The Moon and Stars

1. THE MISSION

The moon has started to collapse and it is going to eternally be sucked by a black hole and a foreign object is going to cover the entire planet Earth because the moon has started to collapse and if the moon goes to the phase of a new moon it will forever collapse and be sucked by the black hole. In the game, you are an astronaut and have been assigned the role of going on a space expedition to destroy the black hole so that the moon doesn’t collapse and also destroy the foreign object strategically by using the help of other astronauts as well as using state of the art technology to complete your task. The particular level of the game must be completed within 20 minutes or else the moon may go to the new moon phase and will forever be sucked by a black hole. The next level of the game involves the constellation of stars slowly falling down from the skies on earth and hence there is no light and all the constellations have also lost shape and form. It is the mission of the astronaut to take the stars back to the skies and form the constellations with the help of various equipment that can help retrieve stars and form the constellations with the help of the designs provided by your team. You will have to strategically work around various factors in the game like maintaining balance, gravity and steady oxygen supply. If the second level of the game is not completed within 30 minutes the player will lose all oxygen supply as well as lose the sense of balance and perish in outer space.

2. CONCEPTS
   1. Celestial Objects

Most The moon is the brightest object in the night sky. The stars, the planets, the moon and many other objects in the sky are called celestial objects

1. The Moon

The Moon is about 4.5 billion years old and is the only natural satellite in our Solar System. The moon formed about 30–50 million years after the Earth formed. The moon that we see almost every night is a natural satellite of the Earth. This means that the moon revolves around the earth on a regular path. The gravitational attraction between the earth and the natural satellite holds it in its orbit even as the moon revolves around the earth.

Being our closest celestial neighbour appears large compared to the stars. In fact, all the stars and planets are larger than the moon but are so far away that they appear very small in comparison.

1. Surface of the Moon

The moon’s surface is covered by rocks and loose dirt which we call lunar soil. It is pockmarked with craters of different sizes because of meteorites that hit its surface. On earth, these meteorites burn up in our atmosphere before they reach the ground. But this orb of the night has no atmosphere, so it is covered with large craters. Because there is no air, there is no life on the moon. We all know that Neil Armstrong was the first person to land on this celestial body in 1969.

1. Phases of the Moon

The phases of the moon repeat themselves after every 29 days and there are eight major moon phases. The day when we can see the whole moon in the sky is called a ‘Full Moon Day’. On this day this sunlight falls all over the moon. Now as the moon revolves and changes its position, the part which receives sunlight starts to decrease and the moon appears as if it is getting thinner.

On the 15th day after a Full Moon, the moon becomes completely invisible as no light of the sun falls over it due to its position behind the Earth. This is called a ‘New Moon Day’. The next day the moon that appears in the sky is called ‘Crescent Moon’. From this day, the moon starts growing larger until the 15th day when it reaches its full shape, that is, the Full Moon Day comes.

• Waning phase of the moon: it is the phase of the Moon in which it decreases in size.
• Waxing phase of the moon: it is the phase of the moon in which it increases in size.
• Blue moon – Generally there occurs one New Moon every month. However, at times, there can be two new moons in a single month. The second New Moon in a month is called the Blue Moon.

 The Stars

Details of the Stars are as follows:

• Once The stars are celestial bodies composed of hot gases (mainly helium and hydrogen).
• All the stars emit their own light.
• All the stars are not the same. They may vary in brightness, size, colours and temperature.
• They are massive in size however they appear as a point-sized object from the Earth’s surface.
• This is so because they are at a huge distance from the earth.
• Stars have a life period. They take millions of years to born and live for tens of millions of years and eventually come to an end. Due to their long lifespan, the changes in the stars are not very sudden. Hence, they appear as permanent to us

Stars emit light that when enters the earth’s surface has to travel through the several layers of the earth’s atmosphere. Hence, it appears that the light is travelling in a zig-zag motion due to the change in densities of the earth’s atmosphere and the density of the space. Therefore, it appears to us as if the stars are twinkling.

• The sun is also a star because the sun can produce heat and light energy on its own.
• The sun has a life period just like every other star.
• The sun is estimated to be born around 5 billion years ago and would live for the next 5 billion years.

 Distance between the Sun and the Earth

• The sun does not appear as a point-sized object like other stars because the sun is at a close distance to the earth as compared to other stars
• The distance between the Earth and the Sun is estimated to be 150,000,000 km
• The star that is closer to the Earth, after the sun, is called Alpha Centauri. The distance between the Earth and the Alpha Centauri is estimated to be 40,000,000,000,000 km

1. Light Year

• The distance between celestial objects is described in light years
• A light year, as the name suggests, is the total distance light travels in 1 years’ time
• The speed of light = 300,000 km per second
• The distance between the sun and the earth = 8 light minutes
• The distance between Alpha Centauri and the earth = 4.3 light years
• Stars are present in the sky during the day as well as night time. However, during the daytime, the sunlight is so bright that it becomes difficult to locate stars in the sky

If we observe a star or a group of stars for some hours their position appears to change. This is because of the motion of the earth. The earth keeps on revolving around the sun and hence changes its position with respect to the stars. The rotation of the Earth takes place in a direction from west to east. To us, it appears as if the earth is still and the sky is moving from east to west direction. However, it is not true. Also, this is the same reason why the sun appears to rise from the east and set in the west. The pole star also called Polaris is situated close to the earth’s axis of rotation. As a result, the position of the pole star appears to be fixed. This is unlike the other stars as their position keeps on changing with respect to the earth.

1. Constellations

• A constellation is described as a group of stars that form a recognizable shape or pattern
• Ancient people used constellations as a way to recognise the stars
• The shape of the constellations generally resembles objects that ancient people used
• There are not only 5 to 10 stars in a constellation. A constellation comprises several stars but only some of them which are the brightest can be viewed
• The stars that make up a constellation are found in the same line of sight; however, the distance between these stars is not the same.

 Major Constellations

Ursa Major or the Great Bear or Saptarishi or the Big Dipper

• This constellation comprises seven major stars
• These stars form the shape of a big question mark or a ladle
• The handle of the ladle is made by joining the 3 stars in a row and the remaining four stars are in the shape of the bowl of the ladle.

How can we locate pole stars using Ursa Major?

• The Ursa Major constellation includes two stars called Merak and Dubhe
• If we draw an imaginary line from Merak to Dubhe and extended further in the same direction the first bright star that we would come across is the pole star
• The pole star is located above the northern hemisphere and hence it cannot be seen through the southern hemisphere
• Similarly, many constellations of the northern hemisphere can’t be located from different points of the southern hemisphere

Orion or the Hunter

• It is one of the most magnificent constellations of the sky
• It comprises of 7 or 8 bright stars
• There are three stars in the middle that appear as the belt of a hunter
• The remaining four stars are arranged in the form of a quadrilateral.

 Sirius Star

• The Sirius Star is the brightest star of the sky.
• It can be located with the help of the Orion constellation.
• If we draw an imaginary line through the three stars in the middle of the Orion and extended further we will reach the brightest star, Sirius

Cassiopeia

• It is a constellation found in the Northern hemisphere and can be located in the sky during the winter season at the beginning of the night.
• The shape of this constellation resembles a W or a distorted M.
• The name of this constellation was given after queen Cassiopeia in Greek mythology.

Leo Major

• It consists of several bright stars and that is why it can be easily located in the sky
• It can be viewed from the Northern hemisphere (January to June) as well as Southern hemispheres (summer and autumn)
• The Leo appears upside down from the southern hemisphere
• It is one of the oldest constellations that were recognised almost 6000 years ago
• This constellation signifies the Adventures of Hercules