StarDate Teacher Guide 2008

TEACHER GUIDE
Get Close to McDonald Observatory

Live and in Person
Live for Students
McDonald Observatory offers a unique setting for teacher workshops: the Observatory
and Visitors Center in the Davis Mountains
of West Texas. The workshops offer inquirybased activities aligned with national and
Texas science and math standards. Teachers
can practice their new astronomy skills under
the dark West Texas skies, and partner with
trained and nationally recognized astronomy
educators.
The Frank N. Bash Visitors Center features

a full classroom, 90-seat theater, astronomy
park with telescopes, and an exhibit hall
for groups of 12 to 100 students. These
programs offer hands-on, inquiry-based activities in an engaging environment, providing an informal extension to classroom and
science instruction. Reservations are recommended at least six weeks in advance.
mcdonaldobservatory.org/teachers/profdev
mcdonaldobservatory.org/teachers/visit
Live on Video
Visit McDonald Observatory from the classroom through an interactive videoconference
program, Live! From McDonald Observatory. The live 50-minute program is designed
for Texas classrooms, with versions for grades
3-5, 6-8, and 9-12. Each program is aligned
with Texas education standards.
For complete details
432-426-3640
mcdonaldobservatory.org/teachers
Damond Benningfield; Frank Cianciolo (inset)
mcdonaldobservatory.org/lfmo
Table of Contents
TEACHER GUIDE
To the Teacher
4
38
Resources
5 t h E d itio n
Classroom Activities
Front Cover
A Hubble Space Telescope view of a swath
of the Coma Cluster, a
collection of thousands
of galaxies. Astronomers are studying
Coma to learn about
the evolution of galaxies in clusters.
Back Cover
With Earth looming in the background, astronauts service Hubble Space Telescope in the
cargo bay of space shuttle Discovery.
Support for Program number HST-EO-10861.35-A was

provided by NASA through a
grant from the Space Telescope
Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Incorporated, under NASA contract NAS5-26555.
The StarDate/Universo Teacher Guide is published by the McDonald
Observatory Education and Outreach Office, 2609 University Ave.
#3.118, Austin, TX 78712. 2008 The University of Texas at Austin.
Direct all correspondence to StarDate, 2609 University Ave. #3.118,
Austin, TX 78712, or call 512-471-5285. POSTMASTER: Send change
of address to StarDate,The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University
Station, A2100, Austin, TX 78712. Periodicals Postage Paid at Austin,
TX. StarDate and Universo are trademarks of the University of Texas
McDonald Observatory.
Modeling the Night Sky

Observing the Moon
8
11

Planet Tours
Solar System Science
Rock Cycle
Equatorial Sundial
Scale Models
14
15
16
18
20
Sunspots
Spectroscope
Stars and Galaxies
Coma Cluster of Galaxies
22
24
28
30
Grades K-4
Grades 5-8
Special thanks to all the teachers who evaluated this guide.
NASA/STScI/Coma HST ACS Treasury Team
Shadow Play
Grades 9-12

Staff

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Damond Benningfield
EDITOR Rebecca Johnson
ART DIRECTOR Tim Jones
CURRICULUM SPECIALISTS Dr. Mary Kay Hemenway
Kyle Fricke
Brad Armosky
CIRCULATION MANAGER Paul Previte

DIRECTOR,

PUBLIC INFORMATION Sandra Preston
Visit StarDate Online at stardate.org

and Universo Online at radiouniverso.org
S ta r D at e / U n i v e r s o T e a c h e r G u i d e
To the Teacher
tarDate and Universo are daily

radio programs that transport
listeners into the universe.
Many of the programs point out
interesting events or objects in
the night sky, with details on the
underlying science. Other programs
cover the history of astronomy and
space exploration, upcoming missions, recent discoveries, and related topics.
Radio stations receive the programs
on monthly compact disks, and these
same monthly CDs are made available to teachers around the country.
Hundreds of teachers incorporate
the programs into their classroom
instruction.
The StarDate/Universo Teacher
Guide can help you integrate StarDate and Universo programs into
your daily classes. We have provided
simple activities for several grade levels, most of which require no elaborate equipment. These activities are
examples upon which to build similar
lessons based on current StarDate
and Universo episodes. You can integrate and apply new skills from other
subject areas as you broaden students awareness of astronomy.
A transcript of a related StarDate
radio program accompanies most
activities. The scripts are boxed and
denoted by a small radio transmitter
logo. The scripts show the breadth
of the radio program content while

providing some idea of how these
and similar programs may be incorporated into lesson plans.
StarDate and Universo provide
additional resources through
World Wide Web sites in both
English and Spanish. These sites
provide extensive information
on the solar system, stars,
galaxies, and other science topics, as well
as daily, weekly, and
monthly skywatching
tips. Web addresses for
these and other sites
are provided at the back
of this publication.
We occasionally produce
printed guides, posters, or other
resources as well. These resources are distributed to the
teachers who receive the
audio CDs.
StarDate/Universo
and Your
Classroom
Each CD contains a full
month of either StarDate
or Universo programming.
You can integrate the information
from the programs into daily learning experiences in your classroom in
a variety of ways. You are free to copy
the CDs for educational uses. Copies
National Science Education Standards

Each activity in the StarDate/Universo Teacher Guide meets the National
Science Education Standards (NSES), which were developed with these
guiding principles:
Science is for ALL students.

