mroach@nexus.edu.au
Copyright ©1996 M Roach
All Rights Reserved
References to Heinemann:
Outcomes 1: 11.1, 11.2, 11.3, 11.4, 11.5,11.6
Outcomes 2: 13.3, 13.4, 13.5, 13.6, 13.8
Main Reference: Astronomy books and NASA Educational material
CSF Outcomes: Earth and beyond: Levels 4 and 5
National Profiles: Earth and Beyond:Levels 3, 4 and 5
Suggested year levels: 7 - 10
TO THE TEACHER:
Many modern computer simulations and videos allow us to capture a glimpse of what it would be like to travel in our Solar System, and even further, within our Galaxy the Milky Way, to other stars, just like our sun, but none have the capacity to show the gigantic scale of our Universe. This simple activity will do more to impress on your students the remarkable engineering and scientific progress that has taken place over recent years than any other I have seen. As you walk your students through the Solar System, many questions will be forthcoming, but as this should be an introductory activity, you will not need to answer all of the questions now. They can form the basis of a learning programme which will generate wonder and amazement within your students as they try to satisfy their genuine thirst for knowledge in this fascinating topic area. Even the most knowledgeable of astronomers and astrophysicists do not have all the answers, so this puts the humble science teacher in very good company.
PREPARATION:
The lesson is most successful if you prepare your walk in advance, by following these simple instructions and sticking the planets at the appropriate distances. Note that you can stop after Saturn, and simply double, triple and quadruple the distance you have walked. This is effective enough, but you may have the time and inclination to take your class the whole way. If you can leave the planets up for some time, you will observe many students looking at the information contained. You may also have posters of the various planets, and spacecraft that have visited them, or flown by, which you could post near each planet station.
INSTRUCTIONS TO SET UP "THE WALK"
1. Cut out a circular disc 109 mm in diameter for the SUN. (We used yellow card). Place at one end of a long corridor, the start of your walk..
2. Make 7 photocopies of the following sheet, insert the name of each planet and make a dot or circle of the size indicated on the table. Pace out the distance in metres (no need for too much accuracy on this scale), and stick the appropriate planet's sheet in its place.
3. When you look at the distances involved you will probably want to stop at SATURN. This is fine since (very approximately) you can say that Uranus is twice as far from this point, Neptune three times and Pluto four times.
4. If you have a picture or poster of each planet you could stick this up at each station, for emphasis.
A WALK THROUGH THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Compare the size of the planet and it's distance away to our Sun. The Sun is 109 mm in diameter.
HERE IS THE PLANET
.......................
| OBJECT | DIAMETER (Size) | DISTANCE form Sun |
|---|---|---|
| Sun | 109 mm | |
| Mercury | 0.33 mm | 5 m |
| Venus | 1 mm | 8.5 m |
| Earth | 1 mm | 12 m |
| Mars | 0.5 mm | 18 m |
| Jupiter | 11 mm | 62 m |
| Saturn | 9 mm | 114 m |
| Uranus | 2.5 mm | 230 m |
| Neptune | 4 mm | 360 m |
| Pluto(at maximum orbit) | 0.25 mm | 480 m |
| Proxima Centauri (pointer) | 120 mm | 3,200 kilometres |
| Sirius(the brightest star) | 20 mm | 6,500 kilometres |
A WALK THROUGH THE SOLAR SYSTEM.
INTRODUCTION FOR STUDENTS
Ancient astronomers observed points of light that appeared to move among the stars, and they called these objects planets, meaning wanderers. They were named after Roman legends. Jupiter was the king of the gods, Mars the god of war, Mercury was messenger of the gods, Venus was the god of beauty, and Saturn (father of Jupiter), was the god of agriculture. They also observed comets with brilliant tails, and meteors or shooting stars falling from the sky. Science moved ahead slowly, until Sir Isaac Newton framed the Law of Universal Gravitation which allowed the orbits of the planets to be calculated. In the 17th century Galileo studied and reported on the moons of Jupiter, with his telescope fashioned for this purpose. Your binoculars are as powerful as Galileo's telescope was back then, and you will easily be able to see the four major moons of Jupiter on a clear night when Jupiter is in the sky.
