Books about space for children - an exciting journey into astronomy. adventure galaxy

All children are interested in what, due to their age, is still unknown to them. The space theme is one of my favorites. Sometimes, “backfilling” questions confuse parents. I would like to answer, but simple words are not enough, because what worries a small inquisitive mind excites the minds of the best scientists around the world. How to be? Where can one find “correct” and accessible explanations for complex phenomena? IN THE RIGHT BOOKS! We introduce you to the space selection, which will surely help you find answers to "space" questions.

tlum.ru

Exploring space is fun at any age. Stories about the universe help children feel like part of a vast world, broaden their horizons and show creativity. Adult knowledge about space teaches to think globally, makes them think about ecology and responsibility for our planet. Books about space are interesting to read together to discuss, find answers to questions, dream up and dream. Welcome to an exciting intergalactic adventure through the pages of children's books!

1. V.I. Tsvetkov "Starry sky. Galaxies, constellations, meteorites»

The popular scientific and practical encyclopedia will tell young readers about the ancient science of astronomy, teach them how to "read" a map of the starry sky, and introduce the names of the brightest stars.

Readers will learn where to look for the "lion's heart" and "Veronica's hair", what the "big summer triangle" is, what links the word "vacation" and the brightest star in the sky - Sirius. Where observatories are built and why the room where the telescope is located cannot be heated, how Stonehenge helps to find out the cardinal points, where it is best to observe the stars and much more.

Hard cover, high-quality printing, many photographs and drawings, diagrams. The text is adapted for self-reading by children of school age, the information can be trusted, because. the reviewer was Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor.

2. Encyclopedia for the curious "Why and why."

This book has a section on time and seasons. Important concepts are clearly explained in accessible words. The book is intended to be read by adults to children, it can be used for preschool children.

Why does the sun rise and set? Why is it dark at night? What is a leap year and why do we need a calendar? What time is it in space?

High-quality illustrations, good paper and binding are a big advantage.

3. O. I. Sumatokhina “Space. 3D encyclopedia"

What invisible secrets does the cosmos hide in itself?

The encyclopedia will help young why-do-it-yourselfers discover the Universe, meet famous astronauts, understand how a telescope works and what space stations are for.

Three-dimensional imaging technology (glasses) will help bring the unknown closer.

The book contains a large number of photographs, the text is presented in small blocks.

4. Great children's encyclopedia
Translation from English by T. Pokidayeva

Any “backfilling” question from children’s lips will not sound scary, because this encyclopedia has everything to answer what the Universe and the Milky Way are, how many stars are in the sky and why they twinkle, which stars can explode and whether the Sun will die. Part of the book is devoted to space.

The book is not overloaded with texts that are difficult for a child to understand, the illustrations are bright and clearly demonstrate phenomena that can be difficult to explain in an accessible language.

5. Encyclopedia "Astronomy and space"

tlum.ru

Ninety-six pages full of amazing space facts and beautiful illustrations. Encyclopedia "Astronomy and Space" will bring readers closer to answering eternal questions and will allow you to learn a lot about our universe and the study of planets by mankind. The manual will be relevant for children of senior preschool and school age.

6. Space. The complete encyclopedia

tlum.ru

A treasure trove of useful information! Even adults will find new facts for themselves.

7. Space and earth. Unique illustrated encyclopedia for children

knigamir.com

With the help of this book, children will make an exciting journey to different parts of the world of our planet; visit the mountains, walk through the cities and plains, and even fly into space! By reading the book "Space and Earth", they will learn how to observe the night sky, use binoculars and a telescope, how an astrological observatory works. Tips from experienced travelers will help you learn how to read maps and build routes, navigate the terrain, use a compass and notice the clues of nature. Suitable for children of primary school age.

8. G. N. Elkin “For children about space and astronauts”

www.ozon.ru

The book introduces the wonderful world of space. Written in an accessible language, well illustrated. It will be useful for children, their parents and teachers working with children.

The young reader will learn what stars are, black holes, where comets, asteroids come from, what cosmic dust consists of, what galaxies and constellations are, what are the names of the planets and their satellites, how the solar system works, who invented rockets, spacecraft and how spaceports. The author tells about the astronauts and their heroic profession, about who was the first to make a space flight and how people went to the moon.

9. Martin Ruth "Cosmos" (Publishing house Clever, 2016)

mamsila.ru

This book will be understandable and interesting even for kids of 3-4 years old, it may well become the first encyclopedia about space in your children's library. The author in an accessible form talks about the planets of the solar system, the Sun, the Moon, stars and galaxies.

You can play with the book: there are opening valves on the pages, under which little explorers love to look. Having opened such a valve, the children will see what is inside the spacesuit, how the rocket is arranged, what the Earth consists of.

