The son is fond of astronomy, so it is no wonder that he immediately liked this book: "Here is not only about space, but also about real adventures!" he said excitedly :)
What turned out to be true. The logic of the narrative is not particularly original, this technique is often used in cognitive fiction: when there is a certain semantic plot stuffed with all sorts of useful information. So here there is a little boy Seryozhka, who has acquired the ability to communicate with heavenly bodies and with pleasure draws from them knowledge in the field of astronomy. He is the same little astronomer whose adventures are described in the book.
The very style of narration I would describe as "laid-back" :) The boy talks now with the Sun, then with the Moon, then with the Comet and gradually learns something new and interesting from them. It is read very easily and quickly, you do not stumble anywhere and do not cling to anything. Ephraim Levitan masterfully adapts cognitive information for very young astronomy lovers, makes it as understandable, accessible as possible, such that it can be grasped on the fly, because it "flies" itself. But...
But at the same time, this ease of narration turns into another side: some randomness of presentation of the main facts. At least I, an adult, had a feeling of jumping from fifth to tenth. There was a lack of development of this or that thought, bringing it to its logical conclusion. Well, maybe I want a lot from a book that is only meant for preschoolers...
Therefore, I concluded for myself that the book is not bad only for an initial, very superficial acquaintance with the subject, while the child has not yet acquired any knowledge of astronomy. It seems to me that she should cope with the role of "exciter of interest" perfectly well.
Now a little about the design. The font is medium, closer even to large, comfortable line spacing - it's good to read, it's convenient. But oh, the illustrations are very distracting! Oleg Estis has a very peculiar artistic style: the drawings are bright, full of color, active. I'm tired of them, honestly. You don’t get tired of Tatyana Mavrina, although she also has unusually picturesque illustrations, but here she is tired. I didn’t even want to look at them, as usual, but I wanted to turn the page quickly so that my eye could rest on a white background. And I'm not very clear: why dot at the end of the title?
I didn't take pictures of the book as a whole, because the illustrations are quite similar, there are a little more than half (and only 64 pages with imprint).
Fabulous adventures of a little astronomer
Why are these stories interesting? In the course of the tale, the author poses many questions to the characters and readers that they have to solve. Thus, these fairy tales not only popularize science, but also make the child THINK!
We invite you to plunge into the science-fabulous adventure!
Is it possible to simply and fascinatingly talk about such a complex science as astronomy? It always seemed to the famous teacher Efrem Pavlovich Levitan that it was not only possible, but also necessary. As proof, he wrote many books about the secrets of the stars and planets for young readers.
Levitan, Efrem Pavlovich. Fabulous adventures of a little astronomer/ E. P. Levitan; artistic O. N. Estis. - M. : Meshcheryakov Publishing House, 2016. - 64 p. : col. ill. - (Pythagorean pants). (6+)
The main character is a boy Seryozhka, who once made friends ... with the Sun.
The sun shone so brightly that little Seryozhka, running out of the house, closed his eyes and sneezed loudly.
-Be healthy! he heard an unfamiliar voice.
- Who is it? - the boy was surprised. - Whose voice did I hear?
- My! - answered an already familiar unfamiliar voice, but, as before, no one was near Seryozhka.
- BUT! Someone is playing with me, the boy guessed. - I'll find him now.
He said, but did not find, although he looked everywhere. The boy was upset and even whimpered.
- Don't whine! - Seryozha heard. - It's me, the Sun, talking to you...
Seryozha wanted to look at the Sun. But the sun was very bright, and it made the boy close his eyes.
- Do not look at me, - said the Sun, - you will ruin your eyes. You better listen to me. I think that you will enjoy being friends with me, because from me you will learn very, very many interesting things.
This is where the boy's fascinating conversations with celestial bodies begin. Seryozhka is very inquisitive and observant. He describes what he sees in the sky and asks the right questions. Following the boy, readers of this book will get acquainted with the planets of the solar system, with the most famous constellations, learn a lot about the size of our Galaxy, about whether it is the only one in the Universe...
Where to find the book: Subscription 2-4 class department
Donner, K. Secrets of Anatomy/ K. Donner; ed.: I. Gelfand; per. from English. I. Gurova; ill. author. - M. : Pink giraffe, 2012. - 156 p. : tsv.ill. (12+)
How is my own body? Why doesn't the stomach eat itself? Why is the immune system needed?
Max and Molly, the characters in the book Secrets of Anatomy, like all children, ask these questions. Only unlike ordinary children from the real world, reading encyclopedias, asking parents and teachers, Max and Molly had an incredible story.
Once in the grandmother's attic they found old book about human anatomy, and as soon as they opened the book, the children were blinded by a sudden flash of bright light. And now, Max and Molly are no longer in the attic of their grandmother's house, but travel inside a living human body.
This "anatomical" adventure is lavishly illustrated with magnificent, scientifically accurate color drawings of anatomical "landscapes" and individual objects: the esophagus, stomach, erythrocytes, nerve cells...
Author of the book "Secrets of Anatomy" and drawings for them - Carol Donner, a doctor by training, she specializes in the popularization of medical knowledge. That is why The Secrets of Anatomy is not only a fascinating read, but also a trustworthy source of modern anatomical knowledge.
Where to find the book : subscription 5-7 class department
Galfar, K. Prince 
from the land of the clouds: novel / K. Galfar; per. from fr. M. S. Grinberg; artistic W. Dutre. - M. : Pink Giraffe, 2011. - 344 p. : ill. (12+)
"Prince of Clouds"- this is interesting, accessible scientific information and a rapidly unfolding action - only now it's not about the Universe, but about the Earth and its climate.
The heroes are 12 years old - this is Princess Mirtil, clever Tom and dreamy loser Tristam, in love with Mirtil. Children study in the same class and live on the cloud. Yes, this is a fairy tale, but a fairy tale for big children, fantasy - therefore, the town on the cloud immediately, at the beginning, collapses under the onslaught of villains, and half of the heroes escape from the cruel tyrant and his guardsmen named "snowbreakers", and the other languishes in captivity. Driving air motorcycles, Tom and Tristam, risking their lives, escape from the chase ... thunder clouds and lightning, which the evil tyrant has turned into his weapon.
Something happens all the time, the reader is not allowed to relax for a second: the excellent student Tom quickly sets out all the scientific information to his ignorant friend in between battles. For example, that the temperature inside lightning reaches thirty thousand degrees, which is 5 times higher than the temperature of the solar surface. And why is the sky blue.
This book combines seemingly completely incompatible things: science fiction and a fairy tale, modern theories in the field of physics and mythological plots. Most importantly, this is an amazingly engaging read that encourages a teenager to think about his responsibility for the planet on which he lives.
"Science is so rich, so beautiful, and so far-reaching that it seemed to me absolutely natural to describe it with the help of adventures."
K. Galfar
Where to find the book : subscription 5-7 class department
Books can be ordered through
Vyacheslav Klimentov, Yulia Sigorskaya
Artist A.G. Shlyadinsky
Publishing house "Rech", 2016
The authors give a detailed account of the origin and development of space science since Ancient China, and remembering scientists from Archimedes to Korolev and Tsiolkovsky. From the book you can learn about who invented the first rocket, what the first aircraft looked like, what a rocket engine consists of, how satellites are located in Earth orbit and what is on reverse side Moon, as well as a huge number of other "cosmic" facts. On each page, under the heading "Do you know?" are given interesting stories from the life of scientists and legends associated with the study of space, with a person's dreams of flight. A separate detailed chapter is devoted to animals in space, here you can also see photos of all the animals that have been in orbit.
The illustrations in the book are very informative: there are portraits, device diagrams, and photographs. The book is suitable for family reading with children from eight years old, reading independently can be difficult due to small print and small text.
