Download Explore the Galaxy - Museum of Science

Educator’s Guide
Grades 6 – 8
Museum of Science, Boston
Explore the Galaxy
Overview
This gu id e is m eant to be a su p p lem ent for teachers bringing their stu d ents to the live Planetariu m show
Explore t he Galaxy at the Mu seu m of Science, Boston. The su ggested grad e levels for this show are
grades 6 – 8.
A typ ical Explore t he Galaxy show begins on the Earth, exam ining several constellations, p lanets, and
ind ivid u al stars of interest visible in the night sky. The show then p rogresses throu gh the solar system ,
d iscu ssing the p lanets, m oons, asteroid s, com ets and d w arf p lanets and their p rop erties. Ou tsid e the solar
system , interstellar sp ace and p henom ena like nebu lae, star clu sters, and exop lanets are exp lored . Fi nally,
the Milky Way Galaxy and its m ajor com p onents, su ch as the sp iral arm s, central bar, and su p erm assive
black hole, are d iscu ssed . Em p hasis is p laced on interaction w ith the p resenter, and the im m ersive natu re
of the show attem p ts to d eliver an u nd erstand ing of m ore abstract concep ts su ch as scale and scop e.
Connections to Education Standards
The ed u cational stand ard s typ ically d iscu ssed in this show are listed below . H ow ever, the Planetariu m
ed u cators m ay be able to accom m od ate ad d itional sp ecific top ics you m ay be d iscu ssing w ith you r
stu d ents. To requ est these sp ecial top ics, you m u st em ail [email protected] w ith at least 2
weeks advance notice.
National Science Education Standards
Content category
Earth and Sp ace Science /
Earth in the solar system
Earth and Sp ace Science /
Earth in the solar system
Fundamental concept
Most objects in the solar system are in regu lar and
p red ictable m otion. Those m otions exp lain su ch
p henom ena as the d ay, the year, p hases of the m oon, and
eclip ses.
The earth is the third p lanet from the su n in a system that
inclu d es the m oon, the su n, eight p lanets and their m oons,
and sm aller objects, su ch as asteroid s and com ets. The
su n, an average star, is the central and largest bod y in the
solar system .
Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Frameworks
Content category
Earth and Sp ace Science /
The Earth in the Solar System #8
Earth and Sp ace Science /
The Earth in the Solar System #10
Earth and Sp ace Science /
The Earth in the Solar System #12
Physical Sciences (Chem istry and
Physics) / Motion of Objects #11
Learning standard
Recognize that gravity is a force that p u lls all things on
and near the earth tow ard the center of the earth. Gravity
p lays a m ajor role in the form ation of the p lanets, stars,
and solar system and in d eterm ining their m otions.
Com p are and contrast p rop erties and cond itions of objects
in the solar system (i.e., su n, p lanets, and m oons) to those
on Earth (i.e., gravitational force, d istance from the su n,
sp eed , m ovem ent, tem p eratu re, and atm osp heric
cond itions).
Recognize that the u niverse contains m any billions of
galaxies, and that each galaxy contains m any billions of
stars.
Exp lain and give exam p les of how the m otion of an object
can be d escribed by its p osition, d irection of m otion, and
sp eed .
Museum of Science, Boston · Explore the Galaxy Educator’s Guide
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Educator’s Guide
Explore the Galaxy
Grades 6 – 8
Museum of Science, Boston
Classroom Activity
The activity created for this p rogram is called "Identifying Solar System Patterns," and focu ses on
categorization and grap hing to aid stu d ents in learning abou t p atterns and trend s in ou r Solar System .
There are tw o com p onents to this activity, both of w hich can be fou nd as sep arate PDFs u nd er the
p rogram listing on the Mu seu m of Science w ebsite:
1) The activity sheet and answ er key (13 total pages)
2) The "p lanet card s" referred to in the activity (2 pages)
A m ore d etailed d escrip tion of this activity can be fou nd at the end of this gu id e.
