Stars and the Solar SystemSISSI Workshop

6-23-2015

Darlene SmalleyPlanetarium Program Director

DarleneS@usca.edu

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

Why put a telescope in space?

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 leave it!Distance to Sun = 93,000,000 mi.

Distance to next closest star = 26,000,000,000,000 mi.Just to get to Alpha Centauri would take over 85,000 years!

NASA art of Milky Way

Fun Fact: Subaru = The Pleiades

Subaru means to gather together or unite. The company was formed by uniting 5 small

companies into 1 large one.

Subaru logo

Planets in order from the Sun

My Very Exciting Magic Carpet Just Sailed Under Nine Palace Elephants

Focus on Earth, Moon and Sun

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?

Correct 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