1. Solar System the region of our galaxy under the influence of the Sun; includes eight planets and their natural satellites as well as one dwarf planet, two plutoids, asteroids and comets. Our solar system planets are: Inner planets are rocky. Outer planets are gas giants. Source: http://visual.merriam-webster.com/astronomy/celestial-bodies.phphttp://visual.merriam-webster.com/astronomy/celestial-bodies.php Planet from Greek plant-, plans "planet," literally, "wanderer" a heavenly body other than a comet, asteroid, or satellite that travels in orbit around the sun; also : such a body orbiting another star The International Astronomical Union (IAU) states that a planet 1) is in orbit around the Sun, 2) has sufficient mass to be almost round and 3) has “cleared the neighborhood” around its orbit. Star A ball-shaped gaseous celestial body (as the sun) of great mass that shines by its own light The sun is our closest star. It is a yellow, main sequence star, of average size. Our sun is about 4.5 billion years old and is 93 million miles from Earth; just right for supporting life. Source: http://www.wordcentral.com/cgi- bin/student?book=Student&va=star & http://visual.merriam- webster.com/astronomy/celestial-bodies/star.phphttp://www.wordcentral.com/cgi- bin/student?book=Student&va=starhttp://visual.merriam- webster.com/astronomy/celestial-bodies/star.php The Milky Way Our galaxy, a spiral galaxy with 200 to 300 billion stars thought to be 10 billion years old. ~120 million light years across… it would take light 120 million years to get from one side to the other! Source: http://visual.merriam-webster.com/astronomy/celestial-bodies/galaxy/milky-way.phphttp://visual.merriam-webster.com/astronomy/celestial-bodies/galaxy/milky-way.php Galaxy Grouping of stars and interstellar matter linked together by gravitation; each galaxy comprises an average of 100 billion stars. Extra credit: What was the first “other” galaxy discovered, when was it found, and where? M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, was thought to be a nebula, until 1923, when Missourian Edwin Hubble confirmed it as another galaxy – the first confirmed outside our own Milky Way. M31 is a spiral galaxy. Source: http://www.wordcentral.com/cgi- bin/student?book=Student&va=star & http://visual.merriam- webster.com/astronomy/celestial-bodies/star.phphttp://www.wordcentral.com/cgi- bin/student?book=Student&va=starhttp://visual.merriam- webster.com/astronomy/celestial-bodies/star.php Moon Earth’s only natural satellite; devoid of water and atmosphere, it displays a highly uneven surface. Source: http://visual.merriam-webster.com/astronomy/celestial-bodies.php & http://visual.merriam-webster.com/astronomy/celestial-bodies/moon/lunar-features.phphttp://visual.merriam-webster.com/astronomy/celestial-bodies.phphttp://visual.merriam-webster.com/astronomy/celestial-bodies/moon/lunar-features.php The Universe The sum of all these things, which are visible, and of all things invisible…which God has created. & Astronomy Fun! Source: http://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=planet & http://visual.merriam-webster.com/astronomy/celestial-bodies/planets-satellites.phphttp://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=planethttp://visual.merriam-webster.com/astronomy/celestial-bodies/planets-satellites.php & http://www.iau.org/public/themes/pluto/http://www.iau.org/public/themes/pluto/

2. Black Hole an invisible region believed to exist in space having a very strong gravitational field and thought to be caused by the collapse of a star The black hole at the center of our Milky Way is in Sagittarius. Source: http://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=black%20hole, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_hole, http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=milky+way+black+hole&view=detail&id=F8BAB79ECCD41913EB89A3ACA8D3BEB0C17ED541&first=0, & http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=milky+way+black+hole+sagittarius+&view=detail&id=5159097FF610D6E75813600551512041358F79AD&first=31&FORM=IDFRIRhttp://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=black%20holehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_hole, http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=milky+way+black+hole&view=detail&id=F8BAB79ECCD41913EB89A3ACA8D3BEB0C17ED541&first=0 http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=milky+way+black+hole+sagittarius+&view=detail&id=5159097FF610D6E75813600551512041358F79AD&first=31&FORM=IDFRIR Red Giant a very large star with a relatively low surface temperature White Dwarf a small whitish star of low brightness that has a mass approximately equal to that of the sun but that is many times more dense Source: http://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=red%20giant, http://www.wordcentral.com/cgi- bin/student?book=Student&va=white%20dwarf, & http://visual.merriam-webster.com/astronomy/celestial-bodies/star.phphttp://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=red%20gianthttp://www.wordcentral.com/cgi- bin/student?book=Student&va=white%20dwarfhttp://visual.merriam-webster.com/astronomy/celestial-bodies/star.php Our Sun & Astronomy Fun!

3. Q: Just how big is our Sun? A: Really big – more than 1,500,000 Earths could fit inside it! Q: How big are other stars? A: Some are smaller, and some are much much much bigger! This says: Sun (1 pixel) & Jupiter is invisible at this scale Source: http://api.ning.com/files/ODgjxXbzjVFyPIbS19OWLzR2M7P- MYhyzFOreUEkP9aSHhj31Sh1anvjqng0LgalAj263M410NmwD5 vcAfwpy2rj23sktciH/AntaresArcturusAldebaransun....jpg http://api.ning.com/files/ODgjxXbzjVFyPIbS19OWLzR2M7P- MYhyzFOreUEkP9aSHhj31Sh1anvjqng0LgalAj263M410NmwD5 vcAfwpy2rj23sktciH/AntaresArcturusAldebaransun....jpg Source: Mike VanVooren, from a family visit to the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, AZ, in 2010. & Astronomy Fun!

