MESSENGER: Staying Cool My Angle on Cooling Effects of Distance and Inclination

Transcription

1 LIVE INTERACTIVE YOUR DESKTOP MESSENGER: Staying Cool My Angle on Cooling Effects of Distance and Inclination Presented by: Rudo Kashiri February 9, 2011

2 MESSENGER Mission to Mercury Presented by Rudo Kashiri NASA Explorer Schools

3 Launched 2004 Orbits Mercury in March 2011 NASA, Carnegie Institute of Washington, and John Hopkins University (Applied Physics Laboratory)

4 Presentation Outline MESSENGER education overview NASA Connection: - MESSEGER Mission overview - Basic facts about Mercury Lesson: Staying Cool: My Angle of Cooling Seasons Addition Classroom Resources

5 QUESTION: What is wrong with this picture?

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7 QUESTION: Which has a greater effect on earth s seasons? A) Earth s variation in distance to the sun B) The angle of incoming sunlight on the earth C) The effect of the above are equal

8 Education Materials Grade Level: Middle School Modules provide: Broad, content-rich overview Lessons are - Concept Based - Inquiry driven - Standards based Diverse activities Multimedia Resources

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10 Let s Pause for Questions.

11 What do your students know about Mercury?

12 QUESTION: Which statement is true for Mercury?

13 Mercury: Some basic properties Closest planet to the Sun Orbital period: 88 days Length of one day (sunrise to sunrise): 176 Earth days One day on Mercury is two of its years long! 3:2 spin-orbit (rotates three times about its spin axis for every two orbital revolutions)

14 Fact Sheets

15 Let s Pause for Questions.

16 MESSENGER Mission Mercury Surface Space Environment Geochemistry and Ranging

17 Some MESSENGER Science Goals Determine if Mercury s polar ice deposits are made of ice or sulfur Study structure of core Study Mercury s interaction with the nearby Sun: magnetic field, atmosphere

18 Science Payload Laser Spectrometers Magnetometer Imaging system Radio Science

19 Audience Question? What are some of the challenges for a mission to Mercury? [Type your responses in the chat]

20 Mercury orbit insertion

21 Let s Pause for Questions.

22 Staying Cool Overview How temperature changes as a function of distance and inclination Discuss how MESSENGER uses these tactics Discuss cause of the seasons on Earth

23 Featured Lesson My angle on cooling National Science Standards Earth Science - Earth in the solar system Physical Science- Transfer of energy Time: min periods Essential question: How do distance and inclination affect the amount of heat received from a heat source?

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25 Lesson 1: Effect of Distance Objective: Students will measure how distance from a light source can affect the amount of heat that an object receives.

26 Effect of distance Team Materials Time Keeper Temperature Monitor Recorder 2 thermometers Desk lamp or flood lamp 2 meter sticks Masking tape Stopwatch

27 Effect of distance

28 Activity set up

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30 Let s Pause for Questions.

31 Lesson 2: Effect of Inclination Objective: Students will measure how the angle at which the light source is viewed can affect the amount of heat received by an object.

32 Effect of inclination Materials per Team Scissors or knife Masking Tape Stopwatch Colored pencils Materials per student Thermometer Black construction paper Piece of cardboard Bricks or blocks Graphing paper Meter stick

33 Effect of inclination

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36 Putting it together If you wanted to heat something up very quickly, how would you do it? Based on this experiment, think of two different ways. [Type your responses in the chat]

37 Let s Pause for Questions

38 The real real reason reason for the seasons for the seasons

39 Seasons on Other Planets In some cases, the changing distances from the Sun will affect the seasons. In others, the axial tilt will make a huge difference!

40 Let s Pause for Questions.

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42 How can we study Mercury? Sensing the Invisible: The Herschel Experiment Students examine why infrared radiation is important

43 Are there any problems we might face? Snow Goggles and Limiting Sunlight Students measure their field-ofview with and without snow goggles Students discuss how MESSENGER uses similar approaches to limit its exposure to sunlight

44 Are there ways to solve these problems? Design Challenges Temperature How to Keep Gelatin from Melting?

45 Interactive games Geohunter Build a Spacecraft virtual" journey into outer space with Messenger Learn about instruments on board spacecraft

46 Let s Pause for Questions.

47 NASA Explorer Schools Forums One forum for each module

48 NASA Explorer Schools

49 Thank you to the sponsor of tonight's Web Seminar: This web seminar contains information about programs, products, and services offered by third parties, as well as links to third-party websites. The presence of a listing or such information does not constitute an endorsement by NSTA of a particular company or organization, or its programs, products, or services.

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52 National Science Teachers Association Dr. Francis Q. Eberle, Executive Director Zipporah Miller, Associate Executive Director Conferences and Programs Al Byers, Assistant Executive Director e-learning NSTA Web Seminars Paul Tingler, Director Jeff Layman, Technical Coordinator LIVE INTERACTIVE YOUR DESKTOP