10. Ephraim Levitan "Kids about the stars and planets" ("Rosmen")

mamsila.ru

This book is a bestseller that has collected a huge number of rave reviews, its author is Yefim Devitan, a well-known popularizer of astronomy. Perfect for the first acquaintance with space for children from 4 years old.

This astronomical fairy tale tells kids about the Universe in an accessible and fascinating way. Visual illustrations and simple experiments help parents explain complex phenomena with simple examples.

11. Ephraim Levitan's trilogy "Fairytale Universe" ("ID Meshcheryakov")

mamsila.ru

The trilogy includes books: "Secrets of our sun", "Sun Kingdom", "The world where the stars live".

The main characters are the author's own children, Alka and Sveta, as well as the gnomes Knopkin and Underdouchkin. Every evening, dad tells the children fairy tales about space, about how our Universe works, about the Sun, the Moon, about what gravity is, what planets of the solar system exist. Difficult for children's understanding of the material is presented in an accessible and exciting way. The experiments that dad conducts with children on the pages of books can be repeated at home with a child.

12. Dominic Wolliman, Ben Newman
"Professor Astrocat and his adventures in space" ("MYTH", 2016)

mamsila.ru

The protagonist of the book, Professor Astrocat, shares his knowledge, observations and discoveries with readers. The book is illustrated with humor, it is equally interesting to read for both children and adults.

It turns out that Astrocat really existed and was even really preparing to go into space, but ... at the last moment he escaped! The prototype for the hero of the book was the cat Felix. Instead of Felix, the cat Felicette flew into space, but the story is not about her at all ...

mamsila.ru

The authors of the book have a very funny story. There are also funny astro mice there, so that the cat would not be bored alone to surf the expanses of space. Comic book style is a good idea. Some of the information is presented on behalf of the characters in the book; from time to time they exchange funny remarks.

mamsila.ru

Very detailed and visual illustrations, as well as infographics, make the information easy to perceive and memorize quickly. The ratio of the sizes of the planets in the solar system, for example, is illustrated with the help of various fruits: if Jupiter were the size of a watermelon, then Uranus is an apple, Venus is a grape, and Mercury is a peppercorn.

Having such a book in your home library is just a blessing!

13. E. Kachur "Fascinating astronomy"

www.babyblog.ru

A beautiful, bright and informative book from a series of encyclopedias with Chevostik. Together with an inquisitive hero, little readers will get to the observatory to see planets, stars, comets and much more through a telescope.

Why does the moon sometimes look like a crescent, and sometimes even round? How to distinguish a planet from a star? What is a light year and why is one Earth year equal to four Mercury years? Which of the planets is the smallest and which is the largest? Do stars appear during the day? Why does a comet have a tail? What is orbit and satellite, meteors and eclipse? You will find answers to these and other questions in the book. Simple texts, cute illustrations, detailed diagrams and experiments will help readers fall in love with space.

14. "The Tale of Happiness" from skazzzki.ru

An interesting personalized fairy tale for your child can be ordered through the service skazzzki.ru.

Dear readers! Tell us in the comments what books about space are in your home library, what you like to read and what you would like to purchase in the future.

Many children begin to show interest in astronomy at a very early age. And parents know that they need to choose books about space for children, in accordance with the interests of the child. But I also want to buy really worthwhile copies in terms of quality and content. That's what we'll talk about today.

1. Opening space
2. W7G from 4 to 5 years
3. Universe 3D

Books about space for children from our children's library

Hello dear readers, we are waiting for you with an exciting intergalactic adventure through the pages of children's books. Our library on this topic began to replenish when my son was not even two years old. Alexander is very passionate about everything related to outer space, now the child is over 6 years old and his interest does not fade away. Therefore, I have to constantly find new interesting specimens. Unfortunately, publishing houses do not accompany this; in recent years, reading materials with an accessible description for preschool age have disappeared from store shelves. And at the end of this article you will also see them, I left my previous reviews, in the hope that someday these encyclopedias will be republished. So, let's begin!

Purchase in the Labyrinth

I'll start with our favorite children's encyclopedia with Chevostik "Fascinating Astronomy", author Elena Kachur. The book is not new on the market, but it happens that you see an interesting copy and put it off “for later”, because the child is still small, and eventually forget. Don't worry, I'll definitely remind you of it. The MIF publishing house pleases its readers with the second edition, it contains 80 thick pages of offset paper. There are pictures on each spread, they are bright and absolutely do not shine through.

