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1 Name Date Hour Table Open the Solar System App Cosmic Relations (Select each location and record how the Earth fits into the universe.) 1. Earthà People live on Earth 2. Solar Systemà The Earth orbits the Sun and is part of the Solar System 3. Milky Wayà The Solar System is part of the Milky Way galaxy 4. Universeà The Milky Way is one of more than 100 billion galaxies in the universe The Milky Way is the home of Earth s solar system! 5. What type of galaxy is the Milky Way? barred spiral galaxy 6. The Milky Way, like most galaxies, probably has what at its center? super massive black hole 7. A regular spiral galaxy has a circular center. What shape does a barred spiral galaxy have? elongated galactic center 8. The Solar System is a collection of what? is a collection of planets, dwarf planets, asteroids, and other material orbiting the sun 9. List the terrestrial planets. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars 10. Describe the terrestrial planets The inner planets are closer to the Sun and are rocky in nature. Only Earth and Venus have a significant atmosphere 11. List the Gas Giant planets. Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune 12. Describe the Gas Giants. outer planets are much larger than the terrestrial planets and are composed mostly of gas 13. What occurs between the terrestrial planets and the gas giants? an asteroid belt

2 Name Date Hour Table 14. What is the Sun? is a star, a giant ball of extremely hot luminous gas, in the center of the solar system Label each part of the graph with the percent and the element that makes up that percentage of the Sun. 18. How much of the total mass of the ENTIRE solar system is made up by the Sun? 99.9% 19. What appears as dark blemishes on the Sun? sunspots Watch the Video 20. What are coronal loops? jets of plasma that follow the Sun s magnetic field Planets of the Solar System 21. What three things define a planet? 1. the object orbits the Sun and is not a moon 2. the object has enough mass to form a stable spherical shape 3. The object has cleared its orbital path of other objects Select Mercury 22. Mercury is the smallest planet in the Solar System and is closest to the Sun. 23. Explain Mercury s extreme temperature conditions. it is so close to the Sun that the lit side gets blazing hot. At the same time the dark side is freezing cold because there is no atmosphere to trap heat

3 Name Date Hour Table Select Venus 24. Venus has a thick atmosphere that traps heat from the Sun. What temperatures can occur on the Venusian Terrain? surface temperatures can reach 460 C (860 F) 25. What appears at each of the poles of Venus? a large atmospheric vortex 26. The Venera 13 probe only lasted two hours due to what features of the thick atmosphere? high surface pressure and hot temperatures caused by thick atmosphere Select Earth 27. How much of Earth s surface is water? 70% 28. What two things continuously refresh Earth s crust? tectonic plates and volcanic activity Select the Moon at the bottom left side of the page 29. What does tidally locked to Earth mean? _the same side of the moon always faces Earth. The far side of the moon can only be seen from space 30. Many large craters are filled with what substance from old volcanic activity? dark basalt 31. About how long does it take the Moon to go through phases from New Moon and back? _about 30 days_ Select Mars 32. Why is Mars known as the red planet?_due to the large amount of iron oxide/rust in the ground 33. What dormant volcano is three times taller than Earth s Mount Everest? _Olympus Mons 34. What are the names of Mars two moons? Describe both Phobos and Deimos; both are heavily cratered rocky bodies _ Select Jupiter 35. How many Earths would fit inside of Jupiter? _over 1000 Earths! 36. What year were Jupiter s rings discovered? What is the name of the giant storm that has existed for 182 years Great Red Spot