Katherine Barr, Steve Williams
Illustrations by Aimee Husband
Translation from English by Vadim Tsilinsky
Publishing house "Scooter", 2018
The book "History of the Cosmos" has a subtitle - "My first book about the Universe." And this immediately raises the reader to a new level - calls him to feel like a Man of the Universe.
This is a picture book, although it cannot be said that there is not enough text in it. But the text does not outweigh the pictures.
"Objective presentation of facts" here is adjacent to the emotional. Funny characters in cosmonaut spacesuits are responsible for the emotional component - such a children's team that observes all the events and processes described "from Space". Not only observes, but also partly participates in them. Characters communicate how they feel at one time or another: their lines are transmitted using "clouds", as in comics. Therefore, the book as a whole is not only understandable (although it is probably impossible to present complex material quite simply), but also not without humor.
Perhaps this book can be attributed to the most successful and informative books about the Cosmos that have appeared on the book market in the past five years.
With baby before school age it can be considered together and "read" in places. And from the age of eight, a well-read child will master it on his own.
Ephraim Levitan
Artist Oleg Estis
Meshcheryakov Publishing House, 2016
The main character of this fairy tale the boy Seryozha once made friends with the Sun, and then with the Moon, stars and comets, which told him a lot of interesting things about themselves: why is the sun not always visible in the sky? Why is it hot on a summer day, and in winter, even in the bright sun, the snow does not melt? Why do we see the moon now round, then crescent? How do the planets walk through the constellations? How old are comets?
Perhaps, after reading this book, the child will want to go to the planetarium, which is described in the book in a bright and exciting way.
This book is suitable for children ages 6 and up.
Lucy and Stephen Hawking
Artist Harry Parsons
Translation from English by E. Kanishcheva
Pink Giraffe Publishing House, 2019
The famous astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, together with his daughter Lucy, created an astronomy trilogy for children in 2007. Her the protagonist- the boy George, who, together with the girl Annie and with the help of a supercomputer named Cosmos, sets off on a journey through the universe, intending to learn its secrets. The most up-to-date information about the structure of the cosmos is woven into the plot outline about the adventures of children on the stars and planets. The book contains black-and-white plot illustrations and color photographs taken by space telescopes, rovers and other state-of-the-art technology. The book is recommended for middle school children, but will be interesting and junior schoolchildren passionate about the space theme.
“And the moon reassured Seryozha:
— Don't worry, the stars don't fall from the sky to the Earth. You know that they are the same as our Sun: very large and hot. They, even if they wanted to, could not fall to the Earth or to me ...
“But I saw that they were falling,” Seryozhka began to argue.
“You saw something like stars fall, but what it was, you will find out later, be patient.”
“- First I will draw the Sun. Like this. And now his whole family.
- Stars? Serezha asked.
- No! There are no stars other than the Sun itself in the solar system that I am going to draw. Large and small balls revolve around the Sun. There are nine of them in total, and they are called planets ... "
“People called constellations in different ways, which resemble a saucepan or ladle rather than bears! In total, about a hundred names of these constellations are known. For example, the inhabitants of ancient Novgorod called the Big Dipper Elk, in Ukraine it was Woz, in Bulgaria it was Wagon. And the herdsmen Central Asia on the spot Ursa Major saw a beautiful horse tied to a golden peg - the North Star.
“And the Sun will die? - Seryozha was horrified.
“After all, yes,” Chronos sighed. - But, of course, not immediately, because it will first turn into a tiny white star, which will be no larger than the Earth, and then this white dwarf will slowly cool down ...
What about the solar system? - Seryozhka was even more frightened. What about our Earth? What about people?
“They can take care of their very distant future!” - answered the old Chronos.
- Like this? - Seryozha did not understand.
“First of all, they should never fight each other. People should also protect their wonderful Earth. Believe me (and I know a lot), such planets in the Universe are not often found. And if people learn to live in peace and friendship, make the Earth even better than it is today, then they will be able to live long and beautifully on it. They will become strong and happy. All together, together they will cope with any difficulties and, perhaps, even learn to live without the Sun or fly away to other stars ... I don’t know exactly how they will act, but if people want, they will never die.
The hero of this tale is extremely lucky! The sun and the moon, comets and stars, a ray of light and the lord of time spoke to him. It was from them that he learned about how our beautiful Universe works.
The young reader will also know about it. And about many other things that haunt when you look at the sky and the stars.
Content:
AS WE SEE IT - THE UNIVERSE
How Seryozhka began to be friends with the Sun
Day walks of the Sun
First meetings with Lupa
Why is it difficult for Luna to sew a suit?
How Seryozhka opened the second "Moon"
Sisters of our Sun
In the Star House
Is it possible to fly to Ursa Major
Extraordinary in the sky
THAT'S WHAT IT IS, OUR UNIVERSE!
Our solar system is very small
Universe
Riding the Comet
The realm of the stars - our universe is bigger
What the guest from Andromeda said
Our vast expanding universe
Journey on the River of Time
Pages: 64 (Offset)
Dimensions: 271x205x7mm
AS WE SEE IT - THE UNIVERSE
How Seryozhka began to be friends with the Sun 5
Day walks of the Sun -
First encounters with Luna 8
Why is it difficult for Luna to sew a suit? -
How Seryozhka opened the second "Moon" 11
Sisters of our Sun 12
In the Star House 16
Is it possible to fly to Ursa Major 19
Extraordinary in the sky 20
THAT'S WHAT IT IS, OUR UNIVERSE!
The solar system is our very small universe 27
Riding the Comet 30
The realm of the stars - our universe is bigger 36
What the guest from Andromeda 40 said
Our vast expanding universe 47
Journey on the River of Time 49
The sun shone so brightly that little Seryozhka, running out of the house, closed his eyes and sneezed loudly.
- Be healthy! he heard an unfamiliar voice.
- Who is it? - the boy was surprised. - Whose voice did I hear?
- My! - answered an already familiar unfamiliar voice, but, as before, there was no one near Seryozhka.
- BUT! Someone is playing with me, the boy guessed. - I'll find him now.
He said, but did not find, although he looked everywhere. The boy was upset and even whimpered softly.
- No need to whine! - Seryozha heard. - It's me, the Sun, talking to you...
Seryozha wanted to look at the Sun. But the sun was very bright, and it made the boy close his eyes.
- Do not look at me, - said the Sun, - you will ruin your eyes. You better listen to me. I think that you will enjoy being friends with me, because from me you will learn a lot, a lot of interesting things.
Imagine that you, like Seryozhka, have made friends with the Sun. You would, of course, want to know a lot about such an extraordinary friend. What exactly? Well, for example, why the sun is not always visible in the sky, why it can shine brightly, why it is very hot on a sunny summer day, and in winter when the sun is bright, even the snow does not melt ...
And the Sun began to tell Seryozha about all this. Of course, the boy looked forward to each new meeting with the Sun and was upset when it did not appear.
- Why, Sunshine, you were gone all day yesterday? he asked one day.
- How was it not? Sun was surprised. - I'm always there.
- How is it that you always happen if I didn't see you yesterday? - the boy was surprised.
"Yes," Sunny repeated. - I always visit, but sometimes clouds hide me. By the way, when there are clouds in the sky, you can’t see me during the day, and at night you can’t see either the Moon or the stars ...
- And if you fly by plane? - asked Seryozha.
“Well, you can see me from the plane, of course,” Sunny replied.
- If I reach you?
- No, no one can fly up to me on an airplane, - Sunny laughed, - but it’s not very difficult to get up on an airplane above the clouds and clouds.
Seryozha sighed: of course, he wanted to immediately fly an airplane, and in general to become a pilot who, even in bad weather, can see the bright Sun.
One day, Serezha was given a compass for his birthday. The boy really liked to watch how the needle of this device quickly finds the north. Soon Seryozha learned to determine by compass not only the north, but also the south, and the east, and the west. When he told the Sun about this, it was delighted and even offered to play the “meet and see off” game.
