Download Why Planets are Different

TEACHER
RESOURCE
PLANETARIUM
STARDOME OBSERVATORY & TIES ON...
TIVI
FACTS, RESOURCES AND AC
E
R
A
S
T
E
N
WHY PLA T
DIFFEREN
SCIEN
CONTE CE
NT/
CURRIC
ULUM L
ASTRON
INK
O
MIC
PHYSIC AL SYSTEMS,
AL IN
AND PH QUIRY
YS
CONCE ICS
PTS.
ht planets which have
Our Solar System has eig
h other.
s very different from eac
environmental condition
like;
are
s
told what the planet
Often students are just
s.
ion
dit
con
ent
fer
ses the dif
here we explore what cau
tors to discuss:
There are four main fac
1. COMPOSITION
rocky planets.
of planets; gas planets and
There are two main types
und).
distinct surface (the gro
• Rocky planets have a
e no surface/
hav
so
entirely of gases
• Gas planets are made
ead have to
inst
uld
wo
but
m
the
ground. You can’t land on
the centre of
into
fall
ise you would
float in the clouds otherw
re.
ssu
pre
the
by
d
the planet and be crushe
and the
inner planets are rocky
the
all
tem
Sys
ar
• In our Sol
t always the case.
isn’
t
tha
but
…
nts
gia
outer planets are gas
even closer
giants have been found
In other star systems gas
ry is to ours.
to their star than Mercu
SUN/STAR
2. DISTANCE FROM THE
than planets
get more heat and light
• Planets closer to the Sun
good analogy
A
ter.
hot
, so tend to be
farther away from the Sun
to it you can
t
nex
t
righ
nd
sta
you
when
is standing by a heater;
walk away
you
her
fart
you up but the
feel its heat and it warms
.
warmth
the less you can feel the
hot and not
Zone, where it is not too
cks
dilo
Gol
• Earth is in the
liquid water
,
tell
er. As far as we can
too cold to have liquid wat
e a Goldilocks
hav
also
can
rs
t. Other sta
is required for life to exis
what the
on
the star will depend
Zone, but its distance from
star is like.
Solar System comparisons. Credit: NASA
There are eight planets orbiting our star,
the Sun. Other stars can have planets
too - more than 2000 planets have been
discovered orbiting other stars!
3. SIZE
nt gravity levels.
sizes and so have differe
Planets come in different
Mars you weigh
th so has less gravity. On
• Mars is smaller than Ear
nets are also
pla
r
alle
Sm
to carry more.
less and would be able
y not be enough
ma
re
the
as
e,
her
osp
less likely to have an atm
to the surface.
gravity to hold the gases
times more
Jupiter you would feel 2.6
• If you could stand on
und. In other
aro
k
wal
to
e
ggl
uld stru
gravity than Earth, so wo
iter so we
Jup
n
tha
nets much larger
star systems there are pla
would be crushed flat!
4. ATMOSPHERE
m,
a planet and keep it war
Atmospheres can insulate
Venus is
y
wh
is
s
Thi
t.
nke
bla
a
like being wrapped in
y
n though it is farther awa
hotter than Mercury, eve
from the sun.
es.
may not have atmospher
• Rocky planets may or
e is so thin
her
osp
atm
rs’s
(Ma
ner
They can be thin
t
would just feel like a ligh
that cyclone force winds
ch
mu
as
has
e
’s atmospher
breeze) or thicker (Venus
.
us!)
sh
cru
uld
wo
it
–
er
pressure as 1km under wat
osphere by default.
• Gas planets have an atm
more pressure and heat
the
el
The deeper you trav
there would be.
als,
de from different chemic
• Atmospheres can be ma
even if
net
pla
a
on
e
ath
bre
to
so we may not be able
it has an atmosphere.
Check out this other resource...
Build Your Own Solar System: http://janus.astro.umd.edu/orbits/ssbuild.html
How would
What
the conditions on
are some
other planets affect
things that make
people?
What sort of
the planets
things
would
we need to
different from
bring
with
us
to keep
each other?
us alive on other
How does
the distance
from the Sun
affect a planet?
What would happen
planets?
if Earth were
closer or farther
from
DISCUSSION away
the
Sun?