4. Asteroid Chunks of rock and metal that orbit the Sun. They can be different shapes and sizes. The smallest are the sizes of pebbles. The largest, Ceres, is 597 miles across / in diameter. Most are between Mars & Jupiter, but some are within the orbits of Earth, Venus & Mercury. Source: http://www.astronomy.com/en/News-Observing/Astronomy%20Kids/2008/03/Asteroids.aspxhttp://www.astronomy.com/en/News-Observing/Astronomy%20Kids/2008/03/Asteroids.aspx Asteroid Ida Comet Small icy body that partially evaporates as it approaches the Sun; made up of a head with a solid core and tails composed of gas and dust. Comets have three parts: nucleus, coma, and tail.nucleuscoma A comet nucleus can range in size from less than a mile (1 kilometer) to 15 miles (25 km) across. The longest comet tail, which measured over 354 million miles (570 million kilometers), belonged to Comet Hyakutake in May 1996. Thought to be leftovers of the early solar system, comets originate from the Oort Cloud — far, far, far past Pluto. Orbital periods can last from less than a century to over 100,000 years. Source: http://www.astronomy.com/News-Observing/Astronomy%20Kids/2008/03/Comets.aspx & http://visual.merriam-webster.com/astronomy/celestial-bodies/comet.phphttp://www.astronomy.com/News-Observing/Astronomy%20Kids/2008/03/Comets.aspxhttp://visual.merriam-webster.com/astronomy/celestial-bodies/comet.php Star Map / Star Chart A chart showing the positions of the stars in a region of the sky Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/star%20charthttp://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/star%20chart Meteor / Meteoroid / Meteorite Meteoroid: a meteor revolving around the sun / aka… A meteor before it reaches Earth’s atmosphere (farthest away) Meteor: Fragment of rock, iron or another mineral that crashes into Earth instead of completely burning up as it crosses the atmosphere. / aka: a shooting star also : the streak of light produced by the passage of a meteor (closer; in our atmosphere) Meteorite: a meteor that reaches the surface of the earth (closest… landed on the earth!) Source: http://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=meteor, http://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=meteoroid, & http://www.wordcentral.com/cgi- bin/student?book=Student&va=meteorite & http://visual.merriam-webster.com/astronomy/celestial-bodies/meteorite.phphttp://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=meteorhttp://www.wordcentral.com/cgi-bin/student?book=Student&va=meteoroidhttp://www.wordcentral.com/cgi- bin/student?book=Student&va=meteoritehttp://visual.merriam-webster.com/astronomy/celestial-bodies/meteorite.php A meteor & Astronomy Fun!

5. Girl Scout Astronauts Have you ever wanted to journey into space? Over twenty of NASA’s career astronauts were former Girl Scouts. As a result, former Girl Scouts have flown on at least 40 of the first 114 Space Shuttle missions. That’s more than one third of the missions! Have you ever wanted to spacewalk? The first American woman to spacewalk was a former Girl Scout, Dr. Kathryn Sullivan. Have you ever thought about becoming a teacher? Barbara Morgan, a former Girl Scout, used to be an elementary school teacher, but was selected as NASA’s first Educator Astronaut and is now preparing for spaceflight on STS-118. Have you ever dreamed about being at Girl Scout meeting in space? Several Space Shuttle missions, beginning with STS-40, have included two career astronauts who were former Girl Scouts. Have you ever wanted to fly a spaceship? The first American woman to command a Space Shuttle was a former Girl Scout, Eileen Collins. Have you ever wanted to live in space? Former Girl Scout Susan Helms was the first woman to serve as a crew member on the International Space Station. NASA has a great deal of information available about how you can become an astronaut. Most NASA astronauts are Mission Specialists or Pilot/Commanders, and are usually military jet pilots with advanced education in engineering, or have a doctorate in medicine, engineering, or science. The Commander and Pilot fly the spaceship while the Mission Specialists conduct experiments, operate the robotic manipulators, and go on spacewalks. Nearly half of the Girl Scout astronauts served in the military before becoming astronauts. SOURCE: http://spaceflightsystems.grc.nasa.gov/girlscouts/gsusa_astro.htmlhttp://spaceflightsystems.grc.nasa.gov/girlscouts/gsusa_astro.html Do you want to go into space, to the moon, to Mars, or beyond? Do you have THE RIGHT STUFF??? Will YOU be the first Girl Scout on the moon? & Astronomy Fun!

6. Want to learn more? 1)Check out 1)Pack627.ScoutLander.com / “Resources, All” / “Astronomy”: http://pack627.scoutlander.com/publicsite/unitcustom.aspx?UID=11 238&CUSTOMID=35440 http://pack627.scoutlander.com/publicsite/unitcustom.aspx?UID=11 238&CUSTOMID=35440 2)http://vanvooren.us/VV/Astronomy.htmlhttp://vanvooren.us/VV/Astronomy.html 3)http://vanvooren.us/MeritBadgeshttp://vanvooren.us/MeritBadges 2)With your mom & dad, search iTunes, Wikipedia, and other sources for “NASA,” “JPL,” “Space,” “Astronomy” and more. 3)Read books, and Astronomy magazine, at the library – school & County libraries 1)Recommended: “The Heavens Proclaim” 4)Kee-ee-eep loo-oo-ooking UP! & Astronomy Fun!