Space and Light

The sun is a giant ball of FUSION made of hydrogen and helium. It creates all our weather and keeps us from flying off into the universe and getting incredibly cold

The Sun is a star, not even a very big one. The only reason it is brighter is because it is very close to us In fact we are flying around it in an ellipse

The Sun is approximately kilometers from the Earth.

We know solar radiation is another word for energy from the sun What is solar radiation? Can you touch it? Could I throw it at you? Does it fit in a bottle?

Solar Radiation is a wave. All light is a wave, and we shall call it.. ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION

What else is just ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION ? Cell Phones use it Microwaves Radio Broadcast TV Energy from the sun

Is just a wave ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION

We describe waves with two parts: Wavelength Frequency

Frequency is the number of waves in 1 second. Measured in Hertz

Here is a big one (need this for the experiment)

The wavelength of light determines its color. nm = nanometers 1.0 nanometer = meter That is really small

Once the wavelength is too small or big, we can't see it Microwaves – too big X-rays – too small Rainbows – just right

We can figure out if something is moving if it emits light because the wavelength changes We can also figure what things are made of by how waves bend.

How can we use light to check out space? Telescopes Hubble is the absolute KING of telescopes