Learning science is an active process.
School science reflects traditions of contemporary science.
Improving science is part of systemic education reform.
The NSES promote not just hands-on science, but also minds-on science.
The astronomy context of these activities aligns their content with the
NSES Physical Science and Earth and Space Science standards. The
Science as Inquiry standards manifest in the structure and format of
the activities. Some activities overlap grade levels; many teachers will
find ways to modify the activities to fit the level of their students.
may be distributed to other teachers, placed in your schools library, or

used for other educational
purposes. However,
the copies may not
be sold or otherwise
distributed for noneducational uses.
Listening Skills
StarDate and Universo provide an opportunity

for students to improve their
listening skills. Teachers who
preview the daily program
may ask questions
about the program to
help students focus
on the topic. Written
scripts are available
on-line each day
through the StarDate Online and Universo Online web sites.
Some teachers broadcast the
program over the school intercom each day.
Note-Taking and Discussion
To go beyond passive listening,
have your students take notes. Some
teachers have found that students are
more prepared to discuss the topic if
they listen, take notes, then listen a
second time to check their notes.
Extending Class Lessons
With their emphasis on objects in
the sky, StarDate and Universo are
great sources for homework assignments. For this reason, some teachers
play StarDate or Universo at the end
of class as they make an assignment.
Students can keep observing logs to
record their observations throughout
the year. Their StarDate or Universo
notes prepare them to go outside and
sketch what they see.
Create a resource station where
students file information they have
gathered from the programs. Students may file their own drawings,
data, and papers as well. Keeping
your copies of the CDs and a CD
player with earphones will allow students to listen individually to selected
programs. Students may create a
database of the information filed at

the resource station. Some teachers
use this station as a reference source
for assignments.
Bilingual Instruction
Universo can help you meet the
needs of Spanish-speaking students
or students who are learning Spanish.
Have Universo CDs available at a
listening station. Use the programs to
introduce the lessons and vocabulary
to bilingual students before the lesson in English.
Have students who need support
in Spanish listen to the programs to
review concepts taught in English.
Encourage Spanish students to listen
to Universo programs. The written
text (in Spanish) may be printed for
them to follow. For some programs,
students can check their comprehension by listening to or reading the
English version of the program after
they hear the Universo program.
Cross-Curriculum Connections
You can incorporate
StarDate and Universo into many subject
areas, including:
Language Arts and
Social Studies
Use the programs
on skylore to create interest in

mythology and ancient civilizations.
Have students keep a StarDate
or Universo journal with their
summaries of the programs and
answers to the pre-listening
questions. Journal entries may
consist of phrases, sentences,
paragraphs, or drawings to
illustrate the core concept.
Encourage students to
think on a large scale.
For example, in teaching a unit on Thoreau,
ask them to consider the
vastness of the universe,
using the radio shows to
spark abstract thought and
prepare them for existential
literature.
Use the scripts from the
StarDate or Universo web
sites and material from StarDate magazine as supplemental reading materials.
Encourage students to explore the
historical context and relevance of
the events and lives
of the astronomers
described in StarDate
and Universo programs.
Use the programs to
explore the cultural
perspectives relating
to astronomy and to
teach about the impact
of
celestial
events on cultural development.
Mathematics
Students can
use graphs and
charts during
the skywatching activities
in this guide.
They can apply
concepts of
proportion and
percentage as
they compare the sizes of planets or
the distances between planets within
our solar system. They can

estimate times
and relative distances.
Older students
can apply principles of geometry
and trigonometry
as they explore
the angles and
orientations of
planets and satellites or the position
of the Sun or Moon in
the sky throughout the
day or year.
Fine Arts
Encourage students
to make drawings of
their concepts related
to the programs. For
example, if the program is about sunsets,
they can draw their ideal
sunset, which might lead into a discussion of the Suns color and why it
appears redder at sunrise and sunset.
Or, for a program about space flight,
students might draw a spacecraft visiting another planet or a comet.
Astronomy-related music has been
popular for centuries. Your students
may be more familiar with John Williams score for Star Wars than
Holsts The Planets, but both pieces
can be used as a trigger for combining their ideas about astronomy with
music.
Individualized Learning
Because StarDate and Universo topics range from basic to more complex
concepts, you can use them with students of all ages and ability levels.
With a copy of the programs script,
students can highlight key concepts
and challenging words as they listen
to the program.
Have students visit StarDate Online
or Universo Online as an enrichment
activity. They can search the web site
for answers to their astronomy questions or read the daily Frequently
Asked Question.
Shadow Play
Sunwatchers
Until well into the last century, one of
the most important people in
the pueblos of the southwest
was the Sunwatcher. Each day,
he watched the Sun rise, using
hills or other objects to track its motion
along the horizon. His observations
told the tribe when to plant or harvest
crops, and when to conduct important
ceremonies.
The Sunwatchers may have been
carrying on a tradition established by
some of the ancestors of the pueblo
people the Anasazi, a Navajo
name that means the ancient ones.
They built a large, well-ordered civilization in the Four Corners region a
millennium ago.
Archaeological sites at several Anasazi villages suggest that they watched
the Sun carefully. One example is the
Sun room in Hovenweep Castle, a ruin
in southeastern Utah. Doorways and
windows in the room align with the sunset on the summer and winter solstices
when the Sun appears farthest north
and south in the sky and the equinoxes, when its half-way between.
Nearby, a pair of buildings atop
Cajon Mesa apparently served as a
solar calendar. Sunwatchers kept track
of the Suns motion from a series of
windows. They also used the shadows
of the two buildings to determine the
arrival of the solstices and equinoxes.
The most famous Anasazi sunwatching sites are in Chaco Canyon, in
northwestern New Mexico. In fact,
quite a few people are visiting the canyon this week to watch the sunrise on
the summer solstice.
This is the transcript of a StarDate radio episode that

