NanoScale PlanetWalk:

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NanoScale PlanetWalk:NanoScale PlanetWalk:Presented by

Robert E. Strong [email protected]

Elizabeth (Libby) Strong [email protected]

Richard J. Pollack [email protected]

Co-Sponsored by:

SMART-Center,

SMART Centre Market,

Near Earth Object Foundation,

ASTROLABE Astronomy Club, and

NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium

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NanoScale PlanetWalkNanoScale PlanetWalkQuestion: What is a Planet Walk?

•A “Planet Walk”is an educational interactive / hands-on outdoor or indoor exhibit that offers the public of Marshall County, WV the opportunity to experience the relative distances and sizes of the Sun, planets, dwarf planets, asteroids, comets, moons, and other solar system objects as scale models.

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NanoScale PlanetWalkNanoScale PlanetWalkQuestion: What is NanoScale?

The Marshall County NanoScale PlanetWalk utilizes a 1:10-9 (1 to 1 billionth scale or NanoScale for the scale model)•1 kilometer = 1 billion (109) kilometers•1 meter = 1 million kilometers.•1 centimeter = 10 thousand kilometers•1 millimeter = 1 thousand kilometers•1 micrometer = 1 kilometer•1 nanometer = 1 meter

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NanoScale PlanetWalkNanoScale PlanetWalkWhy use NanoScale for the PlanetWalk?

•It is based in powers of ten, therefore easy to scale up and down sizes and distances.

•It starts to acquaint the public with a “feel” for the NanoScale and how small “nano” really is by shrinking known “Big” stuff…

•…and how “big” the Solar System really is.

•Gives the sizes and distances of Solar System objects in a scale 1 mm = 1,000 km!

•Best of all it is METRIC!!!!!

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NanoScale PlanetWalkNanoScale PlanetWalkWhy is the NanoScale PlanetWalk Metric?

•All of the reasons that the Metric system is the universally accepted system of measure.

•Previous reasons.

•But most importantly …

•The United States is still after all the hype and promise still using the same old tired and broken down English system, that even the English have abandoned as ridiculous, archaic, and just plain silly in the 21st Century context.

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NanoScale PlanetWalkNanoScale PlanetWalkNanoScale PlanetWalk ACTIVITY #1

The Sun

•Materials List:–String, rulers, metric tapes, pennies

•The Sun is 1,392,000 km in diameter, or 1,392,000,000 meters in diameter, or 1.392 x 109 m in diameter.

•Create a NanoScale model of the Sun .

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Size of “inner” Planets and Moons

•Materials List:–String, rulers, metric tapes, paper, pens

•The following are diameters of planets and moons (at the NanoScale 1,000 km = 1 mm)

–Mercury = 4,874 km, Venus = 12,104 km, Earth = 12,742 km, Luna = 3,475 km, Mars = 6,772 km, Ceres = 942 km, Jupiter = 142,984 km equatorial / 133,708 km polar, …

• What are their NanoScale diameters (mm)?

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Size of “inner” Planets and Moons

•Materials List:–String, rulers, metric tapes, paper, pens

•The following are diameters of planets and moons (at the NanoScale 1,000 km = 1 mm)

–Mercury = 4,874 km, Venus = 12,104 km, Earth = 12,742 km, Luna = 3,475 km, Mars = 6,772 km, Ceres = 942 km, Jupiter = 142,984 km equatorial / 133,708 km polar, …

• Create / draw NanoScale models of these.

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“milli”NanoScale PlanetWalk to Neptune


• Using a metric tape, at 0 meters place a penny to represent the Sun.

•At 4.5 meters place a penny to represent Neptune, place pennies to represent other planets at proper distances in this model of a “milli”NanoScale Solar System for indoors.

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“milli”NanoScale PlanetWalk to Neptune

PicoScale Classroom PlanetWalk

As inter-classroom Field Trip

•Materials List:–String, rulers, metric tapes, pennies, pico page

•Use the PicoScale PlanetWalk page to model a “milli”NanoScale Solar System in your classroom.

•Notice “re-placement” of inner planets!!!

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NanoScale PlanetWalk to

Mercury inside School Field Trip


•Mercury averages (semi-major axis) from Sun 57,909,100 km (57.9091 x 106 km).

•1 million km or 106 km at the NanoScale = 1 meter.

•Create a NanoScale location for Mercury.

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NanoScale Light Second “string” model

•Materials List:–String, rulers, metric tapes, scissors

•The distances in the Solar System are often in Light Seconds. Light travels 299,792 km per second, or 299,792,000 m per second or 29,979,200,000 cm per second or 29.9792 x 109 cm per second (metric is soooo easy :o).

•Create a NanoScale light second model.

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NanoScale PlanetWalkNanoScale PlanetWalkNanoScale PlanetWalk ACTIVITY #8a

NanoScale Light Second “paper” model

•Materials List:–String, rulers, metric tapes, paper, calculator

•The distances in the Solar System are often in Light Seconds. Light travels 299,792 km per second, or 299,792,000 m per second or 29,979,200,000 cm per second or 29.9792 x 109 cm per second (metric is soooo easy :o).

•Create a NanoScale light second model.

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NanoScale PlanetWalkNanoScale PlanetWalkNanoScale PlanetWalk ACTIVITY #8b

NanoScale Light Second “paper”

• The MATH…

•Using US typing paper 8.5” by 11” (21.59 cm by 27.94 cm)

•Make a hotdog fold, cut or tear, now have a 10.795 cm by 27.94 cm paper.

•The diagonal is c2 = a2 + b2

•Solve for c = 29.953 cm close enough to 29.9792 x 109 cm per second

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NanoScale PlanetWalkNanoScale PlanetWalkNanoScale PlanetWalk ACTIVITY #9a

Proxima Centauri – closest star to Sun

•Materials List:–String, rulers, metric tapes, metric knowledge

•Proxima Centauri is a red dwarf star 202,000 km in diameter or 0.202 x 109 m at a distance of 4.243 light year (1 ly = 9.46 x 1012 km).

•What is the NanoScale size and distance of Proxima Centauri on the Marshall Co. Trail?

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NanoScale PlanetWalkNanoScale PlanetWalkNanoScale PlanetWalk ACTIVITY #9b

Proxima Centauri – closest star to Sun

•The MATH…

•Proxima Centauri is 202,000 km in diameter = 20.2 cm at the NanoScale.

•4.243 light year = 40.14 x 1012 km, the NanoScale distance of Proxima Centauri on the Marshall Co. Trail is 40,140 km.

•Proxima Centauri is a 20.2 cm star the entire circumference of the Earth away!!!!

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NanoScale PlanetWalk:NanoScale PlanetWalk:Presented by

Robert E. Strong [email protected]

Elizabeth (Libby) Strong [email protected]

Richard J. Pollack [email protected] by:

SMART-Center,

SMART Centre Market,

Near Earth Object Foundation,

ASTROLABE Astronomy Club, and

NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium

www.smartcenter.org

Documents

NanoScale PlanetWalk: