Sorting the Solar System Whatʼs this activity about? Big Questions: • What types of objects are in our Solar

System? • Why do the definitions of the objects change?

Big Activities: • Using images of Solar System objects, start

discussions of the characteristics of asteroids, comets, planets, and moons.

• Practice scientific thinking by sorting objects into categories according to their common qualities.

Participants:

From the club: A minimum of one person. With larger groups, up to four presenters can participate.

Visitors: This activity is appropriate for families, the general public, and school groups ages 10 and up. With small groups, one set of cards can be used. Four sets are included for use in classrooms or larger groups. Also, a large set of objects is included in this manual. You may print them yourself, but it is recommended that you do this at a print shop. Printing them requires a lot of ink.

Duration:

Ten minutes, up to a half hour, depending on the depth of questions and conversation.

Topics Covered: • Review of the diversity of objects in our Solar System • How scientists use common characteristics to classify the world around us

143,000 km

Key

to S

ortin

g th

e So

lar

Syst

em C

ards

Obj

ect

Des

crip

tion

Size

(km

)Pi

ctur

e C

redi

ts

Bar

ring

er C

rate

r

Als

o kn

own

as M

eteo

r Cra

ter,

it is

loca

ted

in A

rizon

a, U

SA. C

reat

ed b

y th

e im

pact

of a

m

eteo

rite

abou

t 50,

000

year

s ago

, thi

s cra

ter w

as fo

rmed

bef

ore

hum

ans i

nhab

ited

the

Am

eric

as.

1.2

B.P

. Sno

wde

r

Cer

esC

eres

is th

e la

rges

t obj

ect i

n th

e Ast

eroi

d B

elt.

The

Inte

rnat

iona

l Ast

rono

mic

al U

nion

cl

assi

fies C

eres

as a

Dw

arf P

lane

t. It

is th

e ta

rget

of t

he D

awn

spac

ecra

ft in

201

5.

950

NA

SA, E

SA, J

. Par

ker

(Sw

RI)

et a

l.

Ear

thEa

rth is

the

third

pla

net f

rom

the

Sun

and

is th

e fif

th la

rges

t pla

net i

n th

e So

lar S

yste

m.

Abo

ut 7

1% o

f Ear

th's

surf

ace

is w

ater

, the

rem

aind

er c

onsi

sts o

f lan

d.

12,6

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ken

from

Apo

llo 1

7 in

19

72, c

redi

t NA

SA

Ear

th's

moo

n

The

moo

n is

the

fifth

larg

est s

atel

lite

in th

e So

lar S

yste

m. I

t is t

he o

nly

cele

stia

l bod

y on

w

hich

hum

ans h

ave

land

ed. A

lthou

gh it

app

ears

brig

ht in

the

sky,

it is

act

ually

as d

ark

as

coal

. 3,

500

NA

SA/J

PL/U

SGS

Eri

s

Eris

is a

Dw

arf P

lane

t with

a m

oon

calle

d D

ysno

mia

. It i

s mor

e m

assi

ve th

an P

luto

and

or

bits

the

Sun

thre

e tim

es fa

rther

. It w

as d

isco

vere

d in

200

5 an

d ca

used

a st

ir af

ter i

nitia

lly

bein

g de

scrib

ed a

s the

10t

h pl

anet

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600

NA

SA/E

SA/M

. Bro

wn

Ero

s

Eros

was

the

first

nea

r-Ear

th a

ster

oid

disc

over

ed. I

t is a

lso

one

of th

e la

rges

t. Th

e pr

obe

NEA

R S

hoem

aker

land

ed o

n th

is a

ster

oid

in 2

001.

Ero

s orb

its b

etw

een

Earth

and

Jupi

ter,

cros

sing

Mar

s's o

rbit.

34

NA

SA/J

PL/J

HU

APL

Gas

pra

Gas

pra

is a

n as

tero

id th

at o

rbits

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inne

r edg

e of

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mai

n A

ster

oid

Bel

t. Th

e G

alile

o sp

acec

raft

flew

by

Gas

pra

on it

s way

to Ju

pite

r.18

NA

SA/J

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Hal

e-B

opp

Hal

e-B

opp

was

one

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he b

right

est a

nd m

ost w

idel

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ewed

com

ets o

f the

20t

h ce

ntur

y. It

ca

me

into

the

inne

r Sol

ar S

yste

m in

199

7 an

d ha

s an

orbi

tal p

erio

d of

ove

r 4,0

00 y

ears

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olm

hofe

r, H

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b;

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nnes

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ler-

Obs

erva

tory

Hob

a

The

Hob

a m

eteo

rite

is th

e la

rges

t kno

wn

met

eorit

e on

Ear

th. I

t lan

ded

here

abo

ut 8

0,00

0 ye

ars a

go in

wha

t is n

ow N

amib

ia. H

oba

wei

ghs o

ver 6

0 to

ns a

nd is

the

mos

t mas

sive

pie

ce

of n

atur

ally

-occ

urrin

g iro

n on

Ear

th's

surf

ace.

