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Find the Sun-1 of 4
Find the Sun
Brief Summary
This is a software activity in which visitors maneuver around a chosen planet from a position
out in space until they can see the Sun. Visitors see how the planet appears to be in different
“phases” depending on how much of the lit part they can see, and make the connection to the
phases of the Moon. Visitors can also see how different the size of the Sun would appear
from different planets.
Equipment Required

Laptop with Starry
Night Pro

A Museum Galaxy
Guide partner to do
Moon Phases at the
same time

Find the Sun can be found
under “Go” on the toolbar at
the top.

Make sure the cursor is in the
“Location Scroller” mode,
indicated by the following:
Main Teaching Points




The lit part of a planet is the half that faces the Sun.
You see different amounts of the lit part of a planet, depending upon your position.
The Sun appears to be a different size in the sky when viewed from different planets.
When you see only the dark side of a planet, you should be able to see the Sun
somewhere behind the planet.
Educational Strategy
Often, a concept that you would like a learner to understand is best communicated when the
learner figures it out for him- or herself. A strategy for doing this is to give the learner a target
activity that is easy to verbalize, but which can only be accomplished if the learner grapples
with the concept.” When the learner can successfully do the target activity, then you know he
or she must have internalized the concept.
The visitor’s present
understanding of the
given topic
Concept you want the
visitor to understand
Easy to understand
“Target” activity
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In this case, the easy-to-verbalize target activity is “Find the Sun.” However, in order to
accomplish this, visitors must construct for themselves an understanding of how the Sun’s
light appears on a spherical body in the solar system, such as a planet or moon.
This activity should be done in conjunction with the “Phases of the Moon” activity. Once the
visitors have grasped this concept, it is a short step to understanding why the Moon has
phases when seen from the Earth.
Set Up




Get with a Museum Galaxy Guide partner so that you can use this in conjunction with the
Moon Phases demo.
Open up “Starry Night Pro.”
On the toolbar at the top, go to Go/Find The Sun, then pick a planet to begin.
Be sure the cursor is in the “Location Scroller” mode. To do this, go to the pointer selector
in the top left hand corner, and pick “Location Scroller,” indicated by the following:
Suggested ways of presenting demo
Try this:
1. Activity
 Ask a visitor to pick a planet, then open up that file.
 Show the visitor how to operate the mouse to move around the planet.
 Tell the visitor that the goal of the activity is to move around until (s)he can see the
Sun.
2. Discussion
 Encourage the visitor to articulate the concepts by explaining how he or she was
able to find the Sun.
 How does this relate to the reason that we see Moon phases? (Participating in the
Moon Phases demo will help the visitor to explore these concepts from a different
perspective.)
Operating Tips

Operating the mouse or laptop track pad may be new to some people, though even the
youngest visitors who try this demo may already be familiar with how to work it. The
mouse is usually the easier of the two.
Questions and Answers
Does the Sun look different when viewed from other planets?
Find the Sun-3 of 4
Yes. The Sun appears smaller when viewed from planets that are successively further away.
Demo: Show the visitor how the Sun looks from Earth. Ask the visitor to predict how the Sun
would look from Pluto, then open that file and show them. Repeat with Mercury.
Do the constellations look different when viewed from other planets?
No. The stars are so far away compared to the distances between planets that there is no
perceptible change in their relative positions. Demo: Open the Earth file and find the Big
Dipper or Orion. Repeat with Pluto or any other planet (the farther from Earth the better).
Note that some close-by stars such as Sirius & Alpha Centauri would appear slightly shifted.
The PARALLAX (apparent shift of position when viewed from 2 locations) of about 50 stars is
observable even from one side of the Earth’s orbit to the other, and would also therefore be
detectable from different planets.
Other Cool Stuff to Try

After finding the Sun, explore the planets! Zoom into the moons of Jupiter, the rings of
Saturn, or the satellites around Earth.
Fast Facts

On average, Pluto gets 1600 times less solar energy than Earth, while Mercury gets
almost seven times more solar energy than Earth. Mars gets just under half as much
solar energy as we get on Earth. You would have a hard time finding the Sun in Pluto’s
sky because the Sun looks like just another bright star.
Potential Problems

If you or a visitor accidentally close the Starry Night Program, long delays can occur if you
are not fluent in getting back to the same place. Be sure to practice opening the Starry
Night Program quickly without delays.
Background materials
collections links)


(websites,
videos,
articles,
digital
http://www.starhop.com/library/pdf/studyguide/high/SolInt-19.pdf – to compare how much
solar energy different planets get
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/planets/profile.cfm?Object=Sun
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Self assessment suggestions
After doing the Find the Sun demo several times, complete the checklist and rubric below by
highlighting the box that best describes your performance. Have your team leader observe
your demo then complete an identical rubric. Discuss your presentation technique with your
team leader along the lines of the rubric.
Assessment Tools for FIND THE SUN
DATE________ PRESENTER_____________
A. Checklist of pre-requisite skills
1. Can boot up computer and open Starry Night Pro preset with no delay.
2. Can use the “Move toward the dark zone” strategy to find the Sun.
3. Can explain the different sizes & brightness of the sun seen from various planets
using the inverse square law concept.
B. Rubric for Find the Sun Demo
QUALITY
LEVELS  OK
TRAITS 
EXCELLENT
Levels of assistance
Leaves visitors on their own to Allows visitors to try their
try their own strategy
own approaches and asks
leading questions without
taking away control from
visitors
Adaptation
to Uses simpler language when Uses analogies, props,
age/background levels
talking to novices and younger drawings and recruited
children
visitors to represent the
sun and planets as needed
Sensitivity
pacing
to
cognitive Reads visitor body language to Reads
visitor
body
adjust the pace of giving new language
and
asks
information.
questions
to
ensure
understanding
of
one
concept before building on
it