Pencil Scratch paper Solar
system object images – download PDF Student worksheet – download PDF Teacher answer key – download PDF Chart paper Markers (Optional) calculator Management
BackgroundThe solar system is enormous. Making a scale model of the solar system can help students understand the vast distances between planets. Take their understanding a step further with this lesson, which has them determine how long it would take to travel to each of the major planets and the dwarf planet Pluto.
How big are the planets and how far away are they compared to each other? See how the sizes of planets and the distances between them compare in this video. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech | Watch on YouTube For this lesson, we take a simplified approach to having students compute straight-line distances to the planets from Earth. While this approach is effective for aiding student understanding, it’s not practical for real space travel because straight-line distances to the planets vary every day and spacecraft don’t travel in a straight line. When we send a spacecraft to another planet, it follows a curved path, or trajectory, because of the gravitational pull of the Sun and the other solar system objects it passes near. Additionally, the planets are always moving, which can affect the time it takes to travel to them. A destination planet might be on the same side of the Sun as Earth when a spacecraft launches, but on the complete opposite side by the time it arrives. Removing those factors allows young students to estimate the length of time it would take them to get to the planets by walking, riding their bikes, driving a car, riding on a rocket or traveling at the speed of light. Of course, most of these modes of transportation are impossible for space travel, but because they are most tangible to young students, they can help students gain a conceptual understanding of the vast distances in our solar system. Note that the rate of travel used for the rocket is the top speed of NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, the fastest spacecraft in existence. Procedures
Assessment
ExtensionsIs it easier to predict weather on Jupiter than on Earth?It is easier to predict weather on JUPITER than on Earth.
Can Jupiter swallow every planet and moon in the solar system?But Jupiter's pull would still be no match for the Sun's gravitational force. So Jupiter would have to come for Earth just like it swallowed all the other planets in our Solar System. Jupiter doesn't have a hard surface like the rocky planets. You could say Jupiter is a big, dense ball of gas.
Is there a surface on Jupiter?As a gas giant, Jupiter doesn't have a true surface. The planet is mostly swirling gases and liquids. While a spacecraft would have nowhere to land on Jupiter, it wouldn't be able to fly through unscathed either.
How many satellites does Jupiter have?OverviewJupiter has 53 named moons. Others are awaiting official names. Combined, scientists now think Jupiter has 79 moons. There are many interesting moons orbiting the planet, but the ones of most scientific interest are the first four moons discovered beyond Earth—the Galilean satellites.
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