1. 5/11 - 8th Grade Agenda
Learning Objective: Learn about the Outer planets and Comets
Collect HW: Reading & Notetaking p.251– 253
Video: When we left Earth
Textbook Reading: p
HW: Reading & Notetaking p.254– 256

2. Daily Reflection
Prompt: Write 3 questions about Comets

3. Uranus 7th Planet from the Sun Has thin rings Tilted on its axis
Has 18+ moons

4. Neptune 8th Planet from the Sun Has a large moon called Triton
Has 18+ moons

5. Neptune’s moon Triton
Triton has a thin atmosphere made up of Nitrogen

6. Pluto Not a “planet” anymore It’s a “Dwarf Planet”
Has a single moon called Charon
Pluto is smaller than our moon
Some objects of Pluto’s size have been found outside of Pluto’s orbit
Many astronomer don’t consider Pluto a planet

7. What are Comets? “Dirty snowball” about the size of a mountain.
Comets are loose collections of ice, dust, and small rocky particles whose orbits are usually very long, narrow ellipses.

8. How does a Comet’s tail form?
As a comet approaches the sun and heats up, some of its gas and dust stream outward, forming a tail.
The name comet means “long-haired star” in Greek.

9. Comets originate from Kui____ Belt & Oo__ Cloud
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Comets originate from Kui____ Belt & Oo__ Cloud rt
Kuiper belt is 100 X beyond Neptune’s orbit
Oort cloud is 1000X the distance between Pluto and the sun

10. Comet’s Orbit

11. Close up of a Comet “Dirty Snowball”

12. Close up picture of comet
Rosetta space craft landed in 2014.
It took pictures of Churyumov-Gerasimenko comet

13. What are Asteroids?
Most asteroids revolve around the sun between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
Most asteroids are small—less than a kilometer in diameter
Only Ceres, Pallas, and Vesta are more than 300 kilometers across.

14. Close up of an Asteroid

15. What are “shooting stars”?
“Shooting Stars” are Meteors
A meteoroid is a chunk of rock or dust in space.
Meteoroids come from comets or asteroids.
Meteroids form when a comet breaks up and creates a cloud of dust that continues to move through the solar system.

16. How big are most meteors we see?
Very small
Less than size of a penny
They appear very bright because they are burning up against a black sky

17. Meteor Crater in Arizona

18. What do we need for “life as we know it” to exist on a planet?
Liquid water
Suitable temperature range
Suitable atmosphere
Are these the conditions necessary for life?

19. Some bacteria can thrive in nearly boiling temperature

20. Some life forms can survive with out sunlight
These tubeworms live thousands of feet underwater
There is no sun light
They get energy by converting chemicals nears the thermal vents

21. Is there Life on Mars? Mars once had water on the surface
Mars may have once had the conditions needed for life to exist.
Life doest not appear to exist on Mars

22. Is there Life on Europa? Ice Moon of Jupiter
If there is liquid water on Europa, there might also be life.
Plans are under way to send robotic probes to drill holes through the Ice Sheets

23. Is there Life on Titan?

24. Is there other life in the Universe?
There are 100 Billion stars in our Galaxy
There are more than 100 Billion Galaxies in the Universe
Do you think there are other life forms in the Universe?