4 Name Date Hour Table 38. Jupiter has at least 66 observed moons. In the table below, list the names and a fact about each of the Galilean moons. (Select each moon on the bottom right side of the screen to find this information. You can slide the screen left to advance to the next moon.) Name Fact The most geologically active object in the solar system with over 400 active volcanoes; high volcanic Io activity changes surface and refreshes the bright colors that paint the landscape; the Tvashtar volcanic region spews debris 330 km into space Had sub- surface oceans which could possibly harbor alien life; believed to have a layer of liquid salt water Europa beneath the icy outer crust; the moon also likely has a solid metallic core surrounded by a rocky mantle; smooth fractured surface is evidence of liquid water flowing beneath frozen surface The largest moon in the solar system and larger than Mercury; 40% is old dark colored heavily cratered terrain, 60% is light colored grooved terrain; The craters are relatively flat compared to the surrounding surface, thought to be caused by the soft icy crust slowly settling, smoothing Ganymede the surface; craters are created when asteroids hit surface and then the crater sinks over time Callisto Is one of the most heavily cratered objects in the solar system; the largest crater is Valhalla at 3,800 km in diameter; it is thought that there is a layer of liquid water beneath the thick icy crust; third largest moon in the solar system; core is only partially differentiated a fully differentiated core is composed of distinct layers interior is mixture of ice and rock Select Saturn 39. Where does the large hurricane- like vortex exist? Saturn s north pole_ 40. Saturn has at least 62 moons. In the table below, list the names and fact for each of four largest moons. (Tap each of the moons at the bottom left of the screen to find this information. You can slide the screen left to advance to the next moon.) Name Fact Titan Rhea Iapetus Is only known moon with dense atmosphere; dark colored methane lakes can be seen on the surface; the Huygens probe landed on Titan and took photographs of its surface; Titan has a methane cycle, similar to the water cycle on Earth but operating at much lower temperatures: 179 C (- 290 F) on the surface; due to the presence of stable liquids on the surface, it is thought that Titan could possibly harbor alien life; Titan is the largest moon of Saturn and slightly larger than Mercury Is like a giant dirty snowball with its composition of 75% ice and 25% rock; bright wispy terrain stretches across surface; is extremely cold C (- 364 F) to C (- 281 F); heavily cratered; second largest moon of Saturn but less than a third as big as Titan Has a distinct two toned color- half whited half brown; a large ridge encircles the equator; Some peaks in the ridge are over 10 km (6 miles) tall; mostly composed of ice; the dark material is only a thin coat over the ice beneath Enceladus Could harbor alien life underground in pockets of liquid water; appears to be geologically active and has a varied terrain of canyons, plains, and ridges; surface is composed almost entirely of pure water ice; likely a layer of liquid water beneath surface that breaks out from weak points in the crust as plumes of water Select Uranus 41. Describe the tilt of this planet. on its side relative to its orbital plane 42. Uranus is the coldest planet with the temperature of as low as C (- 407 F). 43. Uranus has 27 known moons. List the names of the two largest moons and a fact about each. Name Fact Largest moon of Uranus; many large canyons most prominent is the Messina Chasm Titania which runs from the equator to the south pole Oberon Second largest moon of Uranus;

5 Name Date Hour Table Select Neptune 44. How many kilometers away from the Sun is Neptune? 4.5 billion kilometers from the Sun 45. There are often active, raging storms, visible as dark areas on Neptune. At what speed have the winds been observed? 1,200 km (750 miles) per hour have been observed 46. Neptune has 13 known moons. Select the image of Triton at the bottom of the screen. List three things about Triton. 1. orbits opposite direction from Neptune and of Neptune s other moons; indicating the moon was likely captured from the Kuiper belt 2. relatively few impact craters on Triton; volcanic activity is thought to have resurfaced the crust erasing old craters 3. largest moon of Neptune, comprising 99.5% of the mass of all moons orbiting Neptune Dwarf Planets of the Solar System 47. What three things define a dwarf planet? 1. the object orbits the Sun and is not a moon 2. the object has enough mass to form a stable spherical shape 3. the object has NOT cleared its orbital path of other objects 48. Tap on each of the dwarf planets, list two facts about each in the data table below. (Tap the back arrow to return to dwarf planet screen.) Name Fact ONE Fact TWO Ceres Pluto Haumea Makemake Eris Resides in the asteroid belt; a ring of ice and rocks orbiting the Sun between Jupiter and Mars; only recognized dwarf planet to orbit in the inner solar system Orbits in the Kuiper belt; orbits contains other objects not considered to be planets; Charon, largest of Pluto s 5 known moons, is so massive that its orbit is not centered around Pluto Orbits in the Kuiper belt; orbits contains other objects not considered to be planets; believed to have collided with another object in past to form its moons and cause its rapid rotation and oblong Orbits in the Kuiper belt; orbits contains other objects not considered to be planets; not much known about it Orbits in the Kuiper belt; orbits contains other objects not considered to be planets Largest asteroid in the belt with 1/3 of the total mass of the belt; gravitational disturbances from Jupiter prevent it from becoming full size planet; Once considered a planet from ; Eris was found in Pluto s orbit in 2005; deep orange to charcoal to white surface is mix of colors Nearly egg shaped, fastest rotation of any other known planetary object (4 hours); Takes 310 Earth years to make one revolution around the Sun; appears to have red hue; highest resolution images of makemake reveal a star- like point of light with no orbiting moons Thought to be slightly larger than the dwarf planet Pluto; has a known moon (Dysnomia); discovered in 2005 from the Dwarf Planet home screen

