interstellar real estate: location, location, location defining the habitable zone what makes earth...
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Interstellar Real Estate: Location, Location, LocationDefining the Habitable Zone
What makes Earth the perfect home for life as we know it? Students in this activity
explore the orbital characteristics a planetary home needs to support Earth-like
life forms
NSTA 2002 Presenters:
• Ed Prather, University of Arizona
• Tim Slater, University of Arizona
• Alison Simmerman, Honoka’a Hawaii
• Donna Governor, Brown-Barge MS, Pensacola, FL
What is Astrobiology?
Astrobiology is the study of life in the universe. It provides a biological perspective to many areas of NASA research, linking such endeavors as the search for habitable planets, exploration missions to Mars and Europa, efforts to understand the origin of life, and planning for the future of life beyond Earth.
Astrobiology Goals:
Astrobiology addresses three basic questions, which have been asked in some form for generations. Astrobiology is exciting today because we have the technology to begin to answer these fundamental questions:
• How does life begin and develop? • Does life exist elsewhere in the universe? • What is life's future on Earth and beyond?
What’s New in Astrobiology?
Interstellar Real Estate
Part 1 - Exploration
Activity 1:
The Goldilocks Principle
Part 2 -
IntroductionActivity 2: Why is There Abundant Life on Earth?
Activity 3: Defining the Habitable Zone
Activity 4: The Sun is a Star?
Activity 5: Size and Mass are Important!
Part 3 - Application
Activity 6: Recently Discovered New Planets
Activity 7: Marketing Your New Extra-Solar Planet
Activity: Scale Distance Model
Distance in AU’s & Scale Mercury: .39 - 2cm Venus: .72 - 3.6cm Earth: 1 - 5cm Mars: 1.52 - 7.6 cm Jupiter: 5.2 - 26 cm Saturn: 9.54 - 47.7 cm Uranus: 19.2 - 96 cm Neptune: 30 - 150 cm Pluto: 39.5 - 198 cm Habitable Zone: .84 to 1.7 - 4.2 to 8.5 cm
Activity: Stellar Sorting
Sort your star cards by: Distance from Earth TemperatureWhat pattern emerges?Which stars will support
Earth-like life? How is the habitable
zone effected by star type?
Activity: Extra Solar Planets
In addition to having just the right kind of star, a planet must also have just the right mass and be just the right size to support life!
Mass - .5 - 10 Me Radius - .8 - 2.2 Re
Which extra solar planets might be JUST RIGHT?
Implementation
Defining the Habitable Zone
The Sun is a Star?
Stellar Classification
Extra Solar Planets
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Astrobiology in the Classroom
NASA – CERES Project http://btc.montana.
edu/ceres
Montana State University
Preliminary Lessons
• Designer DNA
• Drake Equation
• Extra-Solar Planets
• Extreme Environments
• Habitability Zones
• Mission to Mars
• Rare Earth
• Remote Sensing
• Intergalactic Communication
• Time Scales
On-Line Courses
National Teacher’s Enhancement Network
• Astrobiology for Teachers
Related Courses
• Studying the Universe with Space Observatories
• Comparative Planetology
Interstellar Real Estate