The age limit indicates 0+, and in the description of the series there is a recommendation for primary school age. And I would like to dwell on this in more detail. The language of the story is so easy that it will be clear to children from 3 years old. Honestly, you rarely find a text that is so perfectly adapted to children's understanding. This is a huge plus! The topics covered in the described encyclopedia are really well suited for children of 6-8 years old, if they have not been interested in astronomy before or if their parents simply did not have the opportunity to delve into its study.

Let's take a look at what the child learns:

1. Facts about the moon and its phases. What is a lunar eclipse and how does it happen. Carry out an experiment from an additional task. Also see ours.
2. The solar system and what planets are included in it. You can see what we did with my son.
3. Interesting facts about each of the eight planets. I strongly advise you to see how in entertaining experiments.
4. Information about the stars and the most popular constellations. And also about meteoroids, meteors and meteorites.
5. Comets and our beautiful galaxy.

As you can see, there is a lot of information. I really liked the task after each section.

And interesting mini-posters for the entire spread: the location of the planets in the solar system, comparing the sizes of stars, the constellations of the night sky.

labyrinth

Describing books about space for children, I put in second place a copy from the Meshcheryakov publishing house “Secrets of our sun” by Efrem Levitan. It contains 141 pages, thick white offset paper. The pictures are bright, kindly childish, on every turn. The font is medium size, the letter “ё” is printed. I focus on it, as the content is suitable for independent reading by schoolchildren. And yet, I do not advise leaving children alone with history, no matter how interesting it is. Now I will explain why.

Under the cover it says “Primary and Middle School Ages”, but reading the comments, I had a lot of doubts about the age guidelines. As a mother working with her child, I understand that there are stimulated minds and not so much. Most importantly, I am aware of the perception of the world by my child. But apparently, not all commentators have this “gift” or they have not seen the book in their eyes, recommending it from the age of 4-5.

My son and I read it at the age of 6 years 5 months and I clearly felt what moments he “growth”. For example, he is not yet familiar with physics and the chapters on hydrogen atoms, helium and plasma were rather introductory. We learned the counting:

I am a proton and you are a neutron.
There was an electron here somewhere.
Who will find it now
He will drive with us.

But this only aroused a desire to quickly acquire Fascinating physics with Chevostik. After that, it will be possible to re-read “Secrets of our sun”.

If you have a desire to conduct reinforcing classes on the material you have read, ideas will not keep you waiting. My son and I made sunglasses, and then a helium atom from plasticine and wires.

Opening space

For older guys, I recommend a new and detailed book describing the facts Opening space.

The history of the conquest of space from the past is described with a little peeping into the future. Yes, today we already know that the United States is going to fly to Mars, and I think the author is right, we are not far from the colonization of this planet. The text is a pleasure to read and is well adapted for children. I am sure that the guys will learn a lot of interesting details from this wonderful specimen.

Publishing house Rosmen, thick coated paper, 32 pages.

A very good copy for the first acquaintance with outer space. Each topic is located on the spread, which allows the parent to stop after reading, discuss, prepare a thematic lesson.

1. Where we live?
2. Our star is the sun
3. distant stars
4. constellations
5. solar system
6. Mercury and Venus
7. Our planet is Earth
8. Earth satellite - Moon
9. Mars and Jupiter
10. Saturn and Uranus
11. Neptune
12. asteroids
13. How do we know all this?
14. How to fly into space?
15. How to become an astronaut?

As you can see, a lot is described, presented in a very accessible form. The illustrations are bright and fascinated my son for a long time. He especially liked to list the planets again and again, showing them with his finger. If you have just started introducing your child to outer space, then you won’t find a better book. The letters in it are large, so Alexander at the age of 3 years and 10 months read it on his own (aloud for his mother).

Look for it in the series “The very first encyclopedia” from the Rosman publishing house.

Robins Publishing, thick cardboard paper with 110 folds, 12 pages or 7 spreads (it is, I was not mistaken). We have several themes from this series, after Arkaim stopped producing window prints, I opened this wonderful series “Magic Doors” for us. And although the book itself says 6+, it came in handy for us after 4 years. Many of the topics described are in the interests of my child.

1. What are the properties of materials (leather, glass, wood, plastic, clay, metal, magnet, water)
2. Grass and trees (all about plants and their growth, how to grow beans)
3. Human anatomy and physiology
4. Light and sound
5. Solid mechanics, gravity, friction, friction elimination, air resistance
6. Earth and space

It is because of the last turn that this instance got into my review. All the facts are presented in a very accessible way, opening numerous windows keeps the child's interest.

To kids about stars and planets. W7G from 4 to 5 years

I will say right away that I have a good attitude towards this series of developing notebooks. For example, Where did the dinosaurs go We really enjoyed. But from this instance, we have long grown in terms of the amount of knowledge. I can only recommend it if you want to have a poster “The planets of the solar system and the constellations of the zodiac” + some additional information about the sun, how the day changes, the seasons on earth and at the end of the Balkan fairy tale “How the sun and the moon went to visit each other” .

