Space – The Final Frontier

1. Space – The Final Frontier What can we see in the sky?

2. The Universe • The universe is everything that exists, including all matter and energy everywhere. The study of what is beyond the Earth is called astronomy! Images of the Universe Video

3. Distance in Space • Space is so vast we cannot measure the distance using normal means (km, miles, etc.) • Ex/ distance from the Earth to the Sun = approximately 150 million km, or 93 million miles and relatively speaking, the Sun is not that far away!! • Since Space is so vast we use Astronomical Units (A.U.) and Light Years to measure distances • How vast is it? Our Universe Video Space Size Comparisons Video

4. Astronomical Unit’s (A.U.) • An A.U. is the distance from the Sun to the Earth (~150 million km) • If something is 300 million km away the distance would be 2 A.U.

5. Light Year • In Space the distances are gigantic. For example, the closest star to Earth (besides our sun) is something like 38,000,000,000,000 km (24,000,000,000,000 miles) away. That's the closest star. • There are stars that are billions of times farther away than that. When you start talking about those kinds of distances, a mile or km just isn't a practical unit to use because the numbers get too big. Even A.U. measurements become absurd!

6. A Light Year • So to measure really long distances, people use a unit called a light year.  • Light travels at 300,000 kilometers per second (3.0x108 m/s). Therefore, a light second is 300,000 kilometers! • A light year is the distance that light can travel in a year, or: • 9,460,800,000,000 km (63,072 A.U.’s) That's a long way!

7. How far is a light year? - Video

8. Galaxies • Using a system invented by Edwin Hubble, astronomers classify galaxies into three major types: • Spiral • Elliptical • Irregular • The sizes of all three types span a wide range, from • dwarf galaxies • which contain 100 million (108) stars • To • giant galaxies • which contain 1 trillion (1012) stars

9. Spiral Galaxies • Look like a pinwheel from above • Looks like a plate with a bulge from the side • Has many long “arms” spiraling out from the centre • Ex/ Ours – the Milky Way Galaxy

10. Elliptical Galaxies • Range in shape from a perfect sphere to a stretched-out ellipse • Contain some of the oldest stars in the universe • Over half of all galaxies are elliptical and they make up the larges ones

11. Irregular Galaxies • “none of the above” category; neither spiral nor elliptical • Are made up of newly forming stars and old stars

12. Galaxies of the Universe - Video

13. Constellations Star Constellations •  the stars in the sky form patterns known as constellations • constellations have been used for thousands of years as calendars, timekeepers and direction finders • different places on the planet have different constellations

14. The Universe - Constellations

15. Computer Activity • Google Earth – Google Space, Mars and Moon • Layers  Backyard Astronomy  Constellations • Our Solar System  Have a look around

16. OUR SOLAR SYSTEM • The Sun • Eight Planets • Some Moons • Many Comets and asteroids

17. Our Solar System • Our Solar System from the Sun outwards

18. SUN • 75% hydrogen and 25% helium by mass • Sun converts hydrogen to helium in its core • Core conditions • temperature is 15.6 million Kelvin • pressure is 250 billion atmospheres Norm Herr (sample file)

19. MERCURY • Shortest orbit around the Sun (0.24 Earth Years) • Mass (0.05 X Earth) • 8th largest • Rocky ball

20. VENUS • Orbit (0.62 Earth Years) • Mass (0.82 X Earth) • Similar to Earth • 6th largest • brightest

21. EARTH • 3rd rock from the Sun • Moon is 1/6 mass of earth • Orbit 365.25 days • Only planet known to sustain life in the Universe

22. Where are we?

23. MARS • Solid carbon dioxide is found at the poles • Mars is known as the Red Planet due to its Iron composition • Orbit (1.88 Earth Years) • Mass (0.11 X Earth)

24. JUPITER • Jupiter contains over 70% of the mass in the solar system outside the Sun. • It is about 11 times the radius and 330 times the mass of the earth. • Jupiter is not a solid body, but instead is a ball of gas and liquid (mostly hydrogen and helium). • Orbit (11.86 Earth Years) • Mass (317.8 X Earth)

25. SATURN • Made of gas • One of its moons (Titan) is larger than Mercury! • Identified by its many rings composed of ice particles • Orbit (29.46 Earth Years) • Mass (95.2 X Earth)

26. URANUS • Made of gas • 4th most massive planet in the solar system • Thinner ring system compared with Saturn • Atmosphere is composed of methane gas giving it its blue colour • Orbit (84.01 Earth Years) • Mass (14.5 X Earth) • Is flipped on its side

27. NEPTUNE • Outermost planet and is made of gas • Its composition and atmosphere is similar to Uranus but it is a darker blue • Very thin ring system • Orbit (164.8 Earth Years) • Mass (17.1 X Earth)

28. PLUTO • No longer considered a Planet • Is the second most massive known dwarf planet in the Solar System (after Eris) • Pluto's mass is less than 0.24 percent that of the Earth • Its diameter is roughly 66% that of our Moon Why Pluto Isn’t A Planet Anymore - Video

29. Observing Stars and Planets • A star is a big ball of burning gas • A planet is a smaller ball of rock (or gas) that goes around a star • We can see the planets Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury without a telescope at certain times of the year

30. the Sun and all the objects that travel around it make up the Solar System • the Sun is called luminous because it produces its own light • planets and moons are called nonluminous because they do not produce their own light; they reflect the light of the Sun • our Sun is also a star

31. Effects of Earth’s Rotation: • Rotation: spinning of an object around its axis • One rotation of Earth takes 24 h • Earth is slightly tilted on it’s axis (23.5o)  1 cause of the seasons Effect of Earth’s Revolution: • Revolution: movement of one object travelling around another • Takes Earth one year to travel in a circle around the Sun • Allows us to see different constellations during different seasons • Main cause of Earth’s seasons

32. Bill Nye - Seasons