The Universe By Seymour Simon

1. The Universe By Seymour Simon Author’s Purpose : To Inform (give readers an idea) Genre: Expository Nonfiction

2. The moon is the Earth’s nearest neighbor in space • It (the moon) is quarter of a million miles away • Their distances are considered to be very close to each other -

3. Gas & Dust Disks • Forms around young stars • Range in size from about 2 to 8 times the diameter of our solar system! • The ‘glow’ in the center of each disk is a newly formed star • The building blocks for new planets to form are there, BUT new planets may not form. • This leads scientists to believe that the possibility of a new solar system forming could happen one day.

4. Stars • All stars are born with Nebulas. • A Nebula is an eerie, dark cloud of hydrogen gas and dust • Eagle Nebula (M-16) is in a nearby star-forming region of the Milky Way • New stars are the bright lights inside the finger-like bulges at the top of each nebula. • Each “fingertip” is tens of billions of miles across – That’s larger than our entire solar system!!!! • Stars • Are born in groups or clusters • Each star grows at a different speed/rate • Most clusters finally drift apart

5. Red Giants • When stars get older, they cool off, swell up 100 times larger and turn RED!! • These aging stars are called Red Giants • They become very active & blow off violent gusts of hot gas from their surfaces into space • Once it has ‘shed’ its outer layers, the hot core within the star makes the surrounding cloud of gases GLOW • This GLOWING cloud created is called a planetary nebula • Planetary nebulas come in a variety of shapes • Can be…… • Narrow jets of exploding gases ….. to peanut shaped clouds • …..to bright surrounding stars

6. The Milky Way • That’s where we live!! • The Milky Way is ‘lonely’ because of the concentration of stars • Our sun is just one of about 200 billion stars in our galaxy • All the stars we see at night are in our galaxy • Other galaxies are much too distant for us to see their individual stars • Other galaxies are MUCH bigger and more crowded than ours

7. Other Galaxies • Scientists class galaxies by their shape (4 main types) • Spiralsdisk shaped with older stars in the center & newer stars in the arms • Elliptical most common & shaped like balls or eggs. They contain mostly old stars • Barred spirals the central stars form a bar • Irregulars are the rarest type and do not fit any known pattern • Scientists think that there are at least 100 billion galaxies in the universe • Each galaxy has about 100 billion stars • There are more stars in the universe THAN there are grains of sands on all the beaches in the world! • Galaxies & stars have their own life cycles. Scientists have discovered 1500 galaxies in different stages of their lives! (That’s Amazing- right?!?)

8. Space Pods • Space Pods are the result of a dying star’s final outburst • Huge tadpole-shaped clumps of gas- several billion miles across • (That’s twice the size of our solar system!!!) • Looks like comet-like tails that fan out around the central star – like spokes on a wheel. • No one knows what happens to them….. • They may disappear or …. • the dust particles inside each gas ball will collide & stick together. • The information that scientists have found about space pods makes them (scientists) understand the universe is still incomplete.

9. Black Holes • Considered among the strangest objects in the universe • It is a region of space where matter is squeezed together so tightly and the pull of its gravity is so powerful that nothing can escape it!!!! • It is impossible to see a black hole, but we can see large amounts of matter being sucked into the hole….never to return. • Quasars • Are as mysterious as black holes • These are an outburst of energy that happens before stars vanish into a black hole. They give off energy in a burst of light & radio waves

10. Advanced Instruments • Searching for answers about the universe is like exploring a dark, mysterious ocean without leaving the shore • In order to discover other solar systems, the use of more advanced instruments telescopes & instruments that can gather information is needed • We are just at the beginning of a golden age of discovery!! • Fantastic discoveries await our exploration of the universe!!

11. Reflection ?’s • The photographs in the story help us to…… • Why does the author mention the ocean while talking about the universe? • What are some things the author does to help us understand the story?