outer space is the universe. the universe is …...planets in our solar system. for every 2 orbits...
TRANSCRIPT
The Mighty Science Quiz Topic #4 The Mighty Science Quiz Topic #4 The Mighty Science Quiz Topic #4 The Mighty Science Quiz Topic #4 Grades 3-5
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN OUTER SPACE?
What do we mean by outer space?
Outer space is the UNIVERSE. The universe is INFINITE—meaning we do not have any idea how
big it is and as far as we know, it has no end. The words below show how each fit together in a
size sequence.
UNIVERSE ����
GALAXY � Solar System � planet/star
• Inside the UNIVERSE are GALAXIES.
• There are too many galaxies to know how many exist in the universe.
• Next there are SOLAR SYSTEMS inside the galaxies.
• WHAT ARE SOLAR SYSTEMS? SOLAR SYSTEMS are planets that work together as they
travel around a star that is usually called a SUN. Yes, we have a star that we call THE
SUN and our planets in our solar system travel around the sun. (see the picture below of
our solar system).
• Our galaxy is called the Milky Way because when ancient people looked up at the sky
they thought it looked like spilled milk across the sky. Sky watchers also thought that It
appeared to be a large white cloud-like form in the night sky. This is the Milky way
which is really a collection of billions of stars.
500 SOLAR SYSTEMS: So far, astronomers have found more than 500 solar systems near us
that we can identify and are discovering new ones every year with in the Milky Way galaxy,
scientists estimate that there may be tens of billions of solar systems in our galaxy, perhaps
even as many as 100 billion.
Here is a video about the Milky Way https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RubnGwhcT6E
Planets are large natural objects that orbit, or travel around, stars. Eight planets orbit the star
called the Sun. In order from the closest to the Sun, these planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth,
Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Pluto is also a star but is considered a dwarf
planet.
Here is a video for kids about our solar system:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEXWxNbpTzU
WHY DO PLANETS TRAVEL IN A CIRCLE OR OVAL AROUND OUR SUN?
Sir Isaac Newton, a famous scientist from a long time ago, studied and
discovered the principle of GRAVITY. He realized that the reason the planets
orbit the Sun is related to why objects fall to Earth when we drop them. The Sun's gravity pulls
on the planets, just as Earth's gravity pulls down anything that is not held up by some other
force and keeps you and me on the ground.
HOW ARE WE ABLE TO DISCOVER THINGS IN OUTER SPACE? WE USE THE HUBBELL TELESCOPE
The first telescope was invented by Galileo in 1610.
Soon we learned because of a telescope, that
Saturn, had rings. Jupiter had moons. That patch
across the center of the sky called the Milky Way
was not a cloud but a collection of countless stars.
In the centuries that followed, telescopes grew in
size and complexity and, of course, power. Edwin
Hubble, for whom the Hubble Telescope is named,
used the largest telescope of his day in the 1920s at
the Mt. Wilson Observatory near Pasadena, Calif.,
to discover galaxies beyond our own.
The Hubble Telescope, is the first major optical telescope to be placed in space. Because it is up
in space, it is above the distortion of earth’s atmosphere and so the Hubble has an
unobstructed view of the universe. Scientists have used Hubble to observe the most distant
stars and galaxies as well as the planets in our solar system.
The Hubble telescope was launched in April
1990.
LET’S TALK ABOUT OUR SOLAR
SYSTEM.
What Is The Solar System? The solar system is made of the eight planets
that orbit our sun it is also made of asteroids,
moons, comets and lots, lots more. The sun has
such powerful gravity it tries to pull the planets
towards it. While the planets try to fly away in
the end they are kind of in the middle floating
around the sun. There are 140 moons that
orbit the eight planets in the solar system. The
moons don’t orbit the sun they orbit the planet they are nearest to
WHO ARE THE PLANETS IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM?
THE SUN: INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE OUR SUN
• The Sun accounts for 99.86% of the mass in the solar system.
• Over one million Earth’s could fit inside the Sun
• The Sun will continue to burn for about 130 million years after it burns through all of its
hydrogen, instead burning helium..
• The energy created by the Sun’s core is nuclear fusion.
• The Sun is almost a perfect sphere.
• The Sun is travelling at 220 km per second. It is around 24,000-26,000 light-years from
the galactic center and it takes the Sun approximately 225-250 million years to complete
one orbit of the center of the Milky Way.
• The Sun will eventually be about the size of Earth
• It takes eight minutes for light to reach Earth from the Sun.
• The Sun is halfway through its life.
• The Sun rotates in the opposite direction to Earth
• The Sun has a powerful magnetic field. Temperatures inside the Sun can reach 15
million degrees Celsius.
• The Sun generates solar winds.
• The atmosphere of the Sun is composed of three layers: the photosphere, the
chromosphere, and the corona.
• The Sun is classified as a yellow dwarf star
• The Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis are caused by the interaction of solar winds
with Earth’s atmosphere.
