Adventures Beyond the Solar System – Planetron and Me
Geoffrey T. Williams
Illustrated by Pierr Morgan
Copyright 2012 by Geoffrey T. Williams
Smashwords Edition
Table of Contents
Chapter 6 – The Life of a Star
Chapter 7 – M42 – The Orion Nebula
Chapter 8 - The Horsehead Nebula
Chapter 9 – M57 – The Ring Nebula
Chapter 10 – The Search Begins
Chapter 12 – M1 – The Crab Nebula
Chapter 15 – Signs of Intelligence
A Note from planetron
I hope some of you went on our first adventure when Will and I traveled around the solar system. If you missed the blast off, when we get back from this trip, you might want to get on board for that ride. We had a lot of fun and learned a great deal about the planets, the sun, and comets.
And it wasn’t nearly as dangerous as this trip turned out to be!
The science of astronomy is advancing almost at light speed these days (if you’re not sure how fast that is, check out Chapter One – How Big is Big). Anyway, it seems like every day there’s a new extrasolar planet being discovered somewhere in our galaxy – there are even some that might be suitable for you to live on. If you want to know what might make another planet suitable for humans, read about Will’s and Mr. Inc’s search for Terra Nova.
The worlds of astrophysics, astronomy, exobiology, and the many other sciences that explore the universe are more exciting than ever before. I hope you enjoy the little bit of it we can bring you here.
HOW BIG IS BIG?
Someday, maybe thousands of years from now, some space traveler is going to find a brown paper bag with a sandwich and a cookie inside in orbit around a star named X-1, in the constellation Cygnus. I hope whoever it is doesn't try to pick it up. When I dropped it, I wasn't about to try—you see, Cygnus X-1 is a black hole in space...
The whole thing started because I had to figure out how to get to Baltimore.
“Are you done with your homework yet, Will?” Mom called from down the hallway.
“Almost, Mom.” I looked back down at the paper where I'd been scribbling problems.” ... So, at eighty miles-per-hour, Mr. Smith's train gets to Baltimore forty-five minutes ahead of Mr. Johnson's. There. Done. These word problems are tricky, Planetron.”
Planetron was perched on the desk, his little motors humming quietly. In case you missed my first adventure I guess I'd better explain: Planetron is my transformer robot. He looks like most other transformer robots—all red and black and silver and shiny with little wheels and antennas and lights and things.
I remember the day Dad gave him to me. “Look, Will. It says right here on the box—Exciting! Fun! Educational! Planetron, the one-of-a-kind science teacher!” And I remember thinking that Planetron looked, I don't know, mysterious and different somehow. It didn't take me long to find out just how different he was.
“Rrrr-wzz-spt.” That little metallic buzzing sound is one of the ways he's different—he talks. And he's powered by sunlight, so at night I have to remember to plug him in.
“Sorry, Planetron. There you go.”
“Ssszt! Thhha-spt. Thang.” His batteries were charging up. “Thangg-yyooo, Wuuh. Rrremember, Www-ill, w-w-word problems provide the foundation in logical thinking and mathematical reasoning necessary for your scientific education.”
I closed my math book. “Sure. But I'll probably never use any of this stuff in real life. And anyway, why would I want to go to Baltimore?”
I could hear Planetron's electronic circuits opening and closing. “But what if you wanted to go to Rigel Kent?”
“Dad uses a travel agent. I could just call her.”
“I doubt if they could help you, Will. Rigel Kent is a star, usually called Alpha Centauri, in the southern Milky Way.”
“I've heard of Alpha Centauri. It's the star closest to Earth.”
“Actually, Will, the sun is the closest star to Earth.”
“Oh. Yeah. Sure. What's the Milky Way?”
“A galaxy—a huge collection of stars, gas and dust clouds. Turn out the lights and I'll show you.”
When the room was dark I heard a low humming sound and suddenly a beam of light shot out of Planetron's eyes like lightning. I jumped back. Wow! I didn't know he could do that! Right in the middle of my room, a picture formed—like a three-dimensional slide show: A beautiful band of glowing clouds about six feet across hung in the air. It was thinner at the edges and the middle was round, like a ball, and glowing brighter than the rest. There were dark patches in it, and bright colored lights— green and orange and blue. “That's the Milky Way?” I asked.