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FINDING YOUR WAY AROUND THE HEAVENS

(This article is aimed at children in the U.K.)

Anyone can just look up at the night sky and appreciate the heavens in all their magnificent glory,but how much more fun it could be if you were able to identify some of the planets, stars and constellations you can see,and know where to look for them at different times of the year.

It's not difficult to do this, you don't even need any special equipment,although a pair of binoculars or a small telescope would be handy. A torch can useful too for looking at your star charts in the dark, but be sure to pick a clear evening and try to find somewhere away from the glare of streetlights.

The Earth is one of nine planets which all revolve around the Sun, the nearest star. Earth is 93 million miles away from the Sun and takes a year to travel around it.Some planets take less time than this,these are Venus and Mercury which are much closer to the Sun than we are. The outer planets all take much longer to complete their journey and Pluto, the most distant in our solar system takes about 250 years.

When you look at a planet with the naked eye it appears the same as a star, but stars always keep their set patterns in the night sky and planets do not.The word "Planet," actually means "Wanderer." If you observe the planets at frequent intervals every few weeks you will soon be able to tell the difference.

If the Earth stood still the stars would always seem fixed in the same place. But the Earth spins on its axis once a day as well as moving in its orbit around the Sun. This means that the entire sky appears to move in the opposite direction.If you like you can do an experiment to show this: place a camera with its shutter open near an open window for a few hours at night(making sure it's correctly positioned, pointing up at a clear night sky - you can get an adult to help you with this.)You will find when the film is developed that you have a photo of star trails showing how far each star has traveled.

If you see a brilliant "Star" in the South West, usually alone,before the real stars appear it is the planet Venus,known as our sister planet because it is the same size as Earth. It appears as an evening star for about seven or eight months and then after a short absence it can be seen again in the south-east as a morning star for the same length of time.Sometimes on a Spring evening if you have a clear view towards the western horizon you can also see Mercury.

Mars is only half the size of the

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