Seryozhka had never heard of such a game. In the new game, the compass came in handy. Yes, without him it would be impossible to play at all, because Seryozha had to find out where the Sun appeared in the morning, where it was during the day and where it ended its daytime walk.
And what did it turn out? In both summer and winter, the Sun rises in the eastern side of the sky, and sets in the western side. But in winter and summer his path is not the same. For example, in winter it appears between east and south. So it rises in the southeast. And comes in the southwest. The Sun does not walk across the sky for a long time in winter. The days in winter are therefore short.
The sun rises late and sets early. Even in the middle of a winter day, the Sun rises very low (at this time it is always visible in the south).
Another thing is summer! Only a few times Seryozhka managed to wake up so early that he could see the rising Sun. But he nevertheless became convinced that in the summer the Sun appears early in the morning in the north.
ro-east, during the day it is highly visible in the south, and late in the evening it wearily sets in the north-west.
This is the routine of walks at the Sun. And the Sun strictly fulfills it all the time. People have long been accustomed to this routine and adapted their lives and work to it in summer and winter.
Seryozhka patiently and diligently followed the movement of the Sun across the sky. Seryozhka even got dark glasses, which he wore during his observations. With glasses and a compass, he imagined himself to be a real scientist. And then one day, without having time to put on his glasses, he was surprised to find in the sky not only the Sun, but also the Moon!
- You are surprised, - Seryozhka heard the voice of the Sun, - and I have long wanted to introduce you to the Moon. And she will be glad to this acquaintance. But remember: in all its glory, the Moon is in the sky after my sunset, and now it is pale and completely uninteresting.
With these words, our daytime luminary - the Sun - disappeared, leaving a new Seryozhkin familiar in the sky - the Moon.
The darker it got, the more beautiful the moon became. To observe the moon, no dark glasses were needed, because it was perfectly visible even without dark glasses.
Like the Sun, it appeared in the eastern side of the sky and disappeared in the western.
But now she behaved very strangely, not at all like the Sun, - Seryozhka even got a special notebook for himself and diligently sketched the Moon in it. And when I began to compare my drawings, I immediately noticed among them the crescent moon, the semicircle moon, and the circle moon.
The moon has never been as bright as the sun, and therefore you can always look at it even without dark glasses. And the Moon also differed from the Sun in that sometimes for several evenings it did not appear at all in the sky, although no clouds interfered with it. This puzzled the boy so much that he decided to talk to Luna. He waited until the evening, when the moon did appear, and politely addressed her:
- Tell me, please, what is happening to you?
- I'm sorry, what? Luna asked worriedly. - Nothing ever happens to me.
“But I can see,” Seryozhka flared up. - Either you are a sickle, then you are a circle, then you are not at all ...
"Ah," said Luna mysteriously. - It doesn't concern me. You just see me differently...
To be honest, Seryozhka did not understand anything and began to intently examine some dark spots on the moon. On the round moon, they sometimes looked like a funny face. Seryozha thought: someone is looking at him from the moon.
But his parents convinced him that there was no one on the moon and no one admired him from the moon. And that the moon is changing its appearance is the absolute truth. People have noticed this for a long time. The newly appeared crescent moon is called the young moon or the growing moon. From the sickle of the growing Moon, the letter “P” is very easy to get: you just need to draw a straight line through the tips of the sickle and continue it down a little. The letter “P” is obtained only from a young sickle, and if the Moon is old, then its sickle itself speaks of this: it looks like the letter “C”. The round moon is called full, and when such a moon is in the sky, they say: "Today is a full moon."
From full moon to full moon, about 30 days pass, that is, a month. Therefore, once the Moon helped people keep track of time: they even called the months lunar.
Watching the moon, Seryozhka remembered a funny poem about a tailor. This tailor did not know that Luna is always different, and therefore could not sew her a suitable suit!
When Seryozhka began to observe the Moon, his parents decided to help him. But how? We thought and thought and bought our son good binoculars. Earring was happy. He grabbed the binoculars and rushed off to look through them... at the Sun! But, fortunately, the weather was bad, the sun was not visible in the sky. In addition, Seryozhka remembered that the Sun forbade him to look at him. Parents also confirmed that it is dangerous to look at the Sun, and it is generally impossible to look through binoculars - you can even go blind!
But why not, for example, look at the moon through binoculars?
And then came a cloudless moonlit evening. Seryozhka was waiting for him with great impatience, but he did not know how to observe the Moon through binoculars. He had to tinker a lot before he saw the moon through binoculars, because binoculars without support were difficult to hold in his hands. Finally he settled on the balcony, where he managed to lean on a small table standing there. And then Seryozhka gasped in amazement. In front of him was a completely extraordinary moon. The outlines of a funny face disappeared, and instead of them a lot of some circles appeared, which Seryozhka could not see without binoculars.
- Moon, Moon, - Seryozhka shouted, - what are these circles on you?
- What circles? Luna was surprised. - These are not circles at all, but my lunar mountains.
- The mountains? - Seryozha did not believe. - They can't be on the Moon!
- Why so? Luna exclaimed.
- Because you, the Moon, are small, and the mountains are tall! - Seryozha quickly realized.
- Who told you that I'm small? Luna was offended. - You just don't know what I really am!
On one of the cloudless evenings, when Seryozhka had just said goodbye to the Sun, the boy wanted to take a closer look through binoculars at the narrow crescent of the young Moon. And so, when he aimed the binoculars, he noticed a completely different moon, which he was already used to. The new moon was also visible as a crescent, but only very small.
- What? thought Seryozha. - Maybe the binoculars are broken?
He aimed the binoculars at the moon again. Now everything was in order: he saw the real moon.
“I wonder,” Seryozhka drawled, “what did I see last time?”
He carefully began to peer into the sky and very soon noticed a bright star. In the sky, nothing but the moon could compare with it. However, only these two luminaries were visible in the sky at that moment, because the Sun had already disappeared, and the stars had not yet appeared. Seryozhka was so accustomed to talking to heavenly bodies that he decided to ask:
- Star, star, who are you? What are you, little moon?
And heard in response:
- I'm not a star, I'm not the moon either. I am Venus!
- Venus? - Seryozha drawled. - And what is it?
- I am the most beautiful of the planets. I was called that because of my beauty.
Seryozhka heard the word "planet" many times. He even remembered that he lives on a planet called Earth, but he knew nothing about Venus.
- Venus, how are you like our Earth? - asked Seryozha.
- I am the sister of the Earth, - answered Venus.
Seryozhka did not have time to ask Venus his next question, because she soon disappeared into that side of the sky, where the setting Sun had recently shone.
But the boy did not have to be sad for a long time, because it was getting darker and one after another the stars began to appear in the sky.
- Maybe it's other planets? thought Seryozha. And he began to point the binoculars at the stars, but none of them looked like a small crescent of Venus. Seryozhka really wanted to know what these mysterious luminous points were. He decided that he would definitely ask Sunshine about it.
- Sunshine, Sunshine! Now I know the moon, and I watched Venus, and I saw the stars! - said Seryozhka to the Sun.
- Stars, stars... - Sun said dreamily. There is nothing more beautiful than us...
- Who is you? - Seryozha was alarmed.
- Us stars! - answered the Sun.
- Sunshine, are you a star? - Seryozha was surprised.
- Certainly! The real star. You remember it well!
But Seryozha could not believe it. After all, only yesterday he looked at the stars. There were many of them, but it was still dark. The sun is a completely different matter. In the daytime, there is only one in the sky, but it shines so brightly that it is impossible to look at it without very dark glasses. Maybe the Sun was joking? But Venus says that she is not a star. Maybe the moon is also a star?
- The sun, - asked Seryozhka, - is the Moon also a star?
"No, no," the Sun replied hastily. - Do not confuse us, the stars, either with the planets (for example, with Venus or the Earth), or with the satellites of the planets (the Moon is a satellite of the Earth).