aired June 19, 2001. Script by Damond Benningfield,
2001.
Everyone and everything has a shadow. Shadows illustrate how threedimensional objects can be viewed in two dimensions. Younger
students can learn about the Suns relative motion in the sky as they
experiment with shadows.
Materials
Chalk
Outdoor drawing area
Lamp
Globe (a large globe is preferable)
Tape
Action figure (3 inches or smaller)
ACTIVITY ONE
Begin by asking, Where is the Sun
at noon? Depending on the
age of the child, responses
might be straight up, in
the sky, overhead, or in
the south. Ask, What is a
shadow? Accept responses.
Preparation
Divide the class into teams of two or three before going outside.
Experiment
Begin in the morning. One member is to play statue holding still

while the other team members trace the outlines of both the statues feet
and shadow on the pavement. When all the tracings are completed, the
entire class can examine them. Wait about 3060 minutes, then ask the
statues to return to their places (which is why they traced their feet) and
hold the same position again.
Analysis
What has changed?
Answer
Students should notice that the

length and position of the shadow have changed. Younger children may think that the statue
changed position. Ask them to
predict where the shadow will
be in three hours. Repeat the
tracings about once per hour
until the end of the school day.
The shadows will grow progressively shorter in the morning
until mid-day, after which they will grow longer. It is best to do the tracings
throughout the school day. Note that the shadow never shortens enough to
disappear, which means that the Sun doesnt pass directly overhead at noon
(unless you live between the tropics). Depending on the grade, students may
measure the lengths of the shadows or even graph the length versus time of
day. Discuss the results.
ACTIVITY TWO
This activity demonstrates the daily motion of Earth. We perceive the Sun
as rising, crossing the daytime sky, and setting. It is actually Earth that
moves.
Preparation
Content Standard in K-4 Earth

Science (Objects in the sky,
Changes in Earth and sky)
Content Standard in K-4 Science
as Inquiry (Abilities necessary to
do scientific inquiry)
Inside the classroom, arrange all the children in a circle around a lamp,
which represents the Sun. The teacher should demonstrate and then ask
the children to spin. (Young children prefer the term spin to rotate
when thinking about Earths motion.)
Demonstration
To find the proper direction, place your right hand over your heart (the
position for reciting the Pledge of Allegiance) and rotate in the direction
the fingers point. (As an extension, walk around the lamp to model Earths
annual motion around the Sun. Dont try to spin and walk at the same
time; it takes 365.25 spins to make a year!)
Analysis
What has changed?
Answer
When children are facing the lamp, it is day. When they are facing away
from the lamp, it is night.
ACTIVITY THREE
Preparation
Inside the classroom, demonstrate the connection between the first two
activities. First, tape the action figure onto the globe at your geographic
location. Still using the lamp to represent the Sun, place the globe at least
6 feet away from the lamp (ideally with the globes spin axis tilted relative to the lamp to represent the current season, so it will be tilted away
from the lamp in the winter and toward it in the summer).
Light bulb
Experiment
Darken the room and spin the globe so that everyone can see a change
in the length and position of the figures shadow.
Analysis
How does the figures shadow compare to the childrens shadows outside?
Answer
The behavior of the shadows should be similar. Spinning the globe counterclockwise when looking down on the north pole will show the proper movement of the shadow from west to east.
Extension
Students draw pictures of why we have day and night.

Students study how ancient people created stories about what causes day
and night.
Modeling the Night Sky

Content Standard in K-4 Earth

and Space Science (Changes in
Earth and sky, Objects in the sky)
Content Standard in 5-8 Earth
and Space Sciences (Earth in the
solar system)
Content Standard in K-4 Physical
Science (Position and motion of
objects)
This activity extends Shadow Play

(page 6) to include more solar system
objects and to examine their motions.
Although Ophiuchus (oh-fee-YOO'-kus) is not

a traditional constellation of the zodiac, the
Sun passes through its borders in December.
In one year, the Sun passes through 13
constellations. In classical mythology, Ophiuchus was known as the serpent bearer.
Preparation
Each individual or group needs one copy of the constellation strip on page
9. The teacher needs individual constellation pictures and cards with the
names or pictures of the following objects: Sun, Earth, Mercury, Mars, and
Jupiter. Allow each group of 2-3 students to glue or tape the strips together, matching the letters on the edges of each strip, A:A, B:B, C:C, and D:D.
That will form a loop with the constellations in this order: Gemini, Taurus,
Aries, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricornus, Sagittarius, Ophiuchus, Scorpius,
Libra, Virgo, Leo, and Cancer. Ask students if they recognize any of the
pictures. Some students may wish to color the pictures.
Activity 1
Place the loop so that the pictures face inward. Distribute two small balls
(such as clay or marbles). Ask the students to place one ball to represent
the position of the Sun in relation to the constellations. Then ask them
to place the other ball where they think Earth should be in relation to the
Sun and the constellations and to explain to their partners why they chose
that position. Ask the students to identify which side of Earth will be day
and which side will be night. When the Sun is in a certain constellation (that is, standing on Earth, if you had the ability to see stars in the
daytime, which constellation would be behind the Sun), what constellation is seen at midnight? Your interactions will depend upon the student
responses. If they place Earth rather than the Sun in the center, ask them
to explain. For now, accept all answers.
Ancient peoples tracked which constellations appeared in the direction of
the Sun. They usually watched the sky near sunrise. For this model, the
Sun is in the middle and Earth goes around it (counterclockwise as seen
from the north pole). The stars are very distant compared to the Earth-Sun
distance.
Activity 2
Cut each figure out of one strip and paste it on an individual card. Pass the
cards out to 13 students, who stand in a circle facing inward. (For a small
group, post the cards on backs of chairs to make a circle.) Make sure they
follow the same order as the loop. Choose one student to be the
Sun and stand in the middle of the circle. Allow another student to individually model Earths motion
throughout the year, recalling that the direction of rotation and revolution are the same.
For Earth, one turn around the Sun takes one
year. (Although rotation can be considered
simultaneously, remember that Earth rotates
in 24 hours, and anyone who spins 365 times
as they orbit the Sun will become dizzy!) As an
extension, you may wish to include Earths tilt. Choose a
spot above Gemini on a distant wall to be Polaris and tell Earth
to always bend in that direction as it orbits the Sun.
Activity continued, Page 10

8
Taurus
Aries
Gemini
CAPRICORNUS
AQUARIUS
PISCES
OPHIUCHUS
SCORPIUS
LIBRA
SAGITTARIUS
Virgo
Leo
Cancer
Ophiuchus and Serpens

Two constellations that dont
get a lot of respect are in the
southwest this evening, above
the Moon and the bright planet
Jupiter. One of them is slighted by anyone who can name the 12 signs of the
zodiac. The other was slighted by the
people who established the constellation boundaries: they chopped out its
middle.
The constellations are Ophiuchus,
the serpent bearer, and Serpens, the
serpent.
Ophiuchus is one of the largest constellations. More important, it lies along
the ecliptic the Suns path across the
sky. The constellations along this path
form the zodiac. But Ophiuchus isnt
included in the lineup, even though the
Sun spends more time inside its borders
than in Scorpius, which is next door.
Ophiuchus represents the founder
of medicine. In myth, he was such a
good healer that he even brought the
dead back to life. That was reminiscent
of the powers of a snake: It can kill,
but it also rejuvenates itself every year
when it sheds its skin. So in the sky, the
physician is also known as the serpent
bearer.
Appropriately enough, hes holding
on to Serpens. The serpents head is
to the west of Ophiuchus, with the tail
to the east severed by the body of
Ophiuchus.
Serpens and Ophiuchus are well up
in the southwest at nightfall. Look for the
crescent Moon quite low in the sky, with
brilliant Jupiter and the bright orange
star Antares to its upper left. Ophiuchus
and Serpens stretch out above this
bright trio.
This is the transcript of a StarDate radio episode

that aired September 17, 2007. Script by Damond
Benningfield, 2007.
10
We see different stars at different times of year because Earth orbits

(revolves around) the Sun. Some constellations are small, while others are
large. The Sun appears to move from one constellation to another in as few
as 6 days or as many as 43.
Add more celestial objects to your model by handing planet cards to more
students. These objects orbit the Sun like Earth, but at different rates. This
works best if they come in one at a time, each with their own rate of orbiting the Sun. The following table recommends some approximations to use,
along with the exact values, for periods of revolution (the time it takes
for the object to revolve around the Sun one time). Distance scales are
not preserved in this activity. For example, tell the students that Mercury
orbits the Sun four times in one Earth year. So the person who represents
Mercury has to race around the Sun four times while Earth goes around
only once. Some students will count this out. For younger students, drawing the circles on the floor helps them maintain the proper distances. Stop
occasionally to ask, If you are on Earth, where or when can you see that
object? Add more or fewer objects depending upon the age of the group.
For older students, model sunrise/sunset and ask what objects are visible in the sky at various times of day (just after sunset or at midnight,
for example) and in which constellations they appear. If you have already
studied phases of the Moon (see Observing the Moon, page 11), it can
be inserted into this model, orbiting Earth in about one month while Earth
orbits the Sun in one year.
Object
Approximate period
Actual period
Mercury
Earth
Moon
Mars
Jupiter
1/4 year
1 year
1 month
2 years
12 years
0.24 year = 88 days

