TheMEHDEES

A comic by The Mehdees

A little girl. A big universe.

A kids' space-science comic about a curious little girl in Florida who looks up at the night sky and asks the big questions. Real science. Real wonder. Real silly.

Aura
Aura
Daddy
Daddy
Mummy
Mummy
Hamzu
Hamzu
On a bright Saturday, Daddy is washing the family jeep in the driveway while Aura lies in the grass looking up at a brilliant blue sky. She says, "Daddy. You said space is black." Daddy answers cheerfully, "It is!" Then Aura sits up, points straight up, and asks, "Then why is the sky blue?" Daddy freezes mid-scrub with water dripping off his arm and says, "...Oh." He kneels in the grass beside her and sprays a fine mist from the garden hose, making a small rainbow in the sunlight, and explains that sunlight is every color mixed together and that the tiny bits in our air bounce the blue one all over the sky. Aura asks, "So the blue is... the air?" In the last panel they are both lying on their backs in the grass under an enormous blue sky. Daddy says, "The sky isn't blue. Our air is." Aura answers, "So the sky is actually black. We're just looking through blue." Daddy says, "Yes." Mummy watches from the porch with her tea, and Hamzu dozes in his playpen in a floppy sun hat.

The latest episode

S1 · E10: The Sky Is Actually Black

Aura caught Daddy contradicting himself. He said space is black. Then she pointed at the sky.

Read it

Season 1 · 10 episodes

S1 · E9

What's a Black Hole?

Aura asked Daddy what a black hole was. He scared himself answering. She did not.

S1 · E8

Floating

Aura dreamed she could float. She came back to her bedroom. Gravity, it turns out, is fast.

S1 · E7

The Rocket

Aura built a rocket. Aura-One. It went three feet. She has notes.

S1 · E6

What's Inside the Sun?

Aura asked Daddy if she could ever visit the sun. The answer was bigger than she expected.

S1 · E5

Light-Year

Aura comes home from school. Today, for the first time, she knows something Daddy doesn't.

S1 · E4

Quiet

Tonight, Aura dreamed she was floating among the stars. And learned something the universe is too quiet to say.

S1 · E3

Where Do Stars Come From?

Aura asks where stars come from. Daddy throws his arms wide. The answer turns out to include her.

S1 · E2

Why Is Space Black?

A simple bedtime question. A 200-year-old physics paradox. Daddy is not responding. Force quit?

S1 · E1

Look Up!

A simple question. A first encounter. The night Aura saw a space rock catch fire in the sky.

Aura's glossary

Big words, kid-sized

Every strip leans on real science. The glossary explains the big ideas the way Aura would want them explained.

Atmosphere

The blanket of air wrapped around Earth. It is what you breathe, and it is what makes the sky look blue.

Gravity

An invisible pull that holds you to the ground, keeps the Moon near Earth, and makes planets dance around the Sun.

Meteor

A small space rock that catches fire when it hits Earth's air. Sometimes called a shooting star.

Olbers' Paradox

If space has zillions of stars, why isn't the night sky glowing? A 200-year-old space puzzle.

Stardust

Tiny bits of stuff made by stars. Your bones, your blood, even your eyeballs are made of stardust.

Stars

Giant balls of glowing gas, way out in space. Our Sun is one. There are more of them than grains of sand on Earth.

Browse the glossary →  Aura FAQ →