6 Name Date Hour Table Small Solar System Objects are small solid bodies besides planets and dwarf planets that orbit the Sun. 49. Describe each: Comets: are small objects that give off a visible tail when near the Sun; have no tail when not near the sun Meteors: are the visible tails seen when small objects enter and burn up in a planet s atmosphere; Belts: collections of small objects orbiting the Sun including asteroid belt and Kuiper belt; areas filled with high number of small Solar System objects Select Comets 50. Describe each of the comet tail types. Fill in the data table below. Comet tail type gas tail dust tail Description Strongly affected by the Sun s solar wind and thus always faces away from the Sun Formed when volatile compounds vaporize from the heat of the Sun. generally has an arc shape Select Belts 51. Describe each of the belts and clouds. Fill in the data table below. Type of Belt or Cloud Description The Asteroid Belt The Kuiper Belt The Oort Cloud Located between mars and Jupiter Lies beyond Neptune s orbit Extends to the edge of the Solar System Select Meteors 52. What else are Meteors known as when they burn up in a planet s atmosphere?_shooting stars 53. What is formed when large objects survive the descent through the atmosphere? impact craters Size Comparison Highlight Earth and tap the box on the left side to place Earth in the left side box.

7 54. Fill in the data table below by highlighting each object and then the box on the right side. (Slide the dot along the scale in the middle until Earth is set to 1:00.) Record the ratio of size comparison. One is done for you. Comparison Sun Mercury Venus Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune to Earth 1.00 : : (1) Tap on the picture of the Earth to make The Moon image appear. Highlight Earth s moon and put it in the box on the left. To make each of the other planet s moons appear, you will need to select the planet first. You will need to select six other moons in the solar system. 55. Fill in the data table below by highlighting each object you selected and then tapping the box on the right side. Record the ratio of size comparison. One is done for you. (*If the comparison results in a 0.00 like Deimos, skip it.) Planets Moon Names Mars Jupiter Jupiter Jupiter Jupiter Saturn Saturn Saturn Saturn Uranus Uranus Neptune Phobos Io Europa Ganymede Callisto Titan Rhea Iapetus Enceladus Titania Oberon Triton Comparison to Earth s Moon (1) Solar System Scale: Slide the circle along the scale at the bottom of the screen to adjust the amount of the solar system viewed. To go back and forth between the viewing angles, select either the right or left side of the button 56. The Sun and the planetary orbits are shown to scale. Why are the planets not shown to scale? shown much larger because they would be too small to see otherwise 57. Describe the theory presented about how the Solar System formed. The material for the solar system came from remains of a massive star. The solar system began as a protoplanetary disk: a protostar surrounded by a disk of gas and dust. Over time the material clumped together to form larger objects. The larger objects attracted more material through gravitational forces, eventually forming into planets. 58. Describe three theories of how moons are formed. Theory 1. Around the planet 2. Planetary collision 3. Captured object Description Planets are born from a disk of swirling material called an accretion disk. if the disk has enough material, the material may coalesce to form moons. Terrestrial planets are thought to have minimal accretion disks when forming and thus moons are less likely gained in this fashion. If a planet collides with another large object, matter from the collision can shoot out into space and fall into orbit around the planet. This material may then coalesce into a moon. It is believed to impossible for gas giants to gain moons through this method as any colliding object would be swallowed by the atmosphere and absorbed into the planet. it is thought that the Earth s moon was formed as a result of a giant collision. An object can pass close enough to a planet that it becomes trapped in orbit around it. Captured moons often have a highly inclined orbit and may even rotate around the planet in the opposite direction from the planet s rotation.

8 Name Date Hour Table Planetary Rings 59. What is a planetary ring system? a collection of dust and other small objects which orbits a planet as a flattened disk. 60. Describe three ways that planetary rings may form. Description 1. If a moon s orbit gets too close to its planet, the gravitational pull of the planet can pull the moon apart. The debris may then form a ring around a planet 2. Debris from lunar collisions can form rings 3. Material from a planet s accretion disk that remained close to the planet is unlikely to coalesce into moons because the planet s gravitational force is too strong at this range. The material may instead remain as rings. Shepherd Moons 61. What happens to material that escapes a ring into the orbital path of a shepherd moon? it s either accumulated onto the moon, deflected back into a ring or deflected out of the area entirely _ 62. Name the two shepherd moons of Saturn s F- ring. Prometheus and Pandora Planetary tilt and rotation 63. What causes the day and night cycle? planet rotation (spinning on axis) 64. What is the amount of time a planet takes to rotate around once called? a day 65. What is the amount of time it takes a planet to orbit the Sun one time called? a year 66. What causes the seasons over the course of a planet s orbit around the Sun? planetary tilt 67. In June, which hemisphere of Earth is titled towards the Sun? northern hemisphere 68. What season does the Southern Hemisphere on Earth experience during June since it is tilted away from the Sun? winter 69. Select each of the different planets at the bottom of the screen to fill in the data table below. Planet Axial Tilt Length of day Length of Year Mercury Earth Days 88 Earth days Venus Earth Days Earth days Earth hours Earth Days Mars Earth hours 1.9 Earth years Jupiter Earth hours 11.9 Earth years Saturn Earth hours 29.5 Earth years Uranus Earth hours 84.1 Earth years Neptune Earth hours Earth years

