Space Month: December
December's four space missions, one a week, made from things you already have at home. Do one, tap "I did it!", and a badge goes in your Sky Book.
Week 1: Count shooting stars
You need: the shower night kit, printed, a blanket or a reclining chair, warm clothes, a pencil.
- Check Peabody's shower calendar for the next good meteor shower night.
- Lie back with a grown-up somewhere dark, and look at the biggest patch of sky you can see.
- Make a mark for every shooting star in each ten minutes. Note the brightest one.
Why it works: Shooting stars are bits of dust, smaller than a grain of sand, burning up as they hit our air very fast. On a shower night, Earth passes through a comet's trail of dust.
Week 2: Make a red stargazing light
You need: a flashlight, red cellophane, a red balloon or red paper, a rubber band.
- Cover the front of the flashlight with two or three layers of red.
- Hold it on with the rubber band.
- Outside, after ten minutes in the dark, read a page with the red light. Then flash a white light for a second and see how many stars disappear.
Why it works: Your eyes take about twenty minutes to get used to the dark. Red light doesn't undo that much; white light undoes it in a second.
Little ones: Balloons and rubber bands are small parts: a grown-up puts the cover on.
Week 3: Take tonight's sky tour
You need: a phone or tablet with Peabody, a clear night.
- Open Tonight's sky tour and go out with a grown-up.
- Follow Peabody's five steps, one at a time. Tap Found it for each one you see.
- Pick your favourite and find it again tomorrow night, without the tour.
Why it works: Knowing which way to face and how high to look (one fist held out is about ten degrees) is how astronomers find their way around the sky.
Week 4: Do the orbit dance
You need: three people (or two and a lamp), a room or a yard.
- One person is the Sun and stands still in the middle. One is Earth. One is the Moon.
- Earth walks a big slow circle around the Sun (a year), spinning on the spot as it goes (each spin is a day).
- The Moon walks a small circle around Earth, always keeping its face toward Earth.
Why it works: Earth spins once a day and goes around the Sun once a year; the Moon goes around Earth about once a month and always shows us the same side.
Week 1: Count shooting stars
You need: the shower night kit, printed, a blanket or a reclining chair, warm clothes, a pencil.
- Check Peabody's shower calendar for the next good meteor shower night.
- Lie back with a grown-up somewhere dark, and look at the biggest patch of sky you can see.
- Make a mark for every shooting star in each ten minutes. Note the brightest one.
Why it works: Shooting stars are bits of dust, smaller than a grain of sand, burning up as they hit our air very fast. On a shower night, Earth passes through a comet's trail of dust.
Done it? Date: ____________ Tick for your Sky Book: ☐
More at peabody.kids/space/showers
Week 2: Make a red stargazing light
You need: a flashlight, red cellophane, a red balloon or red paper, a rubber band.
- Cover the front of the flashlight with two or three layers of red.
- Hold it on with the rubber band.
- Outside, after ten minutes in the dark, read a page with the red light. Then flash a white light for a second and see how many stars disappear.
Why it works: Your eyes take about twenty minutes to get used to the dark. Red light doesn't undo that much; white light undoes it in a second.
Little ones: Balloons and rubber bands are small parts: a grown-up puts the cover on.
Done it? Date: ____________ Tick for your Sky Book: ☐
More at peabody.kids/space/sky
Week 3: Take tonight's sky tour
You need: a phone or tablet with Peabody, a clear night.
- Open Tonight's sky tour and go out with a grown-up.
- Follow Peabody's five steps, one at a time. Tap Found it for each one you see.
- Pick your favourite and find it again tomorrow night, without the tour.
Why it works: Knowing which way to face and how high to look (one fist held out is about ten degrees) is how astronomers find their way around the sky.
Done it? Date: ____________ Tick for your Sky Book: ☐
More at peabody.kids/space/sky/tour
Week 4: Do the orbit dance
You need: three people (or two and a lamp), a room or a yard.
- One person is the Sun and stands still in the middle. One is Earth. One is the Moon.
- Earth walks a big slow circle around the Sun (a year), spinning on the spot as it goes (each spin is a day).
- The Moon walks a small circle around Earth, always keeping its face toward Earth.
Why it works: Earth spins once a day and goes around the Sun once a year; the Moon goes around Earth about once a month and always shows us the same side.
Done it? Date: ____________ Tick for your Sky Book: ☐
Every month
“One small mission a week. By the end of the month you'll know more about space than most grown-ups.”