OUR SOLAR

NEIGHBORHOOD
Section 1.4

THE SUN AND PLANETS

The sun is at the center of our solar system and is orbited by 8 planets and 1
dwarf planet
Use the links on our website to fill out the Planets Spread Sheet assignment
and answer the planets questions
https://sites.google.com/a/fmcsd.ab.ca/mrs-easton---holy-trinity/science9/space-exploration/assignments/building-a-planetary-spreadsheet

PLANETS QUESTIONS
See your booklet

7 Wonders of the Solar System

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br7icUTD7X0&list=PLke8oyBwNzHxyG69NPYa15a-NLd4wCR3

ASTEROIDS AND COMETS

Asteroids are small rocky or metallic bodies travelling in space between Mars
and Jupiter. Ceres is the largest asteroid- over 1000 km wide
Comets are objects of dust and ice that travel in space. They have a long,
bright tail which glows as they approach the Sun

METEOROIDS, METEORS AND

METEORITES
Intrigueology
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKPjlX_1eio

METEOROIDS, METEORS AND

METEORITES
Meteoroids are small pieces of rocks flying through space without a path or
orbit
Meteors are meteoroids that have been pulled into our atmosphere by the
Earths gravity. These are often referred to as shooting stars as they streak
across the night sky.
If a meteor lasts long enough to hit Earths Surface it is called a meteorite.

ECLIPSES
A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and the
earth, and the moon fully or partially blocks the sun
A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes directly behind the earth into
its umbra. This can occur only when the Sun, Earth and Moon are aligned
exactly, or very closely with the earth in the middle.
LEARN ALBERTA GIZMO ECLIPSE

POSITION IN SPACE
To locate an object in space you must know high it is in the sky and in which
direction. There are 2 measurements you can take.
Azimuth
Altitude

ALTITUDE
Altitude gives you the how above the horizon the object is.
The point straight above has an altitude of 90 degrees
The points on the horizon have an altitude of 0 degrees
An Object halfway up in the sky has an altitude of 45 degrees

AZIMUTH
The azimuth determines which compass direction the object can be found in
the sky.

0 degrees = North
90 degrees= East
180 degrees = South
270 Degrees = West

TRACKING OBJECTS IN THE SOLAR

SYSTEM
Elliptical paths can help astronomers and scientists to trace and predict
where bodies in space are, have been and will be in the future. The
understanding of orbits has led to the discovery of many different comets.
NASA tracks asteroids, comets and Meteors that have been discovered by
observations and amateur astronomers.