Space Scoop (English) 
Here you can read the latest Space Scoop, our astronomy news service for children aged 8 and above. The idea behind Space Scoop is to change the way science is often perceived by young children, as outdated and dull subjects. By sharing exciting new astronomical discoveries with them, we inspire children to develop an interest in science and technology. Space Scoop makes a wonderful tool that can be used in the classroom to teach and discuss the latest astronomy news.
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When a Planet is not a Planet
19 January 2012: It’s not just slang words, like “sick” and “wicked”, that can mean something completely different to what you would normally expect. For example, take this new picture of an object in space called a planetary nubula – it actually has nothing at all to do with planets!
Planets Everywhere!
11 January 2012: Over the past 16 years, astronomers have found more than 700 planets outside of our Solar System. We call these distant worlds ‘exo-planets’.
A “Fat” Cluster of Galaxies
10 January 2012: What do you get when you smash two of the largest objects in the Universe together? A big fat one!
A Lesson in Astronomy Mumbo Jumbo
4 January 2012: Astronomy involves a lot of technical gobbledygook, right? There are lots of strange words, such as galaxy and nebula. Well, we’re going to let you into a secret: most of them are just translations from ancient languages for everyday words. For example, the word ‘galaxy’ comes from the Greek word for ‘milky white. And ‘nebula’ is a Latin word for ‘cloud’.
The Star with a Slow Pulse
20 December 2011: Weird things happen to stars when they run out of fuel. That’s because the fuel doesn’t just generate light and heat – it is needed to stop stars from collapsing! This is a problem that the bright white star in the right-hand-side of this new space photo has already faced.
Heads or Tails?
20 December 2011: It’s no wonder that the galaxy in this new photo is nicknamed the Silver Coin Galaxy – it looks a giant coin that has been flipped to decide between Heads and Tails! The ‘coin’ also looks well polished and shiny, being one of the brightest galaxies in the night sky.
From Science Fiction to Science Fact!
14 December 2011: You’re probably wondering what on Earth is going on in this picture! Unlike many of the wonderful photos that we bring you in Space Scoop, this picture is an illustration drawn by an artist on a computer.
Sloshing around in Space like a Soda!
13 December 2011: Like a soda drink moving around in a glass, huge clouds of hot gas are sloshing back and forth in this new space picture.
From Starlight to Twilight: A Friendly Vampire Star!
7 December 2011: Astronomers have taken the best photos ever of a star that has lost most of its material to a vampire star!
The Curious Case of the Spinning Star
5 December 2011: Like a team of detectives, a group of astronomers are trying to solve a mystery. They have recently found a weird star that is about 25 times heavier than our Sun and spinning more than 300 times more quickly – it spins faster than any other known heavyweight star!
X-rays Mark the Spot
17 November 2011: The Earth’s atmosphere blocks harmful high-energy radiation from space, such as X-rays, from reaching the ground. To detect this radiation, astronomers have to go beyond the Earth’s atmosphere.
Dazzling Dust
16 November 2011: Dust is just some dirty stuff that has no real purpose, right? Actually, in space, dust is a crucial ingredient for making stars!
The Solar System’s Spare Pieces
11 November 2011: Although they all formed from similar material, it is a mystery why the planets closest to the Sun – Mercury, Venus and Earth – are so different. Astronomers hope to learn more about how they were created by studying asteroids, which are pieces of rock that were surplus to requirements in planet building.
Super-Sized Space Spider!
10 November 2011: Don’t worry if you have a phobia of spiders, it is safe to keep reading! That’s because this wonderful new picture of a star-forming region called the Tarantula Nebula doesn’t show the bright lines of gas that usually make it look like it has the legs of a spider.
Galactic Duo Enjoy their Moment in the Spotlight
2 November 2011: A pair of galaxies has grabbed the attention of astronomers when they were literally thrown into the spotlight. The galaxies were lit up by one of the brightest explosions in the Universe: a ‘Gamma-Ray Burst’.
When the Planet Team Lost a Player
27 October 2011: What is a planet? This sounds like it should have a simple answer, but only a few years ago this question was giving astronomers a headache! When they finally came up with an answer it had big consequences: The number of planets in our Solar System went from nine to eight!
A Bright Night Sky!
19 October 2011: Imagine what it would be like if you moved to the other side of the world, where the landscape is very different to what you are used to. Now, think about a much bigger move: What do you think it would be like if the Earth moved to a different part of our Galaxy?
Lord of the Rings
12 October 2011: This eerie new astronomy picture looks like the 'Eye of Sauron' in the film The Lord of the Rings. In the film, the Eye of Sauron marks the final destination of the character Frodo’s long journey. But the object shown in this picture doesn’t mark the end-point of a journey across space – it’s just one of many distance signposts that are dotted across the Universe!
The Universe has a Murky Past
12 October 2011: Have you ever woken up in the morning and seen that it is very foggy and murky outside, but then the Sun came up and it quickly burned away? Well, something similar happened to the Universe when it was very young.
The Colourful Side of the Moon
7 October 2011: If you were going to paint a picture of the Moon, you would probably use grey and white paint pots. But if you want to create an accurate picture of the Moon, then you would need a few colours on your paint palette too, such as red, blue and brown!
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