하은과(와) 속삭이는 하늘
6–8세
사막의 아침, 하은은(는) 거대한 전파 망원경 단지에서 하루 동안 책임자가 되어, 서른 개의 안테나를 하늘의 커다란 귀 하나로 맞추는 법을 배워요. 그리고 뒷마당에 작은 망원경을 만들어 진짜 예보관들이 태양 폭풍을 읽도록 도와요.
하은 stepped out of the van into the wide desert morning, boots crunching on pale sand. Thirty giant white dishes stood in a great curved line, silent and still, waiting. "Today, you're the director," said Dr. Alvarez with a grin. "Listen closely, and the sky will answer," she added. Her stomach did a happy flip. Could she really make thirty giant ears listen as one?
Inside the control room, screens blinked with wavy lines. "Radio waves are invisible ripples," said Dr. Alvarez, "like sound stretched far beyond what ears can catch." 하은 pressed a button. Hum! One dish woke up, swiveling slowly. "One dish alone hears a whisper," she said. "Thirty together hear a shout. Listen closely!"
"Our target," said Dr. Alvarez, "is a neutron star, spinning so fast it flashes a radio beam once every second, steady as a heartbeat." 하은 gasped. "A whole star, ticking like that?" "Steadier than your own heartbeat," she laughed. "Let's go catch its pulse. Listen closely!"
