Tour of the Solar System

Transcription

1 Tour of the Solar System Press the space bar to advance to the next slide

2 This is a small sample of one of our lessons. Continue to press the space bar when you are ready to advance the slide.

3 All Lessons Available in Jr/Sr High School Level and K-6th Grade Level

4 Tour of the Solar System A system of diverse planets rotating around a single star seems to be a common occurrence in our Milky Way Galaxy of around 200 billion stars. Only in the last 20 years or so have we been sure of this and have been able to spot other planets that rotate around stars. We have discovered thousands of planets in other solar systems and more are being found every day. The galaxy is clearly teeming with planets. We still have many unanswered questions. How many of these planets are like Earth? Can life exist on planets that are very different from Earth? Take this trip through the solar system that we know best - ours. Perhaps answering questions about our own planets will help us answer questions about the others that are out there.

5 The human race has done a lot in space since the first satellite, named Sputnik, orbited the Earth in October of Before this Russian-made satellite launched, mankind could only dream of going into space and dream we did. Soon after, in April of 1961, the first man went into space. He was a Russian named Yuri Gargarin, and he was not only the first human in space, but also the first to orbit the Earth.

6 For the first 30 years of space travel, the United States and Russia were in a tense competition called The Space Race to see who would dominate space militarily and scientifically. However, since the fall of the old Soviet Union, Russia and the United States have worked together in space and have cooperated mightily in the building of the International Space Station. Now that the space shuttle missions are over, we are totally dependent on the Russians for human transport to the space station. NASA, ESA

7 We have spacecrafts like the Voyager ships that went to Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune that are capable of visiting several planets in our solar system, but can t carry people on them.

8 Another complication when using the space shuttle is that it is unable to leave Earth s orbit. So right now no human can actually tour the entire solar system as we will do right now. We don t have the technology to build a ship capable of sustaining life for that long. But like most things, if we put our minds to it we could accomplish it. We have spacecrafts like the space shuttle, capable of supporting human life in space for several weeks, but this is not enough time to travel to any other planets. NASA - ESA

9 Our solar system consists of the Sun, 8 planets, asteroids, miniplanets and almost a trillion comets, all held together by the Sun s gravity. Sol in the word solar system means Sun.

10 To even get to the part of the solar system that has planets, we must travel half its length inward towards the Sun. The first planet we encounter looks something like Earth at a glance. Neptune is 17 times more massive than the Earth. Its atmosphere gives it a pleasing blue appearance and its Earth-like clouds are easily visible. At the furthest reaches of the planetary system, it is one of the most geologically active bodies in the solar system. NASA, ESA

11 This huge blue marble holds a lot of records in the solar system. Neptune boasts the fastest recorded winds in the solar system, clocking speeds of over 1,000 miles per hour. This is because Neptune doesn t generate much energy from its center or core, so when the winds start blowing there is no force to disrupt them. The strongest hurricanes on Earth blow at 155 miles per hour and only last a few weeks. Its largest moon, Triton, is the coldest surface in the solar system at just 40 degrees above absolute zero. Absolute zero is the coldest anything can get. It is -460 F, a temperature at which molecules do not vibrate. NASA, ESA

12 If the planets lined up neatly for us we would then approach Uranus, a twin ice giant to Neptune. With the discovery of Uranus in 1781, the size of the solar system was effectively doubled. Uranus spends 20 years with its south pole facing the Sun and 20 years with its north pole facing the Sun. Uranus basically lies on its side. (click mouse) Because of its sideways position, there are no real day and night cycles. One day lasts for 20 years and one night lasts for the same amount of time. Talk about a long day. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn have all been known since antiquity, so Uranus was the first planet that we have any record of discovering. NASA and ESA

13 Uranus lays on its side, but not from slumber. It is most likely the result of a cosmic collision on a grand scale. The outer solar system was a dangerous place some time ago with lots of huge rocks zipping around among the planets, pulled by the Sun s gravity and the gravity of the planets. The outer solar system was a dangerous place some time ago. Huge rocks, pulled by the Sun s gravity and the gravity of the planets, zipped around among the planets.

