Meekins: 209 books

TV and movies will have you believing that black holes are huge holes in space and anything that falls into them is lost for all time – possibly falling into another universe or another time, or even falling forever. You may think that black holes run around in space like huge vacuum cleaners...

John Adams was a farmer and lawyer. He was one of the Founding Fathers who pushed for Independence. He helped write and sign the Declaration of Independence and became America’s second President.But there are no memorials to John Adams in Washington. He is the Forgotten Founding Father.Find out...

You may think the Solar System consists of the sun and the eight planets that orbit around it. However, there are other things out there. There are comets, moons, asteroids, meteors, dust, ice, rock and much more. Plus there is a whole lot of man made junk. How much do you know about the solar system? Which...

We see stars in the night sky as pretty, twinkling objects, but what exactly are they? A lot of the information we find out about stars, helps us understand other objects; pulsars, quasars, galaxies – even the origin of our universe. Here are some fun facts about stars. Do stars twinkle? What...

What did scientists first think Uranus was? What are the names of Uranus’ moons named after? Is Uranus bigger or smaller than Earth? What is strange about the way Uranus spins? Learn the answer to these questions and many more fun facts in this 15-Minute Book. In the middle of the galaxy...

Comets often streak across the night sky. They are fascinating flashes of light, but how much do we really know about them? Here are some things that scientists do know. Find out: What the name comet means. How comets are named. When the earliest comets were recorded. How scientists predict when a...

More space objects have been found beyond Pluto, in a region known as the Kuiper Belt. In 2003, Eris was discovered. Its existence was confirmed in January 2005. It was found to be larger than Pluto and was put forward as a tenth planet in our solar system. This caused much debate among astronomers....

Earth is one of eight planets orbiting around our sun. Our sun is one of billions in our galaxy, and our galaxy is one of billions in the universe. Our galaxy is called The Milky Way Galaxy. It is about 120,000 light years across with a halo extending hundreds of thousands of lights years beyond it....

Simon was looking out his bedroom window. A full moon was just clearing the horizon. Huge and glowing in the night sky, it lit up the ground. It cast long, dark shadows of houses, trees and lamp posts into the night. Simon smiled. Another cemetery tour would be on. He wanted to go back and see Lisa...

Sir Edmund Barton was an Australian politician and judge.One of the "Fathers of Federation", he drafted many versions of Australia’s Constitution, inspired the people’s support, and travelled to England to petition Queen Victoria for Australia’s Federation.On January 1, 1901, Australia became...

Simon usually loved going on school outings. He loved seeing all the new places. He loved learning about new things – or old things. But this one was different.The Penny Woodley was an old sailing ship. Over two hundred years ago, she sailed the seas. She brought supplies and settlers to a new world....

Our sun is an average star in our galaxy. It is a sphere of burning gas that provides light and heat. It makes our plants grow and allows them to turn carbon dioxide into breathable oxygen. If our sun were to shine a little less or a little more brightly, life as we knew it would not exist. A drop...

Mary MacKillop devoted her life to educating poor children. With the help of Father Julian Woods, she established her own religious Order, the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart. She set up over 100 schools, educated 12,000 children, and received approval from the Pope for her Order. Mary constantly...

Machu Picchu is one of the few surviving ruins of the Inca Empire. It is situated in tropical forests on the eastern side of the Andes Mountains. It stretches five miles across a ridge and sits on top of two earthquake fault lines.The Spanish invaded South America looking for gold. They killed the...