In the vastness of space, stars seem calm and eternal. We look at our own Sun and see a steady, reliable ball of light that has been burning for billions of years. A star’s entire life is a constant, epic battle between two powerful forces. One force is gravity, which tries to crush the star … Read more
Our Sun is the center of our solar system. It gives us the light, heat, and energy that makes all life on Earth possible. It feels permanent, like it has always been there and will always be there. The Sun is incredibly stable, which is why life has had billions of years to grow and … Read more
When we look up at a dark night sky, far away from city lights, we can see a beautiful, hazy band of light stretching across the heavens. This is the Milky Way, our home galaxy. It is a stunning sight, and it holds almost every star we can see with our naked eye. It is … Read more
Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is a giant, spinning island of stars in space. It contains hundreds of billions of stars, including our own Sun. Almost every star you see in the night sky is a member of this galactic family. They all travel together, orbiting a massive black hole at the very center of … Read more
The James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST, is one of the most powerful scientific instruments ever built. We often hear it called a “time machine” that can look back to the very beginning of the universe. It sends us amazing pictures of distant, glittering galaxies and colorful nebulas, showing us parts of space we have … Read more
When we look up at the sky, the Sun is the most important object we see. It is a giant, bright ball of fire that gives us light, warmth, and energy. All life on Earth depends on it. To us, the Sun feels incredibly special. It is the center of our family of planets, our … Read more
When we look up at the night sky, all stars look like tiny, pinpricks of light. Even our own Sun, which is massive, looks like a small disk. It is hard to grasp just how enormous these objects can be. Our Sun is actually an average sized star. There are stars out in the universe … Read more
We live in a truly massive and beautiful collection of stars, dust, and gas called the Milky Way Galaxy. It is our home in the universe. For a very long time, people have looked up at the night sky and seen its faint, milky band stretching across the darkness. But our galaxy is not alone … Read more
When we look up at the night sky, we see a collection of bright dots. Some are young, some are middle-aged, and some are ancient. But how can we tell? We know the age of our own star, the Sun. Scientists are very confident it is about 4.6 billion years old. They figured this out … Read more
In the night sky, there is a famous pattern of stars, or constellation, known as Orion the Hunter. You can often see its three-star “belt.” If you look at Orion’s right shoulder, you will see a bright star that glows with a distinct, reddish-orange color. This star is named Betelgeuse. It is one of the … Read more