Earth: Our Place in the Cosmos Teacher s Guide

Transcription

1 Page 1 Show Outline: : Our Place in the Cosmos Teacher s Guide This presentation was created to meet curriculum standards for grade 3 students throughout Maine, though it also hits many standards for grades 4 and 5. The emphasis of this show is learning about where is in space, what are the factors that make it unique and suitable for life, and how it moves and interacts with nearby objects such as the Sun, Moon, and planets. Students gain an understanding of our place in the solar system, the stars and the galaxy. I. The Sun a. Its size apparent and real b. Surface and core temperatures: core fusion as a source of power c. Apparent motion across the sky diurnal motion of s rotation II. s Rotation a. Sun s apparent motion is the same as the stars b. Day and night caused by rotation III. Constellations a. Point out several prominent constellations of the current sky b. Not all constellations are visible at once i. s revolution around the Sun causes us to see different constellations at different times of year ii. Polar constellations are visible year round why? IV. s Revolution around the Sun a. Revolution is different than rotation b. is tilted how this, combined with revolution, creates seasons c. The Moon orbits every 29.5 days a moonth or month. V. The Moon a. Surface features: maria (seas), mountains, and craters b. Discovering the Moon s motion through the sky activity c. Discovering the Moon s phases activity d. Solar eclipse VI. VII. Solar System a. How planets move: revolution and rotation just like! b. Tour the planets: Mercury to Neptune and Plutoids i. Explore the water cycle when we visit on this tour Our Sun and solar system s place in the stars and the Milky Way galaxy a. Seeing the Milky Way in the night sky b. Discovering the Milky Way as seen from outside the galaxy c. Millions of other galaxies, which are all moving away from each other

2 Page 2 Study Questions: 1. Do the stars rise and set like the Sun? 2. Are there constellations in the sky during the daytime? 3. What makes day and night? 4. Why do we have seasons? 5. Why do we see different constellations in the winter than we do in the summer? 6. How long does it take to rotate once? 7. What s the difference between rotation and revolution? 8. Why does the Sun look bigger than all the other stars? 9. Is the Sun on fire? 10. How many stars are in our solar system? 11. What makes the Sun shine? 12. Which planet is the hottest? 13. Why is Pluto no longer classified as a planet? 14. orbits the Sun. What orbits the? 15. What is Jupiter s Great Red Spot? 16. Name four planets that have rings. 17. Which planet revolves around the Sun quickest? Why? 18. The Curiosity Rover is exploring which planet? 19. Why is it that when we see a half moon in the sky, we call it a quarter moon? 20. What is the water cycle? What powers the motion of water through this cycle? 21. What makes the zodiac constellations unique? 22. What is the name of our galaxy? 23. Galaxies come in a variety of shapes: spirals, barred spirals, elliptical, and irregular. What type of galaxy is our Milky Way? 24. Do other stars have planets? 25. Without a telescope, everything you can see in the night sky is part of the Milky Way except for one small dot in the constellation of Andromeda. What is this tiny dot and why is it so special? Answers: 1. Yes. 2. Yes there are, but you can t see them because of the glare of the Sun. 3. The rotation of the facing the Sun makes day, facing away from the Sun makes night. 4. The seasons are caused by the tilt of the 5.We see different constellations during different seasons because we are on opposite sides of the Sun at different times of the year hours or 1 day. 7. Rotation is a planet spinning on its axis; revolution is a planet orbiting the Sun. 8. The Sun looks big because it s the closest star. 9. No, there is no fire on the Sun. 10. One, the Sun. 11. Thermonuclear fusion in the Sun s core. 12. Venus has a surface temperature of 900 F. 13. Pluto is part of a large belt of icy objects just beyond Neptune called the Kuiper Belt, many of which are round, just like planets. 14. The Moon. 15. The Great Red Spot is a giant storm three times the size of. 16. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune. 17. Mercury, because planets that are closer to the Sun have shorter orbits and they actually move faster. 18. Mars. 19. Only half the Moon s surface faces, so when we see half the Moon, it is actually only one fourth of the Moon s entire surface. Also, the Moon is only one-fourth the way around its orbit at this phase. 20. Water evaporates into the atmosphere, condenses into clouds, precipitates as rain or snow, flows over the surface filling rivers and lakes, and seeps in the ground to maintain groundwater. Eventually it all works toward the oceans where it evaporates again. The power source is the Sun. 21. The zodiac constellations are the constellations that the Sun appears to travel through in a year s time. 22. Milky Way. 23. Barred spiral. 24. Yes, scientists have discovered hundreds of stars that have planets. 25. The Andromeda Galaxy, our nearest large galactic neighbor.

