S4E1b. Compare the similarities and differences of planets to the stars in appearance, position, and number in the night sky. S4E1d. Identify how technology.

S4E1b. Compare the similarities and differences of planets to the stars in appearance, position, and number in the night sky.

S4E1d. Identify how technology is used to observe distant objects in the sky.

S4E2d. Demonstrates the relative size and order from the sun of the planets in the solar system.

S4E1d. Identify how technology is used to observe distant objects in the sky.

Essential Question:

What instruments do scientist use to study the sky?

Telescope –

a tool that makes distant objects appear larger, brighter, and sharper.

tele – from a distance

scope - seeingpage 16

Telescope

Tele – from a distance

Microscope

Micro – small

Scope – seeing

Magnify – to make objects appear larger

Types of Telescopes

•Optical telescope –

magnifies distant objects by collection light

page 17

•Radio telescope –collects radio waves to make pictures of space

page 17

The Hubble Space Telescope is a large optical telescope in space. It was launched by NASA in 1990. Hubble is the length of a large school bus. It weighs as much as two adult elephants. Hubble travels around Earth at about 5 miles per second. The atmosphere above

Earth changes and blocks some of the light that comes from space. Hubble orbits high enough above Earth to avoid this problem. Hubble sees space better than telescopes on Earth.

page 18

S4E2d. Demonstrates the relative side and order from the sun of the planets in the solar system.

Essential Question: •What makes up our solar system? •How do the planets and stars “fit together?”

The solar system is made up of the

•Sun,

•orbiting planets,

•their moons, and

•other objects traveling around the sun.

page 24-25

The Sun

The Sun is the most prominent feature in our solar system.

It is the largest object and contains approximately 98% of the total solar system mass.

One hundred and nine Earths would be required to fit across the Sun's disk, and its interior could hold over 1.3 million Earths.

The Sun's outer visible layer has a temperature of 6,000°C (11,000°F). This layer has a mottled appearance due to the turbulent eruptions of energy at the surface.

The Sun is the nearest star to Earth. Like all stars, the sun is a huge sphere of hot gases that gives off heat and light. We can see more distant stars at night.

The Sun is a huge sphere of hot gases that gives off heat and light.

Our sun is not the largest star, but it is the closest star to us. We can see more distant stars at night.

page 24

The PlanetsEssential Question:

•What is a planet?

•How are planets different from stars?

The twinkling of stars is caused by the Earth's atmosphere. Because stars are so incredibly distant

from us, any disturbances in the atmosphere will bounce around the light from a star in different

directions.

This causes the star's image to change slightly in brightness and position, hence "twinkle".

A planet does not produce light of its own. Planets do not twinkle like stars. You are able to see planets in

the night sky when light from the Sun reflects, or bounces, of them.

A planet is a large body of rock or gas in space that moves around a star.

You are also able to see Earth’s moon in the night sky. A moon is small rounded body in orbit around a planet. A moon does not produce its own light. It reflects light from the Sun.

Orbit – is to move in a path around something.

Most planets have at least one moon.

Match GameThey do not make their

own light.

Earth is one of eight that orbit the Sun.

Most planets have one or more. They reflects the Sun’s light.

This star is the one closest to Earth.

This consists of the Sun, planets, moons, and all other things that orbit the Sun.

Stars

Planets

Moons

Sun

Solar System

The Planets

Inner Planets Outer Planets

Mercury

Venus

Earth

Mars

Jupiter

Saturn

Uranus

Neptune

Pluto

The Inner Planets• These planets get a lot of heat and light.

• They are close to the Sun.

• These planets are small.

• They are made of solid rock materials.

• Their surfaces have mountains and craters.

There are 5 planets you can see with your own eyes!

From Earth, we can see the five closest planets –

Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.

To your eyes they appear as stars.

They do not create light like a star, rather sunlight illuminates their surfaces and we see them the same

way we see our Moon, just not the same size.

