Download Make a Comet Motion Flip Book

Comets, Asteroids and Meteors • E3
Make a Comet Motion Flip Book
Activity E3
Grade Level: 4–6
Source: Reprinted by permission from Return of the Comet by Dennis Schatz, Copyright ©1985 by Pacific
Science Center. Book is no longer in print. No reproduction of this activity of any sort is permitted
without written permission from Pacific Science Center (200 Second Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109-4895.
www.pacsci.org), except that Pacific Science Center grants permission for individuals purchasing the
Universe at Your Fingertips to reprint the Flip Book pages for classroom use only.
What’s This Activity About?
Tips and Suggestions
Halley’s Comet is a “short period” comet, with an orbit
extending just beyond the distance of Neptune from the
Sun. By modeling its orbit with a sequence of images,
students can observe that the comet’s tail only begins to
develop inside the orbit of Jupiter. They will see that the
comet speeds up as it nears the Sun, and that the tail always points away from the Sun. Even though Halley will
not return to the inner solar system until 2061, other
comets may approach the Sun in the near future, and
they will follow the same pattern demonstrated here.
•D
o not tell the students what properties to look for.
After they use the flip books, ask them to form small
groups and discuss their observations. Ask the groups
to develop hypotheses for what they see. Bring the
groups together to share results, and lead the discussion to sunlight, gravity, and the solar wind.
•N
ote that Halley’s Comet does not orbit within the
plane of the solar system, as the flip book images
might suggest. Students may even ask if Halley would
ever collide with a planet, like Comet ShoemakerLevy 9 did with Jupiter in 1994. Halley’s orbit, like
that of most comets, is highly inclined to the plane
of the planets. The comet spends most of its orbit far
“below” the planets (for those of us in the Northern
Hemisphere!)
What Will Students Do?
Students cut out images of Halley’s comet moving in its
orbit around the Sun. Putting the images in sequence,
they create a “flip book.” Students can observe the comet’s motion, its changing speed around the Sun, and the
development and direction of its tail.
What Will Students Learn?
Concepts
Inquiry Skills
Big Ideas
• Comets
• Solar Wind
• Orbits
• Observing
• Inferring
• Visualizing
• Interactions
• Patterns of Change
The Universe at Your Fingertips • Astronomical Society of the Pacific
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E3 • Make a Comet Motion Flip Book
Comets, Asteroids and Meteors
Comet Motion Flip Book
Activity Guide
From Return of the Comet by Dennis Schatz (Pacific Science Center), © 1985 Pacific Science
Center. Reprinted by permission. Book is no longer in print. No reproduction of this
activity of any sort is permitted without written permission from the Pacific Science Center
(200 Second Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109), except that Pacific Science Center grants
permission for Astronomy from the Ground Up participants to reprint the Flip Book pages
for educational purposes.
Adapted by Anna Hurst
© 2006, Astronomy from the Ground Up • Astronomical Society of the Pacific,
390 Ashton Ave., San Francisco, CA 94112 • www.astrosociety.org/education.html
Type of Activity:
Make-and-take
Set up Time:
10 minutes
Time to Do:
20 minutes
Audience age:
8 years and older
Group size:
varies
What’s This Activity About?
Halley’s comet is a “short period” comet, with an orbit extending just beyond the distance of
Neptune from the Sun. By modeling its orbit with a sequence of images, participants can observe
the behavior of a comet as it orbits the Sun.
Materials
• One set of flip book images for each participant (separate file on AFGU website)
• Scissors
• Rubber bands or envelopes to keep the pieces together
The Universe at Your Fingertips • Astronomical Society of the Pacific
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Comets, Asteroids and Meteors
E3 • Make a Comet Motion Flip Book
Setting Up the Activity
You will need to make copies of the flip book pages and put out scissors. The Flip Book pages
are available as a separate file on the AFGU website (www.afguonline.org -- accessible to AFG
participants)
Suggestions for Introducing the Activity
What is a comet? Have you ever seen one? We are going to explore the behavior of Halley’s
Comet as it orbits the Sun. Halley’s Comet was last visible from the Earth in 1986. We will see it
again in 2061. How old will you be then?
