Stars and the Solar System
SISSI Workshop
8-4-2015
Darlene Smalley
Planetarium Program Director
DarleneS@usca.edu
Emmy’s Moon and Stars
Emmy 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 ?
Credit: http://apod.nasa.gov/
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.
Probe adapted from:
Uncovering Student Ideas in Science Vol. 2, NSTA Press, pg. 177
Darkness at Night Probe
Five friends were
wondering why the
sky is dark at night.
This is what they said:
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Credit: billyhumphrey.com
Andy: “The clouds come in at night and cover the Sun.”
Becca: “The Earth spins completely around once a day.”
Chris: “The Sun moves around the Earth once a day.”
Danika: “The Earth moves around the Sun once a day.”
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
Sort Celestial Object Cards
By Size
What is it?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
1) Dwarf planet
Pluto
Moon
Earth
Saturn
Sun
Pleiades
Whirlpool Galaxy
Hubble Deep Field
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 Cards
By Size
What is it?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
Pluto
Moon
Earth
Saturn
Sun
Pleiades
Whirlpool Galaxy
Hubble Deep Field
Dwarf planet
Earth’s satellite
Rocky planet
Gas planet
Star
Hundreds of stars
Billions of stars
Thousands of galaxies
Sort Celestial Object Cards
By Distance
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Earth
Moon
Sun
Saturn
Pluto
Pleiades
Whirlpool Galaxy
Hubble Deep Field
Why can’t we photograph the Milky Way?
NASA art of Milky Way
We are in it and can’t go beyond it!
The farthest we’ve sent a spacecraft is just beyond our solar
system, about 12,250,000,000 miles away. Do you know
what spacecraft that is? How long has it been in space?
Distance and Light Time
Light travels about 186,000 mi. or 300,000 km. per sec.
A "light-year" is the distance light travels in a year.
Similarly, the distance light travels in a second is a "light second,”
how far light moves in a minute is a “light minute,” etc.
Light Time
Actual Distance
(average)
Moon to Earth
1.3 sec.
240,000 mi.
Sun to Earth
8 min.
93,000,000 mi.
Sun to Saturn
80 min.
890,000,000 mi.
Sun to Pluto
5.5 hr.
4,000,000,000 mi.
Sun to Proxima Centauri
4.2 yr.
26,000,000,000,000 mi.
Modeling the Solar System
1. What is the solar system?
2. How are models and scale related?
3. Can we make a solar system model that uses
the same scale for diameter and distance?
Planets in order from the Sun
My Very Exciting Magic Carpet Just Sailed Under Nine Palace Elephants
Models and Scales
Model Name
Model Scale
Rocket
1 inch = 36 feet
Quadrangle Map
1 inch = 2,000 feet
Globe
1 inch = 660 miles
Solar System
1 inch = 100,000 miles
Measured distance x Scale = Real distance
Length of Rocket: 10 inches x 36 feet/inch = 360 feet
Distance on globe from South Carolina to southern California
4 inches x 660 miles/inch = 2,640 miles
Modeling the Solar System
1. Order the major objects in solar system by size
2. Use balls in the scale of 1 inch = 100,000 miles
3. Put balls the proper distances apart
• Count paces or steps instead of inches
• If a pace = a yard, how many inches is that?
• Using our scale, how many miles does a pace equal?
1 step = 36 inches x 100,000 miles/inch = 3,600,000 miles!
The biggest steps you’ll ever take!
Planet Chart
Scale for Diameter and Distance: 1 in. = 100,000 mi.
1 pace = 1 yard = 3,600,000 mi.
Planet or
Paces from
Dwarf Planet previous planet
Mercury
Paces from
Sun
Miles from
Sun
10
36,000,000
Diameter in Model diameter
miles
in inches
3,000
Venus
9
19
7,500
Earth
7
26
7,900
Mars
14
40
4,200
Jupiter
95
135
89,400
Saturn
112
247
74,800
Uranus
249
496
31,800
Neptune
281
777
30,800
Pluto
242
1019
1,400
Using this scale, Sun is 8.5 inches in diameter
Planet Chart
Scale for Diameter and Distance: 1 in. = 100,000 mi.
1 pace = 1 yard = 3,600,000 mi.
Planet or
Paces from
Dwarf Planet previous planet
Mercury
Paces from
Sun
Miles from
Sun
10
36,000,000
Diameter in Model diameter
miles
in inches
3,000
Venus
9
19
7,500
Earth
7
26
7,900
Mars
14
40
4,200
Jupiter
95
135
89,400
Saturn
112
247
74,800
Uranus
249
496
31,800
Neptune
281
777
30,800
Pluto
242
1019
1,400
Using this scale, Sun is 8.5 inches in diameter
Modeling Earth, Moon and Sun
If this 40-inch ball represents the Sun,
how big should the Earth and Moon be?
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
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 Lesson
Thousand 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.
THE “DATING” GAME
Name: ____________________
Use the diagram below to fill in the 10 blanks about the kinesthetic times of day and year.
FOR THE BOY
1. What is the time along a line down the middle
of the front of his body?
_________________________
2. What is the season in North America?
_________________________
3. What is the date in North America?
_________________________
4. What is the season in South America?
_________________________
5. What is the date in South America?
What is the season in the
girl’s Northern Hemisphere?
What is the season in the
boy’s Northern Hemisphere?
________________________
________________________
_________________________
6. What is the time along a line down the middle
of his back?
CHALLENGE: Can you also answer questions 1-7 for the GIRL?
BONUS: What is the season on the girl’s lower back?
_________________________
______________________________
7. What is the season on his upper back (China)?
_________________________
ST 10
© Dr. Cherilynn Morrow & Michael Zawaski (Aug 2004)
camorrow@colorado.edu & zawaski@colorado.edu
Teacher Resources
• For Kinesthetic Astronomy lessons and assessments by
Cherilynn Morrow and Michael Zawaski, go
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/docs/Sky_Time.pdf
Dr.