from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Uclick Wonder … · from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Uclick ... They also believed in astrology (uh-STRAW-luh-jee), ... About 400 years later,

© 2009 Universal Uclick

release dates: December 19-25 51-1 (09)

from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Uclick

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For many people, learning about the science and history that go along with religious beliefs makes special holidays ever more wondrous. You and your family may have wondered about some of the mysteries of the holiday season. The Mini Page talked with an expert at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum to find out more about the mystery of the Christmas star.Following the star In the Christmas story, a group of wise men, or magi (MAY-jie), followed a bright star to find the Christ child. Magi were early astronomers. They recognized the positions of all the stars. When a new star appeared in the sky, they knew it. They also believed in astrology (uh-STRAW-luh-jee), or the idea that the position of the stars affects people’s lives. Scientists no longer believe this. When the magi saw a new star appear in the eastern sky, they believed it was a sign that a new king of the Jews had been born.

Astronomers’ ideas For hundreds of years, astronomers have been trying to figure out an explanation for the Christmas star. No one knows for sure what it was. Part of the difficulty in answering this question is that no one knows exactly when the magi went on their journey. The top scientific explanations for the star include: • a supernova • a comet • several planets coming so close to each other that they seemed like one bright star.

Novas Once in a while, stars suddenly flare up. From Earth, a flare-up can look as if a new star has suddenly appeared. Nova (NO-vuh) means “new star.” Sometimes, a very old star explodes. The exploding burst of light can also appear as a super bright new star in the sky, or supernova.

Wonder and Mystery

A Star in the East

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The Hubble Space Telescope captured the explosion from Supernova 1987A. The rings in this show of light are from dust and gas from the exploding star. Some experts believe the Christmas star might have been a supernova.

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ir In 1604, astronomers saw what they thought was a new star. About 400 years later, NASA observatories made pictures of this supernova’s still-glowing gas.

Words that remind us of the Christmas star are hidden in the block below. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally. See if you can find: SEASON, MAGI, EAST, ASTRONOMERS, WISE, MEN, SKY, SUN, ICE, DUST, TAIL, GLOW, CELEBRATION, NOVA, SUPERNOVA, COMET, PLANETS, BRIGHT, LIGHT, GAS, ORBIT, SIGN, WINTER, SOLSTICE.

Christmas Star try ’nfind

Have a star-brigHt Holiday

season!

S N O G T S A E S T E N A L P U S O R L T L M T H G I L B S P S I V B O A R E T N I W R O E E M G A I W I D U S T N I L R A A S N V T K L E S I W G S N S G U S A G M N E M I P H T O O I N Y K S T E M O C C T I V N N O I T A R B E L E C E C A S R E M O N O R T S A K O E


Basset Brown

the news

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A glorious goodbye A star is a giant ball of gas. It stays together because different forces are in balance. Nuclear explosions from inside the star push out. At the same time, the weight, or mass, of the star pushes in. The two forces balance each other. When the star grows old, it starts running out of nuclear fuel. It stops creating as many explosions. After a while, there are not enough nuclear explosions to hold back the weight of the star. Gravity starts pulling in the mass of the star. The star starts collapsing. The pressure of the collapsing star heats up the core of the star to about 100 billion degrees Fahrenheit. Finally, it becomes so hot, it blows up.

A star appearing in the sky An exploding star releases as much energy as countless nuclear warheads all exploding at once. Sometimes these supernova explosions are so bright, people on Earth can see them with the naked eye. People might see them glowing brightly for weeks. Before the explosion, the star might not have been visible to people on Earth. After the explosion, it would look like a bright new star suddenly appeared.

Exploding Star

Supernova fireworks When a star explodes, it creates shock waves of glowing gas spreading out into space. We can still see the glowing remains of supernovas from star explosions millions of years ago.

photo courtesy NASA

This picture was made of many images of the remaining gas and dust from Supernova N49. The gas in the center is glowing at about 1 million degrees Fahrenheit.

ready resourcesfrom The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Uclick

The Mini Page provides ideas for Web sites, books or other resources that will help you learn more about this week’s topics.

On the Web:• www.nasm.si.edu/• www.nasa.gov

At the library:• “The Star of Bethlehem” by Sir Patrick Moore• “The Journey of the Magi” by Hans Holzer• “Crafty Christmas Stars” by Clare Beaton

Mini Spy . . .Mini Spy and Basset Brown are getting ready to celebrate the holidays. See if you can find:• exclamation mark • dog’s face • two question marks• carrot • word MINI • pencil • tooth• fish • letter E • number 8 • snake• arrow • number 2 • letter F • ring• shoe • heart • kite • number 7


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Meet Dwayne Johnson Dwayne Johnson is the voice of Chuck Baker in the movie “Planet 51.” He has appeared in several other movies, including “The Mummy Returns,” “The Scorpion King,” “Race to Witch Mountain” and “The Game Plan.” Dwayne, 37, was born in Hayward, Calif. His father and grandfather were both wrestlers. His father began teaching

him how to wrestle when Dwayne was 6 years old. Dwayne received a football scholarship to the University of Miami. However, a back injury forced him to quit football. He then began wrestling, and got the nickname “The Rock.”

