Let us not confuse Astrology with astronomy; "Astrology" is not the same thing as current day astronomy. It is the oldest skill. ("Astronomy" From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). But at all levels, it is the survey of the heavens. It is an endeavor to understand the make-up and the story of the cosmos. It is our tool for unlocking that learning. Amateur astronomy is very popular in most cities and small towns. It is one of those hobbies in which I would like to have participated. It is a superb hobby that is enjoyed by people of all ages and backgrounds. It is the greatest and oldest hobby of all time. Amateur astronomy is exposed to more people, as an individual is less likely to be discouraged by the need to learn how to locate objects in the night sky before being able to see them. Some magazines and periodicals are printed forums of the activities relating to Amateur Astronomers around the world. They are user supported publications. Amateur astronomy is practiced as a hobby.

It is often a pleasure as it may be a way to act scientifically. It is, as it turns out, a pastime to be shared. It is changing and we need to broaden our understanding variations so that we can make the improvements as they become available and fit our needs. Astronomy is gaining importance from a scientific point of view. Amateur astrology is a lot more than just looking at extraterrestrial matter with telescopes and binoculars, although this is the main heart of those most active. It is an exciting hobby because amateur astronomers can and do actually make scientific discoveries and contribute to the field of It is. Advanced amateur astronomy books are now within the reach of anyone, and these are the ideal books to get you started.

To get really into it, you probably will want to get a telescope either for yourself or perhaps for your children who are showing an interest in the wonders of the universe. It is a hobby and can be an introduction to several practical and useful technologies. It is alive and well in the West, as evidenced by the many special interest groups and clubs that meet regularly. It is a rapidly growing activity that appeals in many ways to all ages. It is a hobby that many people pursue who are interested. It is, yet not working in the field.

You are sure to meet numerous new friends who will share your passion and curiosity. It is rich with activities, lab exercises, and high-tech education. It is the study of the planets and other objects in the universe and their compositions, motions, and origins. It is different from most sciences in that we can't directly interact with the object of study. It is a science that seeks to explain everything that we observe in the Universe. It is the study of the Universe and its contents: planets, stars, black holes, galaxies, and quasars. It is one of the oldest sciences. It is the study of planets, stars, galaxies, and the universe as a whole, including how these originate and how they evolve in time. It is an observational, not an experimental skill. It is the most primeval of the sciences, having existed since the beginning of recorded civilization.

It is not a totally serious specialty. It is the last science to which many non-professional scientists can make factual and important contributions. It is a great example of how fascinating physics can be. Radio astronomy is also partly responsible for the idea that dark matter is an important factor of our universe. Indeed, It is both the nearby and the most outlying science from common experience. That is why it is both the oldest and the youngest science of them all. And yet radio astronomy itself is a young science, too. The study of our universe is not new, it is the oldest science. Though, you could say that it is the study of everything, because everything is a part of the Universe.



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Hans Christian Andersen (1807-1875) wrote a fascinating tale about a swan that was born on a farmyard and thought it was a duck. The other ducks despised this ugly brown bird and chased it away. One day, however, Ugly Duckling saw some big white birds swimming in a pond. It expected them to drive it out, but they did not. Then the bird looked into the water and saw the reflection of itself: it was not a duckling after all but a beautiful white bird like the others, a swan.

Most of the time comets are like Ugly Duckling. The comet's nucleus is a small dirty rock usually 1-10 kilometers in diameter consisting of ice, gas and dust. In some comets, this nucleus is surrounded by a huge hydrogen cloud, which may be up to 3 million kilometers wide.

As the comet comes near the sun, a dramatic metamorphosis seems to take place: According to NASA's comet website, the sun's heat "vaporizes some of the icy nucleus or head and sunlight reflects from the vapor. Solar wind pushes the vapor in a direction away from the Sun to form the comet's tail. For this reason, comet tails generally point away from the Sun."

Comets can be roughly divided into two categories: long-term comets, which orbit the sun in more than 200 years, and short-term comets, with an orbital period of 200 years or less. Some of them are so spectacular that they were though to augur doom. For instance, in 1066 Halley's Comet preceded the Battle of Hastings, in which William the Conqueror defeated England's Saxon king Harold.

Many comets have elliptical paths that bring them very close to the sun. A comet loses much of its material each time it approaches the sun. It has been estimated that a comet will loose all its mass in under 100 000 years. This is a serious problem for the secular view of a 4.6 billion year old solar system. If the solar system were that old, we should not see any comets.

