Astronomy
“At night the sky is pure astronomy.” The ancients relied on understanding the heavens to order their seasons and years. With the advent of technology, we don't have as deep an understanding or appreciation of extraterrestrial events. This unit seeks to familiarize students with the ebb and flow of seasons and how objects in our solar system and beyond impact our lives.
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Topics:
Here's what we're doing. . .
We are learning about seasons, tides, eclipses, and orbital motion. |
Resources:
Tonight's Sky--a monthly video of what to see in our night's sky. Includes constellations, Messier objects, and galaxies. This is a great site for amateur astronomers! Planets of the Month--this is from Space.com and gives a day by day calendar of events to find planets and constellations. Earth's Seasons and Shadows--this animation allows you to see how the angle of the sun hits different parts of the Earth during the 4 season. Gravity and Orbits--this simulation explores the orbits of the sun, Earth, and moon and allows you to manipulate gravity and velocity of the orbits.You can test your weight around the solar system. Constellations--these links gives all zodiac constellations including named stars within them, personality traits, and ruling planets. Great resources! Fast Facts--clickable collection of facts about planets, asteroids, comets, etc. Day and Night--this searchable database allows you to know the length of day and night in several places around the world. It also includes information about eclipses. Eclipses--Review the path of the August 2017 total solar eclipse. Make plans now for the April 2024 total solar eclipse! This short eclipse video explains the different nuances of solar and lunar eclipses. Synodic vs. Sidereal month--animation shows the difference between a lunar month and a sidereal month. The Moon Connection site gives all kinds of information about eclipses, tides, phases, and explanations behind the motions. And just for fun, how can we forget Mr. Lee's Black and Yellow version (with all of its mispronunciations and misspellings) of the Phases of the Moon--a 7th grade classic! Bay of Fundy--Hopewell Rocks in Nova Scotia shows the greatest tidal differences twice/day. Retrograde Motion--this short animation explains how from the Earth's perspective, some planets appear to move backwards in their orbits for a short period. This is the basis for some of Ptolemy's explanations of planetary motion and epicycles. Solar System Exploration--this is a NASA site that gives a ton of readable information about a variety of objects in our solar system (moons, planets, comets, etc.) Sun Layers--This is a basic tutorial about the sun's layers, but it does not mention the chromosphere, the layer between the photosphere and the corona. It mentions solar flares, prominences, and sun spots. Birth of the Solar System--This is a VR tour of the birth and evolution of the solar system put out by Quanta magazine. You can use a VR headset to get an even richer experience! View with Firefox as your browser. Aurora Borealis (real time) and Space weather. This site lists the 10 best places to see the Northern Lights. What are Black Holes? This is a short video with a very basic explanation of black holes. |