the traveling exhibit science background part a: intro & our place in space prepared by dr....
TRANSCRIPT
The Traveling Exhibit Science Background
Part A: INTRO & Our Place in Space
prepared by Dr. Cherilynn Morrow for the Space Science Institute Boulder, CO
The Questions Behind the Exhibit
Are we alone?
Where do stars and planets come from?
What would life elsewhere be like?
The Big Ideas
We are developing extraordinary new tools, techniques, and insights for exploring the age-old question of whether there is life beyond Earth.
Our search for habitable worlds and signs of life in our galaxy is guided by our study of how stars and planets form & our understanding of life on Earth.
Welcome to the Exhibit
Our Place in Space (Powers of 10 display) straight backSearch for Life to the leftStar & Planet Formation to the rightPlanet Quest Dome straight back
The science background is organized by EXHIBIT AREA:
A. Our Place in Space
KEY QUESTIONS:
What and where are we in the cosmos?
Could there be other planets like Earth out there?
2. Planets orbit stars
3. Stars and star systems orbit the centers of galaxies
4. Galaxies orbit each other in clusters.
1. Moonsorbit planets
Before entering the exhibit, fill in the blanks using the following key words.
galaxy orbit solar system moon star Universe Earth Jupiter planets Sun 100 billion
The Sun is a _________ located at the center of our __________________. Our
home, called __________, is one of 9 planets that orbit around the _________.
Earth has one _________ that orbits around it each month, showing different
phases. Some planets have many moons that ___________ around them.
________________ is the largest planet in the Solar System and has 64 moons!
Our sun is one of about _______________ stars contained in the spiral
_____________ we call the Milky Way. Astronomers are now discovering
Jupiter-sized ____________ that orbit around some of those distant stars. Outer
space is even bigger yet because the Milky Way is only one of an estimated 100
billion (100,000,000,000) galaxies in the ______________!
Exploring the Structure of the Universe
Can You Fill in the Blanks?Click for Answers
star solar systemEarth Sunmoon
orbitJupiter
100 billiongalaxy
planets
UniverseAstronomy Games: Fill-in-the-Blank Copyright 2000 Cherilynn Morrow – Used with permission [email protected]
Earth is one of 9 PLANETS* in our SOLAR SYSTEM. The planets orbit a central STAR we call the SUN.
Can you name the other planets?
Hit <RETURN> for answers
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Rocky terrestrial planets of the inner solar system.
Gas & ice giant planets
of the outer solar system.
Influenced by the gravity of Jupiter & Neptune, icy comets from the outer solar system likely delivered important ingredients for life to the young Earth environment (e.g. water and carbon compounds).
Our Place in the Solar System
*The exact number depends on whether we call objects like Pluto “planets”.
Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system.
• Jupiter is a gaseous world without a solid surface.• Jupiter has twice the mass of all the other planets combined.• Jupiter is 10 times the diameter of Earth.• A thousand Earths would fit inside Jupiter.
In the past decade, we have begun to detect the presence of
Jupiter-sized worlds in orbit around other stars in our Milky Way galaxy.
Artist’s concept of 3 “extra-solar planets”
Earth is in our solar system’s “habitable zone” where liquid water can exist on the surface.
Venus“Too Hot”
Earth“Just
Right!”
Mars“Too Cold”
The Goldilocks Effect
• A hundred Earths would fit across the diameter of the Sun.
• A million Earths would fit inside the volume of the Sun.
Earth-sun distance not to scale
The Sun is the ONLY star in the SOLAR SYSTEM.
Earth is the ONLY planet in our solar system where we
know for sure that life has
evolved.
• The Sun is the only star in the SOLAR SYSTEM, but it is one of over 100 billion stars in the GALAXY we call the Milky Way.
• Our solar system is located about 2/3 of the way out from the galaxy’s center.
• Astronomers think that most of the stars in the Milky Way galaxy could also have planets orbiting around them. These are called “extra-solar planets”.
Artist’s Concept of our Milky Way Galaxy
Our Place in the Galaxy
2. “Milky Way” = the band of light and dust that stretches across a dark night sky.* This is just a portion of one of the spiral arms that we can see from Earth.
The term “Milky Way” is used in two ways. For purposes of this presentation, we mean the whole galaxy.
1. “Milky Way” = our entire galaxy of 100 billion stars.* Our whole solar system orbits once around the galaxy’s center every 225 million years or so.
* The image above is of another spiral galaxy that may be a lot like our own Milky Way. It would not be possible to make such an image of our own galaxy from within it. This galaxy is called NGC 4414.
* The image above is a long exposure photograph, showing much more contrast than we would see with our naked eye. To the eye, the “Milky Way” looks like a faint, whitish band with a few dark patches.
“What if we filled this whole room with crystals of salt?” That’s how many stars in the whole Milky Way galaxy! ~ 100 billion!
“Milky Stars”Mirrored Room:
part of theAlien Earths
exhibit
What if we filled this whole room with crystals of
salt?
There’d be about a 100 billion crystals. That’s how many stars in the
whole Milky Way galaxy!
Of course, the Sun is really 10 billion times bigger than a grapefruit with a 14 cm diameter.
Q1. About how big would planet Earth be on this scale? [Show size with your hands or an object. <RETURN> for answer.]
