April 5, 2011

1. Record homework.

2. Unpack.

3. If today’s standards are not already in your notebook, add them immediately.

• Recall the Sun's position in the universe, the shapes and composition of galaxies, and the distance measurement unit (light year) needed to identify star and galaxy locations.

• Compare the purposes of the tools and the technology that scientists use to study space.

Distance Measurements In Space

Within our solar system, we can use the AU – astronomical unit (93,000,000 miles or 150,000,000 km).

• The AU is the general distance of the earth to the sun.• Distance from earth to sun = 1 AU• Distance from the sun to Jupiter = 5 AU• Distance from the sun to Neptune = 30 AU

The enormity of space makes it necessary to use units larger than a mile or kilometer.

Distance Measurements In Space

Light minute and light year: The distance light travels in one minute or in one year.

• 1 light minute = 18,000,000 km (11,000,000 miles)

• 1 light year = 5,850,000,000,000 miles (nearly 6 trillion miles)

• If you could drive nonstop to the sun at 60 mph, it would take 180 years. Light makes the same trip in eight minutes. So the sun is about eight light-minutes away.

• How long would it take the space shuttle to travel one light-year? The shuttle

orbits the Earth at about 5 miles per second (18,000 mph). Light travels at 300,000 km per second (186,000 mi/sec), which is about 37,200 times faster than the shuttle. So the shuttle would need about 37,200 years to go one light-year.

The enormity of space makes it necessary to use units larger than a mile or kilometer. Using the speed of light we created distance units. (Light travels at 300,000 km/sec – that’s approximately 6 times around the earth in one second!)

Galaxies – Collections of billions of stars and their systems (existing telescopes can currently ‘see’ over 100 billion different galaxies)

Spiral - shaped like a disk, usually with a bulge in the center and with arms that spiral outwards as the galaxy rotates. Spiral galaxies tend to contain more middle-aged stars and clouds of gas and dust.

Elliptical - Elliptical galaxies contain older stars and very little gas and dust. They can be different shapes ranging from round, to flattened, elongated spheres.

Irregular - an undefined shape and has lots of young stars, dust and gas.

Galaxies – Collections of billions of stars and their systems (existing telescopes can currently ‘see’ over 100 billion different galaxies)

The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy. Our Sun is 28,000 light years from the galactic center, taking about 220 million years to complete an orbit.

Sun’s Position in the Universe

Click her for a field trip through the Universe.

Compare the purposes of the tools and the technology that scientists use to study space.

telescope• visible light (refracting, reflecting) (Earth-based, space-based)• radio• IR, UV, x-ray, gamma

Spectroscope – this is the only one that will be on Thursday’s test. The rest will be done later.

satellite

probe

flyby

orbiter

lander

rover

astronaut/space ships and stations

spectroscope

Sol – our star’s name, hence the phrase ‘Solar System’

Sol’s satellites – Do you know them in order? – a satellite is an object that orbits, or revolves (not rotates), around another object.This artist’s rendition attempts to show the size to scale of each of Sol’s satellites in comparison to Sol. The artist has also included some of the satellites of the planets.

Defend: Earth and our moon are both satellites.

8-4.1.

“Summarize the characteristics and movements of objects in the solar system (including planets, moons, asteroids, comets, and meteors/meteoroids/meteorites).” Note: You must also now include SSSB and dwarf planets!

You took notes on all of these last week. Is your notebook current?

Asteroids, comets, meteoroids (review)

Rock and ice are the main ingredients of asteroids, comets and meteors. These flying rocks orbit the sun and sometimes come close enough to Earth to see.

Asteroid:

• made of rocky and/or iron-nickel material

• most are found in an orbit between Mars and Jupiter

• Some asteroids have other asteroids orbiting them (their own moons)

Comet:

• Long, elliptical orbit – usually travel beyond the gas giants

• like a ball of rock and dirty snow

• frozen gases and dust begin to heat when near sun and cause a long tail of vaporized gases, dust and debris to flow behind them.

• Debris remains littered throughout solar system

Meteoroid:

• usually a piece of comet debris.

Meteor:

• comet debris entering Earth’s atmosphere; usually the size of a grain of sand to a softball

• meteor burns when falling through the atmosphere; “shooting star”

• Meteorite: meteor that doesn’t burn up all the way and hits the earth’s surface

optical (visible light) telescope

telescopes - radio

probe

probe

probe

orbiter

rover

astronaut/space ship

astronaut/space ship

JASON Book:

• pages 22 – 26

• parts 1,2, & 4 and data table

Terms

• flyby

• orbiter

• lander

• rover