Ricky's Dream Trip

8/7/2019 Ricky's Dream Trip

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Rickys Dream Trip: Through the Solar System

Written by William Stevenson, Ed. D.

Design by

Published by PopPop Press in association with OfTheBookshel.com

Copyright William Stevenson 2010

All rights reserved. None o the materials provided in this publication

may be used, reproduced or transmitted, in whole or in part, in

any orm or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including

photocopying, recording or the use o any inormation storage and

retrieval system, without permission in writing rom the author.


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This is a story about Ricky Hardin. He is avery intelligent boy and he has a big imaginaIn this story Ricky will use his imagination to t

very special trip through the solar system w

his Pop Pop.


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t was very late at night and Ricky was soundasleep.

He dreamed his Pop Pop came into his room. Po

Pop, what are you doing here? Mommy didnt tell myou were coming.You dreamed me into your room.

Is Mom Mom here?I you bring her into your dream, she can be h

This is your dream.

Ok, Im dreaming that she is down stairs. Whe

I wake up I will ask Mom Mom to play with me.Would you like to take a special trip with me,

Ricky?Where will we go?

I you use your dream imagination, we ca

take a trip through our solar system and

visit all o the planets.

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But Pop Pop, how can we travel into outer space?

This is your dream, Ricky. We can go anywhere.

That sounds awesome, Pop Pop. I want to go. Whcan we leave?

We can go right now!

What about Mommy and Daddy? Wont they be woi I am gone without telling them?

I told you,

Ricky, this is your dream. All you hav

is wake up and youll be back home. Mommy and Dwont even know you have gone until you tell th

about your dream.

Im ready to go, Pop Pop.

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We are aboard a special rocket ship and we a

leaving our planet. Do you know the name o

planet?

Yes, that is easy,

Earth.

Thats right, Ricky. You are a smart little boy. Ilook behind us, you will see that we are leavin

beautiul blue planet.

Why is it blue, Pop Pop?

That is because most o our planet is covered

oceans. Oceans look blue in outer space.

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Where is our rst planet?

We are going to the closest planet to our Sun. Icalled, MERCURY. Ater we visit each planet, Imto ask you i you remember all o their names.

How many names do I have to remember?

Our Solar System is made up o the Sun that haplanets and a dwar planet called Pluto. All o thplanets circle the Sun. The circles are called orb

Wow! We are already at Mercury. That was ast.did we get here so ast?

That is because you are dreaming and you hav

best imagination.

Mercury looks small. It also looks hot.

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MESSENGER

MERCURY

SUN

It is smaller than our Earth. It is very hot becauso close to the Sun. It is the closest planet to th

I guess we cant land on it.

Not even in your dream. We can take pictures

orbit or y around it. You may see another spa

ship taking pictures.

I see it, Pop Pop.

It is called Messenger and it is sending back pictto Earth. You can see them on your computer whyou wake up.

That is awesome.

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VENUS

Where are we going next, Pop Pop?

The second planet rom the Sun is VENUS. It is alvery hot.

Is it hot because it is close to the Sun?

No, Venus is very unusual. It has an atmosphere like our air. It is very thick and traps the Suns heout the window, Ricky. You can see Venus with its vheavy atmosphere.

Pop Pop, when I look up into the sky at home, cansee Venus?

Yes we can. It is the brightest object in the nigh

other than our Moon. It is bright because o its thiatmosphere. The sunlight bounces of o it and i

bright to us. As we swing by Venus, look or a littlspaceship like the one we just saw by M

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VENUS

VENUSEXPRESS I see it, Pop Pop! It is cool. What is it doing?

It was sent to Venus by scientists on Earth. It cameras and other special equipment that is

sending messages back to Earth. It is called VExpress and it is making a map oVenus becauinstruments can see through the heavy clou

Say goodbye to Venus.

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VENUS

SUN

EARTH

MOON

I know the name o the next planet. It is Earth, thplanet rom the Sun.Thats right, Ricky. Look outside and youll see oplanet and our Moon.It is beautiul.

We are going to y very close to the surace o

When we do, we will see how the Earth looks romMoons surace. Can you see it?It is amazing and awesome.

Beore we go to our next planet, look behind yo

will see Venus rom ar away. Venus is going aroundSun. Can you see the little black spot?Why does it look so tiny, Pop Pop?That is because the Sun is so large. Compared toSun, Venus is very tiny. The Earth is tiny, too.I I wake up, will I be on Earth?Yes, o course. Hold on, were speeding up!

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EARTH

MARS

Where are we going next?

Can you remember the names o the planets tha

have already seen?

Thats easy. Mercury, Venus and Earth.

That is right. You have a good memory. The 4th

rom the Sun is MARS. When you see it in our nighlooks red. Do you know why?

Did somebody paint it red?

Ha! Ha! That is very unny, Ricky. Not only do youa great imagination and a good memory, you hav

unny sense o humor. You make me laugh. Mars lred because it is covered with red sand. Would yo

to land on Mars?Isnt it too hot or us?

Mars is not hot at all. In act, it is cold. Can you gwhy it is cold? Can you see the polar cap?

Yes, it looks like snow. Is it ar away rom the Su

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ROVER

That is right, Ricky. You have a great imagination, youhave a unny sense o humor, you have a good memory

and you are smart. You are a special boy.

Can I walk around on Mars?

Yes, I will give you a space suit that will keep you warmand allow you to breathe.

This is awesome, Pop Pop. Im on Mars. It has a sky just likeEarth. But it is very lonely here. There are no people. Arewe the only people on Mars?

Yes, Ricky. There is no one here but us. Ill take a o you to help you remember what Mars looks like

Wait a minute, Pop Pop! I see something. It looks strange toy vehicle with six wheels. Is this in my

Everything is in your dream, Ricky. The little vehsee is called a Rover. It was sent by the scientists oexplore Mars and to send back pictures to Earth.

Are there more Rovers on Mars?

Good question. There are three Rovers and one LaTheir names are Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity and PhoenSojourner and Phoenix ran out o energy but Spirit andOpportunity are still exploring Mars and sending us bphotographs. You can see them on your home co

when you wake up rom your dream.

Who drives them, Pop Pop?

They are operated by remote control by scientisEarth. The Phoenix lander has no wheels, it has only instruments.

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EARTHVENUS

SUN

MERCURY

MARS

Awesome. I cant wait to wake up and tell Mommy aabout our great adventure. Are we ready to go to

planet?

Can you remember the names o the planets tha

have already seen?

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ASTEROID

JUPITER

Excellent! The th planet is JUPITER. But beorethere, we must y through the asteroid belt.

What is an asteroid belt?

It is a group o thousands o small rocks orbitingSun between Mars and Jupiter. These rocks are calledasteroids.

Wont we run into them and crash?

No, space is so vast and there are great distances

between them. It is not a problem or us. They are

very ar apart rom each other. Even though there

thousands o them, we may not see any.

Im ready or Jupiter. Can we land on it?Not even in your dream. Jupiter is the th planetour Sun and it is the largest one in our Solar System. larger than 1,000 Earths. We cant land on it becauplanet is made o gases and we dont think it has g

to walk on.

I can see it, Pop Pop! Wow! It is a giant. I can seea huge red spot. What is it?

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Ricky's Dream Trip

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