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1.34 Describe how the orbit of a comet differs from that of a planet


Source: http://www.earthshots.org/2007/02/mcnaughts-comet-by-john-white/

Scroll over the lines, to see the answers
a. Comets are usually made from _________

b. Comets have highly elliptical _______ compared to planets

c. Comets usually travel _________ than ________

d. Comets usually have long _______ , made when the heat from the Sun which vaporises the comet

1.35

1. What is a GALAXY?
A Galaxy is a large collection of billion of stars

2. Which galaxy are we in?
We are in the Milky Way

3. Source an image of our galaxy
Source: http://www.gearlog.com/2010/11/planet_from_outside_milky_way.php

    1. 4. What type of galaxy are we in?
We are in a spiral galaxy

5. How many galaxies are the in the Universe?
There are hundreds of billions of galaxies in our universe

1.32 Explain that gravitational force

-causes planets to orbit around the sun
-causes the moon and artificial satellites to orbit the Earth
-causes comets to orbit the sun

1.31: Understand that gravitational field strength,g, and recall that it is different on the other planets and the moon from that on Earth

What does small 'g' stand for in the equation W = mg?

Find your mass on the bathroom scales and then find your weight on different planets (click this link: http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/weight/), take a screen shot and upload the image to your blog

Identify the mistake on the website!

S.S 1.30

1.30 recall that the moon orbits around the Earth and that there are some planets also have moons

image from: http://www.paganinstitute.org/PIR/lunar_info.html


How was the moon formed?
The moon was formed because a Mars-like planet collided with Earth which caused the Earth's fragile crust to be disrupted. The Mars-like planet was broken apart. The debris then orbited around Earth and coalesced(added together) which eventually formed the Moon.


How old is the Moon?4.5 billion years old.


Why does the Moon only show one side to us all of the time?
The moon rotates on its own axis, keeping one side of the moon facing earth all the time. The moon used to spin at a much faster pace however, because of earth's gravitational influence on the moon, the speed of the moons rotation is slowing it down. It takes the moon 29.5 days to complete a full rotation. We therefore, only ever see the 'near side' which faces earth as the 'far side' is permanently rotated away from our planet.

http://www.moonconnection.com/moon-same-side.phtml


The Moon is slowly drifting away from us, by how much per year?
The moon is drifting away towards the sun at a rate of 3.8cm per year.


Explain what will eventually happen to it
The moon will eventually be so far away from earth gravitational field and eventually, orbit around the sun instead.


How much larger is the Sun than the Moon?
The Sun is about 416 times larger than the Moon.

How far away is the Moon?
An average distance of 384,400 kilometres away from Earth.


What was significant about the 19th March 2011 (regarding the Moon)?
Super Moon! It was the closest distance the Moon as been to Earth in the last 18 years. The distance was 356,577 kilometres near to earth.


Why is there no atmosphere on the Moon?
The Moon has no appreciable atmosphere to protect it from the Sun's radiation or meteorite impacts. There is no liquid water and hence no prospect that life survives on or inside the Moon.

http://www.nmm.ac.uk/gcse-astronomy/sun-and-moon/moon/


Why is the gravity on the Moon 1/6th than of Earth?
The Moon has a smaller than Earth and therefore, as a smaller mass. The force of gravity is less on the moon. F=mg

g=f/m

What natural phenomenon does this ratio help to observe?
It allows us to observe a solar eclipse

How many people have stepped on the Moon? Who was the last?
12 people have stepped onto the Moon. The last person to go was Eugene Cernan; commander of Apollo 17.


Why does the Moon orbit the Earth?
It is the gravitational attraction of the Earth on the moon. Due to the moon's velocity, the Earth keeps pulling the moon towards it without the moon actually getting closer to the Earth. This is similar to how satellites orbit the Earth


How many days does it take to orbit?
29.5 days


What effect does the Moon have on the Earth?

The Moon and Earth are attracted to each other. The Moon gravitational force on the Earth has no effect on Earth except on the water present on Earth. Earth cannot hold

onto the water which is pulled away by the Moon; this we know as tides.


Other planets have moons, find images if those moons



How many moons are there in our solar system?

166 moons in our Solar System!

Phases of the Moon!

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