14 As we travel towards the Sun we are astounded by the beauty of the approaching planet, Saturn. As far as we know, humans have always known of this planet s existence, though our ancestors did not know about its rings until the last 400 years or so. Saturn has the lowest density of any of the planets in the solar system. Density describes how tightly mass is packed together. It s less dense than water, which means it would float if you could find an ocean big enough to drop it into. NASA It s about as dense or thick as a milkshake. I wonder what Saturn would taste like? Be ready to call poison control after taking a sip though as it s made of hydrogen and helium gases.

15 The next planet is a familiar one to us Earth. The Earth is particularly suited to sustaining us. There is not another place in the solar system where we could live for even 5 minutes without a space suit, and very few places where even a spacesuit would help. NASA, ESA

16 Few places in the solar system have enough air pressure to keep our insides inside our skin. Those planets that do have enough pressure to hold us together have too much and would squash us under a mountain of atmosphere. No place has anything we could eat or drink not a morsel, not a sip nothing. Earth s atmosphere lets in what we need, sunlight and heat, and keeps out what would kill us, harmful radiation. Space is beautiful, but in the way that Mt. Everest or the vast Pacific Ocean is beautiful beautiful but not hospitable.

17 The Earth is a womb of safety, but even on the Earth we can only inhabit a very small sliver of the planet. We can t live below the ground because there is no air, not to mention any room to move around. We can t live in the water, which occupies most of the planet s surface, and we can t live near the north or south poles as it is too cold and there is no food. There is only a very small pocket of land on the Earth that we can survive in. The vast majority of Earth is toxic to human life. Think about it. We can t live very high off the surface or there is not enough air to breathe (not to mention anything to stand on).

18 The part of the Earth that we do live in is perfect for us, just the right distance from the Sun not too hot and not too cold. It has just the right tilt, just the right atmosphere and just the right kind of protection from the deadly radiation of the Sun and space. It is positioned just right in the solar system, and the solar system is positioned just right in the galaxy not near the dense radiation of the galactic center. The galaxy is positioned just right in the universe not in a tight, violent, radiation-filled cluster of other galaxies.

19 All the nuclear bombs in the world could blow up on the surface of the Sun and we wouldn t even notice. Its energy output in one second is more than the human race has generated in all its history. Only a tiny fraction of the Sun s energy reaches the Earth, yet it is the power behind all life on this planet. SOHO/NASA/ESA

20 There are many interesting occurrences on the surface of the Sun. Solar tornadoes spin jets of fire and gas near the poles of the Sun and are as wide as North America. They are thousands of miles high and spin thousands of times the speed of tornadoes here on Earth. The Sun s rotation twists magnetic fields and the cyclones pop up like uncoiling springs from the surface. A storm cellar will not help you here. NASA SOHO/NASA/ESA

21 Discussion Questions: (Assessment) 1. Do you think that because the United States and the Soviet Union (Russia) were in a Space Race the exploration of space was accelerated or slowed down? Why? 2. What combination of features would a ship need to allow a human to tour the solar system? 3. We try to understand other planets in the galaxy by better understanding the planets in our solar system. Is it reasonable to suppose that planets that are far are similar to planets that are close? 4. In what way is Neptune like the Earth? In what way is it different than the Earth? 5. Why does Uranus lay on its side? What other object in the solar system has been knocked over similarly? 6. Why do you think Jupiter and Saturn have so many moons? Why do you think Jupiter protects the Earth from getting hit by many comets and asteroids? Hint: The answer to each of these questions is the same. 7. The Asteroid Belt marks the border between what two parts of the solar system? 8. What misunderstanding led to the belief that Martians were building canals on Mars? 9. Why did we initially think that our sister planet Venus might support life like ours? Name at least two reasons that preclude that possibility now that we know more about Venus. 10. Why is Mercury so cold on one side even though it is so close to the Sun? 11. Why do you think the solar system is named after the Sun? 12. If you would like to make a real tour of the solar system possible, what fields of study might you pursue?

