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

Illustration of a glass jar with a 'questionmark' label

  • How do plants grow in the ocean?

    -Eden, Kindergarten

  • How is cement made?

    -Keymarhi, 2nd Grade

  • Have scientists found life on other planets?

    -Allie, 4th 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!