Astronomy Lab
ASTR 101
Size of the Solar System
Name _______ Section __ Overview
· Become familiar with the scale of the planets vs. their distances.
· Get an overview of the solar system.
· 50 points are possible
Introduction
It is easy to flip to the index of an astronomy textbook to discover that, say, the Sun lies 150 million kilometers away from Earth. It is far more difficult (if not impossible), however, to picture this distance in our mind. In this exercise, we will learn to access the often unpalatable distances encountered in astronomy by simply scaling the huge distances to more recognizable, familiar numbers. So long as every distance within the system of interest is scaled by the same factor, we retain the meaningful information about relative distances between objects. This is exactly the same principle employed by map makers, so that they can fit Texas, onto a book page. General Overview Questions: A. The definition of a planet was changed in 2006. Using your textbook and the webpage resource listed below in number 1: Discuss what the characteristics of a planet are and how this new criteria declassified Pluto. B. How do the sizes of the terrestrial planets compare to the gas giants? C. How do the sizes of all the planets compare to the Sun? Approximatley how many Earth’s would be required to fill the Sun? D. If the Sun were the size of a basketball: What would the comparative sizes of Earth and Jupiter be similar to? (Identify what common, round objects would be similar to Earth & Jupiter’s scaled sizes) E. How do the distances between the terrestrial planets compare to the distance between gas giant planets? F. Why are there no gas giant planets located between the Sun and asteroid belt?
Part A: Comparative Size of the Planets
1. Complete Data Table A
a. Research and fill in the equatorial diameter (km) for each planet. Use the following link for information:
Size of the Solar System
Name _______ Section __ Overview
· Become familiar with the scale of the planets vs. their distances.
· Get an overview of the solar system.
· 50 points are possible
Introduction
It is easy to flip to the index of an astronomy textbook to discover that, say, the Sun lies 150 million kilometers away from Earth. It is far more difficult (if not impossible), however, to picture this distance in our mind. In this exercise, we will learn to access the often unpalatable distances encountered in astronomy by simply scaling the huge distances to more recognizable, familiar numbers. So long as every distance within the system of interest is scaled by the same factor, we retain the meaningful information about relative distances between objects. This is exactly the same principle employed by map makers, so that they can fit Texas, onto a book page. General Overview Questions: A. The definition of a planet was changed in 2006. Using your textbook and the webpage resource listed below in number 1: Discuss what the characteristics of a planet are and how this new criteria declassified Pluto. B. How do the sizes of the terrestrial planets compare to the gas giants? C. How do the sizes of all the planets compare to the Sun? Approximatley how many Earth’s would be required to fill the Sun? D. If the Sun were the size of a basketball: What would the comparative sizes of Earth and Jupiter be similar to? (Identify what common, round objects would be similar to Earth & Jupiter’s scaled sizes) E. How do the distances between the terrestrial planets compare to the distance between gas giant planets? F. Why are there no gas giant planets located between the Sun and asteroid belt?
Part A: Comparative Size of the Planets
1. Complete Data Table A
a. Research and fill in the equatorial diameter (km) for each planet. Use the following link for information: