Beyond the Solar System Webquest
Name ;_________________________________ Date: ______________ Hour: _____
Go to http://stardate.org/astro-guide/btss/galaxies/cities_of_stars.php to complete the
following webquest. Scroll down to the links on Galaxies.
Begin with clicking on Galaxies: Cities of Stars, and reading the page. Answer the
questions below.
1. Why do you think they refer to galaxies as “Island Universes?”
2. What Galaxy was the first to be discovered?
3. How many galaxies are thought to exist, based on current scientific observations?
4. Is the Milky Way a small, medium, or large galaxy?
5. Name the 3 “galactic neighbors” of the Milky Way.
Next, return to the main menu and click on Types of Galaxies. Read the entire page,
then answer the following:
1. Name the main three types of galaxies. Describe their shape & structure.
Galaxy Type:
Shape and Structure
3. What is the largest type of Galaxy in our universe?
Bonus: Try your best to explain a Quasar.
Return to the main menu page and click on Galaxy Formation. Read and answer.
1. What are the two leading theories on how galaxies form?
2. Click on one of the 3 images to the right, and circle the image you chose: Getting
Together, Collision Course, or Bright Companions.
Describe what this image shows:
3. Has the Milky Way “gobbled up” any other galaxies? If so, when?
4. What galaxy will the Milky Way most likely collide with in the future (5 billion years
from now)?
Return to the main menu page and click on The Milky Way. Read and answer.
1. Draw the Milky Way, and where earth lies within the galaxy.
2. How big is the Milky Way in diameter?
3. What are globular clusters?
4. What type of waves were used to study the “foggy” Milky Way?
5. What is in the middle of the Milky Way?
Return to the main menu page and click on The Local Group. Read and answer.
1. What is the local group?
2. Why do astronomers like to study the Andromeda Galaxy (M31)?
3. Where is the nearest galaxy to the Milky Way?
Return to the main menu page and click on Galaxies Fade.
After reading this page, summarize the expected future of our Universe. Use SNB to write.