Universe 3D

Entertaining children's encyclopedias. Machaon Publishing. Three-dimensional moving pictures, black coated paper. 38 pages.

I bought this book more than three years ago and it seemed to me that before reading it, we were like before the moon. If I found it in online stores today, I would put it in first place in my review. It has everything in content that Alexander is passionate about today, the information is described in a language suitable for our perception, and most importantly, windows! They seem to be thin, reclining, but at the same time unusual, in some places cards for a quiz are inserted, in some books. Alexander really liked the asteroid that can be moved and, of course, the 3D projection of the Moon.

If you manage to find this copy in ordinary bookstores, then be sure to purchase it. It will serve your children for more than one year.

Dear readers, books about space for children appear on the market and quickly disappear, I do not always keep up with the latest. Firstly, because the children's home library is not unlimited in capacity. Secondly, because parcels travel to us, in the Dominican Republic, on a donkey of the Russian Post for at least a month. And it can also be so insulting when one of them is “lost” along the way and the reading material does not reach the young reader at all. But I, as before, try to please you with reviews of the best copies and write a true impression of what I read. If you are interested in new articles on my blog, subscribe to the right panel or to my page in facebook. See you soon!

The "Russian Space" disk belongs to the "1C: Cognitive Collection" product line, which presents quite interesting projects. In April we considered two discs from the same series: "Battle for Moscow" and "From the Kremlin to the Reichstag". I must say, they left the most pleasant impression. "Russian Space" was created by another developer, the Kaluga company "DOS". "1C" acted as publisher. The disc cannot be called new (the year 2003 is indicated on the box), but it is still of interest. Our expert was Evgeny Alexandrovich Kovyazin, Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor, Department of Physics Didactics, Vyatka State University.

No special installation is required - it is launched directly from the disk, and a couple of shortcuts are added to the menu. After starting, we are greeted with a kind of black screen.

However, on another computer, a video was still displayed on the splash screen. As you can see, we have before us the 3rd edition of the small space encyclopedia. Here you can start the encyclopedia or exit it. In our opinion, this screen is completely redundant.

By clicking on the "Start" button, we get to the main screen. I must say that the resolution of the encyclopedia is fixed: 800x600, and interface scaling is not supported. As a result, on a modern monitor you will observe a black border. But such a shortcoming is found in encyclopedias everywhere.

The main screen is accompanied by background music, which for some reason disappears after 10 seconds. In general, we had problems with background music. It turned on after any sound output by the program, but then stopped. From the main screen, you can select one of nine sections: "Games", "Search", "Photo Gallery", "Video", "Space Technology", "Scientists and Designers", "Cosmonauts", "Museums" and "Encyclopedic Dictionary". There are also "Exit" and "Author Information" keys.

For some reason, each developer considers it his duty to create his own interface, trying to surpass all sorts of Windows, if not by an order of magnitude, then by a third. But creating an interface is a very difficult question, and we constantly observe how developers step on the same "rake". We started our acquaintance with the information about the authors. We get a tiny 444x380 screen (including the frame). The text contains hyperlinks. For example, "Firm" DOS ". The result of clicking on this link is shown in the second illustration. The two triangles at the top of the window allow you to move back and forth (like in a browser). Unfortunately, the window cannot be scaled. Given the tiny size of the window, you will have to train scroll wheel. An even funnier thing happens when you hover your mouse over a photo of one of the developers: it will take the form of a magnifying glass with a plus sign in the center. We believe that if you "click" on the photo, you should get a larger version. We'll see.

Why the developers disliked themselves so much that they did not attach the full versions of the photos, we do not know. But enough about the developers. Let's get to the content.

We are offered four games: "Space Mosaic", "Create the World", "Find the Constellation" and "Collect the Crew". Interestingly, to select a game, you need to click on its name in the radar zone. Apparently it's more fun.

In the game "Space Mosaic" you need to put together a photo from pieces. A remark immediately arose here: if you drag all the pieces to the right side, the game will not allow you to change their order and will display a message about the defeat.

So the selection will not work. By the way, by agreeing with the defeat, you will proceed to the assembly of the next picture, and not fix the previous one. In addition, dragging a fragment from the right side back to the left if you have chosen the wrong move will also fail. At the top of the window there are red squares - these are the available pictures, which, as the assembly is successful, will be painted gray. There is no way to move from one picture to another by clicking on the squares.

In the game "Make the world" you need to arrange the icons of the planets in orbits. At the same time, information about each planet is displayed on the left side, and after the placement of the planets, they begin to move in orbit - this allows you to compare their speed.