Since 1959 we have seen a golden age of solar exploration. Advancements in rocketry after World War II allowed us to break free of the Earth's gravity and travel to the Moon and other planets. The U.S.A. and Russia sent automated spacecraft to the Moon, and eventually in July 1969 man set foot on the Moon. Automated spacecraft have orbited and landed on Venus and Mars, explored the Sun's environment, observed comets, and made close surveys while flying by Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. These marvels of engineering have enabled us to better undersatnd the Solar system. Through electronic sensors (TELEMETRY...see Talking to Satellites) automated spacecarft have bought colour, complexion to planets that for centuries were observed from Earth as fuzzy points of light.
With the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope in 1990,( and the subsequent repairs necessary to correct the lenses in 1993) scientists are now able to gaze way out into our Solar System and beyond without having to peer through the Earth's atmosphere. The Hubble Space Telescope is now able to be turned to look at any major event in the Solar System, or the Universe, to give us a first hand, uninterupted view. (The Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet impact with Jupiter was one such event that awarded scientists views not dreamt of ten years ago. Not only was the HST able to be pointed towards Jupiter for a look at the impact, but Galileo (see Talking to Satellites...) was also on its way to Jupiter and took some spectacular pictures.
Recent spacecraft in NASA's Automated Exploration of the Solar System
The knowledge gained from our journeys through the Solar System has redefined traditional Earh sciences like geology and meteorology, and given rise to new disciplines like comparative planetology. By studying the geology of planets, asteroids and comets, and comparing differences and similarities, we will learn more about the origin and history of these bodies, and the solar system as a whole.
We are continuing to learn and benefit from automated spacecraft exploration in our solar system. Galileo will be orbiting Jupiter for another two years, visiting its moons in order to gain the gravitational slingshot required to keep it exploring the Jupiter system. Ulysses has another three years to go, as it explores the Sun, at the poles. The Cassini mission to explore Saturn is in being prepared now for a launch in 1998 ?????
We can also look forward to a time when humans will again set foot on an alien world. Although astronauts have not been back to the moon since december 1972, plans are being made for our return to the lunar surface, and for the human exploration of Mars.
A WALK THROUGH THE SOLAR SYSTEM......FURTHER EXCURSIONS
1. Ask the students to find out how far the Moon is from the Earth and put it on the scale. Now ask them to find out the size (diameter) of the Moon compared to the Earth. How far away from the Earth in millimetres, and how large in diameter on our scale?
2.It took three days for Apollo 11 to reach the Moon in 1969. If we still had the technology available, how long would it take to reach Mars?
3.We wouldn't like Venus, and in fact many craft have already been sacrificed to this awful planet, so where else might we travel in the Solar System?
(a) Mercury? Discuss
(b) Jupiter? Discuss
(c) Others?
4.It is very difficult to see the small planets of Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars on the scale that is shown? How could you change the scale to make these planets more easily seen, say twice the size?
5.It takes light 8.5 minutes to reach Earth from the Sun, even though lighttravels at 300,000 Km per second. We call this distance 8.5 light minutes.
(a)How many light minutes is Jupiter from the Sun?
(b)Pluto is at the outer most part of our Solar System. How many light minutes is Pluto from the Sun?
How long would it take a spaceship like the one that went to the moon (in three days) to reach Pluto?
Use the scale to work out how far away in light minutes, hours, months and years is our nearest neighbouring Star (Sun) away from us?
This star (actually three Suns) is one of the Pointers to the Southern Cross, Alpha Centurai.
How long would it take our spaceship to reach our nearest Solar System, Alpha Centurai, if it took three days to reach the Moon?
6. Do you think humans will ever visit other Planets? Explain.
7.Would you expect human-like life on other planets in our Solar System? Explain.
8.If there was a planet exactly like Earth, the same distance, tilted on the same axis, away from another one of the hundreds of thousands of suns in our Galaxy, the Milky Way, do you think that we will ever be able to communicate with them?
Explain.
9. Remember the planets like this:
MY VERY ENERGETIC MONKEY JUST SHOWED US NINE PLANETS!
mroach@nexus.edu.au
Copyright ©1996 M Roach
All Rights Reserved