1 year = 365.25 days
27.3 days
1.88 years
11.86 years
Evaluate
The asteroid Ceres has a period of 4.6 years. Where would it go in this
scheme? (Answer: between Mars and Jupiter.)
Why did we not include Venus (0.61 year), Saturn (29.42 years), Uranus
(83.75 years), or Neptune (163.73 years)? (Answer: 0.61 years would
be difficult to model and adding Venus would make it crowded. The other
planets orbit so slowly that they would barely move!)
Place a plain piece of paper under the loop and sketch the number of
orbits (or partial orbits) for Earth and two other objects.
Teaching note: Although this activity does not indicate relative distances, it is correct that all of the planets orbit the Sun in approximately the
same plane. That is why we can limit ourselves to just the constellations
that form one great circle on the celestial sphere.
Observing the Moon

Does the Moon always look the same? Does its surface look different at different times? What will your students say when you ask them
these questions?
Many students are aware that the Moon goes through phases, but
except for the man in the Moon which many admit they have a
hard time seeing they probably havent thought about the surface
of the Moon and how we view it from Earth. Some students may mention that the Moon changes colors. It actually doesnt the Moons
color changes due to the effects of our own atmosphere, not anything
intrinsic to the Moon.
Content Standard in 5-8 Earth and

Space Sciences (Earth in the solar
system)
Content Standard in K-4 Earth and

Space Science (Changes in Earth
and sky, Objects in the sky)
Content Standard in 5-8 Science

Materials
Clear skies
Binoculars
Notebook
Chart on page 13
Soft drawing pencil
Preparation
In choosing a day, keep these tips in mind:

Although new Moon may seem to be the perfect phase for this activity, it really isnt. New Moon means no Moon. During this phase, the
Moon is in the sky all day, but it lies in the direction of the Sun and its
night side is facing Earth. That means no lunar surface features will be
visible.
During full Moon, patterns of dark and light on its surface are easy to
distinguish. Thats when the maria smooth, almost crater-free
regions on the Moon are easiest to see.
During crescent or quarter phases, the craters and mountains cast distinct shadows and become more noticeable.
John Gianforte
First, figure out when you can see the Moon. Use the StarDate Sky Almanac or a calendar to find the Moons phase on the day you will carry out
this activity. The outdoor part of this activity requires good weather.
Lunar eclipse
Once you know the Moons phase, the chart provided here will help you
decide the best time of day (or night!) for lunar viewing.
Activity
Draw two 10-cm circles in your observing notebook. List the time, date,
sky conditions, and location. Indicate the phase of the Moon within your
circle. Now, sketch in the light
and dark areas. A soft pencil
works best. Some students like to
smudge their lines to show light
and dark. If you have binoculars,
repeat the activity using them.
Phase
New
First Quarter
Binoculars will allow you to see a
Rise
Sunrise
Noon
lot more detail. At another phase
(at least five days later), repeat the Highest in Sky
Noon
Sunset
activity.
Set
Sunset
Midnight
Full
Last Quarter
Sunset
Midnight
Midnight
Sunrise
Sunrise
Noon
11
The Moon is AWOL right now. It passes between Earth and the Sun
early tomorrow, so its hidden
in the Suns glare. And even if
the Sun wasnt in the way, there
wouldnt be much to see: Its night on
the lunar hemisphere facing our way,
so the entire disk is dark.
Well, almost dark. The Sun is shining
on the far side of the Moon, so its not
lighting up the side that faces Earth. But
the side that does face Earth is getting
some sunshine reflected off of Earth.
We can see this earthshine when
theres a crescent Moon in the sky,
because it makes the dark portion of the
lunar disk look like a gray phantom.
Right now, the earthshine is at its most
intense. Thats because theres a full
Earth in the lunar sky. Earth covers an
area more than 13 times greater than
the Moon does. And on average, each
square mile of Earths surface reflects
more than three times as much sunlight
back into space. So a full Earth is about
40 times brighter than a full Moon.
While a full Moon always looks the
same, a full Earth is constantly changing. Anyone standing on the Moon
would see the entire surface of Earth as
our planet turns on its axis. So theyd
see different continents and oceans,
plus the unceasing motions of clouds
in the atmosphere. And since the same
side of the Moon always faces Earth,
our planet would always appear in
exactly the same spot in the sky a
bright blue and white ball spinning in
the sunlight.
Compare the naked-eye and binocular drawings done on the same date with
each other. What details are visible? Can you identify any features from the
lunar map? Now compare the drawings from one date to the other.
Extension
For an in-class activity, make craters by dropping marbles or pebbles into a

deep basin of flour sprinkled with dry chocolate milk mix. You should get
nice craters with elevated edges, and some with a series of splashed out
materials centered on the crater. In a darkened room, shine a flashlight
onto the cratered surface and show how the angle of the flashlight determines the length of the shadows. Students can research the surface of the
Moon in the library or on the Internet.
As a math extension, calculate the angle between the Sun and Moon for
different phases.
For English, write a poem about the Moon.
Above: Impact craters and

volcanic valleys on the lunar
surface.
Right: An Apollo 15 astronaut salutes the flag.

