Explaining The Solar System

What can you see in the sky every night? This unit is a highly descriptive account of the contents and history of the universe, as it is pictured by scientists over the past fifty years. The four forces that shape our universe are emphasized as explanatory tools. Two major projects are used to cover the vast number of topics and resources available on this topic. The unit itself is subdivided into four major sections. Each section will take a little more than one week to complete. 1. Construction of some simple instruments to assist in observation of the earth, the sun, the moon, and time, all from the point of view of the surface of a tilted and spinning earth. 2. Observation of the sun, the closest star. From these observations we move to an understanding of the forces that shape our sun and its behaviour. 3. Observation of the moon, and other satellites. From these observations we build an understanding of the role of gravitation in orbital motion 4. Research project: phenomena within our solar system 5. Research project: phenomena beyond our solar system This time line is divided into separate one-week blocks. Students could observe and record several lunar cycles, or the changing position of the sun, over three or four months. As in all of the Ross Lattner IntuitivScience series, diagrams are an important mode of expression. Parents and teachers, you get one half of the book! We provide solid pedagogical supports, recipes, and methods of presentation.

This fully-updated second edition remains the only truly detailed exploration of the origins of our Solar System, written by an authority in the field. Unlike other authors, Michael Woolfson focuses on the formation of the solar system, engaging the reader in an intelligent yet accessible discussion of the development of ideas about how the Solar System formed from ancient times to the present.Within the last five decades new observations and new theoretical advances have transformed the way scientists think about the problem of finding a plausible theory. Spacecraft and landers have explored the planets of the Solar System, observations have been made of Solar-System bodies outside the region of the planets and planets have been detected and observed around many solar-type stars. This new edition brings in the most recent discoveries, including the establishment of dwarf planets and challenges to the ‘standard model’ of planet formation — the Solar Nebula Theory.While presenting the most up-to-date material and the underlying science of the theories described, the book avoids technical jargon and terminology. It thus remains a digestible read for the non-expert interested reader, whilst being detailed and comprehensive enough to be used as an undergraduate physics and astronomy textbook, where the formation of the solar system is a key part of the course.Michael Woolfson is Emeritus Professor of Theoretical Physics at University of York and is an award-winning crystallographer and astronomer.

The solar system - our sun and the planets and other bodies that orbit it - has remained essentially the same for hundreds of millions of years. What, then, is the New Solar System? Quite simply what's new is our understanding of what in fact makes up the solar system, and our deeper understanding of long-known objects such as the planets, their satellites, comets and asteroids. The ancient Romans observed and noted the motions of the known planets at that time but it wasn't until 1781 that Uranus was discovered. Neptune was discovered in 1846 and Pluto was discovered in 1930. Pluto's moon, CHARON, was only discovered in 1978, or about the time that robotic exploration of the solar system became a serious undertaking. UNDERSTANDING THE NEW SOLAR SYSTEM reveals the latest knowledge of the composition and nature of our solar family. Here you'll discover what lies beyond the orbit of Pluto, which solar body is the most volcanically active, and which solar system bodies have atmospheres and may harbour primitive life, and much, much more.

Contains 250 questions and answers about astronomy, particular for the amateur astronomer.

What are "essential questions," and how do they differ from other kinds of questions? What's so great about them? Why should you design and use essential questions in your classroom? Essential questions (EQs) help target standards as you organize curriculum content into coherent units that yield focused and thoughtful learning. In the classroom, EQs are used to stimulate students' discussions and promote a deeper understanding of the content. Whether you are an Understanding by Design (UbD) devotee or are searching for ways to address standards—local or Common Core State Standards—in an engaging way, Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins provide practical guidance on how to design, initiate, and embed inquiry-based teaching and learning in your classroom. Offering dozens of examples, the authors explore the usefulness of EQs in all K-12 content areas, including skill-based areas such as math, PE, language instruction, and arts education. As an important element of their backward design approach to designing curriculum, instruction, and assessment, the authors *Give a comprehensive explanation of why EQs are so important; *Explore seven defining characteristics of EQs; *Distinguish between topical and overarching questions and their uses; *Outline the rationale for using EQs as the focal point in creating units of study; and *Show how to create effective EQs, working from sources including standards, desired understandings, and student misconceptions. Using essential questions can be challenging—for both teachers and students—and this book provides guidance through practical and proven processes, as well as suggested "response strategies" to encourage student engagement. Finally, you will learn how to create a culture of inquiry so that all members of the educational community—students, teachers, and administrators—benefit from the increased rigor and deepened understanding that emerge when essential questions become a guiding force for learners of all ages.

In response to the new information gained about the Solar System from recent space probes and space telescopes, the experienced science author Dr. John Wilkinson presents the state-of-the art knowledge on the Sun, solar system planets and small solar system objects like comets and asteroids. He also describes space missions like the New Horizon’s space probe that provided never seen before pictures of the Pluto system; the Dawn space probe, having just visited the asteroid Vesta, and the dwarf planet Ceres; and the Rosetta probe inorbit around comet 67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko that has sent extraordinary and most exciting pictures. Those and a number of other probes are also changing our understanding of the solar system and providing a wealth of new up close photos. This book will cover all these missions and discuss observed surface features of planets and moons like their compositions, geisers, aurorae, lightning phenomena etc.Presenting the fascinating aspects of solar system astronomy this book is a complete guide to the Solar System for amateur astronomers, students, science educators and interested members of the public.

The complex internal structure of the Sun can now be studied in detail through helioseismology and neutrino astronomy. The VI Canary Islands Winter School of Astrophysics was dedicated to examining these powerful new techniques. Based on this meeting, eight specially-written chapters by world-experts are presented in this timely volume. We are shown how the internal composition and dynamical structure of the Sun can be deduced through helioseismology; and how the central temperature can be determined from the flux of solar neutrinos. This volume provides an excellent introduction for graduate students and an up-to-date overview for researchers working on the Sun, neutrino astronomy and helio- and asteroseismology.