But this has not caused believers in million of years to discard their theory. They have set their hopes on a hypothetical stretch of space called the Oort Cloud. They believe that this spherical "cloud", which is supposed to extend up to three light years from the sun, houses millions of frozen comets that eventually find their way into an orbit that brings them closer to the sun to replace the ones that have been destroyed. The Oort Cloud is thought to provide long-term comets. The biggest problem with this explanation is there is no observational evidence for the existence of this cloud. Creationist astronomer Dr. Danny Faulkner suggests that the whole idea of the Oort Cloud "is not bad science, but non-science masquerading as science. The existence of comets is good evidence that the solar system is only a few thousand years old." .

The Kuiper Belt has been proposed as a potential reservoir for short-term comets. It extends from Neptune's orbit (ca 30 astronomical units or AUs ) to about 50 AU from the sun. However, most of the objects in this area which lies beyond Neptune's orbit, are tens of times bigger than comets. These so-called Trans-Neptunian Objects (TNOs) include the recently discovered Eris (2003UB313) and Sedna (90377), which might be classified as dwarf planets. However, when compared to comets, they are giants. In order to replenish the comet supply, there should be millions of them but only 1026 TNOs have been found.

There is not enough material in either the Oort Cloud or the Kuiper Belt to supply the solar system with the number of comets that old earth supporters desperately need. Genesis 1:14-19 records that the heavenly bodies we see in the night sky were created on Day Four. The genealogies of the Bible indicate that this occurred about 6000 years ago.

The Ugly Ducklings of the solar system are not portents of doom. The message they bring is altogether different. Together with other celestial objects they "declare the glory of God" (Ps. 19: 1). The are amazing evidence for a young solar system.

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There are many super bright stars near Earth and in our galaxy, the Milky Way. In fact here are the 10 brightest stars in our neck of the galactic woods!

10. Betelgeuse

At 430 light years away, this star is still bright in the sky, meaning that it's super bright up close. This makes perfect sense considering the fact that Betelgeuse is a Supergiant. This mega bright star produces as much light as 55,000 suns! It was also the first star to have its surface imaged, thanks to the Hubble Telescope in 1996.

9. Archernar

Archernar is the hottest star in our top ten, measuring in at 24,740 to 33,740 degrees Fahrenheit. This star can be up to 5,400 times brighter than our own sun and because it is 144 light years away, its light takes 144 years to be seen on Earth. As it burns its hydrogen into helium, Archernar will eventually become a white dwarf.

8. Procyon

This star is double the size and seven times the brightness of our sun. Residing in the constellation Canis Minor (Little Dog), this star is actually less bright than many of the stars on this list. Yet, it is very close to Earth, about 11.4 light years away, making it appear much brighter than those farther out in space. Procyon is starting to die and is converting its hydrogen into helium and is currently one of the largest stars within 20 light years of Earth.

7. Rigel

This star is in the constellation of Orion; Rigel marks the heel of the hunter Orion and means "foot" in Arabic. A blue super giant, Rigel shines 40,000 times brighter than our sun! Even though its 775 light years away, it's still a bright spot in the night sky.

6. Capella

Capella is a star system comprised of two giant yellow stars and two red dwarf stars. Combined, these stars are brighter than 130 suns. At 42 light years away, the star system is very visible in the night sky. These stars are also in the process of dying and will eventually become white dwarfs.

5. Vega

Vega is a dwarf star and packs a powerful punch with a brightness of 54 times more than our sun. There is a disk of gas that surrounds the star and it is believed that our own solar system developed in a much similar way. You can go outside at night with a pair of binoculars and easily see Vega against the dark sky. Plus, Vega used to be the North Star, but as gravity from the sun and moon shifts Earth on its axis, it is no longer in the correct position to be the North Star. However, in about 14,000 years it will reclaim the title once again.

4. Arcturus

As the brightest star in the northern hemisphere, Arcturus, is an orange giant and is 215 times brighter than our sun. The star is 37 light years away and is quickly approaching death. Once the precious balance between the force of gravity and pressure from within the star collapses, the outer material of the star will be thrown out into space to create a planetary nebula, while the core will form a white dwarf star.

3. Alpha Centauri

Alpha Centauri is actually made up of three stars, not just one. Alpha Centauri A and B are the brightest in the system while the smallest is a red dwarf called Alpha Centauri C. At 4.3 light years away, this star system is our closest in the vastness of space beyond our solar system. Alpha Centauri A is very much like our own sun, but is 1.5 times brighter. Alpha Centauri C is the closest of the three stars to our own sun, earning it the title of Proxima Centauri.

2. Canopus

Located 316 light years from Earth, Canopus is still very bright in the sky because it is 14,800 times brighter than our sun! White in color, this super giant is on its way to becoming a white dwarf as it's now turning its helium into carbon in the core of the star. Because of this process, Canopus is now 65 times larger than the sun. Once it dies, it will become a neon-oxygen white dwarf, a type of star that is very rare in the cosmos. It will end up being one of the largest white dwarfs in our galaxy.

1. Sirius

Coming from the Greek word for "scorching," Sirius is the brightest star in our night sky. This star knocks all of the competition out of the water in that it is twice as bright as the second brightest star! Located in the constellation Canis Major, which means the Big Dog, Sirius is often referred to as the Dog Star. With a brightness 23 times that of our sun, Sirius is only 8.5 light years away. Its extreme closeness to our planet explains why it appears so bright to us. It seems to be stable for now and gives no indication of being near death. All of these stars are stable for now so there is no need for worry. But there are dangerous stars nearby which are not necessarily the brightest. There is one huge star which is in the process of dying. Google the name Eta Carinae . Look for it's image on APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day) and read about this one. It is seen mostly from the Southern hemisphere.

The author was one of the 1st women to be hired as an Aerospace Engineer on the Apollo Program in the 1960's. She is a scientist, researcher and speaker about science and the Universe we live in. She has written a book "The Biggest Explosions in the Universe". In her 25+ career she has worked on many DOD projects including the Trident Nuclear Submarine. She and her Dad helped raise money and manpower to build one of the finest Amateur Astronomical Observatories of its kind in the south. She was the founder and 1st president of the Shreveport Astronomical Society which still exists today.



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Science fair projects are very helpful to motivate the students towards scientific study. It also provides the possibility of observing the real world and related problems in a closer way. It aims to develop curiosity about science and technology. It brings about improvement in the manipulative skills, knowledge, and self-confidence.

Solar system began forming 10 to 12 billion years ago as a swirling gas and dust formed a dense core. To visualize the Solar system, understand the orbital motion of the planets and to locate the actual position of the planets the solar system science fair projects are helpful.

Some simple solar system science fair projects ideas:

- Could the other planets support any life?

- Build a miniature model of the Solar system.

- Can we collect micrometeorites from the outdoor sources?

- What causes the phases of moon and what affects the phases of moon?

- How terrestrial planets are formed?

Some interesting, but more complex, ideas for a solar system science project include things like:

- Are there many other solar systems in the universe? Do they support life?

- To study about the other galaxies and solar system present in this universe this project will be useful. A comparative study of why life is possible on earth and why not life is possible on other planets can be done in detail.

- How are the magnetic fields affected by solar storms? Can we build a homemade magnetometer to measure that?

- The magnetic fields are affected by solar storms and cause small changes in its direction at the surface, which are called “magnetic storms.”

- A magnetometer operates like a sensitive compass and senses these slight changes in the magnetic field. A homemade magnetometer can be constructed.

- Can we identify black holes? If the answer is yes, how can it be done? By this project, the mysteries and curiosity about the black holes will take a shape and a clear knowledge about black holes can be gained.

How about looking at making your own comet to know the details about them? This is a good example of the kind of model building science fair projects that you can build, which make a fancy display and encourage more people to ask questions about your project.

- A large comet is a spectacular sight and is a star like celestial body, which has a tail and still people have lots of doubts about it. To know better, this project will help out.

- How to locate the position of a celestial body by a sidereal pointer?

- Sidereal pointer is an instrument that helps you to locate each celestial body in the night sky. How to construct a sidereal pointer easily can be discussed in this project in detail.

Solar system science projects are fairly demanding projects that represent a challenge to your student, mostly because it is so difficult to build an actual experiment. The majority of the time, these projects are more based on research or model building, which are both valid, but often are much more difficult than a simple presentation of results.

Each of the projects develop cognitive skills and help the students to leap forward. However, a good solar system science fair project shows a lot of ingenuity and can really impress the judges with a creative and unique approach. If you want to win a science fair or if you need the good grade in science class, then a solar system science fair project is a great option.



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