Stars and the Solar SystemSISSI Workshop
8-4-2015
Darlene SmalleyPlanetarium Program Director
Emmy’s Moon and StarsEmmy looked out her window and saw the Moon and stars. She wondered how far away they were.
Which answer best describes the location of the stars that Emmy sees out her window ?
Probe adapted from:Uncovering Student Ideas in Science Vol. 2, NSTA Press, pg. 177
A. There are no stars between the Earth and Moon.
B. One star is between the Earth and Moon.
C. A few stars are between the Earth and Moon.
D. There are many stars between the Earth and Moon.
E. Many stars are between the Moon and the edge of our solar system.
Credit: http://apod.nasa.gov/
Darkness at Night Probe
A. Andy: “The clouds come in at night and cover the Sun.”B. Becca: “The Earth spins completely around once a day.”C. Chris: “The Sun moves around the Earth once a day.”D. Danika: “The Earth moves around the Sun once a day.”E. Ethan: “The Sun moves underneath the Earth at night.”
Which friend has the best reason for why the sky is dark at night?
Probe adapted from:Uncovering Student Ideas in Science Vol. 2, NSTA Press, pg. 171
Five friends were wondering why the sky is dark at night. This is what they said: Credit: billyhumphrey.com
Sort Celestial Object CardsBy Size1. Pluto2. Moon3. Earth4. Saturn5. Sun6. Pleiades7. Whirlpool Galaxy8. Hubble Deep Field
What is it?1) Dwarf planet
Definitions of Planet and Dwarf Planet
Characteristic Planet Dwarf Planet
Is in orbit around the Sun X X
Has sufficient mass to be nearly round X X
Is not a satellite X X
Has cleared the neighborhood around its orbit X
Has NOT cleared the neighborhood around its orbit
X
Five Current Dwarf Planets
Sort Celestial Object CardsBy Size1. Pluto2. Moon3. Earth4. Saturn5. Sun6. Pleiades7. Whirlpool Galaxy8. Hubble Deep Field
What is it?1) Dwarf planet2) Earth’s satellite3) Rocky planet4) Gas planet5) Star6) Hundreds of stars7) Billions of stars8) Thousands of galaxies
Sort Celestial Object Cards
1. Earth2. Moon3. Sun4. Saturn5. Pluto6. Pleiades7. Whirlpool Galaxy8. Hubble Deep Field
By Distance
Why can’t we photograph the Milky Way?
We are in it and can’t go beyond it!The farthest we’ve sent a spacecraft is just beyond our solar
system, about 12,250,000,000 miles away. Do you know what spacecraft that is? How long has it been in space?
NASA art of Milky Way
Distance and Light TimeLight travels about 186,000 mi. or 300,000 km. per sec.
A "light-year" is the distance light travels in a year.
Similarly, the distance light travels in a second is a "light second,” how far light moves in a minute is a “light minute,” etc.
Light Time Actual Distance (average)
Moon to Earth 1.3 sec. 240,000 mi.Sun to Earth 8 min. 93,000,000 mi.Sun to Saturn 80 min. 890,000,000 mi.Sun to Pluto 5.5 hr. 4,000,000,000 mi.Sun to Proxima Centauri 4.2 yr. 26,000,000,000,000 mi.
Modeling the Solar System
1. What is the solar system?
2. How are models and scale related?
3. Can we make a solar system model that uses the same scale for diameter and distance?
Planets in order from the Sun
My Very Exciting Magic Carpet Just Sailed Under Nine Palace Elephants
Models and Scales
Model Name Model Scale
Rocket 1 inch = 36 feet
Quadrangle Map 1 inch = 2,000 feet
Globe 1 inch = 660 miles
Solar System 1 inch = 100,000 miles
Measured distance x Scale = Real distance
Length of Rocket: 10 inches x 36 feet/inch = 360 feet
Distance on globe from South Carolina to southern California 4 inches x 660 miles/inch = 2,640 miles
Modeling the Solar System
1. Order the major objects in solar system by size
2. Use balls in the scale of 1 inch = 100,000 miles
3. Put balls the proper distances apart• Count paces or steps instead of inches• If a pace = a yard, how many inches is that?• Using our scale, how many miles does a pace equal?
1 step = 36 inches x 100,000 miles/inch = 3,600,000 miles!The biggest steps you’ll ever take!
Planet Chart
Planet or Dwarf Planet
Paces from previous planet
Paces from Sun
Miles from Sun
Diameter in miles
Model diameter in inches
Mercury 3,000
Venus 7,500
Earth 7,900
Mars 4,200
Jupiter 89,400
Saturn 74,800
Uranus 31,800
Neptune 30,800
Pluto 1,400
Scale for Diameter and Distance: 1 in. = 100,000 mi.1 pace = 1 yard = 3,600,000 mi.
Using this scale, Sun is 8.5 inches in diameter
10
199
267
4014
13595
247112
496249
777281
1019242
36,000,000
Planet Chart
Planet or Dwarf Planet
Paces from previous planet
Paces from Sun
Miles from Sun
Diameter in miles
Model diameter in inches
Mercury 10 36,000,000 3,000
Venus 9 19 7,500
Earth 7 26 7,900
Mars 14 40 4,200
Jupiter 95 135 89,400
Saturn 112 247 74,800
Uranus 249 496 31,800
Neptune 281 777 30,800
Pluto 242 1019 1,400
Scale for Diameter and Distance: 1 in. = 100,000 mi.1 pace = 1 yard = 3,600,000 mi.
Using this scale, Sun is 8.5 inches in diameter
Modeling Earth, Moon and Sun
1. Get out playdough : )
2. Make models of the Earth and Moon in scale with this “Sun”
3. Cut a piece of black yarn to represent the distance between the Earth and Moon
4. Place your Earth and Moon models on your table at opposite ends of your piece of yarn
If this 40-inch ball represents the Sun, how big should the Earth and Moon be?
Model of Earth, Moon and Sun
Scale of 1 inch = 20,000 miles– Sun’s diameter is over 800,000 mi.: Model is 40-43 in. – Earth’s diameter is about 8,000 miles: Model is .4 in. – Moon’s diameter is about 2,000 miles: Model is .1 in. – Ave. Distance Earth to Moon is 240,000 miles: Model is 12 in.
How far away should the Sun model be?
Other Useful Model Scales • Scale of 1 inch = 2,000 miles
– Earth: 4 inches– Moon: 1 inch and 10 feet from Earth– Sun: 400 inches and 4000 feet from Earth
• Scale of 1 inch = 100,000 miles– Earth: .08 inch– Moon: .02 inch and 2.4 inches from Earth– Sun: 8.5 inches and 26 yards from Earth– Other planets from .01 to .9 inch
Walk the Solar System LessonThousand Yard Model
Do “Sky Time” Activities
Form a circle inside circle of zodiac constellations • Become Earth! Investigate how Earth’s motions cause
the apparent motion of the Sun and other stars.
• Investigate seasons by tilting as Earth does. Discover how latitude effects seasons while longitude effects time of day.
• Investigate Moon phases and eclipses using balls on pencils to represent the Moon.
Teacher Resources
• For Kinesthetic Astronomy lessons and assessments by Dr. Cherilynn Morrow and Michael Zawaski, go http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/docs/Sky_Time.pdf