Vocabulary for Explore the Galaxy
Black Hole- A region of sp ace w here m ass is so highly concentrated that the gravitational p u ll becom es
incred ibly strong. Within a certain d istance from the black hole, called the event horizon, nothing, not even
light, is fast enou gh to escap e the gravitational p u ll. Stellar black holes are left behind after the collap se of
a very m assive star (10 to 15 tim es the m ass of the Su n). Supermassive black holes are thou ght to exist at
the centers of m ost galaxies, and are m u ch m ore m assive than stellar black holes (on the o rd er of
hu nd red s of thou sand s to billions of tim es the m ass of the Su n).
Dwarf Planet- An object that (a) orbits the Su n and (b) has su fficient m ass to assu m e a nearly rou nd
shap e, bu t (c) m ay orbit in a zone that has other objects in it. There are cu rren tly five accep ted d w arf
p lanets: Ceres, Plu to, Eris, Makem ake, and H au m ea.
Exoplanet- A p lanet fou nd orbiting a star ou tsid e ou r solar system . In som e cases, m ore than one
exop lanet is fou nd orbiting the sam e star, m aking it p art of a m u ltip le p lanetary s ystem .
Galaxy- A collection of billions of stars, gas, and d u st, all held together by gravity. Ou r Milky Way
Galaxy is spiral in shap e and nam e. Som e galaxies are called elliptical and are sp herical in shap e, w hile
others are called irregular and have shap es very d ifficu lt to classify. The closest sp iral galaxy to the Milky
Way is the And rom ed a Galaxy, alm ost 2.5 m illion light years aw ay.
Light Year- A light year is the d istance light can travel in a vacu u m in one Earth year – rou ghly
equ ivalent to 6 trillion m iles. We u se this m easu rem ent for objects in sp ace becau se d istances are too great
to m easu re by conventional m eans.
Nebula- An interstellar clou d of d u st and gas (p red om inantly hyd rogen and heliu m ). N ebu lae are
com m only thou ght of as p laces w here stars and p lanets are being actively form ed , bu t they can also
d escribe other astronom ical p henom ena. A planetary nebula is the gaseou s shell released u p on the d eath of
a low m ass star. Supernova remnants, the gas throw n ou t from an exp lod ing, high m ass star, are also
som etim es referred to as nebu lae (for exam p le, the Crab N ebu la).
Neutron Star- The d ense rem nant left behind after the collap se of a very m assive star (betw een 4 to 8
tim es the m ass of the Su n). The ou ter layers of the star are blow n ou t into sp ace as the star exp lod es in a
supernova, leaving behind only the central region of the original star. This central region collap ses in on
itself d u e to gravity, so m u ch so that the p rotons and electrons are forced together to beco m e neu trons.
Planet- A celestial bod y that (a) orbits a star, (b) has su fficient m ass to assu m e a nearly rou nd shap e, and
(c) has cleared the neighborhood arou nd its orbit, w hich m eans it is free of other large objects.
Museum of Science, Boston · Explore the Galaxy Educator’s Guide
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Educator’s Guide
Explore the Galaxy
Grades 6 – 8
Museum of Science, Boston
Radio Sphere- The bou nd ary of rad io transm issions sent from Earth into sp ace, d istribu ted u niform ly
in a sp herical shap e w ith Earth at the center. The earliest signals w ith enou gh p ow er to escap e the Earth
w ere broad cast in the m id -1930s, and all su bsequ ent signals w ill continu e to extend ou t into sp ace at the
sp eed of light. Becau se they have traveled m u ch faster and farther than any sp acecraft, these rad io
transm issions m ark the farthest influ ence of hu m anity in the Galaxy. The cu rrent rad iu s of the rad io
sp here is ap p roxim ately 75 light years.
Solar System- A collection of objects, su ch as p lanets, d w arf p lanets, m oons, asteroid s, and com ets that
orbit a star. “Solar system ” also refers to ou r ow n p lanetary system , orbiting the Su n.
Supergiant- These are the m ost m assive typ es of stars, ranging from 10 to 70 tim es the m ass of the Su n.
Their extrem e m ass typ ically m eans their lifetim es are short, lasting anyw here from only a few hu nd red
thou sand years to 30 m illion years. When these stars have reached the end of their lives, they typ ically
exp lod e in a su p ernova, leaving behind either a neu tron star or a black hole.