Seryozhka did not really understand why the Sun called the Moon a satellite of the Earth, but decided not to ask anything about it for the time being. And the sun continued:
- We, the stars that you saw, are very big and hot. We ourselves glow and illuminate the cold planets. Here I, for example, illuminate and warm the Earth, the Moon, Venus.
- And why don't other stars warm us and don't illuminate us at all?
- My dear sisters live far from the Earth and very far from me. They have their own concerns there; there are, probably, their own planets, which also need light and heat. But you should definitely try to get acquainted with at least the brightest and most noticeable. After all, people have always loved the stars, they came up with the names of the most bright stars, and the most prominent stellar figures began to be called constellations. In our sky there are constellations Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Leo, Pisces and many others.
- Why didn't I see any bears, lions and fish in the sky yesterday? - Seryozha exclaimed.
- They are not there. A bear does not live in Ursa Major, there is no bear cub in Ursa Minor, no fish swim in Pisces. Neither swans nor eagles fly there, although there are constellations Cygnus and Eagle. These are just the names of different constellations. Moreover, the constellations have not only animal-fish-bird names. There are constellations in the sky that remind people of the heroes of different fairy tales...
“Tell me, tell me some fairy tales,” Seryozhka asked.
- You know, - said the Sun, - star tales are best listened to under the starry sky.
- But the starry sky happens at night, and at night you don’t exist ...
- That's right, - the Sun agreed, paused, and then asked: - Have you been to the planetarium?
- In the planetarium? No, never was, never.
- So be sure to go there with one of the adults. There you will be shown a very beautiful starry sky, taught to find constellations on it and told interesting star tales. And whenever you meet real stars, say hello from me to my distant sisters.
Seryozhka did not even suspect that there is a house in which you can see such beauty. First, he was told about the smart device, which is called the planetarium, and then they showed him everything that this two-headed robot can do. The sun appeared in the sky of the planetarium. It wasn't real, of course, but it made its way through the sky just like the real Sun did, only it moved too fast. It appeared in the eastern side of the firmament, then quickly gained altitude, turned out to be above the point of the south, and then began to decline, preparing to set in the western side of the firmament.
But now the sun has set. Venus appeared in the western part of the sky, and when it began to get dark, stars became visible one after another. In complete darkness, many stars sparkled above Seryozhka's head. Seryozhka had never seen such a sky from his balcony. He held his breath, trying not to miss a single word of the lecturer.
"Star" in Greek is "astron", and the word for "law" is "nomos". From these two words came the name of one of the most fascinating sciences - astronomy, and the profession of people - astronomers who study stars and other celestial bodies. Astronomy is one of the most ancient sciences. People were engaged in astronomical observations several thousand years ago... But astronomy is still very young today. Ahead of her is a huge path of knowledge of cosmic secrets. These secrets will be revealed by both astronomers working on Earth and people who will fly to the Moon, to other planets, and someday to the stars ... It is quite possible that today's smallest listeners will someday fly to the Earth's satellite - the Moon - or to one of the most interesting planets - Mars...
Everything immediately became clear to Seryozhka: he, of course, will be an astronomer, he, of course, will fly to the Moon, and to Mars, and to distant stars!
And then a miracle happened: the starry sky came to life, images of people, animals, fish, birds appeared on it ... Seryozhka did not have time to gasp for the first time, as he had to gasp for the second time, because the whole fabulous sky began to rotate. One by one, the constellations appeared in the east and, having passed their way, disappeared in the west. It seemed to Seryozha that he had already become an astronaut and was rushing through the endless expanses of stars. And the lecturer said that the starry sky in the planetarium rotates much faster than the real one.
But now the parade of fabulous constellations has ended. The starry sky froze, and the lecturer began to talk about some constellations. It was then that Seryozhka first saw the star bears - Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. It was very easy to see them in the planetarium, because there they were painted in the sky. At the tip of the tail of Ursa Minor is the Polar Star. The lecturer said that this is a compass star: find it in the sky - and you will see the north in front of you, the east to your right, the west to your left, and the south behind you.
But how did these bears end up in the sky? Here is what is told in one fairy tale. The Big Dipper was not a bear at all before. An evil sorceress turned the beautiful Callisto, the daughter of the king of the ancient country of Arcadia, into a bear. The unfortunate Callisto was almost killed on a hunt by her own son, Arkad. But the life of Callisto was saved by the all-powerful wizard guarding her. And in order not to expose Callisto to dangerous encounters with hunters anymore, the wizard placed her in the sky. At the same time, he sent Arkad there in the form of a bear cub: let mother and son become beautiful constellations that people will always admire.
People called the constellations in different ways, which resemble a pot or ladle rather than bears! In total, about a hundred names of these constellations are known. For example, the inhabitants of ancient Novgorod called the Big Dipper Elk, in Ukraine it was Woz, in Bulgaria it was Wagon. And the pastoralists of Central Asia, on the site of the Great Bear, saw a beautiful horse tied to a golden peg - the North Star. Why tied? To clarify this, the lecturer again began to show the rotation of the sky, and Seryozha saw that the bucket of the Big Dipper was circling around the fixed Polaris. Ursa Major once a day, as it were, touches the earth's surface, as if she wants to quench her thirst in the ocean. And the bear cub relentlessly and forever follows its mother.
Seryozhka liked the story about the celestial bears so much that he wanted to definitely fly to them. And as soon as the lecturer said: “Those who want to ask questions, please come up to me,” Serezha was the first to run up.
- How long is the flight to Ursa Major? he asked immediately.
“And you will never reach it at all,” he heard in response.
- Like this? - Seryozha exclaimed in surprise.
“You see, boy,” the lecturer began to explain. - In fact, there is no Big Dipper...
- I know, I know, - Seryozhka could not stand it. - There are no animals in the sky, no people, but there are big and small ladles ...
- That's just the point, - the lecturer smiled. - And there are no buckets! All the stars are very far from us, but they are at different distances. Some are closer, others are farther, others are even further... And among the stars of the Ursa Major bucket, there are also close and distant ones. Perhaps someday people will try to fly to each of these stars, but, flying up to one of them, the astronauts will be convinced that no “star pan” exists. The stars will simply gradually part in front of their ship, like trees before a person approaching the forest...
Why do we need all these constellations then? - Seryozha was disappointed.
- Oh, we really need the constellations! the lecturer encouraged him. - Each constellation (and there are only 88 of them!) is a section of the sky that we see from Earth. The people agreed to divide the sky into sections in order to
it was easier to study the starry sky and the phenomena that take place on it.
- What can happen there? - asked Seryozha.
Well, you will know about it in due time. And now I will only say that, for example, even the Moon, which is well known to you, is visible now in one, then in another part of the sky. It seems to move from one constellation to another. If you know the starry sky well, you will learn to notice some other changes in it.
- What other changes? - asked Seryozha.
- Different, - the lecturer answered. - Maybe a planet will appear, or maybe you will see a comet or something else. If you are interested in all this, start by studying the starry sky. Learn to find constellations on it, remember the names of the brightest stars from childhood. This is very interesting and will definitely come in handy for you.
In a beautiful starry sky, sometimes you can see something completely unusual. But only very rarely does this happen: some people do not have time to notice anything interesting in the sky in their entire lives ... Seryozhka would not have seen anything either if he were not the hero of our fairy tale and was not friends with heavenly bodies.
Once Seryozhka looked at the Moon through binoculars and, as always, asked her all sorts of questions. But Luna was always in a hurry somewhere, and when Seryozha asked her about it, he heard in response:
- I'm in a hurry to Leo's birthday ...
- To what else Leo? - asked Seryozha.
- Don't you know? Luna was surprised. - I thought that any astronomer knew Leo.
- I'm not an astronomer, - Seryozhka grumbled. - I only know little Lyovka-thin from our yard ...
