Download File

Name ________________________________
Date ___________________
Space Walk
Be a Planet and Wander
Get some chalk and take a walk with a fellow astronomer.
All you have to do is read and follow the directions carefully.
(Please be mindful of others! Stay in your own orbit!)
Find a place to start and draw the SUN.
FACTS TO READ ALOUD:

The sun is not the biggest star in our galaxy but it is the closest one to earth and
by far the biggest in the solar system.

Traveling at highway speeds, it would take you 177 years to reach the sun.

SOL means “sun” in Latin. Get it, SOL-ar system?
Walk 3 steps to MERCURY. Draw it.
FACTS TO READ ALOUD:

MERCURY - swift and speedy messenger of the Roman gods. Mercury orbits the
sun very quickly compared to Earth, taking only 88 Earth days for Mercury to orbit
the sun, so it would zip across the evening sky. This is the shortest year in the
solar system. If you lived on Mercury you would have a birthday every 88 days!

During the day it gets to 800 degrees Fahrenheit. At night it goes as low as -300 degrees. Humans couldn’t
survive there!

Mercury is covered with craters which are round shallow holes made when asteroids or meteorites crashed
into it.
Walk 2.5 steps to VENUS. Draw it.
FACTS TO READ ALOUD:

VENUS - Roman goddess of love and beauty. Although a scorching desert,
Venus shines brightly and beautifully in the sky and is sometimes called the
“Evening Star.”

Venus is the hottest planet in our solar system because thick acid cloud blankets
trap in the sun’s heat.

Astronauts can’t land on Venus because they would get: burned up by the 900 degree heat, poisoned by the
acid that covers the surface, and crushed by the planet’s heavy atmosphere of carbon dioxide!

Wrap your mind around this! Venus’s day is longer than its year. It takes 243 Earth days for Venus to rotate,
but only 225 Earth days for the planet to revolve around the sun.
Walk 2 steps to EARTH. Draw it.
FACTS TO READ ALOUD:

EARTH – Is the only planet not named after a god.It’s name comes for the Old
English word eorthe which means “ground” or "soil."

Our atmosphere (the blanket of air that surrounds our planet) contains oxygen for
us to breathe, protects us from the sun’s heat, and keeps our temperature just right.

2/3 of the Earth is covered with water.

As far as we know, Earth is the only planet that has living things.
Walk .5 steps to MOON. Draw it.
FACTS TO READ ALOUD:

Q: How do you know when the moon’s had enough to eat? A: When it’s full!

The moon is a big ball of rock that shines by reflecting the light of the sun. It is not a
planet.

Scientists think some moons, including our own, are probably pieces of planets that
broke off in crashes with big space rocks long ago.

The waves in our oceans actually chase the moon. The water level rises and falls about every 12 hours.
This happens because the moon’s gravity pulls on the water. When the moon is overhead, the water
underneath rises as if trying to reach up and meet it. This is called high tide. Low tide happens at the other
end of the same ocean, where the water is lower because some has gone to chase the moon.

Neil Armstrong’s footprints will last for millions of years because there is no wind or rain to erase them.
Go back to earth. Walk .5 steps to a SATTELITE. Draw it.
FACTS TO READ ALOUD:

A satellite is an artificial object that is deliberately sent into orbit in space to either
send, receive, or bounce back information to different areas of Earth. Fixed
satellites handle billions of voice, data, and video transmissions. Mobile systems
are used for navigation (GPS) and to connect remote ships, aircraft, etc. Scientific
research satellites collect meteorological data, land survey images, and other
scientific research.

There are thousands of sattelites around orbiting our planet.

Satellites are usually launched into space on rockets to reach their orbits.
Go back to earth. Walk .5 steps to the INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION (ISS). Draw it.
FACTS TO READ ALOUD:

The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest artificial satellite
currently orbiting Earth.

The ISS serves as a research lab in which crew members conduct
experiments in biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology, and other fields.

The station is suited for the testing of spacecraft systems and equipment
required for missions to the Moon and Mars.
From the ISS, walk 3.5 steps to MARS. Draw it.
FACTS TO READ ALOUD:

MARS - Roman god of war. The red color of Mars is like blood and war.

Mars has a volcano that is 3 times taller than Mt. Everest, the tallest mountain on
earth!

It will take future colonists 10 months to travel to Mars!

Scientists think that millions of years ago there may have been water on Mars which
means there may have been life as well!
Walk 13 steps to the ASTEROID BELT. Draw it.
FACTS TO READ ALOUD:

Asteroids are space rocks. They typically travel together in a wide circular track that
race around the sun at different speeds.
Walk 14.5 steps to JUPITER. Draw it.
FACTS TO READ ALOUD:

JUPITER - Roman king of the gods. It is so enormous1,300 Earths could fit
inside it!

Jupiter has 17 moons!

You could not stand on Juniper because the planet is made up mostly of gas and
hot liquid.

It is windy. Ferocious winds are always blowing the thick red, orange, brown, and
white clouds around, always changing the way the planet looks.

Jupiter also has a Great Red Spot which is a huge storm that has lasted at least three hundred years. (The
storm itself is three times the size of the earth!)
Walk 32.5 steps to SATURN. Draw it.
FACTS TO READ ALOUD:

SATURN - Roman god of the harvest. Saturn was only visible in the
northern hemisphere during the growing seasons of summer.

Q: Why does Saturn belong in a jewelry store? A: Because of all of its
beautiful rings!

The rings are actually made up of pieces of rock and sparkly ice. Some
pieces are as small as a grain of salt, and others are as large as a house.

Saturn does not weigh much. It could actually float in an ocean if you found an ocean big enough!
Walk 72 steps to URANUS. Draw it.
FACTS TO READ ALOUD:

URANUS - father of all the Greek gods and god of the sky. Often wealthy
Greeks and Romans lounged around at meals or in conversation and the
typical position for them to do this would be to recline on pillows on their
side. Just as they reclined on their sides, Uranus is "lying on its side" as it
rotates on its side.

Uranus was the first planet discovered by using a telescope. With this
discovery we learned the solar system was twice as big as we thought it was!

Uranus has 11 rings that go around the planet up and down like a Ferris wheel. Some astronomers believe a
planet-sized object came and knocked Uranus onto its side.
Walk 81.5 steps to NEPTUNE. Draw it.
FACTS TO READ ALOUD:

NEPTUNE - Roman god of the sea. It is blue in color and resembles the sea.

A space probe named Voyager 2 actually discovered Neptune’s four rings in 1989.

Neptune has raging storms with winds that whip around at more than 1,250 miles
per hour!
Walk 71 steps to PLUTO. Draw it.
FACTS TO READ ALOUD:

PLUTO - Roman god of the underworld. Romans believed that the
underworld had two distinct areas, one of extreme heat and fire and
one of extreme cold and ice. Because of Pluto's distance from the sun,
it is very dark and cold.

Pluto has a large moon named Charon, after the boatman on the river
Styx in the Underworld, which Pluto rules.
Walk 13 steps to KUIPER BELT OBJECTS (ASTEROID BELT). Draw it.
FACTS TO READ ALOUD:

There are usually thousands of miles between the asteroids.

Some asteroids get pulled by gravity and move outside of the belt.