3 Page 3 The Face of the Moon Maria or Seas: Craters: Mountain Ranges: Mare Australe The Southern Sea Archimede Alps Mare Crisium The Crises Aristotle Apennines Mare Fecunditatis The Fertility Clavius Caucasus Mare Frigoris The Cold Copernicus Mare Humorum The Humors Eratosthenes Mare Imbrium The Showers Kepler Mare Marginis The Margins Langrenus Mare Nectaris The Nectar Plato Mare Nubium The Clouds Ptolemaeus Oceanus Procellarum The Ocean of Storms Mare Serenitatis The Serenity Mare Tranquillitatis The Tranquility Mare Vaporum The Vapours * Apollo Landing Sites North Ocean of Storms Kepler Showers 12* Plato Archimedes Copernicus Cold Aristotle Alps Caucsus Mtns. *14 Apennines Mountains *15 Serenity Eratosthenes Vapours Ptolemaeus *17 Tranquility *11 Crises Fertility the Margins Langrenus *16 Nectar Clouds Humours Tycho Clavius The Southern Sea South

4 Page 4 Moon Phases Have your students go out at a specific time (perhaps 6 or 7 pm) for a series of nights and take note of where the Moon is in the sky and how it has changed. As they watch the Moon over a series of nights, they should notice two things. First, that the Moon is in a different place each night and secondly, that its apparent shape has changed. The changes in shape are known as the phases of the moon. The diagram below will help them to understand what is going on. Remember that only the side of the Moon facing the Sun is lit up the side away from the Sun is dark (night time on the Moon). The circles within the orbit show what the Moon looks like from at that phase. Remember that a waxing phase is one that is getting bigger and a waning phase is one that is getting smaller. 1. What phase comes after a first quarter moon? 2. What fruit most commonly resembles a crescent moon? 3. If the moon is waxing, is its phase getting: BIGGER or SMALLER? 4. What phase comes just after the full moon? 5. What does the Moon look like at the new moon phase? 6. Is a waning crescent getting: BIGGER or SMALLER? 7. Which phase of the Moon reflects the most light towards? 8. What is the common unit of time that relates to one full set of phases?

5 Page 5 Solar System Facts Inner Planets: Photo Name Diameter Rotation Revolution Temp Gravity Atmosphere Moons Rings Probes Sun 865,000 mi 1,395,161 km Mercury 3,031 mi 4,878 km 26 days Surface: 12,000 F 6000 C Core: 27,000,000 F 15,000,000 C 58 days 16 hrs 88 days H: 700 F (350 C) L: -270 F (- 170 C) 0.38 X Ionized Hydrogen None SOHO None 0 None Messenger Venus 7,541 mi 12,104 km 243 days days 900 F (480 C) 0.9 X Carbon Dioxide (CO2) 0 None Pioneer, Venera, Magellan, Galileo 7,927 mi 12,756 km 1 day days H: 130 F (58 C) L: -126 F (- 88 C) 1 X Nitrogen (N) Oxygen (O) 1 None Mars 4,197 mi 6,794 km 24 hrs, 37 min 1.88 yrs H: 80 F (27 C) L: -190 F (- 123 C) 0.38 X Carbon Dioxide (CO2) 2 None Viking 1&2, Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity, Curiosity, Phoenix Outer Planets: Jupiter 88,733 mi 142,796 km 9 hrs, 50 min yrs Cloud top: -140 F (- 95 C) 3X Hydrogen (H) Helium (He) 67 1 Pioneer 10&11, Voyager 1&2, Galileo, Juno Saturn 74,600 mi 120,000 km 10 hrs, 39 min yrs Cloud top: -292 F (- 180 C) 1.32 X Hydrogen (H) Helium (He) Pioneer 10&11, Voyager 1&2, Cassini Uranus 31,600 mi 50,800 km 17 hrs, 14 min 84 yrs Cloud top: -346 F (- 210 C) 0.93 X Hydrogen (H) Helium (He) 27 +/- 12 Voyager 2

