy. Scientifically inclined kids of all ages will enjoy constructing colorful scale models of all nine planets. They're relatively big, with Jupiter, the largest, 5 inches wide. The kit also features a big (36 by 12 inches) poster of the Sun, complete with sunspots. A 64-page solar system science book contains assembly and painting instructions, information about all the planets and their moons, and a score of suggestions for fun and educational science experiments. This kit makes a nifty companion to Educational Design's Our Amazing Planet Earth. (Ages 8 and older) |
 | Southern Hemisphere PlanetariumClick for detailsDo you know a child or an adult who lives in or takes an interest in the Southern Hemisphere? With this home version, all they have to do is turn out the lights, and they can transform their own room into a private planetarium. You can project bright stars--including Southern constellations, plus six planets (Mars shows red, and the Earth, blue)--onto the ceiling or wall; you can set the stars up for any month. The kit includes an informative 24-page English/Spanish manual and an instructional audiocassette--in English on one side and Spanish on the other. It also features a star pointer and a spare flashlight bulb--but if the lucky recipient lacks saintly patience, you should complement this home planetarium with two AA and two C batteries, which it requires but doesn't provide. Educational Design also makes the home planetarium Our Northern Hemisphere. (Ages 8 and older) |
 | Star Gazer PlanetariumClick for detailsVery, very cool. This home version of a planetarium looks as if it belongs in Captain Picard's quarters on the Enterprise. Looking a bit like a futuristic, oversized camping flashlight, this device allows one to place one of several "star domes" atop a lighted well. A separate half-dome made of white cardboard acts as a curved projection screen. The light shines up from the well through the star dome, casting replicas of different sectors of the night sky onto the screen. The base of the Star Gazer has a cassette player on which one can listen to an enclosed tape that discusses various constellations and other points of interest. A nice bonus is a red filter, which allows one to invert the star domes for outdoor night sky exploration. Otherwise, this is an indoor hobby. An activity guide gives all the details on how to get the most enjoyment and learning from this kit |
 | Star ProjectorClick for details |
 | Star Theater Home PlanetariumClick for detailsThe wonderful thing about planetariums is that you feel like you're outside beneath the stars. The awful thing about them is that when you finally get outside at night you don't know how to apply what you've learned. This celestial sphere will enable you to bring your planetarium experience home--and take some of the tools back outside. A halogen lamp inside the clear Plexiglas sphere projects on your walls and ceiling hundreds of stars, planets, galaxies, and the labeled outlines of constellations that are visible from the Northern Hemisphere. A horizon ring projects a city skyline and accurately depicts the horizon for whatever time and day you are viewing. A 50-minute cassette tape puts astronomy in a broad cultural and historical context and helps you understand what you're seeing. Take the sphere outside to use as a star map: 170 of the brightest stars glow in the dark. (Ages 8 and older) |
 | Super Geoscope 50x Deluxe SetClick for detailsSuper Geoscope features sharp 50-powered wide view precision glass optics, soft rubber protective eye-cup built in focused light with rubber shielded push-button switch, unique detachable base with large, easy grip focusing knobs, light transmitting prism stage, slide clips, and non-slip rubber foot pads. Complete with two all-purpose concave/flat acrylic specimen slides, water dropper, tweezers, leatherette belt holster and illustrated activity guide. Handy built-in drawer holds all accessories. Rugged ABS construction and an all weather, watertight design. |
 | The Astronomy Cafe : 365 Questions and Answers from 'Ask the Astronomer'Click for detailsSten F. Odenwald May 1998 Odenwald maintains the Astronomy Cafe web site. These are some of the questions he has answered there. |
Figure 1 Credit
Art from Joe Tucciarone
http://members.aol.com/Dinoplanet/joe.html
Physical Environment > Planets |
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