The Mighty Science Quiz Topic #4 The Mighty Science Quiz Topic #4 The Mighty Science Quiz Topic #4 The Mighty Science Quiz Topic #4 Grades 3-5

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN OUTER SPACE?

What do we mean by outer space?

Outer space is the UNIVERSE. The universe is INFINITE—meaning we do not have any idea how

big it is and as far as we know, it has no end. The words below show how each fit together in a

size sequence.

UNIVERSE ����

GALAXY � Solar System � planet/star

• Inside the UNIVERSE are GALAXIES.

• There are too many galaxies to know how many exist in the universe.

• Next there are SOLAR SYSTEMS inside the galaxies.

• WHAT ARE SOLAR SYSTEMS? SOLAR SYSTEMS are planets that work together as they

travel around a star that is usually called a SUN. Yes, we have a star that we call THE

SUN and our planets in our solar system travel around the sun. (see the picture below of

our solar system).

• Our galaxy is called the Milky Way because when ancient people looked up at the sky

they thought it looked like spilled milk across the sky. Sky watchers also thought that It

appeared to be a large white cloud-like form in the night sky. This is the Milky way

which is really a collection of billions of stars.

500 SOLAR SYSTEMS: So far, astronomers have found more than 500 solar systems near us

that we can identify and are discovering new ones every year with in the Milky Way galaxy,

scientists estimate that there may be tens of billions of solar systems in our galaxy, perhaps

even as many as 100 billion.

Here is a video about the Milky Way https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RubnGwhcT6E

Planets are large natural objects that orbit, or travel around, stars. Eight planets orbit the star

called the Sun. In order from the closest to the Sun, these planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth,

Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Pluto is also a star but is considered a dwarf

planet.

Here is a video for kids about our solar system:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEXWxNbpTzU

WHY DO PLANETS TRAVEL IN A CIRCLE OR OVAL AROUND OUR SUN?

Sir Isaac Newton, a famous scientist from a long time ago, studied and

discovered the principle of GRAVITY. He realized that the reason the planets

orbit the Sun is related to why objects fall to Earth when we drop them. The Sun's gravity pulls

on the planets, just as Earth's gravity pulls down anything that is not held up by some other

force and keeps you and me on the ground.

HOW ARE WE ABLE TO DISCOVER THINGS IN OUTER SPACE? WE USE THE HUBBELL TELESCOPE

The first telescope was invented by Galileo in 1610.

Soon we learned because of a telescope, that

Saturn, had rings. Jupiter had moons. That patch

across the center of the sky called the Milky Way

was not a cloud but a collection of countless stars.

In the centuries that followed, telescopes grew in

size and complexity and, of course, power. Edwin

Hubble, for whom the Hubble Telescope is named,

used the largest telescope of his day in the 1920s at

the Mt. Wilson Observatory near Pasadena, Calif.,

to discover galaxies beyond our own.

The Hubble Telescope, is the first major optical telescope to be placed in space. Because it is up

in space, it is above the distortion of earth’s atmosphere and so the Hubble has an

unobstructed view of the universe. Scientists have used Hubble to observe the most distant

stars and galaxies as well as the planets in our solar system.

The Hubble telescope was launched in April

1990.

LET’S TALK ABOUT OUR SOLAR

SYSTEM.

What Is The Solar System? The solar system is made of the eight planets

that orbit our sun it is also made of asteroids,

moons, comets and lots, lots more. The sun has

such powerful gravity it tries to pull the planets

towards it. While the planets try to fly away in

the end they are kind of in the middle floating

around the sun. There are 140 moons that

orbit the eight planets in the solar system. The

moons don’t orbit the sun they orbit the planet they are nearest to

WHO ARE THE PLANETS IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM?

THE SUN: INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE OUR SUN

• The Sun accounts for 99.86% of the mass in the solar system.

• Over one million Earth’s could fit inside the Sun

• The Sun will continue to burn for about 130 million years after it burns through all of its

hydrogen, instead burning helium..

• The energy created by the Sun’s core is nuclear fusion.

• The Sun is almost a perfect sphere.

• The Sun is travelling at 220 km per second. It is around 24,000-26,000 light-years from

the galactic center and it takes the Sun approximately 225-250 million years to complete

one orbit of the center of the Milky Way.

• The Sun will eventually be about the size of Earth

• It takes eight minutes for light to reach Earth from the Sun.

• The Sun is halfway through its life.

• The Sun rotates in the opposite direction to Earth

• The Sun has a powerful magnetic field. Temperatures inside the Sun can reach 15

million degrees Celsius.

• The Sun generates solar winds.

• The atmosphere of the Sun is composed of three layers: the photosphere, the

chromosphere, and the corona.

• The Sun is classified as a yellow dwarf star

• The Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis are caused by the interaction of solar winds

with Earth’s atmosphere.

