Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2024 i Ask Science and Arts Magazine for Kids and Children

ULTIMATE HIDE AND SEEK NASA scientists recently announced that they may have spotted the most distant black hole ever detected. The supermassive black hole is part of the UHZ1 galaxy, 13.2 billion light-years from Earth. To find black holes, astronomers check space telescope images for spots that are bright in high-energy X-rays. They spotted this one in images from the Webb and Chandra telescopes. Not only is it the farthest black hole found so far, but it could be proof of an “outsize” black hole. That’s a black hole that forms when a massive gas cloud collapses, not just a single star. Until now, the possibility that a gas cloud might produce a black hole was just an idea. But the size and strong X-rays of this black hole fit…

Long ago, people thought the sun must be a god. But eventually, they started asking questions. From ancient Greece until about 400 years ago, most scholars agreed that the sun was some sort of fire traveling around Earth. They spent most of their time arguing about how it moved. Then, in 1612, Italian astronomer Galileo used a new invention, the telescope, to take a closer look at the sun. He discovered that the sun had dark spots. What were these dark spots on the sun? No one knew. In 1795, astronomer William Herschel suggested that the sun’s bright shining surface might be a thin layer of glowing golden clouds. Sunspots could be holes in the clouds. Underneath there might be a cool planet inhabited by sun-people. In the 1800s, scientists…

A Tale from the Pomo Tribe of North America Where does a gigantic supernatural bear walk? Anywhere he wants to. One day, Sky Bear was strolling along on his path, headed for the Milky Way... ...when he bumped into the sun. They quarreled and blustered until... ...Bear took a bite out of Sun. And the land went dark until Sun grew the bite back. A Tale from Japan Sun goddess Amaterasu was crowned ruler of the sky. Her little brother, the storm god, Susanoo, wasn’t happy. Susanoo set out to make his big sister miserable. One day, when Amaterasu and her sister were happily weaving . . . Susanoo tossed a horrible skinned horse into her room, ruining his sister’s mood (and the tapestry). Furious, Amaterasu stalked off into a…

It’s a star! Yes, our sun is a star—and all the stars are suns! Those tiny lights you see in the night sky are what our own sun might look like from some other planet far out in space. Like all stars, our sun shines so brightly because it is extremely hot. And like other stars, our sun is mostly made of hydrogen and helium, with a sprinkling of other elements. The sun looks so much brighter than the other stars simply because it’s so much closer to us. Though the sun is pretty far away—93 million miles (150 million km)—the other stars are much, much, much farther. It’s COLOSSAL—and hot It’s difficult to get your mind around how completely ginormous the sun is. In the sky, it looks about…

I make one full circle around the Earth every 27 days (and a bit). That’s what a month is! It’s a moonth. Here’s a secret—I don’t really change shape. I’m always a big ball of rock with one side lit up by the sun. You just see different amounts of my lit side as I orbit the Earth. Once a month (at new moon) I pass the sun in the sky. My orbit is a bit tilted, so usually I go a little above or below the sun, and no one notices. Since we look the same size as seen from Earth, I can completely block the sun for a bit! This casts a moon-shadow on part of the Earth below, causing... But sometimes, I pass right in front of…

Shadow Zoo While you wait for the moon’s shadow on eclipse day, why not have some fun making sun shadows of your own? Get some friends and make a zoo, or tell an animal story! For a screen, have a pal hold up a whiteboard or white cardboard, or use the side of a white car if there’s one parked nearby.…

The sun’s hot core makes energy From hydrogen, so we can see. Through the radiative zone Light and heat begin to roam. The convective zone boils like a pot, Keeping the sun’s surface hot. The bright photosphere’s the place Where light takes off and shines through space. When spiky jets of gas appear, We must be in the chromosphere. Satellites keep watch from afar On our energetic star. When the sun spits out white-hot flares, Satellites in space, beware! The sun has spots upon its face That come and go from place to place. These aren’t dirt, or clouds, or measles, But tangled-up magnetic fields. The corona floats all around The sun, a thin and gassy crown. A stream of electrons and their kin Blow from the sun, the solar…

Send your letters to Ask, 1 East Erie Street, Suite 525, PMB4136, Chicago, IL 60611, or have your parent/guardian email us at ask@cricketmedia.com. Dear Avery, What is your favorite food? Mine is bacon. What is your favorite color? Mine is blue. Sorry I have so many questions, just one more, what is your favorite book?Your #1 fan, Andrew K., Colorado Dear Andrew, I have to say, I do love nuts—acorns, walnuts, chestnuts, any kind. Though bacon is nice as a treat sometimes. I like the colors of fall, when nuts are ripe. I enjoy books about trees and chess books. Do you play?Nuttily, Avery Dear Marvin, My new favorite animal is the wolf. What’s your favorite type of science? Do you like music? I want to be a chemist, geologist,…

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