The third game "Find the constellation" displays a part of the sky map where you should find the required constellation. Red squares are displayed in the upper part, corresponding to the number of available constellations. If you guessed right, then the box turns gray, and a picture from the star atlas of Jan Hevelius is displayed on the screen.

In the fourth game "Gather the Crew" you need to drag the astronauts into the rocket and press the "Start" key. If you select the correct crew for the specified flight (top right), the rocket will take off.

Here you just need to enter the desired word and press the "Find" button. After that, the program will display a list of articles and other objects where the required word occurs. Clicking on an article will take you to it. Complaints are the same - a tiny window.

Photo gallery

You can select the desired section and view the photos in it.

A slide show mode is available, and you can set a delay (in the upper left corner). Unfortunately, it is not possible to get an alphabetical list of photos - this is the biggest drawback of the gallery. Therefore, to find the right frame, you will either have to scroll through the entire selection, or guess under which red box the photo is hiding. There are no enlarged versions of the photos, and you cannot "pull" the photos for use in a presentation or document. However, all of them are present on the disk in open form, so there will be no problems.

It simply displays a list of videos, sorted in an unclear way. By clicking on the video, you can watch it in the same tiny window. Of the two tested computers on the first machine (Dell laptop, Windows XP SP2), the videos refused to be displayed. Although through Media Player everything worked great.

If you click on the playback triangle, then the first machine will get an endless series of divide-by-zero errors.

However, if you have the same problem, then the videos can be played directly from the disc via Media Player - they are located in the "Video" folder. Unfortunately, the video resolution is limited to 352x288. In general, here we recommend developers not to reinvent the wheel, but to call the standard Media Player - it, unlike its own tiny window of the Russian Space program, allows you to scale the video to full screen. Then the error will probably also disappear.

Space technology

By going to the "Space technology" section, we find ourselves in a new interface. The content of the section is listed in the left part of the window, and all available articles are immediately displayed. On the right side you can see the subsections "Cosmodromes", "Rocket carriers", etc. They allow you to jump to the corresponding part of the left list. In addition, in the right part at the very top there are links to the sections "Museums", "Cosmonauts", "Scientists and Designers", "Space Technology" and "Encyclopedic Dictionary".

By clicking on an article, we go to its text. The text is provided with hyperlinks to other articles, as well as photographs that can be viewed in an enlarged form. In general, a good selection of illustrations for the text is a big "plus" of the "Russian Space" disc. Text can be selected, but cannot be copied to the clipboard.

Unfortunately, again, complaints arise about the tiny window with the text - it is inconvenient to read it, you have to scroll all the time.

You can jump back to the content using the "Contents" button at the top of the window. And the wheel between the keys "Contents" and "Text" is responsible for exiting the section. Who would have thought!

Scientists and designers

The interface corresponds to the "Space technology" section, so the features and notes will be the same. The left part contains a list of scientists and designers (including foreign ones), and the right part makes it possible to go directly to the biographies of K.E. Tsiolkovsky, A.L. Chizhevsky, S.P. Queen.

astronauts

The interface corresponds to the "Space technology" section, so the features and notes will be the same. On the left side is a list of astronauts, and on the right side you can go directly to the biographies of Yuri Gagarin, Valentina Tereshkova and Alexei Leonov.

encyclopedic Dictionary

The interface corresponds to the "Space technology" section, so the features and notes will be the same. A table with letters appeared on the right side, which helps you quickly jump to the list of terms starting with the selected letter.

Museums

The interface corresponds to the "Space technology" section, so the features and notes will be the same. In total, three museums are presented on the disk: the Museum of the History of Cosmonautics, the House-Museum of K.E. Tsiolkovsky and Museum-apartment of K.E. Tsiolkovsky in Borovsk.

All museums are divided into separate halls, and textual information is richly flavored with photographs.

Although, of course, here we would like to see a virtual tour, like a tour of Stalin's dacha on a disk "From the Kremlin to the Reichstag" .

The disk "Russian Space" is a small space encyclopedia designed for young PC users interested in astronautics. Immediately after starting the program, you can select one of nine sections: "Games", "Search", "Photo Gallery", "Scientists", "Space Technology", "Video", "Cosmonauts", "Museums" and "Encyclopedic Dictionary", and also information about the authors.

Working with the disk is simple, the interface is quite accessible to any student. Only the "Search" section can cause complaints. After calling it, a window appears where you need to type in the desired concept. Unfortunately, in almost all cases, after calling a term, the window displays many other concepts that are not related to the "order" at all. "Click" on any of them selects one more - left - window, in which either a photo or a textual explanation of the term is given.