- What are you saying, boy? Luna said sternly. - The lion does not live in your yard, but in the sky. Haven't you heard anything about the spring constellation Leo? That's what Leo I was going to for my birthday! By the way, I can invite you...
Seryozhka, of course, happily agreed and asked what would be the best gift for Leo for his birthday. The moon replied that the constellation Leo did not need to give anything: guests simply come to this constellation to congratulate him.
- I'm just inviting you in order to introduce you to amazing guests, - said the Moon. - However, tomorrow evening you will see everything yourself: the constellation Leo will be clearly visible from your balcony, and I will tell you about the guests who will come to congratulate Leo. You will see a wonderful performance!
Now listen to how the performance went. First of all, it seemed to Seryozhka that the constellation Leo appeared in the sky in a particularly elegant form. Some red star shone brightly in it, which was not there before.
- Now the planet Mars has come into the constellation Leo, very similar to a red star, for example, the star Aldebaran from the constellation Taurus. Planets, like me, generally like to walk through the constellations, moving from one constellation to another. Today, Mars entered the constellation Leo. I don’t understand why other planets didn’t come here, for example, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn ...
- And I thought that Mars is a completely new star, - Seryozhka was disappointed.
- The planets are also very important, because they are the sisters of the Earth. But sometimes guest stars appear either in one or another constellation. They are called novas or even supernovas...
Probably, the Moon wanted to say something else, but Seryozhka could not listen to anything else, because stars were falling from the sky. It was a real star shower! Seryozhka was even afraid that soon there would be no stars left in the sky at all. But now the stellar rain stopped, and in the sky every single star remained in place. And the moon reassured Seryozhka:
- Don't worry, the stars don't fall from the sky to the Earth. You know that they are the same as our Sun: very large and hot. They, even if they wanted to, could not fall to the Earth or to me ...
“But I saw that they were falling,” Seryozhka began to argue.
- You saw something like stars fall, but what it was, you will find out later, be patient.
While Seryozhka endured, a huge tailed star approached the constellation Leo. She was very beautiful, but, perhaps, a little scary (after all, it’s better when the stars are not so tailed and shaggy).
“Here comes the Comet,” Luna solemnly announced. - Look at her fluffy ponytail!
- Was it already raining stars? Comet asked.
"Just finished," Luna said.
“Strange, strange,” said Comet thoughtfully. - Usually stellar showers happen after me. Everything is messed up because of Leo's birthday...
“Listen, dear Comet,” Luna addressed her. - Today, not only heavenly bodies came to Leo's birthday, but also a young astronomer from planet Earth. You don't want to get to know him?
- I can, I can, - the Comet answered importantly. - The fact is that I was recently visiting the Sun, which I had not seen for a long time, about thirty million years. Yes, so the Sun told me that it made friends with some boy who loves astronomy more than anything in the world. Isn't that him?
- He, he! - Seryozha shouted. - I always dreamed of becoming friends with Comet and playing with her.
- Play? Comet was surprised. - My young friend takes me, probably, for a little girl, but I'm an old woman ...
- What an old lady you are! - Seryozha exclaimed. - You are so young and beautiful, like the growing moon.
The Comet liked these words very much. But his next question pleased her much less. Probably, he seemed to her not very tactful, but Seryozhka simply asked:
- How old are you, Comet?
“You see,” the Comet began reluctantly, “although I am a little older than the Earth and the Moon, I am still a little younger than the Sun.
It was a rather mysterious answer, because Seryozhka had no idea how old the Earth, the Moon and the Sun were... But anyway, is it really that important? More importantly, the Comet is still very beautiful, more beautiful than all the stars!
Comet continued:
- Perhaps, I will not only agree to be friends with you, but also ride around the solar system ...
- Well, you're lucky! - Luna said with obvious envy. - Thank you, thank you dear Comet.
- Thank you, thank you very much, dear Comet! - Seryozhka quickly spoke the words of gratitude. - Only I did not understand where I will fly with you?
- I told you clearly: on a trip to the Sunny si-
Steme, - the Comet answered calmly. - Or do you not know what the solar system is?
- Not! The first time I hear ... - Seryozhka honestly admitted.
- This is bad! Comet said. - When we're in next time meet, I'll tell you something about our solar system. Even the youngest astronomer should know this.
Vsvzhtaya.
The comet really told Seryozhka about the solar system.
- First I'll draw the Sun. Like this. And now his whole family.
- Stars? - asked Seryozha.
- No! There are no stars other than the Sun itself in the solar system I am about to draw. Large and small balls revolve around the Sun. There are nine of them, and they are called planets. Closest to the Sun is the planet Mercury, followed by Venus, and the third is your Earth, your globe.
With these words, the Comet drew not only Mercury, Venus and the Earth, but also the paths along which these planets rush around
Sun. Astronomers call such round paths the orbits of the planet.
no.
Is this the solar system? - asked Seryozha.
- Well, what are you! Comet exclaimed. - I told you that there are only nine planets. I will now draw a small Mars, huge planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, and then the tiny and farthest from the Sun Pluto ...
Comet continued:
- Your Earth has only one moon. It circles the Earth all the time, and therefore is called its satellite. Pluto also has one moon. Mercury and Venus do not have a single one, which means there is nothing to draw. Mars has two tiny moons. Especially many satellites (I don’t even know for sure, maybe at least fifteen) have Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus. Well, I'll draw two satellites of Neptune here. So... Wow, I'm even tired of waving my tail...
- Rest, please, dear Comet, - Seryozhka asked, - after all, you have already drawn everything.
- What you! What you! Comet spoke hastily. What about asteroids? What about comets? How can I forget about them?! After all, I'm still a comet myself ...
With that, she quickly drew many tiny (...) planets between Mars and Jupiter. She called them asteroids (or simply small planets).
- Dear Comet, - Seryozhka addressed his unusual teacher. - You drew so many things that for comets and
Saturn... And although the planets considered themselves sisters, they turned out to be very different. For example, as Comet explained, on the huge Jupiter there is not a patch of solid land - only clouds, and even then from the air, which is completely different from the earth and which is impossible to breathe ... And the round mountains that Seryozha saw on the Moon are clearly visible and on Mercury, and on Mars, and on the satellites of the planets.
- Look, look! - Seryozha shouted. - There's some kind of hat flying!
What other hat? Comet asked. - It's not a hat at all, but one of the big planets - Saturn. It seems like a hat to you because it has rings of many thousands of tiny companions.
But even the big planets seemed small compared to the huge Sun around which they moved. And the Sun here did not look the same as from the Earth: it did not make any walks in the sky, which Seryozhka was used to, but solemnly controlled the planetary round dance.
- Like? - now and then asked the Comet.
- Yes Yes! - did not get tired of repeating Seryozhka.
- Well, then ask questions! Comet said.
- Dear Comet, - Seryozhka addressed her, - I still can't understand why the Sun behaves differently on Earth?
- What are you talking about, boy? - the important Comet was indignant. - How can the Sun behave on your Earth? Look how big the Sun is and how small the Earth is!
- Ace of the Earth the Sun is also small, - Seryozhka objected. - I have seen many times how it rises in the morning and in the evening goes somewhere to sleep ...
- It's not going anywhere! Comet grumbled. - The sun never sleeps, it works without rest, illuminating and warming planets, asteroids, and comets.
- But I saw it, - Seryozhka was stubborn. - I saw the Sun walking across the sky...
- Oh, baby, - said Comet. Everything you saw, you only imagined...
- Like this? Seryozha screamed.
"Very simple," said the Comet. - It seemed to you that the Sun was moving around you, but in fact it was the globe, rotating like a top, turning to the Sun first one side, then the other. Therefore, day and night occur on Earth.
- But you said, - Seryozhka was agitated, - that the Earth is spinning around the Sun? How so?
