Title: Planets, Asteroids and Stars Objectives: I must be able to differentiate between the terms planet, star and asteroid I should be able to explain how the sun gives us light and heat I could identify some star constellations
True or False 1. The moon is a giant ball of rock that orbits the Earth 2. It is much bigger than the Earth and gives off very bright light 3. The moon is made from a giant ball of swirling gas 4. The moon controls night and day on Earth 5. When the moon s orbit means that is it in between the Sun and the Earth, we see an eclipse
Last week we learned About the order of planets About how scientists can explore space How we see the different phases of the moon Why we get seasons
The Sun What is the sun? Our closest star Gives us heat and light Gives out UV rays which can cause sunburn It takes 8 minutes for sunlight to reach us What do you think Earth would be like without the sun Dark Frozen (no oceans) No life
More about stars Watch the video clip and answer the questions http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/how-long-does-it-take-light-from-the-stars-to-reach-the-earth/222.html What are stars? How many stars are there in the galaxy? How long does it take light to travel from the star, Capella, to Earth?
What exactly are planets, stars and asteroids?
Asteroids are small bodies of rock left over from when planets were formed billions of years ago. There is a big group of asteroids called an asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter Planets are a round masses of rock, made up from elements like iron and hydrogen. Moons orbit planets. Stars are very large clumps of burning gas that give off light
More questions Do you have a question about the solar system, our planets, the stars etc? Write it down on a piece of scrap paper and we will cover it this week. Each person must write one question. E.g. What is a shooting star
Homework FOR TOMORROW! 1. Find the answer to the question you were assigned 2. Choose one of the 8 planets or Pluto and draw it. Research 4 facts about it (for example the distance from sun, temperature, atmosphere etc.) and label the drawing with these facts.
Why do you think that planets often appear brighter than the sun? They are closer to us therefore appear brighter
Why do you think that the stars appear to move across the sky during the night and at different times of the year? The Earth is spinning on its axis and also the Earth is orbiting the sun
Constellations
A pattern or group of stars in the sky is called a constellation. People of ancient time saw the constellations as character or animals in the sky. They made up stories to explain how the object, animal, or character came into the night sky.
Orion Orion is one of the brightest constellations and is a mythological character. According to Greek myths, Orion was a hunter who used to brag all the time. This bother the gods. When the gods were tired of him, the sent a scorpion to bite and kill him. The gods felt bad for doing having Orion killed, they they placed him in the sky.
The Plough (Big Dipper) The Plough can be seen all year round in England
Stars as calendars and navigation tools We mentioned that the position of stars appear to change over the year... Ancient people used these to indicate the time of year for the planting of seeds etc Polaris is a star directly above the North Pole and was used to tell where North is
Game Use your hand-out on star constellations to help you play this game on the board http://www.kidsastronomy.com/astroskymap/constellations.htm
Using your hand-out: draw out the dot-to-dot shapes of the following constellations Ursa minor Ursa major (The Plough) Orion Draco Your star sign
Plenary In groups of 3 explain what an asteroid, a planet, and a star is (1 each) Complete this sentence: The sun is the nearest... to Earth. It is made up of... and gives us... and... Why were the stars used as calendars and navigational tools in the past?