6 Northern Stars Planetarium, Fairfield, Maine John T. Meader, Director Page 6 Neptune 30,200 mi 48,600 km 16 hrs yrs Cloud top: -364 F (220 C) 1.23 X Hydrogen (H) Helium (He) 13 +/- 5 Voyager 2 Pluto (dwarf Planet) 1,900 mi 3,000 km 6 days 9 hrs 248 yrs -400 F (238 C) 0.03 X Thin air/icy surface 5 None New Horizons (2015)? 560 yrs? Icy surface 1 none? 11,400 yrs? none Eris (dwarf Planet) Sedna (dwarf Planet) 620 mi 1000 km -400 F (238 C)? Size of Planets 1. Which planet is the largest? 2. Which two planets are the closest to being the same size? 3. Which planets are smaller than Jupiter s Great Red Spot? 4. If the planets are so big, why do they look small in the night sky? 5. Which planets have solid surfaces? 6. Why are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune referred to as gas giants? 7. What object in our solar system is larger than Jupiter? 8. List the planets in order from smallest to largest.

7 Page 7 Making A Scale Model of the Solar System This exercise is an excellent way for your students to gain a better understanding of the actual scale of our solar system, in terms of relative sizes, distances, and speeds. The materials needed are simple, inexpensive, and easily obtained. The activity is three-fold. First it deals with relative sizes. Secondly, it covers relative distances. And lastly, it demonstrates relative speeds. Materials Needed: 1 Beach ball (preferably yellow or orange) 1 Set of Play Doh or some other modeling clay 1 String (13 meters or 40 feet long) Preparation: Take the string and tie a loop about 5 centimeters (2 ) in diameter in one end. This is where you will place the beach ball Sun later on. Then tie an overhand knot at the appropriate distances that each succeeding planet will be from the beach ball Sun. Use the following planet scale information chart to tell you how far away from the Sun each knot should be tied. Planet/Dwarf Planet Scale Information Chart: Planet Scaled Distance from the Sun Scaled Diameter Mercury 13 cm (=58 million kilometers) 1.5 mm 5 inches (=36 million miles) 1/16 inch Venus 23 cm (=108 million kilometers) 6 mm 9 inches (=67 million miles) 1/4 inch 31 cm (=150 million kilometers) 6 mm 12 inches (=93 million miles) 1/4 inch Mars 46 cm (=227 million kilometers) 3 mm 18 inches (=141 million miles) 1/8 inch Jupiter 155 cm (=779 million kilometers) 25 mm 61 inches (=483 million miles) 1 inch Saturn 274 cm (=1428 million kilometers) 20 mm 108 inches (= 886 million miles) 3/4 inch Uranus 572 cm (=2974 million kilometers) 14 mm 225 inches (=1782 million miles) 1/2 inch Neptune 889 cm (=4506 million kilometers) 13 mm 350 inches (=2794 million miles) 1/2 inch Pluto 1174 cm (=5913 million kilometers) 1.3 mm 462 inches (=3666 million miles) 1/16 inch