"Very simple," Comet explained. - The earth revolves around the sun, making each revolution in one year. But at the same time, for every 24 hours, she still manages to turn like a top. The Earth rotates very smoothly and imperceptibly, and what results from this rotation you see from the Earth, you see how not only the Sun rises and sets, but also the planets and stars. And the big Sun also only seems small to you, because the Sun is far from the Earth.
- How many meters? - Seryozhka asked quickly.
- Not meters, but 150 million kilometers - this is the distance from the Sun to the Earth, - the Comet explained. - Well, of course, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are even further from the Sun. Therefore, from these planets, the Sun seems very small, and from Pluto it looks like a bright star ...
Seryozhka wanted to visit distant Pluto, but Kometa said that only space marines were allowed to do this - brave cosmonauts, which, perhaps, Seryozhka will become when he grows up. Seryozhka sighed and again began to examine different planets. Looked, looked, and then asked:
- On Mars live the same people as on Earth?
"Oh no," Comet replied. - People live only on Earth.
- Why so? - Seryozha was surprised. - After all, the Sun has many all sorts of planets and comets ...
- There are many, but there are none suitable for life, except for the Earth ...
- How is it suitable? - Seryozha did not understand.
“You see,” Comet explained, “you people are very fragile and spoiled. You need good air to breathe, you need water, you can't live when it's too cold or too hot...
- Well, let these capricious people live on different planets, - Seryozhka said.
"They can't live on different planets," Comet explained patiently. - On Mercury, for example, the heat is unbearable, there is neither water nor air there. It is hot and stuffy on Venus, cold and there is little air on Mars... In a word, people can live only on Earth. So they live there... Therefore, take care of your wonderful planet.
"And there's no one else anywhere else?" - asked Seryozha.
- Not in the solar system. But the solar system is just our little universe. And there is a very large universe in which there are many stars. But you already know that the stars are the sisters of the Sun.
Some stars also have their own planets, perhaps completely different from ours. There are also such planets where, perhaps, someone lives.
- Other people? - asked Seryozha.
"I don't know," Comet replied. - Perhaps those inhabitants and on
people are not similar, but also smart and reasonable ...
- Dear Comet, thank you so much for everything! -
Seryozha said. - But could you fly with me there, to those
smart and intelligent non-human people?
- No, boy! Comet replied. - It would be a trip to other stars. And the Sun will not allow me to fly to them.
No one today will agree to fly to the stars even on the fastest space rocket, because it will take 100 thousand years to fly to the nearest star! But people will definitely come up with something to get to the stars! Seryozhka also walked around for a long time and came up with ideas, but, to be honest, he didn’t come up with anything. And when I got tired of thinking, I decided to play with myself in guessing the bright stars. A game
simple, but if you don’t know the starry sky, it’s better not to play, because you will never guess the name of this or that star.
Seryozhka remembered some of the stars well. Therefore, I found in the sky and correctly named the North Star from Ursa Minor, Betelgeuse from the constellation Orion and bright, strongly winking Sirius from Big Dog. But I forgot the name of the reddish star in the constellation Taurus, with which the hunter Orion is fighting.
“Well, remember, remember,” this bright star encouraged him. - I have such a long and difficult name...
- It starts with the letter "A", - some children's voices prompted Seryozhka.
"Don't tell me, girls," the reddish star said sternly. - Let him remember!
- The second letter is "L", - the children continued to prompt from somewhere.
“Pleiades, I asked you to be quiet,” the reddish star said even more sternly.
- Al, Al, - Seryozhka began to remember.
- Not “Al”, “Al”, but “Al”, “Al”, - the prompters squeaked.
- Who's telling me? - interested Seryozhka.
- Yes, these are our neighbor girls. Some call them the Pleiades, others call them Stozhars, others call them the Duck's Nest... Do you see them?
- Of course of course! - Seryozha shouted. - They are like the smallest bear.
"That's right," said the reddish star. - From Earth, they are visible as a tiny bucket in the constellation Taurus.
- How long do you see us? the Pleiades asked.
- One, two, three, four, five, six, seven ... - Seryozhka began to count.
- Well done, well done, - picked up the Pleiades. So you have very good eyesight.
“Look at them through binoculars,” the reddish star advised.
- Oh, I even forgot about the binoculars. Thank you, Aldebaran, - said Seryozhka, not noticing how he remembered the name of the reddish star.
Through binoculars, Seryozhka saw so many Pleiades that he could not count.
- Well, how? the Pleiades asked. - Are there many of us?
- A hundred pieces, - Seryozhka said admiringly.
- And you would have admired us through a telescope, - advised the brightest of the Pleiades, whose name was Alcyone. - Ask your terrestrial astronomers to let you look at us through large pipes, then you will see that there are thousands of us here ...
“Girls,” Aldebaran interrupted them, “he doesn’t have a telescope yet, you can talk to him about something else. I think that he, for example, knows nothing about our Galaxy.
- How does he know nothing about the Galaxy? How does he know nothing about the Galaxy? - chattered Pleiades. What kind of world does he live in?
“I don’t live in the world, but in the vast solar system,” Seryozhka proudly declared.
- Oh, hee-hee, hee-hee! Oh, totally exhausted! the Pleiades laughed. - He boasts of his baby - the solar system.
- Tiny? - the young astronomer was surprised. - Yes, you should only look at her!
“And we won’t look, because we won’t even see your tiny Sun without a telescope,” Alcyone answered.
From these offensive words, Seryozhka even took his breath away. He didn't know what to say to the minx stars.
- You should look at yourself! he shouted, coming to his senses. - You are tiny! You will someday fall into our pond during a starry rain.
- What is he saying? Alcyone asked Aldebarap.
"Don't be angry, girl," Aldebaran reassured her. - You are still young, you just live a little in the world (only a million years), and therefore you are surprised by meetings with creatures who consider themselves reasonable, but know very little. Explain to the boy that you, the Pleiades, are giant stars, and their Sun is just a dwarf star.
After that, the Pleiades, interrupting each other, began to say that all of them together were not at all a constellation, which you could never reach, but a star cluster, a rather large stellar house. It turns out that the ray, which runs from the Sun to the Earth in 8 minutes and from the Sun to Pluto in 6 hours, rushes for 20 years from one edge of their star cluster to the other. Seryozhka did not believe, because it seemed to him that the Pleiades could be hidden in a suitcase.
- Understand, baby, we are distant stars! - the Pleiades began to explain patiently. - Our rays have been running from us to you for almost 500 years. Now, if you flew to us along with your solar system, then, probably, you would simply be lost among us along with your beloved Sun.
“Do you remember, sisters,” Alcyone turned to the other Pleiades, “how he made us laugh when he said that we could fall into some kind of puddle to him?”
Seryozhka felt a little ashamed: after all, it’s stupid to think that a star that is larger than the Sun will fall into a pond. But what does fall from the sky? And he decided to ask Aldebarap about it. The old star, of course, knew everything. So he heard back:
- Nowhere we, the stars, of course, do not fall. And if you see a shooting star, then know that this is not a star at all ...
- What is this? - Seryozhka asked impatiently.
- Just a small pebble, almost a speck of dust ...
- Dust? How did she become a star?
- She did not turn into a star! Everything was different. Oma flew fast. Collided with your Earth, but did not fall on it, but crashed into the earth's air, warmed up while flying in it and flared up, lit up ...
- And my friend Comet, - Seryozhka said importantly, - was surprised that the starry rain was before her, and not after.
- Correctly surprised, - confirmed Aldebaran. - Star showers rarely happen: for this, it is necessary for the Earth to collide not with one grain of dust, but with thousands that are left from comets ...
Probably, Aldebaran wanted to add something else, but the Pleiades chirped again:
- Enough, stop telling him about some unfortunate specks of dust that burn over the Earth in seconds. After all, he does not know the most important thing, he has not even heard about the Galaxy.
“I haven’t heard,” Seryozhka agreed sadly. - And what is it?