aired May 7, 2005. Script by Damond Benningfield,
2005.
12
JAXA/NHK (top); NASA
Full Earth
Analysis
Learning the Lunar Landscape
Sea of
Cold
Bay of Dew
Plato
Sea
of Rains
Kepler
Ocean
of
Storms
Sea of
Vapors
Copernicus
Sea of
Serenity
Sea of
Crises
JPL/TIM JONES
Archimedes
Aristarchus
Sea of
Tranquility
Taruntius
Sea of
Nectar
Sea of
Fertility
Langrenus
Sea of
Sea of
Moisture Clouds
Tycho
13
Planet Tours
Space Science (Earth in the solar
system)
Content Standard in 5-8 Physical
Science (Properties of objects and
materials)
Moon and Jupiter

On the scale of our everyday lives,
Earth is a big place. Its so big,
in fact, that an airliner, flying
nonstop, would take about two
days to circle its equator. But
our planet is tiny compared to Jupiter,
the giant of the solar system. Its 11
times bigger around than Earth is, so
that airliner would need about three
weeks to circle Jupiters equator.
And the sights out the window would
be spectacular.
Jupiter doesnt have a solid surface,
so you wouldnt see any mountains,
deserts, or oceans. But the Jovian atmosphere is filled with giant storms, and
with belts of clouds that race around the
planet at hundreds of miles an hour.
To avoid turbulence, youd have to
go around the biggest storm systems.
That could add days to the trip, though,
because the storms can be as big as
Earth. And they produce lightning bolts
that are hundreds of times as powerful
as those on Earth. At night, such blasts
might be visible for thousands of miles.
Different chemicals in the atmosphere
add color to the clouds, so youd see
shades of yellow, brown, and red
mixed with the white clouds thatre
made of water vapor.
And if youre afraid of heights, you
wouldnt want to look down: the cloud
layers atop the Jovian atmosphere are
scores of miles thick, so it would be a
long way down.
Planning to take a vacation soon? Visit Phobos! Small and cozy, Phobos orbits the fourth planet from the Sun in less than eight hours.
From your observation deck on Phobos, you will have a superb view
of Mars. You will see its mountains, polar ice caps, and the largest volcano in the solar system. Call your cosmic travel agent today!
Try this creative activity to help your students explore the solar system
in an imaginative manner.
Preparation
Use StarDate or Universo CDs or printed materials such as StarDate: The

Solar System or the StarDate/Universo websites to find information about
solar system objects. As an aid, provide some examples of real travel brochures or websites with travel ads available for students to preview. For
secondary classrooms, a good resource is Active Physics: Sports by Arthur
Eisenkraft (ISBN 1-891629-04-02).
Activity
Break the class into teams that will research one planetary body (if you
have a large number of teams, you can include some of the moons of the
solar system, or comets and asteroids). The students use the information
they collect to create travel posters, brochures, or television or radio commercials for their object.
Each project should include real facts about the solar system object, but
may use far-out features to form the basis of unusual recreation opportunities. When everyone is finished, each team presents its product to the
rest of the class.
Assessment
Develop a grading rubric for different grades, keeping in mind the

standards. In addition to facts
about solar system objects, the rubric
should ascertain whether students
use physical data to make comparisons. Making comparisons is the key
to learning science in this activity.
Some teachers may be comfortable
with allowing the students to design
the rubric for their class after they
have started the project; others may
want to pass the rubric out at the
beginning of the assignment. One
teacher had students make PowerPoint presentations and gave extra
credit for working some mythology
and images into the presentation.

that aired February 19, 2006. Script by Damond
Benningfield, 2006.
14
NASA
Future tourists may detour around

Jupiters Great Red Spot, a storm that
is larger than Earth.
Solar System Science

In this activity, students explore and compare planets in our solar
system. Each student becomes the ambassador for a planet and prepares by researching their planet, then meets with other ambassadors
to form new mini-solar systems.
Materials
StarDate: The Solar System or other reference material on the solar system.
Activity
Split the class into small groups; each group researches one planet. Students in the group make a list showing the planets atmosphere, size, mass,
distance from the Sun, geology and surface features, surface temperature,
and moons. They also write a sentence describing something unique or
striking about their planet an impression.

and Space Science (Earth in the
solar system)
Content Standard in 5-8 Physical Science (Properties of objects
and materials)
Have one ambassador from each group join with ambassadors from other
groups. Each group need not have exactly the same planet mix, but there
should not be duplicates of a planet within a solar-system group. The
ambassadors interview each other to exchange information and impressions.
Once they have shared their information, the ambassadors should consider
how they could organize themselves. Some might want to arrange themselves in order of distance from the Sun. Others might notice that some
planets are small and rocky and others large and gaseous. Solar systems
may invent several organization schemes. They will note interesting or
unexpected planetary features. For instance, Olympus Mons, a super volcano on Mars, seems odd. Have each system report to the class.
Hints: The results may vary if the mix of planets is different in each system. The teacher should help students sum up the results, noting
similarities and differences among the schemes. Most planetary
scientists organize planets into two divisions: terrestrial (like
Earth) and Jovian (like Jupiter). Terrestrial planets are small and
rocky with few or no moons, and they are close to the Sun. Jovian
planets are gaseous giants with many moons, and are farther
from the Sun.
Extension
Compare planets in our solar system to new extrasolar planets