0.00

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trick

Gira

ud

Iape

tus

Iape

tus i

s the

third

larg

est m

oon

of S

atur

n. It

has

an

equa

toria

l rid

ge th

at m

akes

it lo

ok a

bit

like

a w

alnu

t, as

wel

l as a

ligh

t and

a d

ark

side

. Ast

rono

mer

s thi

nk th

at th

e da

rk si

de is

co

vere

d w

ith a

thin

laye

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esid

ue fr

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blim

atin

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pace

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ence

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stitu

te

Ida

and

Dac

tyl

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is a

mai

n be

lt as

tero

id a

nd th

e fir

st a

ster

oid

foun

d to

hav

e a

moo

n, D

acty

l. It

was

im

aged

by

the

Gal

ileo

spac

ecra

ft on

its w

ay to

Jupi

ter.

15N

ASA

/JPL

Itok

awa

Ast

eroi

d Ito

kaw

a cr

osse

s the

orb

its o

f bot

h M

ars a

nd E

arth

. It i

s a ru

bble

pile

of r

ocks

. In

2005

, the

Hay

abus

a pr

obe

land

ed o

n Ito

kaw

a to

col

lect

sam

ples

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5IS

AS,

JAX

A

Jupi

ter

Jupi

ter i

s the

larg

est p

lane

t in

the

Sola

r Sys

tem

, mor

e m

assi

ve th

an a

ll th

e ot

her p

lane

ts

com

bine

d. T

his g

as g

iant

has

bee

n ex

plor

ed b

y m

any

spac

ecra

ft, n

otab

ly th

e G

alile

o or

bite

r. It

has f

our l

arge

moo

ns a

nd d

ozen

s of s

mal

ler m

oons

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,000

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rsity

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9

Key

to S

ortin

g th

e So

lar

Syst

em C

ards

Obj

ect

Des

crip

tion

Size

(km

)Pi

ctur

e C

redi

ts

Mar

sM

ars i

s the

four

th p

lane

t fro

m th

e Su

n. Ir

on o

xide

giv

es it

a re

ddis

h ap

pear

ance

. It h

as p

olar

ic

e ca

ps a

nd a

ver

y th

in a

tmos

pher

e. T

wo

tiny

moo

ns m

ight

be

capt

ured

ast

eroi

ds.

6,80

0N

ASA

Met

eor

Smal

l pie

ces o

f ast

eroi

ds o

r com

ets c

ollid

e w

ith E

arth

's at

mos

pher

e to

cre

ate

met

eors

. The

co

mpr

esse

d ai

r in

fron

t of t

he ro

ck h

eats

up,

cau

sing

it to

glo

w a

nd le

ave

a tra

il of

ioni

zed

gas.

0.00

001

Chu

ck H

unt

Met

eori

te

Mos

t met

eorit

es a

re p

iece

s of t

he A

ster

oid

Bel

t tha

t lan

d on

Ear

th's

surf

ace.

Ove

r 90%

of

met

eorit

es a

re c

onsi

dere

d st

ony

met

eorit

es. A

bout

5%

are

iron

met

eorit

es. B

oth

type

s co

ntai

n a

sign

ifica

nt a

bout

of i

ron.

0.00

1D

r. Sv

end

Buh

l

ww

w.m

eteo

rite-

reco

n.co

m

Phob

os

Phob

os is

the

larg

est m

oon

of M

ars,

but s

till q

uite

smal

l. It

is li

kely

a c

aptu

red

aste

roid

and

w

ill b

reak

up

and

cras

h in

to M

ars i

n th

e ne

xt 4

0 m

illio

n ye

ars.

11

NA

SA/J

PL-

Cal

tech

/Uni

vers

ity o

f A

rizon

a

Plut

o an

d C

haro

n

Plut

o is

the

2nd

larg

est d

war

f pla

net i

n th

e So

lar S

yste

m (a

fter E

ris).

It ha

s a la

rge

moo

n C

haro

n an

d tw

o sm

alle

r moo

ns, N

ix a

nd H

ydra

. Plu

to a

nd C

haro

n ar

e so

met

imes

trea

ted

as

a bi

nary

syst

em si

nce

thei

r cen

ter o

f gra

vity

is b

etw

een

the

two.