8 Page 8 Scale Model Solar System Continued... Part One: Size Scale HINT: You might want to make two or more model Solar Systems so that every student can partake. Assign each student a planet and give them a lump of clay more than big enough to make their planet. If you are using Play Doh, you might want to use appropriate colors (ie. red for Mars, blue for, etc.). Explain that you want them to guess how big their planet would be if the beach ball were the size of the Sun. It is best not to have them attempt to make rings for Saturn. Have each student make her planet out of clay according to how big she thinks it should be. Almost always, everyone s planet will be too big. Once they are done, go through the group and change their planets to the correct size. Correcting the students in this fashion will make the actual size much more impressive. Every student must then be responsible for not losing her planet. This isn t necessarily easy, as some planets, like Mercury and Pluto, are only about the size of a grain of sand! Part Two: Distance Scale This part of the model should be done either in the gymnasium, cafeteria, or outside. In order to make the distance scale workable within a school environment, we found it best to represent distance on a smaller scale than that used to illustrate size (see the footnote on the previous page). Separate your students into their various solar systems (if you have more than one). Have each student take her clay planet and place it where she thinks the appropriate distance for that planet should be from the beach ball Sun. Once each student has placed her planet down where she thinks it belongs, take out the string with the proper distance scale measured out in knots. Then, one at a time, beginning with Mercury, have each student move her planet to its proper position. Again, this makes the students aware that their perspectives are different from reality. The solar system is probably much larger than any of them had guessed. Part Three: Relative Motion Now that your model solar system is laid out properly, have your students pick up their respective planets. Tell them to try to keep the same distance from the Sun and have them walk at approximately the same speed around the Sun in their respective orbits. Which planet goes around the Sun first? Once Mercury makes one revolution, have them all stop and examine how much of their own orbits they have covered compared to Mercury s complete orbit. (In actuality the distance is not the only factor in different period orbits. Inner planets do move faster than outer planets. However, for demonstration purposes, having the students all walk at about the same speed works well.) *The size scale is 1 cm=140,000 km (1 =225,000 miles) while the distance scale is about 32 times smaller with 1 cm=4,500,000km (1 =7,000,000 miles). We found it best to represent distance on a smaller scale than used for size. If we maintained the same scale for distance as for size, the string would have been 420 meters long rather than 13 meters!

9 Page 9 Match Game Match the planet on the left with the features that go with it on the right. Mercury Biggest planet Red planet Venus Made of ice Planet with life Has a big red spot Closest to the Sun Mars Has 67 moons Is tilted on its side Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto Eris Sedna Sometimes is farther from the Sun than Pluto Is the most distant known object in the solar system Was hit by Comet Shoemaker/Levy in 1994 Rusty planet These four planets all have rings Is a dwarf planet as big as Pluto 70% covered with water Rains acid and is cloudy Is no longer a planet Has been visited by four rovers Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity

10 Page 10 Where are You Going When You re Sitting Still? Have you ever wondered how many ways we move when we re sitting perfectly still? Consider this: You are sitting at your school desk, yeah you re wiggling around a bit, but are you going anywhere? You don t think so, at least not until that school bell rings. Well, think again. Let s start over, you re sitting at your desk in your school which is in North America. Did you know that the continent of North America is moving west at about the same speed that your fingernails are growing? That s about an inch a year. That s a motion known as continental drift. Yeah, I hear you, big deal that s not that impressive. Let s keep going, North America is part of the planet, which moves in three basic ways. First, it rotates once per day. To rotate all the way around in one day, you and your entire school are traveling at about 950 miles per hour (1530 km/hr) towards the east. Secondly, the earth wobbles like a top, but this motion is slow. One wobble takes 26,000 years, so that shouldn t make you too dizzy. Thirdly, we revolve around the Sun like a racecar on a track. It s a big track called our orbit and it takes a year to make just one lap. Not so impressive you think, well this track is 584,020,178 miles (939,889,369 km) long that s a long way. To accomplish this feat we have to travel 67,000 miles per hour (108,000 km/hr). Next you have to consider that the Sun is also moving. The Sun is part of a galaxy called the Milky Way, which includes all the stars you can see in the night sky. And all those stars have relative motions to each other. The Sun is traveling towards the bright star Vega, which shines brightly in our sky through much of the summer and fall. The Sun (and the along with it) seems anxious to visit Vega as it s traveling 43,000 miles per hour (70,000 km/hr) towards it! But Vega, the Sun and all the other stars we see are moving together around the spinning Milky Way Galaxy. It takes the Sun about 225 million years to make just one trip around the galaxy. How fast do we have to go to make this trip? 483,000 miles per hour (792,000 km/hr). One revolution around the galaxy is known as a galactic year. Given that scientists estimate the s age to be about 4.5 billion years give or take a few, in galactic terms, is only about 20 galactic years old! And as if you weren t dizzy enough with all these different directions and speeds, the entire Milky Way Galaxy is moving (as are all galaxies) through intergalactic space. The Milky Way is headed in the general direction where you would find the constellations Leo and Virgo at the incredible speed of 1.3 million miles per hour (2.1 million km/hr)! And you thought you were sitting still. For even more detailed information on these motions visit:

11 Page 11 Motions: Motions and Speeds Continental Drift 1 inch per year, about the same speed your fingernails grow. Diagrams s Rotation 1 rotation per day at approx. 950 mph at mid-latitudes. s Precession 1 wobble every 26,000 years. s Revolution around the Sun 1 revolution per year at 67,000 mph.

12 Page 12 Sun s Proper Motion Within the galaxy the Sun is moving toward the star Vega at 43,000 mph. Sun s Revolution around the Milky Way Galaxy 1 revolution every 225 million years at 483,000 mph. Galactic Motion The Milky Way is moving in the direction of Virgo and Leo at 1,300,000 mph. Questions to Ponder when You re Sitting Still How many different directions are you moving in, when you re sitting still? 2. How many motions does the have by itself? 3. If the Sun is moving towards the star Vega, do other stars move too? 4. Which moves faster, the around the Sun or the Sun around the Milky Way? 5. If is wobbling like a top, making one wobble every 26,000 years, then in 13,000 years will the North Star still be directly above the s north pole? 6. The Milky Way is not the only galaxy that moves, they all move and most galaxies are moving away from each other. Does this imply the universe is getting bigger or smaller? 7. Why don t we feel the moving under our feet? 8. If suddenly stopped rotating, what would happen?

13 Page 13 Word Search Find these vocabulary words hidden in the word search below. BIG DIPPER CONSTELLATIONS DAY EARTH ECLIPSE GALAXY HORIZON JUPITER LIGHT MARS MILKY WAY MOON NEBULA NIGHT ORBIT ORION PLANET PLANETARIUM POLARIS PRECIPITATION REVOLUTION ROTATION SATURN SEASONS SKY STAR SUN WATER S A B M O O N W C U K H I B O E V S T A R E T O R I O N I P A K T P Q U B E N T M Q M G L S G O R K L U I S W O A I D A O A R E V O L U T I O N L I N N L O C A W A T E R G T K P E S A T I D R L S L V E E Y P T E X A P U X T R L I D B W E A C Y T I R T Z H A F G A A R R L S I T J U P I T E R H Y P I I A O A W M S Q I P H Y T L U P T N T H G A U O W T Q P A M S U S I D F O R N I G H T N S E R P O L A R I S A A F L E K L N T N E M H O R I Z O N T Y

14 Page 14 Useful Astronomy Web Sites Astronomy Magazine: Astronomical Society of the Pacific: International Dark Sky Society: Jet Propulsion Lab (info on Space Probes): Lick Observatory: Mars Curiosity Rover: NASA Site: JPL Site: The Nine Planets: (an excellent resource on solar system information) The NASA Homepage: Northern Stars Planetarium: Sky and Telescope: Sky Watcher s Page: Space Telescope Info:

15 Page 15 Planetarium Program Evaluation After the Northern Stars Planetarium has visited your class, please take a moment to fill out this evaluation. Your suggestions are very valuable to us! Mail the completed evaluation to :...Northern Stars Planetarium 15 Western Ave. Fairfield, Maine Or to :......info@northern-stars.com 1. Show Name: 2.Group grade/age level: 3. Was the material presented at an appropriate level for your class? 4. Was the amount of material presented: Enough Overwhelming Not Enough 5. Should any parts of the presentation be developed further?. If so, which parts? 6. Was there sufficient time for questions and answers? Yes No 7. Were you studying astronomy or another related subject at the time of the planetarium s visit? Yes No If so, was the planetarium visit helpful? 8. Was the teacher s guide helpful in preparing your class for the planetarium visit? Yes No Which parts were most helpful? Which parts were least helpful? 9. Did the presenter present the material in a clear and understandable fashion? 10. How would you rate the overall program? 11. (Optional) Your name and school: Thank you!