Assume the Sun is the size of a large grapefruit:
A1: About the size of a pencil tip
Q2: On this scale, how far away would pencil-tip “Earth” be from the grapefruit “Sun”?A2: About 15 meters (50 ft) away.
Pluto would be about ½ mile away.
Q3: On this scale, how far away would the nearest star in the Milky Way galaxy be?A3: About 5000 km (3000 miles).
The East-West distance across the US!
So in this scale model, the space between the Sun and the NEAREST STAR in the Milky Way galaxy is like having one grapefruit on the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco, and another grapefruit on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York.
Images of spiral galaxies make it seem like stars are crammed closely together, but in reality there are vast distances between them.
At the present time, our technologies enable us to search around the nearest stars in the Milky Way galaxy (the pink sphere) for extra-solar planets or signs of intelligent life.
So Many Stars, So Little Time
We are searching in a tiny portion of the Milky Way galaxy, and yet our galaxy is only one of more than 100 billion galaxies in the
Universe!All but 4 specks in this “Hubble Deep Field”
image are entire galaxies, each of them with 100 billion
stars.
Earth is one of 9 PLANETS that orbit a STAR we call the SUN [“3rd rock from the Sun”]
The Sun is at the center of the SOLAR SYSTEM and is the ONLY star in the Solar System.
Our SUN is one of over 100 billion STARS in the GALAXY we call the Milky Way
We are detecting the presence of Jupiter-sized worlds in orbit around other stars in our Milky Way
Galaxy.
Our GALAXY is one of over 100 billion galaxies in the UNIVERSE!
A. Our Place in SpaceSUMMARY
Test yourself on
“Earth’s Place in Space”
by taking a few minutes to play
TWO ASTRONOMY GAMES
OR
Skip ahead to PART B: Star &
Planet Formation
Two Astronomy Games
Two Astronomy Games Copyright 2004 Cherilynn Morrow – Used with permission [email protected]
On a sheet of paper, make two columns like the ones below:
“Small and Large” “Near and Far”
1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
4. 4.
5. 5.
6. 6.
7. 7.
8. 8.
9. 9.
Smallest
Largest
Closest
Farthest
Two Astronomy Games Copyright 2004 Cherilynn Morrow – Used with permission [email protected]
Game # 1:
The next slide will show 9 images
Order the objects in these images from the smallest object (number 1) to largest object (number 9). Use the first column in the table you created.
Write the letter as well as the name of the object in the column. This way, you will have a list that you can consult later.
Are you ready?
Two Astronomy Games Copyright 2004 Cherilynn Morrow – Used with permission [email protected]
A. THE SUN B. EARTH C. SPACE SHUTTLE
D. THE MOON E. THE SOLAR SYSTEM
G. MARS H. A GALAXY I. JUPITER
F. BEARS
Press ENTER for a HINT
Mars has no oceans and the sameLAND area as Earth
Two Astronomy Games Copyright 2004 Cherilynn Morrow – Used with permission [email protected]
The Solution
Two Astronomy Games Copyright 2004 Cherilynn Morrow – Used with permission [email protected]
7A. THE SUN
5B. EARTH
2C. SPACE SHUTTLE 3D. THE MOON
8E. THE SOLAR SYSTEM
1F. BEARS
4G. MARS 6I. JUPITER
9H. A GALAXY
Two Astronomy Games Copyright 2004 Cherilynn Morrow – Used with permission [email protected]
Game # 2:
The next slide will show 9 images.
Order the objects in these images from the object that is nearest to the surface of Earth (number 1) to the object that is farthest from the surface of Earth (number 9). Use the second column in the table you created.
It would be best to write the letter as well as the name of the object in the column. This way, you will have a list that you can consult later.
Are you ready?
Two Astronomy Games Copyright 2004 Cherilynn Morrow – Used with permission [email protected]
A. THE SUN B. A GALAXY C. AURORAS
D. THE MOON E. JET AIRPLANE F. HUBBLE TELESCOPE
G. AN EAGLE H. STARS OF THE BIG DIPPER I. SATURN
Auroras occur in Earth’suppermost atmosphere
Stars we see are withinthe Milky Way galaxy
If we see a whole spiral, it can’t be our own galaxy.
Saturn is 10 times fartherfrom the Sun than Earth
The Space Shuttle can visitHubble, but not the Moon
Press ENTER for HINTS
Two Astronomy Games Copyright 2004 Cherilynn Morrow – Used with permission [email protected]
The Solution
Two Astronomy Games Copyright 2004 Cherilynn Morrow – Used with permission [email protected]
G. AN EAGLE E. JET AIRPLANE C. AURORAS
F. HUBBLE TELESCOPED. THE MOON
A. THE SUN
I. SATURN H. STARS OF THE BIG DIPPER B. A GALAXY
Two Astronomy Games Copyright 2004 Cherilynn Morrow – Used with permission [email protected]
These games are available on-line in multiple modalities:
1. As you see it here in PowerPoint2. As a downloadable card game for the exhibit floor3. As an on-line interactive4. As a classroom activity
Go to www.alienearths.org. Click on “Traveling Exhibition” then “Education Program” then
“Activities” Two Astronomy Games Copyright 2004 Cherilynn Morrow – Used with permission [email protected]