2,30

0ES

A/E

SO/N

ASA

Satu

rn

Satu

rn is

the

seco

nd la

rges

t pla

net i

n th

e So

lar S

yste

m. I

t is m

ade

of g

as a

nd h

as v

ery

thin

ic

y rin

gs. I

t als

o ha

s doz

ens o

f moo

ns. T

he C

assi

ni-H

uyge

ns sp

acec

raft

has b

een

orbi

ting

Satu

rn si

nce

2004

.12

0,00

0N

ASA

/JPL

/Spa

ce S

cien

ce

Inst

itute

Shoe

mak

er-L

evy

9

Com

et S

hoem

aker

-Lev

y 9

prov

ided

the

first

dire

ct o

bser

vatio

n of

the

colli

sion

of

extra

terr

estri

al so

lar s

yste

m o

bjec

ts. I

t bro

ke in

to m

any

frag

men

ts, c

alle

d th

e "S

tring

of

Pear

ls,"

and

impa

cted

Jupi

ter i

n 19

94.

1N

ASA

/HST

Sun

The

Sun

is th

e st

ar a

t the

cen

ter o

f our

Sol

ar S

yste

m, a

bout

150

mill

ion

km fr

om E

arth

. It

cont

ains

99.

9% o

f all

the

mas

s in

our S

olar

Sys

tem

. It t

rave

ls o

nce

arou

nd th

e M

ilky

Way

G

alax

y in

abo

ut 2

50 m

illio

n ye

ars.

1,40

0,00

0ES

A/N

ASA

/SO

HO

Tita

n

Tita

n is

the

larg

est m

oon

of S

atur

n, c

ompr

isin

g 96

% o

f the

mas

s of a

ll Sa

turn

's m

oons

co

mbi

ned.

It is

a c

old

wor

ld w

ith a

thic

k ni

troge

n at

mos

pher

e an

d liq

uid

met

hane

lake

s on

its su

rfac

e. T

he H

uyge

ns p

robe

land

ed o

n its

surf

ace

in 2

005

and

took

pic

ture

s of i

cy

cond

ition

s.5,

150

N

ASA

/JPL

/Spa

ce

Scie

nce

Inst

itute

Vic

tori

a C

rate

r

This

impa

ct c

rate

r nea

r the

equ

ator

of M

ars w

as v

isite

d by

the

Mar

s Exp

lora

tion

Rov

er

Opportunity

. The

scal

lope

d ed

ges o

f the

cra

ter a

re c

ause

d by

ero

sion

. Alth

ough

Mar

s has

ve

ry li

ttle

atm

osph

ere,

it d

oes h

ave

dust

stor

ms.

0.75

NA

SA/J

PL-

Cal

tech

/Uni

vers

ity o

f A

rizon

a/C

orne

ll/O

hio

Stat

e U

nive

rsity

Wild

2

Com

et W

ild 2

is o

ffici

ally

nam

ed 8

1P/W

ild. I

t onc

e or

bite

d be

yond

Jupi

ter b

ut g

ot to

o cl

ose

to th

e gi

ant p

lane

t in

1974

and

was

tugg

ed in

to a

smal

ler o

rbit

betw

een

Jupi

ter a

nd M

ars.

The

Star

dust

sam

ple

retu

rn m

issi

on to

ok p

ictu

res a

nd c

aptu

red

som

e of

the

com

et's

com

a in

20

04.

4N

ASA

/JPL

-Cal

tech

Nig

ht S

ky N

etw

ork

Res

ourc

esYo

u ca

n pr

int

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ow

n ca

rds

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: ht

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_ID

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9

Helpful Hints Common misconceptions addressed by these resources:

• The Solar System contains more than one star • The planets are the only things in our Solar System • Science is a rigid set of facts to be memorized

Other Games: Sort It: With a group of 20+, give each person a card and ask them to sort themselves by size, distance from the Sun, common materials, alphabetically, or shape. There may be more than one way to sort. All reasonable attempts should be accepted. With smaller groups, each person (or group of up to 3 people) gets their own deck to answer the same questions. The first group to sort them correctly wins. Allow each group to finish and hold their hand up when they're done. Once they raise their hand, they can't change their order. If the first group has anything out of order, go to the second, and so forth. 20 Questions: Have the presenter pick an object but don't tell the visitors. Let the visitors take turns asking yes/no questions until they guess the object. The person who guesses correctly gets to pick the next object. Give time during games and between rounds for visitors to look at the backs of the cards.

Background Information This activity was adapted from a classroom activity originally developed by Anna Hurst Schmitt for the Teacher's Newsletter Universe in the Classroom: http://www.astrosociety.org/education/publications/tnl/70/pluto.html - 10 For a history of the definition of a planet, see these websites: http://www2.ess.ucla.edu/~jlm/epo/planet/planet.html http://www.astrosociety.org/education/publications/tnl/70/pluto.html http://www6.cet.edu/dawn/multimedia/makeplanet.asp

Detailed Activity Description

Sorting Our Solar System Misconception Tip: Many people don't understand the difference between Solar System, Galaxy and Universe. Here is a chance to talk at length about the smallest of these scales. Presentation Tips: These cards can be used to illustrate many points. The activity described here is one example, but you may find others that work in different situations. You can also find other ideas in the "Helpful Hints" section. Using more than one deck and breaking visitors into small groups can be interesting because they see that there are different ways to categorize the same objects. If you would like to use more than one set of cards, it is recommended that you print them on various color card stock. The individual sets get easily combined into a single pile if they are all one color. Before you get started: Remove the Ceres card from the deck and put in your pocket. You will bring this out later.

