Changing Ideas of Solar System and Beyond

Changing Ideas of Our Solar System and Beyond

Astronomers (Scientists Who Study Space) Learn and Adjust Their Ideas

Multiple Choice

What are scientists who study space called?

• astronomers

• biologists

• seismologists

• geologists

Copernicus (Video)

• Ptolemy - Geocentric Model (Earth in Center)

• Copernicus - Heliocentric (Sun in Center)

• Models of our Solar System Change - the more we learn, the model can be adjusted

• Galileo (Video) - Supported Heliocentric Model But Was Arrested and Forced to Say that He Didn't

Multiple Choice

The model of our solar system has never changed.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Copernicus developed the heliocentric model of the solar system. What was at the center of his model?

• Earth

• The Sun

Modern Model of Solar System

• Relative Sizes of Planets & the Sun (Only Star in Solar System)

• Inner Planets - Rocky

• Asteroid Belt - Ring of Large Rocks Between Inner and Outer Planets

• Outer Planets - Less Rocky, Gas Giants

• Kuiper Belt Much Larger than Asteroid Belt - Ring of Icy Chunks

• Problems? Planets RARELY line up like this, sizes aren't to scale

Multiple Choice

What separates the inner and outer planets?

• the Sun

• the mid planets

• asteroid belt

• nothing

Stars (Video)

• Different Colors

• Different Sizes

Our Star - The Sun

• Only Star in Our Solar System

• A Medium Size Star Compared to Other Stars Throughout the Milky Way

• Yellow Dwarf Star

Multiple Choice

Stars can be different sizes and have different colors.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

Our sun is among the largest known stars.

• True

• False

Relative Size (Video)

• Some objects in the sky look like they are close to the same size, but we know their sizes are quite different.

• What determines how we VIEW these objects? Their size and their distance from us.

• The farther away the object, the smaller it will look.

Multiple Choice

The farther away an object is from Earth, the larger it appears to us.

• True

• False

Multiple Select

What two factors determine how we VIEW (see) an object in space?

• nearby planets

• size of the object

• how much the object moves

• the distance of the object from Earth