Download comets, asteroids

ASTRONOMY LESSON PLAN
TOPIC: COMETS, ASTEROIDS & METEORITES:
DATE: October 23, 2006
INSTRUCTIONAL GOALS:
The purpose of this lesson is teach students about comets, meteors, and asteroids.
GPS (GEORGIA PERFORMANCE STANDARDS): S6E1 SECTIONS I, J, K, L, M, N.
Each of these sections is described below.
Section I:
Compare meteors, comets, asteroids, and stars. How are stars similar and/or different
from meteors, comets, or asteroids? Organize your information into a graphic organizer to
share with the class. Include characteristics such as color, location, visibility, etc.
Section J:
Research major meteor showers to find out when they occur. Explain why they are
visible the same time each year.
Section K:
Observe a major meteor shower (Perseids in August, Leonids in October, Lyrids in
April). Collect data about your observations including number, brightness, color, trains, and
speed. Compile information into a chart and compare your observations with others.
Section L:
If you are not able to observe a major meteor shower, go to http:/www.nasa.gov for
photographs of meteor showers. Explain what is shown in the pictures.
Section M:
Find out the difference between a meteor, a meteoroid, and a meteorite.
Section N:
Make a model of a comet demonstrating its parts. Research the media for incidences of
comet sightings and the reactions of observers. Explain how comets are tracked and why they
are not visible every year as meteor showers are.
INTASC STANDARD #6: COMMUNICATION: The teacher uses knowledge of effective
verbal, nonverbal, and media communication techniques to foster active inquiry, collaboration,
and supportive interaction in the classroom.
DURATION: 5 days, 70 Minutes Each.
DAY 1 & 2: COMETS
MEASURABLE OBJECTIVES:
1. Students will learn the history and exploration of comets.
2. Students will learn the origin of comets.
3. Students will learn the characteristics of comets.
STRATEGIES, ACTIVITIES, AND/OR PROCEDURES:
1. The students will read in their science text book about comets, meteors, and asteroids and
organize the information read by listing similarities and differences between meteors, asteroids,
and comets.
2. The students will then access “The Comet’s Tale” website to look for information on history
and exploration of comets, origin of comets, and characteristics of comets.
3. Students will use the above website to answer questions on the origin of comets,
characteristics of comets, history and exploration of comets.
TEACHING RESOURCES & MATERIALS:
1. Laptop computers for the whole class.
2. LCD projector.
3. Software relevant to the topic.
“The Comet’s Tale” URL:
http://store.starrynightstore.com/eduresources.html
The Comet's Tale
Learn what our early ancestors thought about comets. Learn how our views of comets have
changed over time.
Killer Comets (or asteroids)- Did they cause the extinction of the dinosaurs?
Small Comets - Did these comets help fill our ocean with water?
Halley's Comet
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 Crashes into Jupiter! Part 1
This web site gives the reader good factual information about the impact.
Comet Shoemaker-Levy Crashes into Jupiter! Part 2
This web site lets you see a piece of the comet (Fragment C) crash into Jupiter!
Comet Tempel 1 (July 2005) - NASA crashes a space craft into a comet.
Find out how NASA learned what Comet Tempel 1 was made of! Don't forget to read the
"Mission Facts" in the left margin. Also, scroll to the bottom and click "Read More" to find out
the ingredients of this comet.
Operation Stardust - NASA snags dust particles from Comet Wild 2's tail!
Comet "Wild 2" is pronounced "Vilt 2". The comet was named after the person who discovered
it.
The Tunguska Impact
What caused this huge 1908 explosion that toppled forests in Siberia? Was it an alien invasion?
The Peekskill Meteor
Read about this famous meteor/meteorite and learn why the family of 18-year old Michelle
Knapp had a hard time believing Michelle's story about how her car got damaged.
The Peekskill Meteor Video
Click here to see the meteor streaking across the night sky of the United States.
NEA (Near Earth Asteroids) - Where will you be in the Year 2080?
Did an asteroid cause the extinction of the dinosaurs?
This is a second article on this topic. See "Killer Comets" for more information on this topic.
WARM UP: 1. Name the following phases of the Moon.
2. Our galaxy is what type of a galaxy? (Shape)
3. Our universe is mostly made up of
A. Rocks B. Gases C. Stars D. Empty space.
4. Which planet is a gas giant and it is farthest from the Sun.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW AT THE END OF THE LESSON:
1. What is a Comet?
2. What is an Asteroid?
3. What is a Meteor?
4. Characteristics of comets.
5. The difference between comet, asteroid, and meteor.
LESSON ONE:
1. Long ago people observed rocks that dropped from the sky. Strange lights that flashed and
glowed in the sky. People were fearful of these things. To day scientist tell us the following.
2. What is a Comet?
3. It a ball of ice, gas and rocky dirt. It circles the Sun in a long, nearly oval path called an orbit.
When comets pass near the sun they develop a large, glowing head and a long tail. Here are the
parts of a comet. Bright comets can be seen easily from the Earth.