that astronomers have discovered.
NASA (3)
What planet or object should NASA choose for future human

exploration? Ask the solar system to choose a planet or moon.
With pictures and text describing its features, design a spacesuit
for the visit. For instance, Jupiter poses a serious challenge its
mostly high-pressure gas. What materials would the astronaut
need to stay alive? How would the suit help the astronaut explore
Jupiter? Would wings help?
The solar system is filled with amazing sights, including (from top), an
avalanche beneath a Martian ice
cap, the surface of Saturns big moon
Titan, and Saturns bright rings.
15
Rock Cycle
Even on a winter day, our Earth is a
fairly warm, comfortable home
for life. Thats thanks in part to
the carbon dioxide in our air.
Although it accounts for only
a tiny fraction of the atmosphere, it
warms our planet by about 50 degrees
Fahrenheit, and keeps Earth from turning into a ball of ice.
Carbon dioxide is called a greenhouse gas. Like the glass in a greenhouse, it traps heat, in the form of
infrared energy. So sunlight can come
in, but much of the heat cant get out.
In the distant past, the atmosphere
contained much more carbon dioxide.
But rain washed most of it out of the air.
It combined with other chemicals to form
carbonate rocks, such as limestone.
Today, some carbon dioxide is pumped
back into the air by volcanoes.
Theres also carbon dioxide in the
atmospheres of our two closest planetary neighbors, Venus and Mars.
Mars may have undergone the same
process as Earth, with almost all of its
carbon dioxide now locked up in rocks.
The Martian atmosphere is thin, so Mars
is cold and desolate, and temperatures
normally stay well below zero.
On Venus, though, the carbon dioxide remained in the atmosphere. Today,
Venuss atmosphere is 90 times thicker
than Earths, and its made almost
entirely of carbon dioxide, so the surface temperature is about 860 degrees
Fahrenheit.
Only on Earth is the balance just right
to provide a comfortable home for life.

that aired February 22, 2000. Script by Damond
Benningfield, 1999.
16
Preparation
First, as a class, students should agree on a course of action based on their

own driving questions. For instance:
Which objects probably have some sort of rock cycle?
What information about the object would relate to the rock cycle?
What are the available resources of information?
How should we as a class conduct our research and present our results?
After their investigation, students must communicate their results to their
peers. This involves not just presentation, but also discussion about the
supporting evidence for
their rock cycle claims.
Earths Rock Cycle
As an extension, students can investigate the
SEDIMENTARY
case for Pluto and come
heat &
up with their own conpressure
clusion what is Pluto?
melting
Materials
StarDate: The Solar System (or Universo Gua
del Sistema Solar)
Slide projector and
slides (optional)
Internet access, computer, and browser
(optional)
Activity
exposure
& erosion
exposure
& erosion
METAMORPHIC
IGNEOUS
cooling &
chemical
change
melting
Engage
Tim Jones
Planetary Thermostat
This activity combines the concept of Earths rock cycle with the characteristics of other planets in the solar system. After learning about
Earths rock cycle and the basic characteristics of objects in the solar
system, students can consider how to extend this concept to other
objects. The students goal is to create a rock cycle for each selected
solar system object.
Begin by reviewing the basics of Earths rock cycle. Then pose a question
about other members of our solar system (not just planets): do they have
rock cycles, too? Record students driving questions and discuss ways to go
about answering those questions. You may wish to reserve Pluto as a special solar system member for later investigation (see the Extend section).
Explore
Divide students into small groups of four to six. Each group should investigate a different planet, depending on the result of the class brainstorm.
StarDate: The Solar System will help students gather information about
planetary features that provide clues to the planets rock cycle. If students
have trouble, help them consider Earths rock cycle and how it relates to
Earths features. Air and water erode rocks into sediments. Earths mantle
heats buried rocks to make metamorphic rocks. Continents collide and
raise mountains for water and air to erode.
Explain
The planets closest to the Sun (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars) are
rocky; they will most likely show evidence of a rock cycle. The gas giants
(Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune) wont. But these gas giants have
rocky moons that can be investigated. For each solar system object, information about its surface features, agents of erosion, and geologic structure
under the crust will provide the major clues necessary to construct a possible rock cycle. Check your schools library for available resources. A wealth
of information about the planets resides on StarDate Online. One effective
way to organize the research is to break the class into research groups,
with each focusing on one planet or moon.

