Solar System

SOLAR
SYSTEM
REVIEW

3rd Hour • Eighth Grade

ECLIPSE REVIEW

Lunar- Moon moves
into Earth’s shadow
Solar- Moon blocks
the view of the Sun
from Earth

Drag and Drop

A solar eclipse is when the moon ​

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A lunar eclipse is when the moon ​

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Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

blocks the sun from Earth's view.

has a shadow cast on it by Earth.

Critical Question: How Does “Our Star” Affect Earth?

Multiple Choice

Jupiter is the most massive planet, at 1,898 x 10 to the 24th kilograms. The moon only weighs 735 x 10 to the 22nd kilograms. So why does the moon and sun affect Earth's tides, but Jupiter does not?

• The sun is so massive it affects the orbits of every planet in the solar system, and the moon is both close and large enough.

• The moon is so massive is affects the orbits of every planet in the solar system, and the sun is both large enough and close enough.

• Of course Jupiter affects Earth, why you lyin'?

• Jupiter is farther away than the moon so outer planets orbit it instead of the sun.

Multiple Select

We depend on the sun for (select all that apply):

• Light

• Heat

• Gravity to keep us in an orbit

• To determine our weight

Measurements.…
in Space!

The red star in the center is Proxima Centauri, our sun’s
nearest neighbor. Its light takes FOUR years to reach
Earth. Essentially, when we see Proxima Centauri, we see
it as it was 4 years ago. The sun’s light only takes 9
minutes to reach us.

Key Concepts:

●Light travels through space at a
defined rate: 6,000,000,000,000
(trillion) miles a year. We use the term
light-year to describe this.

●Based on this, try to calculate how far
Proxima Centauri is from Earth in
miles…you can, it’s basic
multiplication! But it’s much easier to
just say it’s 4 light-years away.

●For closer distances in space, we use
astronomical units (AU). It is
approximately 1 AU from the Earth to
the Sun.

●63,420 AU = 1 light-year

Dropdown

We would use ​

Select answer

to measure objects farther away than our solar system. ​

Select answer

are more appropriate for distances inside of it. This is because ​

Select answer

equals 63,420 ​

Select answer

All stars are formed from a cloud of
gas and dust, and they all produce
energy.

●Stars can be different sizes,
and they give off different
amounts of light.

●The brightness or the amount
of light a star gives off
depends upon its size and
temperature.

●Stars also have varying life
spans.

Formation of Stars and Galaxies

“Average” stars are considered
low and medium-mass, like our
sun.

Multiple Choice

The Sun in our solar system is considered an __________ and will eventually become a _________.

• Massive star, black hole

• Massive star, white dwarf

• Medium or low-mass star, white dwarf

• Medium or low-mass star, black hole

Light from Stars

Many stars release visible light *in addition to*
heat and other forms of energy! We can see the
light of some stars, but not all of them.

Glossary term
Luminosity-inherent brightness of a star think of it as the |absolute value| of a star’s brightness

Multiple Select

What is true about light from the stars? Select all that apply.

• Absolute magnitude is how bright a star actually is, versus how bright it appears due to distance

• A star with greater absolute magnitude might appear dimmer to us because it's farther from Earth than a star with lower absolute magnitude.

• Blue stars are hotter than red stars

• Spectral sequence is a temperature sequence

Hertzsprung-Russell Diagrams

Brightness (or luminosity) runs on the y-axis. Note where 1 is!
Surface temperature reflects spectral class and runs along the x-axis. *O (Blue /hottest)→*M (Red/coldest)

Multiple Choice

Where is our sun on the H-R diagram?

• White Dwarf

• Main Sequence

• Supergiants

• Giants

Multiple Choice

Our Sun is in what Spectral class and is therefore what temperature?

• Yellow (G), 4000-6000K

• Blue (O), 28,000-50,000 K

• Yellow-White (F), 6000-7400 K

• Orange-Red (M), 2800-3500 K

The Solar System

Reorder

Order these objects within our Solar System starting with the sun

• The Sun

• Terrestrial Planets

• Jovian Planets

• Kuiper Belt

• Oort Cloud

1

2

3

4

5

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

How Do We Explore Space?

●Probes: NO ALIENS INVOLVED! Probes
are frequently sent to explore places
where humans may not survive with
current technology. The first
unmanned probe contained fruitflies
and was launched in 1947.

●Telescopes: Telescope technology has
improved rapidly in recent years. Now,
we have technology that helps us
capture images of the electromagnetic
radiation emanating from stars far
beyond our own solar system on the
James Webb Telescope.

●Manned missions: In 1961, Soviet Yuri
Gagarin became the first man to orbit
Earth. Not to be outdone, the U.S. sent
Apollo 11 to achieve one small step for
man by walking on the moon in 1969.

Multiple Choice

Telescopes measure and record _____ while probes measure __________.

• Electromagnetic radiation, atmospheric conditions and other factors

• Relative brightness of stars, whatever aliens wants

• Weight of stars, makeup of stars

• pretty pictures, Earth's atmosphere

Hubble Telescope

International Space Station

Multiple Choice

Which telescope was launched most recently by NASA and is sending back amazing photographs from beyond our solar system?

• Hubble Telescope

• James Webb Telescope

• International Space Station

• Juno