Astronautje - EN

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de kleine

Benjamin Astronaut on a journey to the planets AndrĂŠ Kuipers & Paco Vink

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de kleine

Benjamin Astronaut

on a journey to the planets Dear Benjamin, Put your spacesuit on and get to know the planets in a special way.

Enjoy!

Love, Mummy & Daddy

Hello Benjamin, Welcome to the universe!

When it’s dark, you can see that the universe is filled with a countless number of stars.

Did you know that there are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on all the beaches in the whole world?

As well as stars, the universe contains lots of other things, like stone, dust, gas, ice, moons and planets.

A planet is a sphere that revolves around a star and spins on its own axis.

Our Sun is a very special star.

It is the star that our Earth circles around.

It is a giant ball of gas that is extremely hot on the inside!

Eight planets revolve around our Sun.

Earth

Saturn

VENUS

The sun

Neptune

mars jupiter

MERCURY uranus

Pluto is a misfit, as it is a dwarf planet.

pluto

One of those planets is our planet Earth.

Can you see your country?

I have been to space twice, and can tell you this: travelling through the universe and seeing our planet Earth from space is so very special.

Benjamin, will you come on a journey of discovery and visit the planets with the Little Astronaut?

Put your spacesuit on!

Have lots of fun on your space adventure!

AndrĂŠ Kuipers Astronaut

Hallo Benjamin Smith, I’m the Little Astronaut.

Do you love looking up at the stars and dream of travelling through space like I do?

There are so many beautiful things to discover in the universe.

Do you see that bright spot, just above the Moon?

That’s Venus, a planet we will see on our journey to visit the planets.

She’s often called ‘’Earth’s little sister’’, but I’ve heard she’s not very friendly...

What’s your favourite planet, Benjamin?

Have you decided yet?

We’re ready for launch!

The rocket is waiting.

Are you set to go, Benjamin?

Is your helmet on?

Put on your gloves, then we can go!

Will you count down with me?

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, GO!

First, we will visit

MERCURY.

This is the smallest planet in our solar system and it is closest to our Sun.

Did you know that Mercury is not the hottest planet in our solar system, despite being closest to our Sun?

Its rough surface is similar to the Moon’s surface.

Wow, Benjamin do you see these craters, both big and small?

Nothing can grow here!

The days on Mercury are very hot, but at night time, it gets very cold, BRRRR....

Remember that bright dot we saw from Earth?

Well Benjamin, this is

venus,

the unfriendly little sister!

Did you know that the temperature on Venus is twice as high as in your oven at home?

The layer of clouds here is very toxic.

It’s so misty that we can’t even see the surface.

The air would sting your eyes if you weren’t wearing a helmet.

Hey, there’s

mars!

This planet is as red as our rocket.

This is because of the iron rust in its soil.

Olympus Mons is the highest mountain in our solar system and is twice as high as the highest mountain on Earth!

Water has been found on Mars.

Some people would like to live here.

Would you like that too, Benjamin?

You just wouldn’t be able to go outside, as there’s no air to breathe.

Sometimes, there are sandstorms that cover the entire planet.

PFFFF...

Lots of rocks circle between Mars and

Jupiter.

OOF! This is called an asteroid belt!

Did you know that Jupiter spins on its axis in just 10 hours, while Earth takes 24 hours to do this?

Look, you can see Jupiter from afar, as this planet is larger than all seven other planets put together.

You can’t stand on Jupiter, as it’s made of gasses.

Do you see that red spot?

That’s a great storm, which has been raging for hundreds of years.

That planet there, with the rings around it, is our most famous planet,

Saturn.

Did you know that Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune have very thin rings?

It looks like a gemstone.

Do you think this might be the most beautiful planet, Benjamin?

Saturn is a giant ball of gas that is so light, it could float on water!

WOW! Sunlight travels a little over an hour to get to Saturn.

WOW! What a long flight.

Uranus

is so far away, that almost no light or heat from the Sun reaches it.

Did you know that Uranus is 12 times as cold as a freezer at home?

This icy planet consists of gasses.

Do you see anything special about it, Benjamin?

Uranus is on its side.

No other planets act like this!

Yay! We’ve reached the most distant planet in our solar system!

Neptune.

Did you know that Neptune takes 165 years to orbit around our Sun, while Earth only takes 1 year to do this?

Neptune’s gas is blue.

That’s why Neptune was named after the Roman god of the sea.

Which name would you give this planet, Benjamin?

WHAAAT DID YOU SAAAAAY? I can’t hear you, as this storm is raging fifteen times harder than a hurricane!

This was a very exciting space adventure, visiting weird and wonderful planets!

Which part did you like best, Benjamin?

Neptune

uranus Saturn

It’s time to go home.

Shall we enjoy the view of the planets one last time?

Look, that beautiful blue globe over there in the black nothingness... that’s our planet Earth!

mars jupiter

Earth

VENUS

MERCURY

Welcome back on Earth.

It has so many lovely scents, of flowers and trees.

Can you hear the birds whistling and the insects buzzing?

All people, animals, trees and plants belong here, on our home planet.

There’s nowhere else quite like it, so let’s take care of our Earth.

It’s the most beautiful planet in our entire solar system!

Thank you Benjamin, for joining me on this special space adventure!

This book is printed on special paper that is made of elephant grass. It is better for the environment. Elephant grass can absorb up to four times as much CO2 as a regular forest.

This plant grows often on undeveloped land and doesn’t need extra water nor pesticides, keeping our planet healthy and happy.

Vibers bv, Rotterdam- www.vibersinside.com

Ø 20 mm © 2021 A YourSurprise publication in collaboration André Kuipers and SpacePlays BV voor bv with drukwerk Text: André & Helen Kuipers Ptn. 368 Illustrations: Paco Vink Author’s photo: Nico Kroon © 2021 SpaceEgg BV

www.kleine-astronauten.nl www.andrekuipers.com Order: www.yoursurprise.com Print: ARSprintmedia We would like to inspire as many children as possible with adventurous stories about the universe and our beautiful but fragile planet. If you would like to share parts of this book with others, we encourage you to do this but please mention the source.

The content of this book is of course protected by copyright.

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Travelling through the universe and seeing our planet Earth from space is so very special.

Benjamin, will you come on a journey of discovery and visit the planets with the Little Astronaut?

Put on your spacesuit!

Have lots of fun on your adventure through space!

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