Download Celestial Bodies INSTRUCTIONS - The Challenger Learning Center

Celestial Bodies
Eyes on the Solar System Instructions
http://eyes.nasa.gov
1. Open your web browser to http://eyes.nasa.gov.
2. Click on Explore the Solar System.
3. Eyes opens to a “bird’s eye” view of the inner solar system.
a. You can use the scroll wheel on your mouse to zoom out, to see the entire solar
system.
b. You can use the scroll wheel on your mouse to zoom in, to see only the inner
solar system.
c. You can double-click on any object to zoom in to that object.
d. To return to the original view, click on the Home button
(on the right side
of the screen).
4. Click on the up arrow next to Visual Controls to select which items appear in your view.
Deselect Spacecraft. (Stars, Planetary Bodies, and Moons should stay selected.) Then,
click on the down arrow next to Visual Controls to minimize the Visual Control Toolbar.
5. We are now ready to begin our tour of the solar system. Information that students
should record on their Study Guide will be written in italics.
6. Zoom out (by scrolling down) so the majority of the solar system is visible.
7. Drag the scroll bar under Speed + Rate to the right increase the speed of the planets’
movements.
8. Point out to the students that Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, and Jupiter are all orbiting the
Sun.
9. Zoom in (by scrolling up) so the inner solar system is visible.
10. Point out to the students that Mars, Earth, Venus, and Mercury are all orbiting the Sun.
11. For MOVEMENT of Planets on the study guide, students should note that Planets
REVOLVE around the Sun.
12. Click on REAL RATE (under Speed + Rate) to have the planets return to their normal
speed.
13. Double-click on the planet Mercury.
14. Point out to the students that Mercury has a heavily cratered surface. For SURFACE of
Planets, students should note that Mercury is terrestrial (rocky).
15. Click on Ride Along View
under Visual Controls. This changes the camera angle
so you are viewing the planet from above the pole. (You can use the scroll button on
your mouse to zoom out a little, if you need to.) Increase the Speed + Rate, until the
planet starts to rotate. Point out to the students that Mercury is rotating on its axis.
16. For MOVEMENT of Planets on the study guide, students should note that Planets
ROTATE on their axis.
17. Click HOME to return to the view of the inner solar system.
18. Double-click on the planet Venus.
19. Point out to students that even though Venus has a thick atmosphere, it still has a
terrestrial (rocky) surface. For SURFACE of Planets, students should note that Venus is
terrestrial (rocky).
20. Click on Ride Along View under Visual Controls. (You may need to increase Speed +
Rate for students to see Venus’ rotation.) You may point out to students that Venus is
one of two planets with retrograde rotation (clockwise instead of counterclockwise).
(The other planet with retrograde rotation is Uranus.)
21. Click HOME to return to the view of the inner solar system.
22. Double-click on the planet Earth.
23. For SURFACE of Planets, students should note that Earth is terrestrial (rocky).
24. Click on Ride Along View, so students can view Earth’s rotation.
25. Click on Zoomed-out View
under Visual Controls. Students should see that
Earth has a Moon.
26. Double-click on the Moon.
27. Point out to the students that the Moon is terrestrial (rocky) and covered with craters.
28. Point out to the students that the Moon revolves around the planet Earth.
29. Click HOME to return to the view of the inner solar system.
30. Double-click on the planet Mars.
31. Point out some of the craters on Mars. Students should note for SURFACE of Planets
that Mars is terrestrial (rocky). Students may note for UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS that
Mars is reddish in color.
32. Click on Ride Along View, so students can view Mar’s rotation.
33. Click on Zoomed-out View. You will probably have to scroll down (zoom out) so you can
view both moons (Phobos and Deimos). Point out that Phobos and Deimos both revolve
around Mars.
34. Double-click on Phobos. Point out to the students the Phobos is terrestrial (rocky) and
covered with craters.
35. Scroll down (zoom out) until you can see Deimos. Double-click on Deimos. Point out to
the students that Deimos is terrestrial (rocky) and covered with craters.
36. Students should note for SURFACE of Moons that Most moons are terrestrial (rocky) and
covered with craters.
37. Students should note for MOVEMENT of Moons that A moon revolves around a planet,
but all planets do NOT have a moon.
38. Click on the HOME button.
39. Scroll down (zoom out) until you can see Jupiter.
40. Double-click on Jupiter.
41. Students should note for SURFACE of Planets that Jupiter is gaseous.
42. Click on FREE FLY under Visual Controls so you can click and drag Jupiter to view it from
different angles. Find the Great Red Spot. Students should note that The Great Red
Spot is at atmospheric storm under UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS of Planets for Jupiter.
Jupiter also has a faint ring system.
43. Click on Ride Along View, so students can view Jupiter’s rotation.
44. Click on Zoomed-out View, so students can view some of Jupiter’s moons.
a. Europa has a surface of water ice.
b. You can double-click on the moons, so students can see that most moons are
terrestrial and covered with craters.
