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Light Years Earth and Space Part I: Modeling Light Years - The “Student Minute” Walker’s Name: ________________________________________________ Trial Number Distance in One Minute (meters) 1 2 3 Average 1 Student Minute = ____________ meters (Average ) 1. What distance is represented by a “student minute?” ____________________________________________________________________________ 2. How far could you travel in 14 “student minutes?” ____________________________________________________________________________ 3. If you are 100 meters away, how many “student minutes” are represented? ____________________________________________________________________________ 4. During this activity, you were modeling a light year. In the model, what did we use instead of a “year?” ____________________________________________________________________________ 5. In this model, what represented the “light?” ____________________________________________________________________________ 6. How is a “student minute” similar to a “light year?” ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 1 Light Years Earth and Space Part II: The Speed of Light Chart 1: Calculation of the Distance Traveled by Light in One Year Action To find out how fast light travels per minute, multiply the speed by 60 seconds per minute. Calculation 300,000 km X 60 sec sec min To find out how fast light travels per hour, we must multiply our answer above by 60 minutes per hour. _________ km X 60 min min hr To find out how fast light travels per day, we must multiply our answer above by 24 hours per day. _________ km X 24 hr hr day To find out how fast light travels per year, we must multiply our answer above by 365 days per year. _________ km X 365 days day year Answer ______ km min ______ km hr ______ km day ______ km year Part III: Calculating a Light Year 1. Earth is 150,000,000 km from the Sun. Light travels at 18,000,000 km/min. How long does it take for light from the Sun to reach Earth? You will have to cancel zeros when solving. 2. The closest star to our Sun is Proxima Centauri. It is 39,700,000,000,000 km from the Sun. Light travels at 9,460,800,000,000 km/year. How long does it take light from the Sun to reach Proxima Centauri? You will have to cancel zeros when solving. 2 Light Years Earth and Space Part IV: Traveling through Time Are We There Yet? Light travels 18,000,000 km/minute Star Distance from Earth as Determined by the Speed of Light Sol 8.33 light-minutes Sirius A 8.6 light years Ross 154 9.68 light years Center of the Galaxy 26,400 light years Light travels at 9,460,800,000,000 km/year Time light has been traveling Distance from Earth in km 8.33 minutes 8.33 x 18,000,000 km 8.6 x 9,460,800,000,000 km 1. Imagine a planet 15 light years away from Earth that is inhabited by people like us. They have developed a very powerful telescope allowing them to see what is happening on Earth. If they look through their telescope today, what year would it be on Earth? Would they be able to see you? Explain. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 2. On another planet, in the year 2010, they are looking at Earth and watching George Washington cross the Delaware River in 1776. How many light years away is this planet from Earth? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 3. If there was a planet circling Ross 154 and inhabited by people, would those people be able to see your first birthday party on Earth? Explain. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 3 Light Years Earth and Space Part V: Sizes in Our Universe Object Name Information Distance From Earth Size Milky Way Galaxy Spiral N/A 100,000 ly Andromeda Galaxy Spiral 2.5 million ly 220,000 ly Sculptor Supercluster Large associations of galaxies 1 billion ly 250 million ly IC 1101 Galaxy Elliptical 1.01 billion ly 6 million ly Barnard’s Galaxy (NGC 6822) Dwarf Irregular 1.6 million ly 10,000 ly Sombrero Galaxy Spiral 28 million ly 50,000 ly Black Eye Galaxy (M64) Spiral 19 million ly 51,000 ly Hoag’s Object Galaxy Irregular 600 million ly 120,000 ly M87 Elliptical 54 million ly 120,000 ly 1. Which object is the largest in size? How big is it? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 2. Which object is the smallest in size? What is its size? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 3. Which object is closest to Earth, not including the Milky Way? ____________________________________________________________________________ 4. Why do astronomers use light years to describe sizes of objects in the universe? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 4 Light Years Earth and Space Reflections and Conclusions 1. What travels the fastest in the universe? ____________________________________________________________________________ 2. What is a light year? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 3. Why do astronomers need to use light years, rather than kilometers, to measure the distance between stars and the sizes of large objects? ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 4. You are on a space ship that can travel the speed of light, and you are going to visit Proxima Centauri. Proxima Centauri is 4.2 light years away. How long would it take you to travel there? Explain your answer. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 5. A scientist wants to travel to the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. It is 26,400 light years from Earth. Would the scientist ever reach his destination? Explain your answer. ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ 5