POINTS
STARDOME.ORG.NZ
09 624 1246
ACTIVITY
PLANETARIUM
STARDOME OBSERVATORY &
T
E
N
A
L
P
Y
MEET M
Objective...
s
fferent condition
what causes di
te
ra
st
g
on
m
tin
ea
de
To
stem, by cr
in our Solar Sy
on the planets
te planet.
ra
cu
ac
ifically
their own scient
You’ll Need...
worksheet
Meet My Planet
Craft supplies
(optional)
Internet access
Instructions...
characteristics
ents select the
ud
st
y,
all
du
vi
di
the Meet My
In groups or in
udents can use
st
g
in
nn
gi
ch the
Be
.
ents can resear
of their planet
le advanced stud
hi
w
t,
ee
sh
rk
Planet wo
e detail.
eir planet in mor
t
conditions of th
their planet; wha
interpretation of
ts
e
tis
th
ar
te
an
ra
te
co
de
Students crea
can be used to
These pictures
star system!
w
ne
n
ow
does it look like?
ur
yo
d even make
ul
co
u
Yo
.
om
classro
ss and explain
planet to the cla
r
ei
th
t
en
es
pr
Students can
r planet.
like to visit thei
what it would be
Example...
ROOM 19’S SOLAR SYSTEM
ZOE
’S PL
ANE
T
ANET
PIO’S PL
JOE’S
YEE’S PL
ANET
PLANET
COLD!
AHU’S PLAN
ET
DEVS PL
ANET
HOT!
send it to us.
d
an
ity
tiv
ac
ur
yo
of
o
ot
ph
a
ke
Ta
ardome.org.nz
We’d love to see it! education@st
STARDOME.ORG.NZ
09 624 1246
MEET MY PLANET
Rock planets are like Earth, with
ROCK
SUPER EARTH
Bigger than Earth.
You would feel very
heavy on this planet.
It would be hard to
walk around… and
if it’s really big you
might be crushed
against the ground!
STARDOME.ORG.NZ
09 624 1246
FAR AWAY
Planets farther away would
be cold; water would all be
ice.
THICK AIR /
MEDIUM AIR /
ATMOSPHERE
ATMOSPHERE
Venus has a thick
Like on Earth. If it’s
atmosphere. The
the right kind of air,
thick it
then there is enough air is so
would crush you!
air for people to
It would also help
breathe properly…
keep the planet
and also get strong
much warmer than
wind and storms.
a planet without an
It also keeps the
atmosphere.
planet warmer than
a planet without an
atmosphere.
EARTH SIZE
Similar to Earth; you
can move around
normally.
a proper surface or ground.
SMALL
About the size of
Mars. You would feel
light and strong on
this planet.
THIN AIR /
ATMOSPHERE
Mars has a thin
atmosphere. There
is wind, but even
very fast winds
would feel soft
like a breeze. It
would also keep
the planet a little
bit warmer than a
planet without an
atmosphere.
GOLDILOCKS ZONE
CLOSE
Not too hot and not to
These planets would be
cold. A planet with an
hotter than here on earth;
atmosphere here would
water would boil away.
have liquid water, like rivers
Planets without atmospheres
and rain. This is a good
would be hot on the side
place for life.
facing the sun and cold on
the side facing away.
NO AIR /
ATMOSPHERE
Tiny planets are
too small to have
an atmosphere.
Without an
atmosphere you
cannot breathe.
You also cannot fly
in a plane, because
planes need air to
fly.
TINY
SUPERGIANT
About the size
Some gas planets can get so
of the Moon. You
big they are almost the size of
would feel so light
stars! These planets would have
sh on this planet you
lots of gravity and would squi
. would have trouble
you if you could stand on them
walking!
FAR AWAY
These planets would
be cold; definitely
too cold for people
to go outside.
. They
so always have an atmosphere
Gas planets are made of gas,
ms.
have lots of wind and big stor
es, which make them different
Hydrogen = red
Ammonia = white
Methane = blue
CLOSE
A gas planet close
to a star could heat
up so much it would
have clouds of hot
iron! Not a pleasant
place to be at all.
or ice orbiting around them.
ns and other small bits of rock
e moons.
Planets often have many moo
over 60 moons, including 4 larg
e moons it can have. Jupiter has
The bigger the planet the mor
look like the pretty rings we see.
and ice orbiting it, so much they
Saturn has lots of little rocks
GOLDILOCKS ZONE
These planets would
similar to Jupiter,
but they might have
a big moon that
could be like Earth.
gass
They can be made of different
colours. Some examples are:
GIANT
Gas planets are always big. But
that doesn’t mean they have
lots of gravity. You would be
almost the same weight on
Saturn as you are on Earth.
re isn’t a ground to walk on.
Gas planets are like Jupiter. The
you
floating in the clouds so that
Instead, you would have to stay
the planet and be crushed!
wouldn’t fall into the middle of
GAS
WORK
SHEET
CO M P O S I T I O N
SIZE
AT M O S P H E R E
D I STA N C E
MOONS +
SAT E L L I T E S