At the same time, a list of sections ("Cosmonauts", "Cosmodromes", "Scientists", etc.) appears in the upper right part of the screen. The left window of the screen allows you to quickly view all the information on this section, presented on the disk.

The second significant remark can be made to the interface of the "Photo Gallery" section. It offers a mode for automatically changing photos after a certain, pre-set number of seconds. This can be done by the user himself, but the automatic frame change mode is not turned off, which sometimes leads to an unexpected change of the viewed photo to the next one. (Adding an editorial site: the slideshow mode is turned off if you click on the delay time figure).

I have no other significant comments on the interface. In addition to the above, I would like to note that the very content of the selected material or its presentation is not always, in my opinion, successful. I will give a few examples.

• In the "Games" section, the first game, drawing up a portrait of an astronaut from the given nine fragments, is very primitive, reminiscent of a kindergarten game of blocks, at the same time, in the "Encyclopedic Dictionary" section, explanations are given of such terms as "Two-body problem", "True anomaly" and others. Very large variation in the levels of complexity of the information provided.
• In the game "Create the world" in place of the Sun is for some reason a nebula. In addition, if the planets are placed in their orbits correctly, a passage from the Bible (?) about the creation of the world is displayed on the screen. It's hardly reasonable.
• In the game "Assemble the Crew", if the answer is correct, the rocket flies away, and in the case of an incorrect answer, it remains in place and, for some reason, the sound of a car starter (?) Appears, which does not start. In addition, it is difficult to require knowledge of the names of all our cosmonauts and on which ship they flew. Hardly anyone remembers this now.
• In the game "Find the constellation" sometimes the names of some very famous constellations (Eagle, Lyra, etc.) do not appear, and sometimes you need to guess the name of a constellation that is not visible at our latitudes.

There are several more such examples. Despite this, the overall impression of the disc is positive.

The "Russian Space" disc contains a rich selection of materials, including text with hyperlinks, photographs, and videos. In addition, there are also themed games on the disc. All materials of the manual are presented on CD in open form, and you can use the disk as a library while preparing presentations, articles or abstracts. Moreover, all textual information is recorded as HTML files, in which hyperlinks work. So you can view the contents of the disc using a browser.

Such openness of filling is pleasantly pleasing. But, on the other hand, it is limited to a very inconvenient interface. You'll have to settle for 800x600 resolution, tiny text fields, and awkward searches. It seems to us that developers should take a step forward and completely build the interface on open web technologies, and translate games into flash format. Then we will get an intuitive, convenient and high-quality interface - and the disk will last a very, very long time. In the meantime, alas, the interface is outdated.

We will not evaluate the quality of the filling - for this, refer to the opinion of our expert. In general, the disc is quite possible to buy. Hopefully, the developers will release an updated version in the near future.

In conclusion, it should be noted that this is almost the only encyclopedia that fully reflects Russia's contribution to space exploration.

The editors thank the company "1C" for the provided program.

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SPACE. THE UNIVERSE AND ITS DEVICE

HELIUM - SOLAR GAS

The history of the discovery of helium is interesting. She looks like a science detective.

In 1868, the English physicist Joseph Norman Lokwer studied the sun with a spectroscope. This device allows you to detect the presence of individual elements, i.e. Each chemical element corresponds to a certain line of the spectrum.

In the spectrum of the Sun, Lokver noticed an unknown yellow line; it could only correspond to a new element, unknown until now on Earth! The new element was named "helium" - from the Greek word "helios", which means the sun.

In the same year, the French astronomer P. Jansen discovered a bright yellow line in the spectrum of the chromosphere.

Scientists began to look for this element on Earth. The English chemist W. Ramsay, observing the radiation spectrum of gases released from the rare mineral kleveite, in 1895 discovered a yellow line of helium in it. Over time, as a result of many experiments, it was discovered that helium is present in our atmosphere. But its quantity is so small that for 247,350 cubic meters of air there is only one cubic meter of helium.

As a result of other experiments, it was determined that helium was released from radium and that during the decay of some atomic nuclei, so-called "alpha particles" are formed - the nuclei of helium atoms, which have a high speed of movement.

The method of studying substances by spectra is called spectral analysis. He made it possible to determine with great accuracy the chemical composition of the Sun: 70% of the mass of the Sun is hydrogen, 28% is helium, the remaining share belongs to heavier chemical elements. And since hydrogen atoms most intensely emit red light, and helium atoms - yellow, the chromosphere of the Sun, consisting of these rarefied gases, has a reddish-yellow color.

WHY IS THE SUN SPOT?

