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Solar wind
Solar wind
The Sun is continuously sending out a stream of charged particles into space. As they move through space, they create the solar wind. The Earth is always in the path of the solar wind, and the outer layer of the atmosphere (the ionosphere) is constantly being battered by it.
The solar wind flows at high speed—between 300 and 700km/ sec. Just like a boat moving quickly through water, the Earth’s passage through the solar wind makes
the wind change shape. There
is a bow wave facing the Sun
and a lee of tail wave behind it. (See also: Magnetosphere.)
Soyuz
Russian spacecraft designed for three astronauts (cosmonauts). The first Soyuz flight was in 1967. It
is now used as a shuttle for taking crews or supplies to space stations.
Space Shuttle
A reusable spacecraft built by NASA that can be launched like a rocket but lands under its own power like a plane. It can carry up to eight astronauts, together with a large payload in its cargo bay. The first Space Shuttle was launched in 1981. There are four Space Shuttles:
Atlantis,
Columbia,
Discovery, and
Endeavour. One
Space Shuttle,
Challenger,
exploded and
was replaced by
Endeavour.
Speed of light
Light moves at 299,792,458m/sec.
Star
A star is a large ball of searing
hot gas, of which the Sun is one example. Many stars are millions of kilometers across, although they may only appear as pinpoints of light to us. (See also: Stellar.)
Stars may be immensely old, but they are always changing. By looking at many stars, astronomers have been able to piece together the life story of a star.
This is what happens:
 Star— The life and death of a star.
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 Space Shuttle—The Space Shuttle was designed to be an all-purpose reusable space vehicle. It is currently helping to build the International Space Station.
Star begins to grow
1—The space between stars contains gas
and dust. It can gather into clouds known as nebulae. When enough gas and dust collect
in a nebula, it quickly collapses into one or more stars. The gas and dust are drawn ever more closely into a tight ball by the effects of gravity. The fusion that takes place releases enormous amounts of heat. Eventually, it becomes hot enough to shine.
2, 3—During much of its life a star burns hydrogen gas by fusion and shines brightly, and little change appears to happen.
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