Star Cluster- A grou p of stars that share a com m on origin (nebu la) and are bou nd by gravity to one
another. There are 2 typ es of clu sters: 1) Globular clu sters are rou ghly sp herical in shap e and contain
betw een 10,000 to several m illion very old stars; 2) Open clu sters generally contain you nger stars and are
less tightly-bou nd than globu lar clu sters, containing only a few hu nd red stars .
Supernova- The exp losion and internal collap se of a very m assive star (greater than 4 tim es the m ass of
the Su n) at the end of its life.
White Dwarf- The incred ibly d ense rem nant of a star of low or m ed iu m m ass (rou ghly 0.07 to 10 tim es
the m ass of the Su n). After a star has bu rned throu gh its hyd rogen su p p ly, a star of this size w ill shed its
ou ter layers as a p lanetary nebu la, leaving the d ense core behind , w hich w ill becom e the w hite d w arf.
This core w ill cool off slow ly over tim e to becom e a black dwarf, at w hich p oint it w ou ld no longer rad iate
heat or light.
Activity Description
The “Identifying Solar System Patterns” activity is d esigned for sm all grou p s of 3 stu d ents, each of
w hom w ill be given a role. Each grou p w ill be given a set of card s w ith d ata for each of the 8 p lanets.
First, they w ill observe each p lanet and the solar system as a w hole, record ing observations and looking
for trend s or p atterns.
Then they w ill narrow their focu s to ju st distance from the sun and temperature. They w ill record this d ata
in a table and generate a sim p le grap h. Using this grap h, they w ill answ er qu estions and p oint ou t any
ou tliers or od d d ata. They w ill also be asked to exp lain p ossible reasons for any d ata trend s and ou tliers.
N ext they w ill grap h distance from the sun and orbital period. Again, they w ill be asked to analyze this d ata
and id entify any trend s or p atterns. Ad d itionally, they w ill be asked to extrap olate the trend to m ake
inferences abou t other solar system objects, like the asteroid belt and Plu to.
Ad d itional observations w ill have stu d ents look at other p lanetary characteristics (sp ecifically composition
and number of moons) to d eterm ine fu rther trend s in the solar system .
To w rap u p and review these concep ts, stu d ents w ill be asked to interp olate all the p rop erties for an
im aginary p lanet d iscovered betw een Uranu s and N ep tu ne.
Museum of Science, Boston · Explore the Galaxy Educator’s Guide
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Educator’s Guide
Explore the Galaxy
Grades 6 – 8
Museum of Science, Boston
Useful Skills & Prior Knowledge
Grap hing
Gravity
N egative nu m bers
Interp olation/ Extrap olation
The Metric System
Solar System Motions
Potential Pitfalls/Things to Look Out For
1) The Y axis for grap h 1 extend s beyond zero into negative nu m bers. Rem ind stu d ents to w atch ou t for
these negative nu m bers w hen grap hing.
2) Since stu d ents are instru cted to m ix u p the card s betw een d ata collection, rem ind them to d ou ble-check
that the d ata is record ed for the correct p lanet.
3) Becau se Venu s is the ou tlier in the first grap h and p lots m ore p ositively than Mercu ry, stu d ents m ay
m istakenly start connecting their d ata p oints at Venu s and accid entally skip Mercu ry. When they are
connecting the p oints in their grap h, rem ind them to p ay close attention to the ord er of the p oints (so they
w ill be able to sp ot the ou tlier).
4) For grap h 2 the first few p lanets are very close together and stu d ents m ight stru ggle.
5) Stu d ents m ay have trou ble exp laining trend s and m ay need p rom p ting to think abou t scientific
p rincip les that they can u se to help exp lain observations (i.e. m ore m assive objects have higher gravity; a
thick atm osp here can artificially increase tem p eratu re, d esp ite d istance from the Su n; etc.).
Comments?
Please em ail [email protected] w ith any com m ents or su ggestions you m ay have to im p rove
this ed u cator's gu id e or activity!
Museum of Science, Boston · Explore the Galaxy Educator’s Guide
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