Allie Summers

Activity Packet

Galaxy Mapper

By Allie Summers

Galaxy night sky illustration with a stargazer using a telescope.

Travel with modern astrophysicist Hélène Courtois on a galaxy mapmaking adventure—leading to her team's remarkable discovery of our new address in the universe.

Our new cosmic address

EarthSolar SystemMilky WayLaniakea Supercluster

“Sure to motivate readers to reach for the stars.” — Kirkus Reviews

Become a Cosmographer

Just like Hélène!

Cosmographer: a scientist that maps space landscapes.

Draw our solar system in the box below. Place the Sun at the center. You can draw just Earth or all the planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.

Congratulations! You are a Cosmographer like Hélène.

Bonus: Make your map dynamic (show movement on the map).

Hélène had to show where galaxies were located and how they were moving.

Earth moves around the Sun in a circular-like orbit. Draw a circular line with an arrow from Earth around the Sun back to Earth.

Now your map is dynamic—it's showing Earth's movement around the Sun.

Cosmic vs. Home Address

Maps help us know where things are and how to get there. Your home address indicates one specific place on a map. It's what the post office uses to deliver mail to your home.

We all have a shared cosmic address. Fill in your unique address in the space below next to our shared cosmic address.

Our shared cosmic address

Your home address

Earth

Your name

Solar System

Street name & number

Milky Way

City and zip code

Laniakea

Country

Bonus activity: Write a letter or postcard to a friend and mail it with a postage stamp. You will need to get their mailing address. Maybe you want to tell them about Laniakea.

Word of the Day: Refrain

In writing, a refrain is a poem that repeats at certain intervals.

A refrain can create a rhythm in a story, like music.

Galaxy Mapper has the refrain:

Hélène observes.

Hélène questions.

Hélène has ideas.

Write a three-line poem that tells something about you. What are you curious about? What do you wonder about?

You can use the one from Galaxy Mapper and replace Hélène's name with yours, or come up with your own.

Cosmic Word Search

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Word List

ASTRONOMY
COSMOLOGY
GALAXY
LUMINOSITY METHOD
PLASMA
SUPERCLUSTER

ASTROPHYSICS
DARK MATTER
GREAT ATTRACTOR
OBSERVATORY
PLASMA PHYSICS
SWELL