Saturday, 22 August 2015

EXPLORING SPACE :- GALAXIES

          When we look at the sky at night, we can sometimes see thousands of stars shining brightly. They look as if they have been scattered around the sky. But actually, most stars are clustered together in huge groups. These groups are called "GALAXIES".

          Our Sun is part of a galaxy. It is the Milky Way Galaxy. On a very clear night, if you look carefully at the sky, you might see part of this whitish band of stars stretching from one side to other.

          The universe is so huge that the Milky Way Galaxy is only one of many galaxies. Astronomers think that there are billions of galaxies in the universe. Each of these galaxies may contain trillions of stars, many much bigger than our Sun! The Milky Way itself contains several billions stars.

          Some galaxies have no regular shape. Others, like the Milky Way, are shaped a bit like a giant merry-go-round. Each one has a centre around which stars move in circles.

          It is hard to see the other galaxies in the sky with naked eye. Even though they are incredibly large, they are also incredibly far away. Scientists must use powerful telescope to study other galaxies. For this reason it takes a long time to learn even a little bit about another galaxy. And there's still a great deal we haven't learned about our own galaxy.


          DID YOU KNOW ?

          Unlike galaxies, constellations are groups of stars. People used to imagine connecting the stars to make picture in the night sky. Most constellations are named after animals and mythological figures. They still help astronomers and navigators locate certain stars.

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