Before the invention of movies, people made pictures appear to move by taking many
photographs, one right after the other, and stapling them together. By flipping through the
pictures quickly, the objects appeared to move. In this activity, we will see the motion of Halley’s
Comet using a flip book.
Doing the Activity
Have participants cut out the drawings on the two flip book pages. They should be careful to cut
along the lines. Then have them stack the pages together in numerical order with number one on
top. Fan them out slightly to make them easier to flip through. They should flip through the pages
several times to be sure the flipping motion is smooth. Then have them flip through one more
time and challenge them to try to identify at least three things about comets and their motion.
Do not tell participants what properties to look for. After they use the flip books, you could have
them form small groups and discuss their observations. Ask the groups to form hypotheses for
what they see.
Give everyone a rubber band or envelope to keep the flip book pages together on the way home.
Wrap-up
Bring the groups together to share results. Lead the discussion to sunlight, gravity and solar wind.
Let the groups come up with at least three features of the comet’s motion on their own. Below are
some of the points they might bring up and some more background information on each.
•
The flip book lets you see that the comet only forms a tail when it nears the Sun. The
comet begins to melt as it approaches the orbit of Jupiter at about 800 million km (500
million miles). The frozen gases are released to form the coma, which increases in size as
the comet approaches the Sun.
• Most comets form a tail as they approach the orbit of Mars at about 250 million km (150
million miles). The tail usually increases in size until just after the comet’s closest
approach to the Sun, when the reverse process begins.
• The most dramatic and unexpected observation that can be made from the flipbook is that
the tail of the comet always points away from the Sun. The solar wind, which always
2 Comet Flip Book © 2006 Astronomy From the Ground Up
updated May 2006
The Universe at Your Fingertips • Astronomical Society of the Pacific
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Comets, Asteroids and Meteors
E3 • Make a Comet Motion Flip Book
blows away from the Sun, causes the tail to always point away from the Sun in the same
way that smoke from a smoke stack moves away from the direction of the wind.
• Notice when you flip the book that the comet moves slowly in its orbit when it is far from
the Sun and quickly when it is near to the Sun. It is easy to understand why, if we look at
how the pull of gravity between the Sun and the comet works. Gravity is the force that
makes any object attract all other objects. The pull of the Earth’s gravity keeps you
attached to the Earth and the Sun’s gravity keep the Earth and Halley’s comet in orbit
around the Sun, The pull of gravity is greater when the two objects are closer together.
Since the comet is being pulled harder when it is near the Sun it will travel faster than
when it is far from the Sun.
• The comet orbits in a clockwise direction, opposite planetary motion – the planets orbit
the Sun in a counterclockwise direction.
• The extreme ends of the orbit of Halley’s comet are beyond Neptune and within the
Earth’s orbit, respectively. Some comets reach much farther out into the solar system,
beyond Pluto.
Note that Halley’s comet does not orbit within the plane of the solar system, as the flip book may
suggest. Participants may even ask if Halley could ever collide with a planet, like ShoemakerLevy 9 did with Jupiter in 1994. Halley’s orbit, like that of most comets, is highly inclined to the
plane of the planets. The comet spends most of its orbit “below” the planets (for those of us in the
Northern Hemisphere), and only peeks into the path of the planets near the Sun.
The path of Halley’s comet intersects the Earth’s orbit at two points. The debris it leaves in its
path therefore causes meteor showers on Earth twice a year. These are the Eta Aquarids (April 21
– May 12) and the Orionids (October 15 – 29). The Fire and Ice activity explores the relationship
between comets and meteor showers in more depth.
Complimentary Activities:
• Kitchen Comets
• From Fire to Ice: Modeling the Comet Orbits
3 Comet Flip Book © 2006 Astronomy From the Ground Up
updated May 2006
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Comets, Asteroids and Meteors
E3 • Make a Comet Motion Flip Book
1 Comet Motion Flip Book pages © 2006 Astronomy From the Ground Up
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Comets, Asteroids and Meteors
E3 • Make a Comet Motion Flip Book
2 Comet Motion Flip Book pages © 2006 Astronomy From the Ground Up
The Universe at Your Fingertips • Astronomical Society of the Pacific
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