The Moon appears so large because it is close and the planets appear like dots or ‘stars’ because they are so

far away.The 5 planets were discovered before the invention of the telescope. Ancient people called these five planets ‘wanders’ because they appear to wander against the background of stars. This is due to the orbital movement of the planets. The word ‘planet’ comes from the Greek word ‘wander’.

The Outer Planets• They are cold and dark because they are

far from the sun.

• They are large and made of gases.

• These planets have many moons.

• Each also has a system of rings.

What about Pluto?Pluto was once known as the 9th planet. In 2006, astronomers classified it as a dwarf planet. It is smaller than any other planet Pluto is made of rocks and frozen gases. It has no rings and only one moon.

(Houghton Mifflin text page 27)Pluto and its moon, Charon, were called double planets because Charon is so large it seems less of a moon than another planet. During each revolution around the sun, Pluto passes inside Neptune's orbit for 20 years, making Neptune the outermost planet for that time. Pluto was predicted to exist in 1905 and discovered in 1930. It is the only planet that has not yet been studied closely by a space probe. We will get close up views in July 2015 when the New Horizons spacecraft flies past Pluto and sends back detailed images of Pluto and it's 3 moons. http://ronyerby.com/ss/Outer.html

MercuryMercury is the planet closest to the Sun, but surprisingly not the hottest. Because it has

almost no atmosphere, there is no greenhouse effect to trap the heat, so temperatures vary from extreme hot to extreme cold. In fact it

has the widest day/ night temperature change in the solar system. Its surface of craters resembles the Moon because it has been

bombarded by comets etc. The planet was named for the Roman god Mercury, a winged

messenger, and it travels around the Sun faster than any other planet. Mercury is

difficult to see from Earth.

Temperature: The sunlit side can reach up to 950°F and the dark side can drop as low as -346°FRotation (1 Day) = 59 Earth days Revolution (1 Year) = 88 Earth days Your weight: If you weigh 100 pounds on Earth, you would weigh 38 pounds on Mercury. Distance from Earth: 57 million miles, at the closest point in its orbit

VenusVenus is the brightest planet in the sky because it is very reflective - it is covered in clouds. It has a tremendous greenhouse effect that does not allow the heat to escape leaving the temperature to hover around 880°F which makes it the hottest planet in the solar system. Venus is often called Earth's twin because the two planets are close in size, but that's about the only similarity. Venus' rotation is not only extremely slow but it is also backward or retrograde. Venus is named after the Roman goddess of love and beauty and appears as a bright, white disk from Earth.Surface: A rocky, dusty, waterless expanse of mountains,

canyons, and plains, with a 200-mile river of hardened lava Rotation (1 day) = 243 Earth days (retrograde rotation or "backward") Revolution (1 year) = 225 Earth days Your weight: If you weigh 100 pounds on Earth, you would weigh 88 pounds on Venus.

Earth is the third planet from the sun. It's inner core is made up of solid iron with a molten outer core that produces it's magnetic field. Earth's atmosphere is made up of 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, and traces of other elements. Our greenhouse effect regulates the temperature on Earth and is essential for our survival. Also, Earth is not perfectly round; it bulges at the equator and is flatter at the poles.

Earth

Surface: Earth is made up of water (70%), air, and solid ground. It appears to be the only planet with water Rotation of its axis: 23 hours, 56 minutes, 4 seconds Revolution around the Sun: 365.2 days Distance from Sun: 92.9 million miles (149.6 million km)

Mars

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun, situated between Earth and Jupiter.

The surface of Mars contains silicon dioxide and iron oxide. The iron oxide is rust, which gives it a reddish color.

Mars has two moons Phobos and Deimos. Like our moon, the two moons keep the same side toward Mars as they revolve around the planet. They are small and appear to be captured asteroids.

Mars has the largest volcanic mountain in the solar system, Mt. Olympus, which is 2.5 times the size of Mt. Everst.

The poles of Mars are covered with frozen water and frozen carbon dioxide producing white polar ice caps.

There can be no liquid water due to the thin, low pressure atmosphere which allows water to vaporize.

