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Space Research Supplemental Notes
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Stars are born in areas of space called NEBULAE where there is an accumulation of gas
and dust. Stars are “born” when the gas and dust are attracted together by gravity and the
materials collect together into a spinning ball. Eventually there is enough mass at its core
and nuclear fusion occurs. Then we have a STAR - a mass of burning gas that gives off
energy as heat and light.
A MASSIVE STAR is bigger and denser (more matter) than a SUN-LIKE star. So a massive
star burns faster and does not last (live) as long as a sun-like star.
As a star ages it first gets super big as gases expand away from the core. Then everything
begins to collapse so it is smaller and smaller. Essentially the core begins to collapse in on
itself – it becomes denser and takes up less space.
A black hole is a place in space where a massive star once lived. It has so much gravity
that everything, including light, gets sucked in.
A GALAXY is a collection of many stars, gas and dust held together in an area by gravity.
Galaxies come in three main shapes – our galaxy (the Milky Way) is spiral. The other
shapes are elliptical and irregular.
you can think about planets in our solar system in two groups – terrestrial or Jovian (gas
giants; an asteroid belt (zone with lots of asteroids) is located between these groups
Terrestrial Planets
 they are the “inner” planets, or closest to
the sun (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars)
 they have a rocky core
 warmer than jovian planets
 they have few or no moons
 they have no rings
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Jovian Planets (gas giants)
 they are the “outer” planets, or farthest
from the sun (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus,
Neptune)
 consist of gas (no rocky core)
 colder than terrestrial planets
 have lots of moons and some have rings
what are a few main characteristics of different planets – here are a couple of examples
o Mercury is closest planet to the sun and it has no atmosphere, the surface has lots of
craters from meteorites hitting it, and it is hot on the side facing the sun but cold on
the side facing away from the sun
o Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and is characterized by violent storms
(the Red Spot is a huge storm!); it also has many moons
ASTEROIDS are rocky or metallic bodies that travel in space. They can be hundreds of
kilometres across, or just a few meters wide
COMETS are called “dirty snowballs” because they are made up of ice and dust. They
travel through space on predictable elliptical orbits which are sometimes very large. That is
why we see some comets frequently, and some not very often (e.g. Halleys comet passes
earth every 76 years). When comets get near the Sun their ice core begins to melt,
releasing gases which burn and appear to be a “tail” following the comet.
small pieces of rock flying through space with no particular path are called METEOROIDS…
when these rocks enter a planets atmosphere they heat up (from friction with atmosphere)
and give off light and are then called METEORS… if they don’t totally burn up in the
atmosphere and hit the surface of a planet they are called METEORITES
our SUN is a Sun-like star which consists of burning gases (mainly hydrogen and helium).
o the sun has a core in the centre and the outer layer is called the corona
o the core is hotter and denser than the corona
o the sun is over 100x wider than the Earth… almost a million Earths could fit inside it
Grade 9 Science
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planets and other bodies in space (e.g. comets) orbit the Sun in predictable pathways –
elliptical orbits… because we can use math to understand the pathways we can make
accurate predictions about the position of bodies in space and about events such as solar
eclipses (Moon moves between Earth and Sun) or lunar eclipses (Earth moves between
Sun and Moon)
we use lots of technology from the space programs to benefit us here on Earth
o e.g. we invented new materials that would be light-weight but still insulate astronauts
from extreme hot or cold… and now we use these materials to protect fire fighters
here on Earth, or to make really light-weight cooler bags to keep our lunches cool
o e.g. we invented a lot of small and light-weight electronics to use in space and these
are commonly also used now on Earth to make things like cell phones and ipads
o e.g. we needed robots to do dangerous work for us in space and now these same
types of robots do dangerous work for us here on Earth
o e.g. we needed food that would be light-weight, super nutritious and last a long time
in space, and this has helped us make things such as baby food better, or freezedried foods that will be light-weight and last along time (like if we go backpacking or
on an arctic expedition)
the Canadarm is the most famous Canadian contribution to the space program
o it is a robotic arm that can be attached to things like the space shuttle or the space
station and it can do work outside these vehicles – like replace parts that are
damaged on the outside of the space station
o the next generation, Canadarm 2, is even better with more features and uses (it can
crawl around the outside of the space station and reach virtually every part… it also
has “fingers” and can do finer types of work)
Canada has launched a number of satellites from US launch sites
o such as Alouette 1 which launched in 1962 and was the first satellite in the world
used for non-military purposes
o and in 1972 Anik 1 was launched and provided all of Canada with satellite based
telecommunications coverage for the 1st time (instead of depending on wires on the
ground)
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