Why do people look into space with telescopes but not binoculars?
“Why do people use telescopes to look into space but not binoculars?” — Niraj, age 6, Arlington, Massachusetts Go outside right now. What’s the farthest thing you can see? A tree? A bird? What about the Moon? It’s 250,000 miles away. The Sun is 400 times farther than that, at nearly 100 million miles (but …
Why does the Earth spin?
“Why does the Earth spin?” —Sara H., age 5, New Paltz, New York A globe was the first thing I ever bought with my own money. I was maybe 5 years old, and I was really excited to take it home. As I quickly discovered, you can spin it in the direction that the earth …
Why does the Moon look close some nights and far away on others?
“Why does the Moon look close some nights and far away on other nights?” —Gabriel H., age 7, Providence, Rhode Island Some nights the Moon seems really close and bigger than usual. One summer evening when I was a child, I remember being mystified and then startled at a huge round shape slowly creeping up …