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Rookie Cookie’s RecipeMean Green Bean Casserole

You’ll need:• 4 slices precooked bacon• 1 (10.75-ounce) can condensed cheddar

cheese soup• 3/4 cup milk• 1 (8-ounce) can water chestnuts, drainedWhat to do:1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.2. Microwave or cook the bacon as directed on package, then chop into small pieces.3. In a medium bowl, mix the soup and milk.4. In a medium casserole baking dish, combine the bacon, soup mixture, water chestnuts, green beans, pepper and mushrooms. Stir until well-mixed.5. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until heated through.6. Stir mixture and top with the french-fried onions. Bake for an additional 5 minutes or until the onions are golden brown. Makes 8 to 10 servings. You will need an adult’s help with this recipe.


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• 2 (12-ounce) microwaveable packets of green beans, cooked and drained

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper• 1 (6.5-ounce) can mushrooms,

drained• 1 (2.8-ounce) can french-fried onions


Jim: What happens when the sun gets tired?Will: It sets awhile!

Rachel: Which is lighter, the sun or the Earth?Pat: The sun — it rises every morning!

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Danielle: Did you hear the joke about the sun?Haley: No, tell me.Danielle: Never mind, it’s way over your head!

All the following jokes have something in common. Can you guess the common theme or category?


A comet Comets (KOM-ihts) are balls of ice, rock and dust orbiting the sun. Scientists believe they were formed when planets and the sun were born about 4.6 billion years ago. When a comet orbits near the sun, the sun melts some of the ice, turning it to gas. This dust and gas become the comet’s tail. The gas also forms a cloud surrounding the comet. Sunlight reflects off the gas and dust, making the comet shine. Comet gases also glow on their own. If the comet comes close enough and glows brightly enough, we can see it from Earth. Comets follow a regular path, or orbit, around the sun. Because of this, we can predict when a certain comet will come around again. Some experts believe the magi could have seen a comet around 3 or 4 B.C. Some believe the magi saw Halley’s comet around 12 B.C. This is probably earlier than the magi made their journey.

Winter solstice The winter solstice (SOHL-stus) is the day with the least amount of daylight in the year. The sun shines for the least amount of time on that day. In the Northern Hemisphere, it falls on Dec. 21 or 22. Even though the sun shines a bit longer each day after that, the Earth takes a long time to heat up again. The coldest months come after the solstice. Ancient Romans held a big party, the Saturnalia, for about a week around the solstice. Masters and slaves traded places, and the slaves got to order the masters around. Christians began holding their

Christmas celebrations during the same time. They hoped the Romans would be too busy partying to attack them.

Signs in the Sky

Close encounters Planets travel in regular orbits around the sun. We can see some of them moving across the night skies. The orbits of Jupiter, Saturn and Mars brought them close together in about 7 B.C. From Earth, this group of planets could have looked like one giant shining star. There was another grouping of planets about 3 or 4 B.C., but it might not have been as visible. However, the magi, who studied star patterns, would have known it was there. They might have believed it was a sign.

The Mini Page StaffBetty Debnam - Founding Editor and Editor at Large Lisa Tarry - Managing Editor Lucy Lien - Associate Editor Wendy Daley - Artist

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Halley’s comet, one of the most famous comets, becomes visible from Earth about every 75 to 79 years. This European Space Agency craft flew by the nucleus, or central core, of Halley’s comet in 1986.

Look on the weather page of your newspaper. Does it tell you what will be visible in the night sky?Next week The Mini Page is about skating on artificial ice.

Venus (right, above the tree) shines in the night sky.

photo courtesy Peter Stättmayer, The Venus Transit 2004 Programme, European Space Agency

The Mini Page thanks Dr. David DeVorkin, curator, Space History Division, Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, for help with this issue.

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Comet Kohoutek was visible on Earth in 1974. It is easy to see how a comet could appear as a wonderful sign in the heavens.


Supersport: Kyle SinglerHeight: 6-7 Weight: 230 Hometown: Medford, Ore. One moment he might score inside against a tall defender. Next trip down the court, he might fake out a pesky guard and pop in a long jumper. Duke’s Kyle Singler can strike from all angles, plus play tough

defense and snatch rebounds. In short, the long-armed junior with floppy blond hair is one of college basketball’s best all-around performers. In two seasons for the highly ranked Blue Devils, Singler averaged 14.9 points and 6.8 rebounds. Some of his toughness no doubt developed on the football field, where he was an all-conference high school player. He also grew up in a big basketball-playing family. Away from hoops, Singler participates in Duke’s Verizon Reading program and Role Model Speaker Series. A visual arts major, he lists drawing among his hobbies. At the moment, he appears to be sketching an All-America basketball career.

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from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Uclick Wonder … · from The Mini Page © 2009 Universal Uclick ... They also believed in astrology (uh-STRAW-luh-jee), ... About 400 years later,