One of the accusations brought against the Great Galileo by the "great" Inquisition was the study by him with a telescope of spots on "the purest face of the divine star." Spots on the setting or dim Sun, visible through the clouds, people noticed long before the invention of telescopes. But Galileo "dared" to loudly declare them, to prove that these spots are not apparent, but real formations, that they appear now in greater, then in smaller numbers, that they move across the solar disk. These discoveries allowed Galileo to conclude that the Sun "lives" an active life, that it rotates around its axis. The photosphere (the layers of the Sun that give the brightest light) in strong telescopes is seen not as evenly shining, but as if having a granular structure. These alternating white and slightly dark grains are called granules. The granules are masses of incandescent gases expelled from even hotter solar depths. Granules are constantly disappearing and reappearing: the substance of which the Sun is composed is in constant motion. The visible surface of the Sun is sometimes compared to boiling rice porridge. Scientists have determined the size of each "rice" - about 1500 km. Spots are areas of the photosphere where the temperature is much lower. In contrast to the very bright photosphere, the spots appear dark, although they also glow; radiate energy. The temperature of the middle part of the spot (the darkest and "coldest") is about 4500°C. The spots appear in groups, change, break up into separate parts, and disappear. The diameter of individual spots exceeds the diameter of the Earth. Most spots appear near the equator of the Sun. The movement of spots on the Sun occurs at different speeds: the farther from the equator, the slower the speed of the spot. This suggests that the Sun rotates not as a solid, but as a gaseous body. Long-term observations made it possible to discover a regularity in the life of the Sun: on average, every 11 years, the number of spots reaches a maximum, then decreases. Sometimes there are no sunspots at all. Such a year is called the year of the Solar Minimum (the year of the quiet Sun). During the years of maximum solar activity (disturbed Sun), brighter areas than the surrounding photosphere are visible near the spots - torches. Sometimes they are found where there are no spots. These are the hotter regions of the photosphere. Solar activity affects the earth. Solar-terrestrial relations, in addition to astronomy, are also studied by other sciences - geophysics, biology, medicine.

CAN OUR SUN EXPLODE?

But what if our star - the Sun - suddenly bursts into a supernova? Will it disappear itself and erase us from the universe forever? As scientists say, although this event is possible, its probability is very small. The star receives its energy by gradually converting hydrogen into helium, then into heavier elements (carbon, oxygen, neon and others) using a chain of thermonuclear reactions that occur in the bowels of the star. The transformations stop when iron is formed in the core of the star. A star with a large mass, as scientists have found, burns its fuel much faster than a light star. For example, the mass of Sirius is twice the mass of the Sun, and its luminosity is 28 times greater than the solar one, i.e. Sirius's fuel reserves will be exhausted much earlier than those of the Sun. If Sirius, a star close to us, exploded as a supernova, it would be a huge phenomenon that would affect our planet. Nights would become bright as day, cosmic radio emission would lead to irreversible ecological changes on Earth. The nature of the Earth would be irreparably harmed. In our galaxy, on average, one supernova explodes every three hundred years. Astronomers are always on the lookout, hoping to see the development of this phenomenon from the very beginning. Supernovae often break out in neighboring galaxies. These are, as a rule, stars of large mass. Our Sun, on the other hand, is an average star on the outskirts of the Galaxy, for us it is a reliable luminary for at least the next 5 billion years, and then we'll see. To anyone who observes the sky superficially, with the help of imperfect instruments, the universe may seem like a place of quiet and calm. However, we live in a world of stars that is constantly changing, where there are constant transformations of stars into interstellar matter and vice versa. Perhaps our Sun was also born from interstellar matter left over from a supernova explosion in the distant past. Let us be grateful to fate for living near such a calm star.

CAN THE SUN GO OUT?

Our Sun is an ordinary star, and all stars are born, live and die. Every star goes out sooner or later. Unfortunately, our Sun will not shine forever.

At one time, scientists believed that the Sun was slowly cooling down or "burning out". However, now we know that if this happened in reality, then his energy would be enough at best for several millennia. It is obvious that this is not the case.

If the Sun does not "burn out", then what happens to it in this case? Modern science has confirmation of the theory, according to which the energy emitted by the Sun is released as a result of reactions occurring in its depths. Their essence boils down to the fact that under the influence of monstrous temperatures, hydrogen nuclei, when combined, form the nuclei of helium atoms. (Particles of one hot gas turn into particles of another hot gas.) A similar reaction underlies the action of a thermonuclear weapon - a hydrogen bomb, the explosion of which, as you know, releases an enormous amount of energy.

How much more hydrogen is available on the Sun? If we assume that thermonuclear reactions will continue to proceed at the same rate as now, then the Sun will shine for about another ten billion years. Therefore, there is no reason to worry that it may go out even in the very distant future.