45. Click on the HOME button.
46. Scroll down (zoom out) until you can see Saturn.
47. Double-click on Saturn.
48. Students should note for SURFACE of Planets that Saturn is gaseous
49. Students should note that Saturn has Rings under UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS of Planets
for Saturn.
50. Click on Ride Along View, so students can view Saturn’s rotation.
51. Click on Zoomed-out View, so students can view some of Saturn’s moons.
a. Titan has cryovolcanoes (erupt ice rather than rock).
b. Enceladus has liquid water under an icy crust.
52. Click on the HOME button.
53. Scroll down (zoom out) until you can see Uranus.
54. Double-click on Uranus.
55. Students should note for SURFACE of Planets that Uranus is gaseous
56. Students should note that Uranus is tilted so that a pole points towards the Sun under
UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS of Planets for Uranus. Also, because of methane in its
atmosphere, Uranus appears blue. Uranus has rings.
57. Click on Ride Along View, so students can view Uranus’ rotation. Uranus and Venus
both have retrograde rotation (spinning clockwise instead of counter-clockwise).
58. Click on Zoomed-out View, so students can view some of Uranus’ moons.
59. Click on the HOME button.
60. Scroll down (zoom out) until you can see Neptune.
61. Double-click on Neptune.
62. Students should note for SURFACE of Planets that Neptune is gaseous
63. Students should note that Neptune has Rings under UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS of
Planets for Neptune.
64. Click on Ride Along View, so students can view Neptune’s rotation.
65. Click on Zoomed-out View, so students can view some of Neptune’s moons.
66. Click on the HOME button.
67. Click on the up arrow next to Visual Controls.
68. In the top section of Visual Controls, select Small Bodies. Now students can see the
names and paths of comets and major asteroids.
69. Students should note in MOVEMENT of Asteroids that Most asteroids revolve around
the Sun in orbits between Mars and Jupiter. Some asteroids do cross Earth’s orbit.
70. Rather than trying to double-click on individual asteroids, it is easier to use the
Destination controls.
71. Click on the up arrow next to Destination.
72. Click on Asteroids so that a list of asteroids appears under the heading.
73. Students should note for UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS of Asteroids that each asteroid
varies in size and shape.
74. For better pictures of asteroids, visit
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Asteroids&Display=Gallery.
Students will be able to see that most asteroids are terrestrial (rocky) and cratered.
They should note this for SURFACE of Asteroids.
75. Click on the up arrow next to Destination.
76. Click on Comets so that a list of comets appears under the heading.
77. Double-click on Hale Bopp. The image will zoom in to the nucleus of a comet. Students
should note in SURFACE of Comets that the nucleus of a comet is composed of ice
(water, methane, and ammonia) and dust.
78. Scroll down (zoom out) from the comet. Eventually, the nucleus will appear to be
covered in a hazy cloud. The coma of a comet is composed of gases (the ices of the
nucleus get heated up by the Sun).
79. Continue to scroll down (zoom out) from the comet. Eventually, the coma will appear
very small and you will be able to see the comet tails. One tail is a dust tail (on the
image, it is gray); the other tail is a plasma (ionized gas) tail (on the image, it is blue).
The plasma tail is pushed away from the Sun by the solar wind, so the plasma tail is
always pointed away from the Sun. The dust tail points back towards the path of the
comet, with the tail being pushed away from the Sun by radiation pressure.
a. To see the two tails separated:
b. Click on Destination—Comet Halley.
c. Click on the down arrow next to DATE + TIME and change the date to 1985 April
1.
d. Scroll down (zoom in) on Comet Halley until you can see the two tails.
e. The blue plasma (ion) tail is pointed directly away from the Sun.
f. The gray dust tail is pointed back along the path of the comet. The tip of the tail
has been pushed away by solar radiation pressure.
80. Scroll down (zoom out) until you can see the orbit line for the comet. Students should
note under MOVEMENT of Comets that Comets REVOLVE around the Sun in long,
narrow, elliptical orbits. (That is true for comets with CLOSED orbits. Some comets have
OPEN orbits; they will only pass by the Sun once.)
81. The debris left by comets in their dust tail are meteoroids (small chunks of rocks).
(Meteoroids can also be forms by asteroids.) Students should note under SURFACE of
Meteoroids that meteoroids are rocky.
82. Under MOVEMENT of Meteoroids, students should note that the small chunks of rocks
moving…
a. In space are called METEOROIDS
b. In an atmosphere are called METEORS
c. on the surface (impact!) are called METEORITES
83. Students are also to be able to sequence the planets by size. An image of all the planets
drawn to scale is available
http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=SolarSys
a. A good activity: http://www.perkinsobservatory.org/educational%20files/sizesofplanets.pdf
b. The planets in order by size:
i. Jupiter
ii. Saturn
iii. Uranus
iv. Neptune
v. Earth
vi. Venus
vii. Mars
viii. Mercury
ix. (Pluto)