Clouds in Space, and two more books for Space Explorers

 

Butterfly nebula/ NASA, ESA Hubble 

Have you ever heard a weather report from space that mentioned it would be cloudy with a chance of stardust? If not, that's okay because today we're diving right into some cosmic cloudiness.

theme: space, stardust, astronomy

Clouds in Space: Nebulae, Stardust, and Us 

by Teresa Robeson; illus. by Diana Renzina 

48 pages; ages 7-9

‎MIT Kids Press, 2024   

Want to know a secret? When you look up after sunset – to count the stars, glimpse a glancing meteor, or marvel at the moon …..

There are things you can’t see clearly. Things that look fuzzy or blurry because they are clouds. Which, if you’ve ever stood inside a cloud (like on a foggy day) you know just how fuzzy things can look. This is how Teresa invites readers in to learning about nebulae –  by comparing space clouds to the clouds we see on Earth, told from the Nebula’s point of view. 

What I like about this book: I love how Teresa brings the vastness of a nebula down to Earth by comparing it to a cloud in our sky. For example, clouds can look like different things; just yesterday I saw a cloud that looked like a dog with long ears blowing in the wind. Nebulae can look like different things, too. Take the butterfly nebula – it looks like a tiny bug with two gigantic wings. There is also back matter, where readers can learn more about the discovery of nebulae and the different types of nebulae. And there’s a gallery of nebulae portraits.

I wanted to know more about how this book came to be, so I asked Teresa and she graciously responded.

Teresa: What inspired me to write this book was a combination of a love of astronomy (I've been an amateur astronomer since 1979) and a background in climatology (I took meteorology classes at university for a climatology major). Those provided the foundations (like kindling). The spark came one day around 2012. I was looking at the clouds with the kids and thinking "we see shapes in clouds on earth, but astronomers also see shapes in the clouds in space...heeeeeey!" And off I went with the first draft of this book.

MIT Kids Press has another space book that was released back in March

I’m a Black Hole (Meet the Universe) 

by Eve M. Vavagiakis; illus. by Jessica Lanan  

40 pages; ages 7-9

MIT Kids Press, 2024

This book is told from the black hole’s perspective. Hidden in space and hard to find, a black hole is created when a star collapses. The collapsing star pulls in anything nearby, from stars and moons to entire planets. Reader who want more details will find them in the back matter, where the author explains black holes in more depth.

And here's one more...

Always Beginning: The Big Bang, the Universe, and You 

by Candace Savage; illus. by Rachel Wada 

44 pages; ages 4-8

Greystone Kids, 2024    

This story of the beginnings of the universe is told in lyrical language, filled with alliteration ad wonderful imagery. For example, that moment the universe burst forth, “sizzling stars spiraled into galaxies.” The illustrations and poetic language transport you to a time far, far away. The timeline at the back helps ground readers in the process from Big Bang to formation of stars and planets, to the beginnings of life. Back matter explains things in more depth.

Beyond the Books

Go cloud-watching with a friend. What shapes do you see in the clouds? Does your friend see the same thing you do? Give your clouds “nebula names.”

Go night sky watching – and take some binoculars, or a telescope if you have one (or can borrow one from a library). Look for cloudy patches in Scorpio’s tail, or in the left arm of the W that forms Cassiopeia.

Make some nebulous art. Let images from the Hubble space telescope inspire a poem or painting … or perhaps one of those nebulae have a story of their own to tell.

We’ll join Perfect Picture Book Friday once they resume. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publishers.

Explore Outdoors ~ Look Up!

 

Winter skies offer an amazing display of clouds. Some are flat and dark, like slate. Some are puffy, cottony lightweights. Some look like dragons, others like fish scales. Some blow by too fast to capture, and others cling to the ground, or the tips of trees as if reluctant to let go.

This week do some cloud-watching. Capture their colors, shapes, impressions, poetry. These clouds? A school of fish racing away from something bigger and darker...

Wednesday Explorers Club ~ Look Up!

"Why are you taking a picture of the sky?" a kid asked. It was blue... and after so many gray (and cold!) days I wanted to document that we actually have sunny days in upstate New York. Of course, "sunny blue sky" is a relative term. As you can see, there are clouds up there.

But there are clouds, and then there are clouds. These are the first variety: light, airy, letting the sun through... and warning of the coming storm.

This week do some daytime sky watching. Notice the texture of clouds - and their colors. Do they look heavy or light? What happens over the next 24 to 48 hours?

Wild Outdoor Wednesday

Go on a cloud field trip. What shapes do you see? What colors and textures? Capture clouds and their movement in images and words.

Remember to take your sketchbook or journal with unlined pages, something to draw and write with, and something to add color ~ watercolors, colored pencils, crayons, or markers.

Go on a Pattern Hike

If you’re looking for a way to connect math to nature, start paying attention to patterns. Patterns are lines or shapes that repeat – and you can find them just about everywhere you look: the back of a caterpillar, butterfly wings, the way a wasp’s nest is built or the honeycomb of a bee hive.

There are patterns in the way clouds gather in the sky, and the V’s geese make as they fly.

There are patterns left by waves on the beach, and by snakes on the desert sand. Look closely at a cactus and you’ll find a pattern in how the spines come out; same thing for pine needles.

There are patterns in rocks and trees – and even in the food you eat. Ever cut an apple across the middle and see the star inside? Take a closer look at blueberries and you’ll see that same star pattern at the blossom end of the fruit.

So, next time you head outside go on a “pattern hunt”. Take along a journal or camera and record the neat patterns you find.

What to share the patterns you find? Just send a low-resolution photo to sueheaven at gmail dot com and I’ll post them here (it might take a couple days).