Leaderʼs Role Participantsʼ Role

(Anticipated) To say: What kinds of things do we find in our Solar System? Ahh! How many stars are there in our Solar System? There is actually only one star in our Solar System. The term "Solar System" refers just to our own star, the Sun and everything orbiting it. That includes planets, like you said. What else is in the Solar System that's not here on Earth? To do: Bring out all of the Solar System Cards, except for Ceres. To say: Great! Take a look at this. I've got pictures here that represent a sample of the different kinds of objects found in our Solar System. Now, you can't tell how big each object is just from the picture. Some pictures are taken close up and others from far away. You'll want to check the backs of the cards to see how big each object is. What else does the back of the card tell us? To do: Pick up one of the cards (in the following example, we are using Gaspra) To say: Scientists sort things by their physical characteristics. What are some characteristics of this object? Can you describe what it looks like?

Planets, stars, people, airplanes Billions and billions Comets, moons, asteroids Where it is, what it's made of, how big it is It's lumpy. And brown, and has craters

Leaderʼs Role Participantsʼ Role (Anticipated)

To say: Great! We also know from the information on the back that it's as big as a city and that it orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. These are characteristics too. Now it's your turn to be the scientist. Work together to sort these objects into some categories using their characteristics. Get creative! You get to choose the categories.

Participants sort the cards into various groups.

Presentation Tip: If you are working with a large group, give each person a card and have them sort themselves into categories. This can be very fun and collaborative! To say: There are no limits to the number of categories you can have. But think about the characteristics that objects in each of your categories have. Tell me about the categories you picked. Did any of the objects fit into more than one category? Tell me why you decided on the category you put them in. Okay, now where would this object fit? To do: Hand the group the Ceres card. To say: What characteristics does it share with that group? Could it fit in more than one group? (Extension) Could you refine your category definitions so that nothing fits in more than one category?

Describe groups Usually they do Put it in one of the categories Sometimes the groups are flexible enough

Leaderʼs Role Participantsʼ Role (Anticipated)

To say: This is great! You are being real scientists. This is exactly what biologists, chemists, geologists, and astronomers do. And as new bacteria or birds or fossils are found, they use their knowledge of what has already been discovered to help them think about this new object. That's exactly what happened when Eris was discovered. Eris is another Pluto-sized object that's also orbiting way out past Neptune. And many more objects are being found out there all the time. Sometimes new discoveries even cause the definitions to change! The definition of a planet changed in 2006 and a whole new category was created: dwarf planet. That category includes both Ceres and Pluto. (If before an observing evening) Can you see any of these categories in the sky right now? Actually, do you see that bright star-like light over there? Well, it's not a star at all. That's Jupiter! Which category does that fit onto?

Sun or Moon or none

Materials

What materials from the ToolKit do I need? In the activity bag: At least one set of Solar System Cards (4 sets included in 2 decks)

What must I supply? Table or flat surface for organizing the cards, unless you have a big group

that can hold one card each

Where do I get additional materials?

You can order additional sets, while supplies last, from the Night Sky Network. For more information, send an email to: nightskyinfo@astrosociety.org To make additional copies of the cards, just print the following five pages in color, one-sided on card stock (or other thick paper). Cut each page into 3 strips so that the image and description stay together. Fold each strip in half to make two-sided cards. You can paste them with glue or tape around the edges. For large groups where each person will hold a single card, you may want to print the large size cards. In that case, simply fold them in half and glue them together, as shown. This activity can be done with any set of images in any size. The Hubble Site and the NASA Image archive have a wealth of pictures of Solar System objects.

• http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/ • http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/

Where could I use this activity?

What do I need to do before I use this activity? What materials from the ToolKit are

needed for this activity? What do I need to supply to run this

activity that is not included in the kit? Preparation and Set Up

At least one set of Sorting the Solar System Cards. Four sets are included for use with larger groups.

A table or flat surface is preferred. Remove the Ceres card from the deck(s). These will be used later.

Classroom ACTIVITY Star Party

Pre-Star Party –

Outdoors

Pre-Star Party –Indoors

Girl Scouts / Youth Group

Meeting K-4 5-8 9-

12

Club Mtg

Gen Public Presentation

(Seated)

Gen Public Presentation (Interactive)

Sorting the Solar System

√ √ √ √ √ √ √ √