4. What is an Asteroid?
5. It is a chunk of rock or metal that orbits the Sun. Most asteroids travel in a zone between the
orbits of Mars and Jupiter, but some cross Earth’s path. Asteroids are difficult to spot. Through
a telescope, they look like tiny stars.
6. What is a Meteorite?
7. Asteroids often collide with one another, scattering broken pieces in space. When one of
these rocky fragments lands on the Earth, it is called a meteorite. Do you remember what a
meteorite and meteoroids are?
Meteorite is in the atmosphere of Earth.
Meteoroid is when it is orbiting the Sun.
8. Comet: It is a hazy ball that glows in the night sky. It makes its journey around the Sun.
Long time ago comets were blamed for natural catastrophies like, earth quakes, diseases, and
death.
9. Examples: In 1665 thousands of people died in London, England of a terrible disease. The
next year fire nearly destroyed the city. At that time 2 comets had been sighted in the dark sky
and they blamed it on the comets. They thought comets meant disaster.
10. In China a comet’s busy tail reminded the people of a broom. They concluded that the gods
used the comet to sweep away evil.
11. Comet Halley was sighted in 1066. This was the time when William the Conqueror was
preparing to invade England. He did so and defeated Harold II at the battle of Hastings.
Harold’s men claimed that the comet made them lose the battle.
12. In Rome when Julius Caesar was murdered a bright comet was observed. Some Romans
said that it was Caesar’s soul returning to haunt his enemies. Caesar’s grand nephew and heir,
Octavian said the comet meant that Caesar was a god.
13. What are Comets made of ?
14. The comets are called “dirty snowballs”. This is because each comet has a core, called its
nucleus which is composed of dust, ice and frozen gases. Each time a comet approaches the
Sun, its frozen nucleus heats up. Gases and dust escape and surround the nucleus in a cloud
called a COMA. The Sun’s energy pushes some of the comet’s gas and dust into one or more
wispy tails.
15. What do comets look like?
16. Most are too small to be seen from Earth. But when it is passing near the Sun its glowing
COMA makes it look much bigger and brighter in the night sky.
17. An example is the Hale-Bopp comet which came in 1997. It reflected the sunlight and
glowed brightly. It was visible for several weeks. Hale-Bopp will come again in about 2400
years.
18. Why do comets have tails?
19. Comets have 2 types of tails. Both types appear when the comet is close to the sun. A gas
tail points directly behind the comet. It forms when electrically charged particles from the Sun
called solar wind blows on the comet’s coma.
20. A dust tail often curves away from the comet’s path. Escaping gases push dust off the head
of the comet. The dust tail is made of solid particles and has a different shape. Some comets
have several dust tails and a gas tail also. The name comet comes from the Greek word meaning
“long-haired star”.
21. Why do comet tails always point away from the Sun?
22. The tails are blown outward from the Sun by the Solar Wind. Because a comet’s tail is not
caused by the comet’s tail is not caused by the comet’s motion, it can even travel in front of the
comet. So can you look at a picture of a comet and predict which way it is going? NO.
23. Where do comets come from?
24. They are left over bits from the formation of the solar system.
25. The comets can be found in at least 2 different places.
26. Short period comets are those that orbit the sun in less than 200 years. These lie in a place
called the Kuiper belt. This ring of comets if found outside the orbits of Neptune and Pluto.
Other comets surround the whole solar system in a huge swarm. This sphere of comets is called
the Oort cloud after the man who discovered it Jan Oort. The Oort cloud is located 1000 times
further away from the Sun than Neptune and Pluto.
27. What keeps the comet in orbit?
28. The Sun’s pulling power which is called gravity. It is the same force that keeps the Earth
and other planets circling the Sun.
29. How fast are comets?
30. They travel around the Sun at about 160,000 km/h or 100,000 m.p.h. They are some of the
fastest things in the solar system.
31. Some comets stay around for a long time. For example, Halley’s Comet was recorded by
Chinese astronomers in 240 B.C. So it is about 2000 years old.
32. The first man to make the first comet prediction was Edmond Halley in England in 1682.
He predicted that the comet they saw would come again 1758 and it did. They named the comet
after him and called it Halley’s Comet. It comes every 75 years.
33. How do scientists predict comets?
34. They use old records of comet sightings to identify comets with orbits shorter than 200
years. They also use powerful telescopes to see comets that are still far away from earth.
35. How are new comets discovered?
36. Scientist use powerful comets to scan the night sky. If a fuzzy spot of light is spotted and its
not on the star maps, then the astronomy calls other astronomers and hope that it is a new comet.
If it is then it is named after the first person or two who sighted it first.
37. Comets sometimes collide with planets. An example is comet Shoemaker-levy 9 which
collided with Jupiter. It formed huge gas geysers and explosions. It formed a dark spot bigger
than the Earth which later spread out and formed a dark ring around Jupiter. This lasted for
several months before it faded away.
38. Can the same thing happen to Earth?
39. Some comets cross the Earth’s orbit as they move around the Sun. But no comets have
collided with Earth. Scientists think this is not likely in our lifetime. Bits of comet dust collide
with the earth all the time . They usually burn out and are seen as bright flashes of light called
meteors or shooting star.