Space 5th grade

What is a universe made of ?

The universe is filled with billions of galaxies and trillions of stars, along with nearly uncountable numbers of planets, moons, asteroids, comets and clouds of dust and gas – all swirling in the vastness of space.

But if we zoom in, what are the building blocks of these celestial bodies, and where did they come from?

Hydrogen is the most common element found in the universe, followed by helium; together, they make up nearly all ordinary matter.

All of space and time, and everything in it. It’s everything ever!

​​Universe

A collection of thousands to billions of stars held together by gravity. The galaxy we live in is called the Milky Way.

galaxy

The constant stream of particles and energy emitted by the sun.

solar system

A large body in outer space that circles around the sun or another star.

​​planet

We live on a planet called Earth that is part of our solar system. But where is our solar system? It’s a small part of the Milky Way Galaxy.

A galaxy is a huge collection of gas, dust, and billions of stars and their solar systems. A galaxy is held together by gravity. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, also has a supermassive black hole in the middle.

Create your own black hole!
https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/pinwheel-galaxy/en/

What is a galaxy?

the building blocks of the universe.
Gas is a loose collection of atoms that gather around each other. They gather until they have enough mass to form a star.

​​gas and dust

​Replace this with your body text. Have a nice day. Happy teaching!

stars

A large body in outer space that circles around the sun or another star.

​​planets

​Replace this with your body text. Have a nice day. Happy teaching!A natural object that travels around a bigger natural object. Planets can have moons. Dwarf planets can have moons. Even some asteroids have moons! Astronomers usually call them satellites or natural satellites.

​​moons

-Looks like giant pinwheels. The arms of the pinwheel are made up of stars and lots of gas and dust.

-Young stars burn much hotter than older stars, so spiral galaxies are often some of the brightest in the universe.

-Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, is a very good example of one.

Spiral Galaxy

​-Shaped like stretched-out circles, or ellipses
-Contain mostly older stars. That means they often aren't as bright as spiral galaxies
-Largest and most common galaxies observed

Elliptical Galaxy

-Don't have a single common shape.
-Smallest galaxies scientists have observed.
-Very bright.
-Filled with gas, dust, and lots of bright young stars

Irregular Galaxy

How do we know about the Universe?

Telescopes and satellites

https://nasaeclips.arc.nasa.gov/video/launchpad/launchpad-atmosphere-and-optical-telescopes

How do Satellites work?

Laser Relay

Can you complete all 5 missions? satellites

https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/relay-laser-communications-game/en/