Most of all, I am indebted to you, your labors, sacrifices and courage,” Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky wrote to Leningrad Professor Rynin. Indeed, Rynin was an ardent propagandist of the ideas of Tsiolkovsky, space flights, in the feasibility of which he deeply believed.

RECORD FLIGHT

He was the only scientist in the world who had diplomas as an aeronautical pilot, aviator and airship operator. More than once he made long-range and high-altitude flights on free balloons, hot air balloons. He flew in 1914 on the Ilya Muromets, the largest aircraft at that time. He flew on a Zeppelin airship.

Rynin's most outstanding balloon flight took place on September 21, 1910. Then he and Lieutenant Colonel S. I. Odintsov managed to set a new all-Russian record, having risen to a height of 6400 meters. Of course, at such a height, the aeronauts had to use oxygen pillows, which Rynin prudently bought before the flight in a pharmacy.

Aviation improved literally before our eyes. The planes flew farther, higher, faster. Having become a certified aeronaut, Rynin decided to go further: to also master a winged car.

The airfield was located in Gatchina, near St. Petersburg. Flights were usually made either early in the morning or in the evening, when the air is calm, and, of course, only in good weather. Rynin settled in Gatchina with an engineer friend. A little light ran to the airfield, to the airplane, learned to fly, and then hurried to the city to give lectures to students of the Institute of Communications, where he taught. In the evening he returned to Gatchina again.

NEARLY A DISASTER

On April 23, 1911, one of the training flights of Nikolai Alekseevich with an instructor Sredinsky almost ended in disaster. No sooner had their "Farman" climbed to a height of several meters, as a gust of wind threw him down. The St. Petersburg magazine Automobile and Aeronautics wrote: “Having hit the ground, the car was smashed to smithereens. Only the engine remained intact, the rest of the parts were completely broken. Both aviators miraculously survived, escaping with only minor bruises.

Rynin became the twenty-fourth pilot to receive a Russian aviation diploma. And three months later, having practiced flying on airships, Rynin also received a diploma as an airship pilot.

In the spring of 1914, the Third All-Russian Aeronautical Congress took place in St. Petersburg. About two hundred figures of Russian aeronautics gathered at this congress. It was held in the building of the Institute of Railway Engineers on Zabalkansky Prospekt. Tsiolkovsky arrived from Kaluga. Here the founder of astronautics and Rynin met.

They never saw each other again, only corresponded. However, this only meeting with the patriarch of astronautics was of great importance in Rynin's life.

ALL ABOUT SPACE

The meeting with Tsiolkovsky aroused Rynin's deep interest in rockets and space flight. Nikolai Alekseevich wrote: "The ideas of Tsiolkovsky found the liveliest interest in my soul." Working on space topics, Rynin repeatedly turned to the great scientist for advice and, for his part, tried in every possible way to help him.

"I am now writing the history of the development of space flights - a lot of work," Rynin reported to Kaluga in June 1926. He was working at that time on his famous space encyclopedia. I had to re-read mountains of books, get acquainted with thousands of newspaper and magazine publications, study archival documents, ancient manuscripts.

In 1928, in Leningrad, the first issue, the first book of the space encyclopedia, was published. Rynin called it “Interplanetary travel. Dreams, legends and first fantasies. A second issue soon appeared, entitled "Interplanetary Communications in Novelists' Fantasies." The third book dealt with the methods of communication between interplanetary travelers and the Earth.

"YES, THE GOAL IS ACHIEVABLE!"

Nine books, nine issues made up Professor Rynin's space encyclopedia. Many years have passed since this amazing, the only encyclopedia in the world about flights into interplanetary space. But so far it has not lost its significance.

Back in the 30s, 80 years ago, Nikolai Alekseevich asked himself the question: how will large accelerations and overloads affect living organisms? To answer this important question, he builds a special centrifugal machine, the prototype of modern centrifuges for pilots and astronauts, and with its help tests flies, beetles, mice, and rabbits for overload.

Before the war, Nikolai Alekseevich fell seriously ill. When the Great Patriotic War began, the sick scientist was evacuated from Leningrad to Kazan. There, on July 28, 1942, Nikolai Alekseevich died. In Kazan, he was buried at the Arsk cemetery.

The last years of his life, Rynin worked on a new, tenth, book of his space encyclopedia. He failed to finish it. The manuscript remains. It contains the following lines: “When in 1924 I began to get acquainted in detail with interplanetary communications, I was initially embarrassed by the question: am I chasing a chimera, are they achievable and feasible? However, such doubts and hesitation soon gave way to firm confidence. I realized: yes, the goal is achievable! And this confidence of the remarkable scientist was fully justified.