9 Name Date Hour Table 70. What causes the planets to orbit the Sun and moons to orbit planets? gravitational force of the Sun 71. What is the amount of gravitational pull on the mass of an object called? weight 72. What property causes an object to have more or less gravitational force? mass 73. Use the interactive window to fill in the data table below. Location Weight (not mass!) Object Comparison Earth 130 lbs. (59 kg) Human Sun 3642 lbs (1652 kg) Black Rhinoceros Mercury 49 lbs (22 kg) Bulldog Venus 118 lbs (54 kg) Cheetah Mars 49 lbs (22 kg) Bulldog Jupiter 330 lbs (150 kg) Black Bear Saturn 138 lbs (63 kg) Cougar Uranus 118 lbs (54 kg) Cheetah Neptune 148 lbs (67 kg) Komodo Dragon The Moon 22 lbs (10 kg) Red Fox Ceres 4 lbs (2 kg) European Rabbit The magnetic field 74. What two things does the magnetic field of Earth protect the planet from? Sun s solar wind and much of the radiation from the Sun 75. What does convection in Earth s outer core generate that causes a magnetic field? electric current 76. What causes Auroras? the interaction between the Sun s solar wind and a planet s magnetic field. They appear most frequently near the magnetic poles 77. What is another name for the Aurora Borealis? the Northern Lights Planet Revolutions 78. All planets revolve around the Sun, but each takes a different amount of time to complete one revolution. Fill in the data table below. Planets Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Revolution period in Earth time ~ 88 Earth Days 225 Earth Days 1 year 1.88 Earth Years Earth Years Earth Years Earth Years Earth Years

10 Name Date Hour Table The History of Astronomy started in ancient times with observation of stars and planets traversing the night sky. Tap a section on the timeline to answer the questions below. select 2500 BCE: 79. What did early civilizations use to create calendars? cycles of the Sun and the Moon 80. Where was the first known star catalogue found? ancient Babylonia 81. What five planets are visible to the naked eye? Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn (the Wandering Stars ) select : 82. Where were the first telescopes invented? the Netherlands 83. What planet was first discovered by Sir William Herschel and was mistaken for a comet? Uranus select : 84. Who launched the first liquid fueled rocket? Robert H. Goddard 85. Who was the first human in space and where is he from? Russian, Yuri Gagarin 86. What mission successfully landed the first humans on the Moon? Apollo 11 select : 87. What lander took the first photograph of the surface of Venus? Venera What probe was sent to study the outer solar system? Voyager What spacecraft was the first to fly by Mercury? Mariner What was the first spacecraft to fly by Saturn? Pioneer 11 select The 1990 s: 91. What was built to orbit the Earth and take images of Solar System bodies? the Hubble Telescope 92. What is the name of the solar observatory that was launched to study the Sun? Yohkoh 93. What do the initials ISS stand for? International Space Station 94. What is the SOHO and what does it do? the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory gathers information about the Sun

11 Name Date Hour Table select : 95. What probe orbits around Saturn and is scheduled to continue observing it until 2017? _the Cassini probe 96. What spacecraft collect the first dust sample from an asteroid? the Hayabusa 97. What are the names of the two rovers that landed on Mars as part of the The Mars Exploration Rover Mission? Spirit and Opportunity- Opportunity still works 98. What spacecraft collected the first debris from a comet s tail? the Stardust spacecraft 99. What probe was the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid? _the NEAR Shoemaker probe_ 100. What did the Phoenix lander find when digging into the soil on the surface of Mars? water/ice below the surface select 2010 and beyond: 101. What is the purpose for which The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) was launched? to better understand the Sun s magnetic field and other solar activity 102. What became the first spacecraft to orbit Mercury? MESSENGER spacecraft 103. What spacecraft is expected to reach Pluto and take the first clear photos of the dwarf planet and its moons around July 2015? The New Horizons spacecraft 104. What things about Jupiter is the Juno planning to observe? Jupiter s cloud system, magnetic field, auroras, and other attributes 105. What was one of the main objectives of the Curiosity rover mission on Mars? to find and analyze the organic and mineral compounds on Mars The Future of Space Exploration The exploration of outer space is on- going today and will continue far into the future. New theories will emerge and old theories will change. What new insights will emerge tomorrow? No one can say for sure, but from amateur astronomers to professional astronauts to teachers, everyone can be part of the process: learning, revising and teaching the ever expanding knowledge of the Solar System!