Space Unit

Lesson 1P168-181, ScienceLinks 9

Chapter 13, SciencePower 9

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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

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]

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 Earth-sized?

4. Name the 2 types of planets and the 2 substances from which planets are formed.

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?

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

3. Why is it interesting and important that the planets being discovered are mostly Earth-sized?– 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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

Circumpolar constellations

• Are visible all year round in Canada

• They rotate around Polaris and never go below the horizon

Show BrainPOP: Constellations

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

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

The Planets’ Progression

• The Greeks noticed 5 special stars that seemed to wanderthrough the constellations...they called them planetswhich means “wanderer”

• These planets slowly change position relative to the background sky from night to night

• Venus and Mercury stay close to the SunMars, Jupiter, and

Saturn move westward but once a

year they seem to loop back: retrograde

motion

The Universe

• Everything that exists:

– Celestial objects (stars, planets, moons, etc.)

– All the matter and empty space surrounding them

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

Gravity demonstrationGalaxies Await book page 111. Have 6 people hold a bed sheet, stretched out to

make it flat2. 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?

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

StarsSize: some stars are millions of Km in diameter, others may only be 20Km across

Color: some stars are reddish, orange or yellow; others are bluish, white or bluish-white

Temperature: reddish stars are relatively cool: 3000CWhite or bluish stars are hot: 55 000COur 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

• We will talk more about stars later…

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

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

150 000 000 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

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 300 000 km/s

– In one year light travels 9.5 x 1012 km (9.5 trillion km)

• Most stars and galaxies are hundreds, thousands, or millions of light-years away

Demo: Build Constellations in 3D

• Activity 3.5, page 177 Science Links 9Outcome: 209-4/211-1/211-3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lD-5ZOipE48&safe=active – the Orion constellation in 3D

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