Size: About one-half the size of Earth in diameter Surface: Canyons, dunes, volcanoes, and polar caps of water ice Atmosphere: carbon dioxide (95%) Temperature: as low as -305°F Rotation of its axis: 24 Earth hours, 37 minutes Rotation around the Sun: 687 Earth days (almost 2 Earth years) Your weight: If you weigh 100 pounds on Earth, you would weigh 38 pounds on Mars.

Jupiter is the largest planet in our Solar System with a mass more than three hundred times Earth’s mass. Jupiter is not only the largest planet, it also has the most moons – 63 identified so far. Two of the moons are larger than mercury and Pluto.

Jupiter is one of the brightest objects in the sky and has a very stormy atmosphere. One major storm, the Great Red Spot, is as big as the Earth.

A day on the planet only takes 9 hours and 55 minutes, meaning that the planet spins very fast, although a year on Jupiter (the length of time it takes for the planet to orbit the Sun) takes 11.9 Earth years. This is because the planet is so far away from the Sun.

Jupiter

Year: 11.9 Earth years Day: 9.8 hours Temperature: -170 F

Saturn

Like Jupiter, Saturn is also made up mainly of hydrogen and helium. It is so full of gas that its density (the amount of matter in an area) is so low that, if there was a sea of water big enough, it would float on it!

Saturn takes 10 hours and 39 minutes to turn on its axis, so, every time a day has passed on Earth, over two days have passed on Saturn.

But the planet, being so far away from the Sun, takes 29 and a half Earth years to completely orbit the Sun.

Year: 29.4 Earth years Day: 10.7 hours Temperature: -215 degrees F

Saturn's most famous feature are its great rings, which appeared like ears when Galileo observed Saturn in the Seventeenth Century. These are rings of small dust, rock and ice particles, probably what remains of a shattered moon which once orbited Saturn.

Astronomers did not know that there any other planets with rings until 1977 when Uranus’ rings were discovered. Soon after that, astronomers discovered rings around both Jupiter and Neptune.

Saturn has at least 60 moons orbiting it. Most of them are small, apart from one called Titan which has an atmosphere similar to what scientists believe Earth's atmosphere was like before life began on it.

A Hubble Space Telescope image of Saturn in true color.

http://www.superkids.com/aweb/pages/features/saturn/pictures/index.shtml

Uranus

Possibly the most boring planet in the Solar System, Uranus has an atmosphere of Hydrogen, Helium and Methane. The Methane gives the planet a pale blue color. The planet is tipped on its side, possibly from a collision with a planet the size of Earth. It rotates on its tilted axis in 16 hours and 7 minutes, taking 84 years to orbit the Sun. The planet has 27 known moons, including one called Miranda which appears to be a moon that was shattered in a collision but reformed itself.

Year: 83.8 Earth years Day: 17.2 hours Temperature: -280 F

Neptune

The twin planet of Uranus, with a similar size and similar contents in its atmosphere. It is the smallest of our outer planets. (Pluto – Dwarf Planet) Still, it is four times wider than Earth.

It orbits the Sun every 165 years, meaning it will never complete a orbit during the lifetime of a person living on Earth. The planet takes 16 hours and 7 minutes to turn on its axis.

The winds on the planet are the strongest in the Solar System, with areas of high pressure shown by Dark Spots. Clouds of icy droplets of methane can also be seen in the upper atmosphere of Neptune.

The planet has 13 moons known to orbit it, including a moon with eruptions of nitrogen.

Year: 164 Earth years Day: 16.1 hours Temperature: -235 degrees F

Pluto was discovered in 1930. In 2006, it became classified as a dwarf planet. The dwarf planets are round, orbiting bodies much like planets, but smaller.

Pluto is rocky and icy. It’s orbit is tilted compared to the planet and the shape is a long stretched oval.

Once every 248 years, Pluto moves inside Neptune’s orbit.

Year: 248 Earth years Day: 6.4 Earth days Temperature: -385 degrees F