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Mini-lessons

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This is the best view you can get of Jupiter with a small telescope. But when we sent the Juno spacecraft in 2011…
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The Juno spacecraft sent back the clearest close-up images we’ve ever gotten of Jupiter! Look at the swirls!
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Jupiter has the most colorful, swirling clouds of any planet!
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A galaxy is a huge, floating group of stars. Many have a ‘spiral’ shape like this one, called the Whirlpool Galaxy.
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This galaxy, called the Sombrero Galaxy, looks like a hat! It’s a spiral galaxy, we’re just looking at it sideways.
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The planet Mars has TWO moons. Notice how they're not round. Some say they look like potatoes!
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This is what it looks like from the surface of Mars, when one of its potato-shaped moons goes in front of the Sun!
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When a large rock hits a planet, it leaves a crater. Some say these craters on Mercury look like a famous mouse...
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This feature on Mars looks so much like a face... What do you think it is?!
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It turns out that it's just a hill that only looks like a face when the sun is shining on it just right!
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When astronomers point a telescope right beneath this star in Orion, they see something special... are you ready?
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It's a colorful cloud of gas called a "nebula." This one is called the Horsehead Nebula, and you can see why!
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The Horsehead isn't the only nebula that reminds people of something. This one is called the North America Nebula!
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And this one... ? The Bubble Nebula!
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But my personal favorite? The Unicorn Nebula, discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope!
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Voting for this episode is now closed. Would you like to vote on the most recent poll?

We pulled three questions from our jar. Which question do you want to explore?

  • What’s the hottest temperature any animal could survive?

    -Addie, 2nd Grade

  • Could you drive all the way around the world?

    -Shayne, 5th Grade

  • What is the oldest sport in the world?

    -Charlie, 3rd Grade

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What is a black hole?

Watch the video to discover the answer and don't forget to vote for next week's question. There are mysteries all around us. Have fun and stay curious!

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