•

MERCURY FACTS Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun and is also the smallest of the eight

planets in our solar system. For every 2 orbits of the Sun, which takes around 88 Earth days,

Mercury completes three rotations of its axis. It is gravitationally locked and this rotation is

unique to the solar system.

VENUS FACTS Venus is the second planet from the Sun and the third brightest object in Earth's

sky after the Sun and Moon. It is sometimes referred to as the sister planet to Earth, because

their size and mass are so similar. Venus is also the closest planet to Earth. The surface of Venus

is hidden by an opaque layer of clouds which are formed from sulphuric acid. The planet is

named for Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty and is the second largest terrestrial planet.

MARS FACTS Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and last of the terrestrial planets. Like the

rest of the planets in the solar system (except Earth), Mars is named after a mythological figure

- the Roman god of war. In addition to its official name, Mars is sometimes called the Red

Planet because of the brownish-red color of its surface. Mars is the second smallest planet in

the solar system behind Mercury.

JUPITER FACTS Named after the

Roman king of the gods, Jupiter is

fitting of its name. Jupiter is easily the

largest and most massive planet in the

Solar System. To put this in

perspective, it would take

11 Earths lined up next to each other

to stretch from one side of Jupiter to the other and it would take 317 Earths to equal the mass

of Jupiter.

SATURN FACTS Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and second largest planet of the Solar

System in terms of diameter and mass. If compared, it is easy to see why Saturn

and Jupiter have been designated as relatives. From atmospheric composition to rotation,

these two planets are extremely similar. Because of these factors, Saturn was named after the

father of the god Jupiter in Roman mythology.

THE CASSSINI MISSION: https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/

Happening right now—a special mention about Saturn

Cassini-Huygens is one of the most ambitious missions ever

launched into space. Loaded with an array of powerful instruments

and cameras, the spacecraft is capable of taking accurate

measurements and detailed images in a variety of atmospheric

conditions and light spectra.

The spacecraft was launched with two elements: the Cassini orbiter and the Huygens

probe. Cassini-Huygens reached Saturn and its moons in July 2004, beaming home valuable

data that has transformed our understanding of the Saturnian system. Huygens entered the

murky atmosphere of Titan, Saturn's biggest moon, and descended via parachute onto its

surface - the most distant spacecraft landing to date. NEARING IT’S END THIS YEAR : The

planned end of mission for Cassini is that it will fly into Saturn's atmosphere on September 15,

2017. It will end in vaporization.

URANUS FACTS Uranus, named after the father of the Roman god Saturn, is the seventh planet

in the Solar System and third of the gas giants. It is the third largest planet by diameter, yet

fourth most massive.

NEPTUNE FACTS Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and last of the known planets.

While it is the third largest planet with respect to mass, it is only the fourth largest in terms of

diameter. Due to its blue coloration, Neptune was named after the Roman god of the Se

WHAT IS A GAS PLANET? A gas giant is a large planet composed mostly of gases, such as

hydrogen and helium, with a relatively small rocky core.

The gas giants of our solar system are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. These four large

planets, also called jovian planets after Jupiter, reside in the outer part of the solar system past

the orbits of Mars and the asteroid belt. Jupiter and Saturn are substantially larger than Uranus

and Neptune, revealing that the pairs of planets have a somewhat different composition.

WHY CAN’T WE LAND ON JUPITER?

A major problem in sending space probes to Jupiter is that the

planet has no solid surface on which to land. Any probes

descending into the atmosphere are eventually crushed by the

immense pressures within Jupiter.

WHAT ARE SATURNS RINGS MADE OF? Those rings are made up of

dust, rock, and ice

accumulated from passing

comets, meteorite impacts on Saturn’s moons, and the

planet’s gravity pulling material from the moons. Some of

the material in the ring system are as small as grains of

sand, others are larger than tall buildings, while a few are

up to a kilometer across. Deepening the mystery about

the moons is the fact that each ring orbits at a different

speed around the planet.

“Science Rocks” Points to know:

• Be able to name the planets in our solar system

• Have an understanding that first there is the Universe, then galaxies, then solar

systems, then planets

• The Cassini mission is now orbiting Saturn and going into Saturn’s rings but it will

vaporize eventually in Saturn

• Know the largest planet in solar system – Jupiter

• Why is our galaxy called the Milky Way?

• What makes the milky way look white?

• Why are the orbits around the sun by the planets nearly a circle or an oval?

• What is used today to see as much of outer space we are able to see?

• Name a gaseous planet

• What are Saturn’s rings made up of?

• What planet do we often see as a bright star in the night sky?

• What planet is called the red planet and why?

• Are we the only solar system in our galaxy?

• Where is nuclear fusion present in one of the objects of our solar system?

• Compare the size of the sun to earth.

Here is a video for older kids:

National Geographic | How big is the Universe - Documentary 2017 HD 1080p

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nlyl2mSZOtg

This is a site that can be helpful

http://www.theplanetstoday.com/the_planets.html