“The galaxy is our beautiful starry city,” Alcyone solemnly began. - There are more stars in it than comets in the solar system. There are also such star clusters here as we, the Pleiades, and even many times larger. There are huge clouds in the Galaxy, completely different from those that are in the sky of the Earth. Everything, everything that you see, all the stars in your sky live in the Galaxy, and you live in it!
- Oh, so, besides the Galaxy, there is nothing else anywhere? - Seryozhka asked cautiously.
“Alas,” Alcyone sighed. - There are as many galaxies as ours... However, Andromeda knows this better than we do.
“What will I tell the guys about our Galaxy? After all, they will definitely stick to me: draw, draw our Galaxy. How will I draw her? And I don’t know anything about other galaxies ... ”Seryozha was upset.
He grumbled, grumbled, suddenly someone nearby complained in a squeaky voice:
- Wow, I'm tired! Oh, I'm tired ... It's good that I managed to land before the bad weather ... Oh, I'm tired of something ...
- Who is this tired so much? - Seryozhka asked sympathetically, looking around in search of a tired one.
"That's the way it always is," a squeaky voice whined. - You fly, you fly, you want to do something pleasant with your arrival, but they don’t even notice you ... I’m a ray. Just Luke...
- Ray? - Seryozha did not believe. "Why are you so tired then?"
- "Why, why!" whined the weary Ray. - Do you know when I started flying?
- No, - Seryozha admitted. - Really yesterday?
- Well, baby, you even a little amused me. Yesterday, however, I was still far from the solar system, and I started when neither you, nor your parents, nor your grandmothers and great-great-great-grandmothers were yet in the world ...
- Listen, Luchik, if you can, please tell the truth, and do not compose!
“I don’t compose,” Luchik was offended. “If you hadn’t interrupted me, I would have told you even more truth.
- Sorry, Luchik, - Seryozhka was embarrassed. - I won't interrupt anymore.
- Well, that's good, - Luchik calmed down. - So, when I went on my space flight, there were no your most distant relatives in the world. And there weren't really any people...
- Well, then people were not real, but toys? - Seryozhka could not stand it.
- No, not toys, of course, - said Luchik, pretending not to notice how Seryozhka violated his word. - There were no houses, there were no cities, people didn’t sew costumes for themselves then ... At that time, people only learned to walk on their feet, and not on all fours, hunted wild animals, dressed in their skins, lived in caves and were a little like on those that I saw on Earth today...
- How long did you fly? - Seryozha was horrified. - Probably a thousand years?
Oh, you made me laugh again! Luke giggled. - A thousand years ago, I already raced in your galaxy!
Are you from another galaxy entirely? - Seryozha was amazed.
“Of course, of course,” Luchik said importantly. - And although I'm flying from the galaxy closest to you, I had to fly for more than two million years!
- Two million? - Seryozhka was again horrified, who, of course, could not even imagine how long the poor Ray raced through the Universe. - Where does your galaxy live?
- In the constellation Andromeda, - Ray replied modestly.
- Luchik, Luchik, please tell me about her! - Seryozhka began to ask, forgetting that Luchik was so tired after his journey.
- With pleasure, - Luchik agreed. - After all, I, in fact, flew in for this, so that the inhabitants of the Earth could admire at least my galaxy, because they don’t even see their own ...
How can we not see ours? - Seryozhka was instantly indignant.
- And what, have you seen your Galaxy? Luchik asked. And he answered for Seryozhka: - Of course not. You can see thousands of nearby stars in the sky on a clear night. You can see the Milky Way - a streak of stars that runs through the entire sky and contains millions and billions of distant stars, but not a single person has yet seen the entire Galaxy in all its glory!
- But the Pleiades saw our Galaxy! - Seryozhka tried to object.
- Pleiades? Pleiades... - Luchik began to remember. - I know them, although they were born, it seems, later than I left the galaxy in Andromeda ... No, no, baby, the Pleiades also live in your Galaxy and have never flown outside it, which means they have not seen it .. .
- Luchik, who still admires our Galaxy? - asked Seryozha.
- Like who? Luchik was surprised. - Inhabitants of other galaxies!
- Is it clearly visible from Andromeda? - asked Seryozha.
- To be honest, not very ... - answered Luchik. Have you ever seen my galaxy yourself?
- No, - Seryozha admitted.
- In summer or autumn, be sure to look for the constellation Andromeda in your sky. Finding it is easy: it is located below the constellation Cassiopeia. In it, my beautiful galaxy is visible.
Seryozhka knew how to quickly find Cassiopeia in the sky. He knew that this constellation (the inverted letter "M") is in the sky in summer, and in winter, and in spring, and in autumn. Why didn't he notice any beautiful galaxy nearby?
Lucic explained:
- Although my galaxy is very close, but you know how long I flew from it. We are neighbors, but we live very far from each other. Therefore, we can barely see your Galaxy, and you have our galaxy
barely noticeable in the sky, almost none of the people even pay attention to the bright speck that is visible in the constellation Andromeda ... And only real astronomers in their large telescopes see our Andromeda Nebula in all its glory - a huge stellar house, compared the Pleiades cluster is just tiny! By the way, the Andromeda Nebula asked me to say hello to you.
- To me? - Seryozha exclaimed. - How does the Andromeda Nebula know me?
“Honestly, she doesn’t know you personally,” Luchik said. - She knows that when I arrive on Earth, I will definitely meet little astronomers who will diligently observe, photograph, study it all their lives ... Therefore, I decided to send you greetings from Andromeda and even photos to remember ...
- Thank you, thank you, Luke! - thanked Seryozha. - Tell me, please, about the Andromeda Nebula. And I want to see pictures of her...
- With pleasure, - Luchik agreed. - That's what I came for. And we will look at the photos very carefully, and then you will understand what your Galaxy looks like...
- Why mine? After all, you brought photos from the Andromeda Nebula? - asked Seryozha.
“That’s the way it is,” replied Luchik. - But the fact is that these two galaxies, two huge star cities - your Milky Way and my Andromeda Nebula - accidentally turned out to be very similar to each other. That's how lucky we are! Let's see what it is, the Andromeda Nebula.
- Beautiful, - said Seryozhka. - Twisted some, like a snail!
- Yes, beautiful, - agreed Luchik. - It is even larger than ours, there are more stars in drink, and the youngest of them live in these very curls that reminded you of a snail.
- And we have curls? - asked Seryozha.
“Of course,” Luchik replied. - I told you, look at the Andromeda Nebula and think that you are looking at your own galaxy.
- And what. Are there other galaxies? - asked Seryozha.
“Of course, of course,” said Luchik. - Galaxies are very
many, and very different. Of them, of these starry islands and entire cities of galaxies, the Universe is composed, which earthly astronomers
now observe, armed with telescopes. And you will have to do this when you become an adult. And your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren will have enough work ...
- Hello Sunshine! - Seryozha greeted. And now I know your secret...
- My secret? Sun was surprised. - It is interesting to know - what?
- I know that you do not revolve around the Earth at all, but the Earth itself revolves around you and around itself ... - Seryozhka boasted of his knowledge.
“Yes, yes,” said the Sun. - Did you find out anything else?
- Of course of course! - Seryozhka chattered. - I know that you never sleep and always stand still, but ...
“Wait, wait,” interrupted the Sun. How am I standing still? I fly faster than your space rockets or even your Earth!
“I don’t understand, where are you going so fast?” - Seryozha was amazed.
- With pleasure I will explain, - the wise Sun has told. - First of all, say, for example, "twenty-one."
“Please,” Seryozha agreed. - Twenty one.
- Good! - said the Sun. - While you were saying these words, one second passed. Understood?
- Understood! So what? - Seryozhka said, not understanding why he needed one second.
- And while you were saying “twenty-one”, you flew almost 30 kilometers on your planet! - Seryozha heard.
- Where did I go? asked the little astronomer.