22 Discussion Questions: Answer Key Discussion Questions: (Answer Key) 1. Do you think that because the United States and the Soviet Union (Russia) were in a Space Race the exploration of space was accelerated or slowed down? Why? The exploration of space was accelerated because of the Space Race because the two countries were in competition and worked harder and spent more money than they would have otherwise 2. What combination of features would a ship need to allow a human to tour the solar system? The ship would need to be very fast so it would finish the tour in less than a human lifetime, able to store and grow food, store and recycle water, maybe generate artificial gravity so as not to negatively effect human muscle, bone and cardiovascular function 3. We try to understand other planets in the galaxy by better understanding the planets in our solar system. Is it reasonable to suppose that planets that are far are similar to planets that are close? Yes, since the laws of physics, biology and chemistry are thought to be constant throughout the galaxy. 4. In what way is Neptune like the Earth? In what way is it different than the Earth? Neptune is similar to Earth in that it has recognizable weather patterns and features. Neptune is dissimilar to Earth in practically every other way. For example it is made of gas and ice. 5. Why does Uranus lay on its side? What other object in the solar system has been knocked over similarly? Most objects in the solar system that are on their sides are thought to have been struck by a large object sometime in the past. For example, Pluto has been knocked on its side as well.

23 Discussion Questions: Answer Key Discussion Questions Continued: (Answer Key) 6. Why do you think Jupiter and Saturn have so many moons? Since larger planets have very strong gravitational pulls they capture more objects than smaller planets. Why do you think Jupiter protects the Earth from getting hit by many comets and asteroids? Hint: The answer to each of these questions is the same. 7. The Asteroid Belt marks the border between what two parts of the solar system? The inner and the outer solar system. It also marks the boundary between terrestrial (solid) planets and gas planets. 8. What misunderstanding led to the belief that Martians were building canals on Mars? The mistranslation of the word canal from Italian to English. 9. Why did we initially think that our sister planet Venus might support life like ours? Name at least two reasons that preclude that possibility now that we know more about Venus. We initially thought Venus could support life because it was in the habitable zone in regard to its distance from the Sun and it was about the size of Earth. However, because Venus average temperature hovers around 900 F, is pitch black because of the clouds and has acid rain we can t live there. 10. Why is Mercury so cold on one side even though it is so close to the Sun? It has no atmosphere to hold the heat in when part of the surface turns away from the Sun. The planet also has a lot of time to cool down because it rotates so slowly. 11. Why do you think the solar system is named after the Sun? Because the Sun is the most important part of the solar system and holds it together with its gravity. 12. If you would like to make a real tour of the solar system possible, what fields of study might you pursue? Physics, Rocket Science, Astronomy, Medicine

24 Cross Curricular and Extension Activities: English/ Creative Writing: Select a planet and, based on its living conditions, write a descriptive essay explaining what types of imaginary creatures could live there. These creatures do not have to be anything like the ones that exist on Earth or could be a combination of some preexisting creatures. Describe what these creatures would eat, their behaviors, and what they would look like. Explain why we would or wouldn t want these creatures here on Earth. History/ Mythology: Select a planet and research the mythological Roman/Greek god that it was named after. In an explanatory essay express why its name is appropriate based on what you learned about the planet s features and conditions. Suggest several other appropriate names for the planet and explain why these names would be good choices for the planet as well. Art Draw, paint, or sculpt an exaggerated depiction of one of the planets with emphasis on its most prominent features and living conditions.

25 A Full Semester of Astronomy 13 Lessons $84.35 A Full Year of Astronomy 26 Lessons $ Available on CD or Download