Copy the red text for your notes. Space Unit. Lesson 1. P , ScienceLinks 9 Chapter 13, SciencePower 9

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1 Copy the red text for your notes Space Unit Lesson 1 P , ScienceLinks 9 Chapter 13, SciencePower 9

2 Warm-up Discussion Space is HUGE!!! What do you see when you look into the sky? What objects, shapes, events, patterns do you see or recall seeing? Have you ever noticed the way the moon changes from night to night? Do you know how to identify constellations by connecting the stars like connect-the-dots? Discuss with a partner then share with the class: what you have seen, what you know, and what you would like to know about space

3 Estimate the number of stars... This jar contains as many beans as there are stars visible to the naked eye in the night sky in the northern hemisphere. How many are there? How might we estimate the number? Watch The Nature of Things: Planet Hunters (45 min) Q s with video on next slides OR Greatest Discoveries with Bill Nye: Astronomy (Discovery Education) segments: The Structure of Our Solar System [10:51] and Observing Movement in Space [09:27]

4 Planet Hunters from The Nature of Things with David Suzuki 1. What research is the Kepler Space telescope being used for? 2. What does planetary transit mean? Explain how this is used to look for other planets. 3. Why is it interesting and important that the planets being discovered are mostly Earthsized? 4. Name the 2 types of planets and the 2 substances from which planets are formed.

5 Planet Hunters cont d 5. Explain the Goldilocks zone and planets in this zone. Why are scientists interested in Goldilocks planets? 6. What is the name of Canada s first space telescope? 7. What form of data or information do telescopes collect from space? How is this information used to learn about other planets? 8. Why can we not travel to another star or one of the Goldilocks planets?

6 Planet Hunters Answers 1. What research is the Kepler Space telescope being used for? To discover new planets 2. What does planetary transit mean? Explain how this is used to look for other planets. When a planet crosses in front of its star (Sun) This makes the star dim indicating that there is a planet orbiting it

7 3. Why is it interesting and important that the planets being discovered are mostly Earthsized? They may be similar to Earth in other ways having conditions to sustain life 4. Name the 2 types of planets and the 2 substances from which planets are formed. Rocky (terrestrial) planets made from mostly dust or solid materials Gaseous planets - made from mainly gas

8 5. Explain the Goldilocks zone and the planets in this zone. Why are scientists interested in Goldilocks planets? The habitable zone/planets where it is not too hot or too cold (temperatures would range between the freezing and boiling point of water) Where planets could sustain life 6. What is the name of Canada s first space telescope? MOST, launched June 30, 2003

9 7. What form of data or information do telescopes collect from space? How is this information used to learn about other planets? Light Different colors of light indicate different chemicals so the composition of planets and atmospheres can be determined 8. Why can we not travel to another star or one of the Goldilocks planets? Too far away and we don t have the technology to travel fast enough

10 Celestial Sphere The shape of the sky is like an upside down bowl with the rim being the horizon. The stars are like dots of light painted on the inside of the bowl. This model of the sky is called the celestial sphere

11 Stars seem to move The Sun and stars appear to move from east-to-west across the sky They are not really moving. It is the rotation of the Earth that gives this illusion. As you look North, stars look like they are rotating around the North Star, or Polaris, which happens to be lined up with the North Pole of Earth s axis

12 Video and Journal Video: Our Home in Space (Discovery Education, also in Space folder) Watch whole video (15min) or segment on rotation Journal Entry: If we were to watch a single star or the moon for a few hours it would look like it was moving across the sky. Is it really moving? Explain your answer.

13 Navigating with Polaris In the northern hemisphere, Polaris can help people find direction at night You can use constellations to help you find Polaris A constellation is a pattern formed by stars Polaris is the last star in the handle of the constellation called Ursa Minor (Little Bear) or the Little Dipper

14 Show BrainPOP: Constellations Circumpolar constellations Are visible all year round in Canada They rotate around Polaris and never go below the horizon

15 The Moving Moon Rises in the east, 1 hour later each night Phases: waxing (thin crescent) half moon full moon waning (thin crescent) Full moons rise exactly at sunset We only ever see one side of the moon

16 The Sun s Shuffle No phases Rises earlier and farther north each morning and sets later each evening from December to June; the hours of daylight increase In summer and fall it rises later and sets earlier and farther south each day; the hours of daylight decrease

17 The Planets Progression The Greeks noticed 5 special stars that seemed to wander through the constellations...they called them planets which means wanderer These planets slowly change position relative to the background sky from night to night Venus and Mercury stay close to the Sun Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn move westward but once a year they seem to loop back: retrograde motion

18 The Universe Everything that exists: Celestial objects (stars, planets, moons, etc.) All the matter and empty space surrounding them

19 Our Solar System The Sun s gravitational pull keeps the planets revolving in orbit around it Gravitational pull: the force of attraction that two masses have for each other Orbit: the circular or elliptical path of one object around another Watch BrainPOP: Gravity

20 Gravity demonstration Galaxies Await book page Have 6 people hold a bed sheet, stretched out to make it flat 2. Roll a sponge ball onto the sheet. Do the same with the volleyball and then the basketball. Notice that the sheet curves down each time you place a ball on it. 3. Take a rock and place it near the center of the sheet. Did it curve farther down? 4. Leave the rock where it is and place one of the balls on the sheet. Notice that the ball rolls toward the rock. Why? How is this related to gravity?

21 Stars Stars are ball-shaped masses of superheated gases that give off light, heat, and other forms of energy Our Sun is a star Stars vary in size, temperature, color, and density

22 Size: some stars are millions of Km in diameter, others may only be 20Km across Stars Color: some stars are reddish, orange or yellow; others are bluish, white or bluish-white Temperature: reddish stars are relatively cool: 3000C White or bluish stars are hot: C Our Sun is about 6000C Density: some stars have such low density that they could float on water; others are so dense that 1g would crush the CN Tower

23 We will talk more about stars later

24 Galaxies Collections of stars, gas, and dust held together by gravity Gas is mainly hydrogen atoms Dust is made of atoms and atom fragments There are billions of galaxies in the universe Our solar system is located in the Milky Way galaxy

25 Astronomical Units Because space is so huge using units like kilometers is meaningless i.e. measuring the distance from Halifax to Vancouver in mm. Astronomers use astronomical units (AU) to measure distances between planets: 1AU is the distance between the Sun and Earth which is km The Sun to Neptune is 30AU meaning you would have to travel the distance between the Sun and Earth 30 times to get to Neptune

26 Light Years Distances between stars and galaxies are even greater than between planets so astronomers use light years 1 light-year = the distance light travels in one year Light travels at km/s In one year light travels 9.5 x km (9.5 trillion km) Most stars and galaxies are hundreds, thousands, or millions of light-years away

27 Demo: Build Constellations in 3D Activity 3.5, page 177 Science Links 9 Outcome: 209-4/211-1/ ZOipE48&safe=active the Orion constellation in 3D

28 Space Station Activities Complete the following stations: 1. Exploring the Night Sky 2. Phases of the Moon 3. Gravity 4. Eclipses 5. Other objects in the solar system