•
MERCURY FACTS Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun and is also the smallest of the eight
planets in our solar system. For every 2 orbits of the Sun, which takes around 88 Earth days,
Mercury completes three rotations of its axis. It is gravitationally locked and this rotation is
unique to the solar system.
VENUS FACTS Venus is the second planet from the Sun and the third brightest object in Earth's
sky after the Sun and Moon. It is sometimes referred to as the sister planet to Earth, because
their size and mass are so similar. Venus is also the closest planet to Earth. The surface of Venus
is hidden by an opaque layer of clouds which are formed from sulphuric acid. The planet is
named for Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty and is the second largest terrestrial planet.
MARS FACTS Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and last of the terrestrial planets. Like the
rest of the planets in the solar system (except Earth), Mars is named after a mythological figure
- the Roman god of war. In addition to its official name, Mars is sometimes called the Red
Planet because of the brownish-red color of its surface. Mars is the second smallest planet in
the solar system behind Mercury.
JUPITER FACTS Named after the
Roman king of the gods, Jupiter is
fitting of its name. Jupiter is easily the
largest and most massive planet in the
Solar System. To put this in
perspective, it would take
11 Earths lined up next to each other
to stretch from one side of Jupiter to the other and it would take 317 Earths to equal the mass
of Jupiter.
SATURN FACTS Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and second largest planet of the Solar
System in terms of diameter and mass. If compared, it is easy to see why Saturn
and Jupiter have been designated as relatives. From atmospheric composition to rotation,
these two planets are extremely similar. Because of these factors, Saturn was named after the
father of the god Jupiter in Roman mythology.
THE CASSSINI MISSION: https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/
Happening right now—a special mention about Saturn
Cassini-Huygens is one of the most ambitious missions ever
launched into space. Loaded with an array of powerful instruments
and cameras, the spacecraft is capable of taking accurate
measurements and detailed images in a variety of atmospheric
conditions and light spectra.
The spacecraft was launched with two elements: the Cassini orbiter and the Huygens
probe. Cassini-Huygens reached Saturn and its moons in July 2004, beaming home valuable
data that has transformed our understanding of the Saturnian system. Huygens entered the
murky atmosphere of Titan, Saturn's biggest moon, and descended via parachute onto its
surface - the most distant spacecraft landing to date. NEARING IT’S END THIS YEAR : The
planned end of mission for Cassini is that it will fly into Saturn's atmosphere on September 15,
2017. It will end in vaporization.
URANUS FACTS Uranus, named after the father of the Roman god Saturn, is the seventh planet
in the Solar System and third of the gas giants. It is the third largest planet by diameter, yet
fourth most massive.
NEPTUNE FACTS Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and last of the known planets.
While it is the third largest planet with respect to mass, it is only the fourth largest in terms of
diameter. Due to its blue coloration, Neptune was named after the Roman god of the Se
WHAT IS A GAS PLANET? A gas giant is a large planet composed mostly of gases, such as
hydrogen and helium, with a relatively small rocky core.
The gas giants of our solar system are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. These four large
planets, also called jovian planets after Jupiter, reside in the outer part of the solar system past
the orbits of Mars and the asteroid belt. Jupiter and Saturn are substantially larger than Uranus
and Neptune, revealing that the pairs of planets have a somewhat different composition.
WHY CAN’T WE LAND ON JUPITER?
A major problem in sending space probes to Jupiter is that the
planet has no solid surface on which to land. Any probes
descending into the atmosphere are eventually crushed by the
immense pressures within Jupiter.
WHAT ARE SATURNS RINGS MADE OF? Those rings are made up of
dust, rock, and ice
accumulated from passing
comets, meteorite impacts on Saturn’s moons, and the
planet’s gravity pulling material from the moons. Some of
the material in the ring system are as small as grains of
sand, others are larger than tall buildings, while a few are
up to a kilometer across. Deepening the mystery about
the moons is the fact that each ring orbits at a different
speed around the planet.
“Science Rocks” Points to know:
• Be able to name the planets in our solar system
• Have an understanding that first there is the Universe, then galaxies, then solar
systems, then planets
• The Cassini mission is now orbiting Saturn and going into Saturn’s rings but it will
vaporize eventually in Saturn
• Know the largest planet in solar system – Jupiter
• Why is our galaxy called the Milky Way?
• What makes the milky way look white?
• Why are the orbits around the sun by the planets nearly a circle or an oval?
• What is used today to see as much of outer space we are able to see?
• Name a gaseous planet
• What are Saturn’s rings made up of?
• What planet do we often see as a bright star in the night sky?
• What planet is called the red planet and why?
• Are we the only solar system in our galaxy?
• Where is nuclear fusion present in one of the objects of our solar system?
• Compare the size of the sun to earth.
Here is a video for older kids:
National Geographic | How big is the Universe - Documentary 2017 HD 1080p
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nlyl2mSZOtg
This is a site that can be helpful
http://www.theplanetstoday.com/the_planets.html