- Nowhere! - said the Sun. - After all, the Earth rushes around me all its life and does not fly away anywhere ... But I do not stand still! I have my own way in our Galaxy: I fly faster than the Earth, flying 250 kilometers in one second!
- The sun, - Seryozhka got worried. “And suddenly you will fly away from us completely?”
- This will never happen! The sun comforted him. - Together with me in the Galaxy all the planets and all comets rush - the entire solar system ...
- Where are we going? - asked Seryozha.
“I repeat,” said the Sun. - Just like the Earth in the solar system, so I have my own path in the Galaxy, my own orbit, but only a very large one.
- Well, the Earth is big, - Seryozhka objected.
- Well, what are you comparing! - with irritation answered the Sun. The earth travels its entire path in just one year. And I, although I'm in a hurry with all my might, make one revolution in the Galaxy in 200 million years ... But of course, I'm not the only one rushing through the Universe. After all, everything in the universe celestial bodies are moving. The moon is around the earth, the earth is around me, I'm flying in the galaxy...
“It’s good that at least our Galaxy doesn’t fly anywhere,” Seryozhka sighed.
- Who told you that? - asked the Sun. - No galaxy stands still. And ours is rushing...
- Nightmare! - Seryozhka exclaimed, remembering the word that his mother used to say when she entered his room. Where are the galaxies going?
“You see,” the Sun answered thoughtfully, “the galaxies have their own worries. In their kingdom there is no such strict order as in the solar system, where everything is clear and understandable, every celestial body moves all the time in its orbit...
- Don't galaxies even have orbits? - Seryozhka regretted the huge star islands.
- Perhaps not ... - said the Sun. - They're just running from each other. I'll tell you a secret: we live in an expanding universe in which nothing is ever at rest.
Seryozhka did not answer anything and did not ask anything else, because he was unable to imagine himself in the realm of expanding galaxies.
- Poor Sun, poor planets, stars and galaxies, - Seryozhka felt sorry for all the celestial bodies at once. He lay in a stack of fresh, fragrant hay. - Everyone is flying and flying somewhere, rushing and rushing ... How are they just not tired of it ?! It's good to fly a little, but it's probably very boring to fly and fly all the time ...
- And not boring at all, - someone said in a raspy voice and coughed.
Surprised, Seryozhka quickly jumped to his feet and ran behind the haystack to see who was hiding there. And there was a very old old man standing there with a scythe in his hands.
“I said that it’s not boring at all,” the old man coughed again. - My grandfather Chronos is my name, and in the Universe I command time. I'm in charge of this case, you know?
- I don't understand anything. You scared me, grandpa! - Seryozhka said, who had already ceased to be afraid of the old man.
- Nothing, - said grandfather Chronos. - I will try to explain everything to you, and you listen carefully. There are many big rivers on your planet. These are the Volga and the Yenisei, the Mississippi and the Amazon, the Congo and the Nile, and many others. You can find a place on Earth where any of these rivers begins. You can find out to which seas or oceans they carry their waters. You can find out from which city to which you will sail but this or that river. But there is, though not on Earth, but in the Universe, a very special river in which there is no water, which does not begin anywhere and does not end anywhere. This is the mysterious great river of Time, in which the entire Universe, as it were, floats from the Past to the Present and further to the Future.
- Do all people swim in it? - asked Seryozha.
- I asked you to listen very carefully, - grandfather Chronos muttered. - Not only people, but also the Earth itself, and the Sun, and all other celestial bodies, even entire galaxies, float along the River of Time.
- How do they fit in the river? After all, galaxies are so huge! - Seryozha did not understand. What are they floating on? Can't they drown?
- You ask strange questions, kid, - Chronos said with displeasure. - After all, you, for example, do not drown in my river?
- I? I? - Seryozha exclaimed. - I've never seen her in my life!
- Wrong, oh how wrong! - said grandfather Chronos. - You have already lived in the world for several years, you are living now, you will live tomorrow, the day after tomorrow and for years to come. This is what I call sailing the River of Time. You used to be tiny, now a small boy, then an adult, then you will grow old - all this is your journey along the river of Time from the Past to the Present and the Future. All the people who once lived on Earth have sailed along this river, all the people who have not yet been born are swimming ...
- But, you see, only people swim on the river of Time! Seryozha said.
- No, no, I just gave such an example, - objected Chronos. - Aren't animals or trees, for example, born, growing up and aging? So, they too are floating on the river of Time. There, in the distance, there is a big young birch. But now she is like this, but she was once tiny. Over time, she will grow even more, and then grow old ...
- But the Sun will never grow old! - Seryozhka said with conviction. - It always shines, warms and rushes somewhere.
- Not always, but for a very long time! - corrected Chronos. - I remember the time when there was no your Sun. Not so long ago, it was perhaps only five billion years ago...
- Five billion! - Seryozha shouted. - And this is called "not so long ago"?
“Of course, not very long ago,” Chronos continued imperturbably. - The Earth and planets are a little younger, and your Galaxy was born even earlier, it seems, 10 billion years ago!
- Ten billion years! - Seryozhka shouted again, who could not wait until he was just ten.
- And this is not so much, - grandfather Chronos coughed. - I remember very well what was going on in the Universe before the birth of yours and other galaxies... True, it really was a long time ago, fifteen or twenty billion years ago... Eh, if you could swim against the current along the River of Time, swim into The past, I would have seen it all with my own eyes ...
- I really, really want to swim on the river of Time! - Seryozha whimpered.
- Don't whine! Chronos said angrily. - people are not yet
invented a time machine that would take them to the Past. So scientists have to work hard to find out exactly what happened on Earth and in the Universe a long time ago without any fabulous time machine.
- And you can't sail into the Future? Seryozhka continued to whimper.
“Unfortunately, people don’t know how to travel to the Future either…” old Chronos sighed. - It's a pity that none of them will see what will happen, for example, to your Sun...
- Tell me, tell me, please, grandfather Chronos! - Seryozha asked. - I am very friendly with the Sun, and I need to know what will happen to him soon.
- Calm down, calm down! - consoled Chronos. - The sun will be what it is today for a very long time.
- Until I grow up? - asked Seryozha.
“Not only you,” Chronos chuckled. - Your grandchildren, great-grandchildren and even those people who will be born in several billion years will have time to grow up. Because only then the Sun will grow old...
- How is it getting old? - Seryozha did not understand.
- How would I explain this to you ... - Chronos thought. - Now the Sun is a hot yellow dwarf star, and in billions of years it will become colder and turn into a huge red star ...
And will it stay like this forever? - asked Seryozha.
- No, nothing in the universe remains unchanged! Chronos said. “Time passes and everything changes. The River of Time will pick up the red giant, which the Sun will turn into, and carry it further, to a more distant future...
- And the Sun will die? - Seryozha was horrified.
“In the end, yes,” Chronos sighed. - But of course, not immediately, because it will first turn into a tiny white star, which will be no larger than the Earth, and then this white dwarf will slowly cool down ...
What about the solar system? - Seryozhka was even more frightened. What about our Earth? What about people?
"It's hard to say," said Chronos. - I think that a lot will depend on the people themselves ...
- Can they make the old Sun young again? - asked Seryozha.
- Hardly, - answered Chronos. But they can do something else...
- What can they do? - Seryozhka could not stand it and interrupted Chronos.
“They can take care of their very distant future!” - answered the old Chronos.
- Like this? - Seryozha did not understand.
“First of all, they should never fight each other. People should also protect their wonderful Earth. Believe me (and I know a lot), such planets in the Universe are not often found. And if people learn to live in peace and friendship, make the Earth even better than it is today, then they will be able to live long and beautifully on it. They will become strong and happy. All together, together they will cope with any difficulties and, perhaps, even learn to live without the Sun or fly away to other stars ... I don’t know exactly how they will act, but if people want, they will never die.
Chronos disappeared as imperceptibly as he appeared, and Seryozhka forever remembered his wise words.
Try to remember them and you, the reader!