Charlie was in science class, when the teacher suddenly announced that the class would be having a science test to see if people were paying attention during class. The test would be about space, which was the unit that they were currently on. However, Charlie didn’t pay attention in class at all!

Charlie realized he was starting to fall asleep! Oh no, he thought, if I fall asleep then I’ll fail the test for sure! His eyelids started to close. He tried to resist the urge to close his eyelids completely, but he couldn’t.

Charlie opened his eyes abruptly. Where am I, he thought. He looked around, but all he saw was darkness, and little bright lights. Weird, it feels like I’ve seen this place before, but only in pictures, he thought. Charlie cried for help, but heard no answer.

After a few minutes, someone with a big club approached him. “Who are you?” Charlie asked cautiously. “I’m Orion, I’m a constellation. And you’re in space!” Orion said. Charlie was extremely surprised to hear that he was in space! He also didn’t know what the word constellation meant, although it seemed familiar to him. “A constellation is a group of stars that form a distinct shape,” Orion stated, as if reading Charlie’s mind.

Orion brought Charlie to a view of the solar system. “This is the solar system,” Orion explained, “A solar system is a group of planets that circle one or more stars.” Charlie remembered his teacher, Mr. Smith, talking about solar systems in science class, although he was half asleep at the time. “Also, these planets can be many astronomical units apart. An astronomical unit is the distance from the Earth to the Sun,” Orion explained. “Very interesting!” Charlie exclaimed. Charlie was extremely intrigued, so Orion brought him closer for a better look.

Charlie noticed some bright things flying towards the sun. “Wow! What are those?” Charlie asked. “Thos are comets, which are getting sucked towards the sun from the suns gravity,” Orion explained, “They also have comet tails, from sunlight reflecting off released particles.” Wow, space is much more interesting then it was back in science class, Charlie thought.

“What’s that planet over there?” Charlie asked curiously. “It’s actually not a planet. It used to be a planet, but was demoted to a dwarf planet due to the fact that it’s orbit sometimes crossed with Neptune’s orbit,” Orion explained. “But what’s a dwarf planet?” Charlie said. “Ah, a dwarf planet is a planet is a round celestial body that orbits the sun, and may share its orbit with another celestial body. Oh, and a celestial body is a natural body outside of the Earth’s atmosphere.” Orion replied informatively.

Charlie looked towards the sky and saw constellations. “Those are constellations, just like me,” Orion explained, “and although the constellations appear to lie close to each other, they are actually many light years apart.” “What does that mean?” Charlie asked. “A light year is the distance light travels in one year, which is a really long distance,” Orion replied.

As Charlie and Orion approached Earth, Charlie noticed a metal object flying through space. He recognized it from somewhere, and after racking his brain for a few minutes, realized that it was satellite. He had learnt about satellites in geography class, and how satellites helped with things like his GPS.

“Woah, look at that!” Charlie exclaimed. “That’s a meteoroid, which is a small rock floating through space. If it were to enter the Earth’s atmosphere, it would become a meteor,” Orion explained. I sure am learning a lot today... Probably more then I’ve ever learned in a day, Charlie thought to himself, it sure would be bad if I was back in class again; school is just boring!

Charlie woke up abruptly. He realized that he was back in school, and his class was in the middle of doing their science test on space. Charlie felt really sad that the whole adventure was just a dream. He glanced down at is paper. All these complicated words... Charlie thought, comet, satellite, light years, astronomical unit... Hold on... Suddenly, Charlie realized that he knew all the answers! He was confident that he passed, and probably get perfect on it too! It seemed like the journey he took with Orion wouldn’t go to waste after all...

THE END!

GLOSSARY Constellation: A constellation is a group of stars that form a distinct shape Solar System: a group of planets that circle one or more stars Astronomical Unit: the distance from the Earth to the Sun Comet: A celestial object consisting of a nucleus of ice and dust Comet Tail: When a comet is near the sun, and a “tail” of gas and dust particles are released from the sun’s radiation. Celestial Body: a natural body outside of the Earth’s atmosphere Dwarf Planet: a round celestial body that orbits the sun, and may share its orbit with another celestial body Light Year: the distance light travels in one year Satellite: an artificial object or vehicle that orbits Earth, the moon, or other celestial bodies