do scientific inquiry, Understanding about scientific inquiry)
system, Structure of Earth system)
Extend
Break the students into another set of groups with each member being an
expert on a different planet. These groups discuss some of the following
questions:
What is Pluto? Is it a planet?
What about the gas giants Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune?
Instead of rock cycles, might they have gas cycles?
Consider what might happen if you could change the conditions on your
object, such as adding liquid water to Mars or changing Earths atmosphere. Would these changes affect the rock cycles on these bodies?
Rain, wind, rivers, and ocean tides

erode surface rocks, washing material into the oceans to begin the
rock cycle anew (below). Volcanoes
on Io (lower left), Earth (bottom),
and other bodies deposit new rocks
on the surface.
Evaluate
NASA (2)
NOAA
After their investigation, each group presents its objects rock cycle to
the class. During their presentation, students should point to particular features of their planet as evidence that supports different phases
of their hypothetical rock cycle. This could be a presentation involving
posters or computer graphics. Or it could be something else a bit more
interactive, such as a poem or song.
17
Equatorial Sundial

system)
Egyptian Stonehenge
Summer arrives in the northern hemisphere today, as the Sun appears
farthest north for the entire year.
In centuries long past, skywatchers around the world watched for the
solstice at special observatories circles
of stones. The most famous is Stonehenge
in England, but circles of much smaller
stones were found in the Americas, too.
The oldest of these stone observatories
may have been built in southern Egypt,
at a site called Nabta. It was used
6,000 years ago, and perhaps even earlier at least a thousand years before
Stonehenge.
Anthropologist Fred Wendorf of Southern Methodist University discovered the
site in 1973. Last year, studies by Wendorf and Colorado astronomer J. McKim
Malville confirmed that Nabta had an
astronomical function.
Among other artifacts, the site contains
a 12-foot-wide calendar circle of small
stones. Two pairs of stones stand across
the circle from each other. If you look
through the spaces between each pair,
youll see the point where the Sun rose
on the summer solstice thousands of years
ago. This alignment was important to the
people who lived at Nabta because monsoons brought a few inches of rain to the
region soon after the solstice.
Over the centuries, though, the rains
dried up and Nabta was abandoned.
But the people of Nabta may have left a
legacy. Their culture may have stimulated
the formation of Egypts Old Kingdom
the civilization that built the great
pyramids.
1998, 2003.
18
One of astronomys first tools to measure the flow of time, a sundial is

simply a stick that casts a shadow on a face marked with units of time.
As Earth spins, the shadow sweeps across the face. There are many
types of sundials; an equatorial sundial is easy to make and teaches fundamental astronomical concepts. The face of the sundial represents the
plane of Earths equator, and the stick represents Earths spin axis.
Preparation
First, find your latitude and longitude and an outdoor observing site in a
clear (no shadows) area. Determine north (from a map, or by finding the
North Star at night and marking its location). Assemble the equipment as
described below. Use a flashlight to demonstrate how to position and read
the sundial indoors before going outside.
Materials and Construction
Each student team needs a copy of page 19 and a drinking straw.

Have the students cut out the Dial Face Template. Fold and glue the template, making sure the dial faces are lined up. Cut a cross in the center hole
where the straw will be snuggly inserted. Mark the straw using the latitude
strip as a guide. First mark the bottom of the straw at one end, then mark
a line corresponding to your latitude. Place the straw in the template hole
at the line marking your latitude. The south face of the template should
aim toward the bottom of the straw. Make sure the stick and template are
perpendicular. The straw should fit snugly; tape it in place if necessary.
Experiment
On a sunny day, take the sundial outside. Set it on a flat horizontal surface
with the bottom of the straw and the folded edge of the template both
resting on the ground. Aim the straw with the top pointing due north. (If
done correctly, the straw will point at the celestial north pole, where we
see the North Star at night.) Record the time on the sundial at least four
times in one day, with measurements at least an hour apart. Each time,
also record the clock time for your date and location. Try this experiment during different months.
Analysis
1. If the sundial time did not match clock time, explain why.
2. Why does this sundial have front and back dial faces?
Answers
1. For each degree east or west of the center of your time zone (your longitude
difference from the center of the time zone), there is a correction of four minutes. Also, the Suns location in the sky changes with the seasons, and a correction of up to about 15 minutes for the equation of time must be made. Read
the correction from the graph on page 19. Daylight Saving Time changes results
by one hour.
2. The shadow of the straw is cast on the north face from March 21 to September 21, and the south face from September 21 to March 21. The plane of the
template is aligned with the celestial equator. The Sun is north of the celestial
equator during the first period (spring and summer) and south of the celestial
equator during the second (fall and winter).
Dial Face
Template
Latitude Strip
North Face
Spring/Summer
20
25
30
10
35
20
11
25
5
7
30
8
9
40
60
55
50
45
40
35
12
12
45
50
11
Finished Sundial
2
10
9
55
60
8
7
Bottom
20.00
15.00
minutes
10.00
5.00
0.00
Jan
Feb
mar
Apr
may
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
-5.00
-10.00
-15.00
Correction for the Equation of Time
19
South Face
Fall/Winter
Scale Models
Solar Eclipse
The Moon will cover up the Sun early
tomorrow, briefly turning day to
night. Unfortunately, though, itll
happen while its already night
here in the United States, so
well miss out on the show.
The event is a total solar eclipse. It
happens thanks to a coincidence in
the way the solar system is laid out:
Even though the Sun is about 400 times
wider than the Moon, its also about
400 times farther away. So when the
geometry is just right, the Moon can just
cover the solar disk.
As the Sun disappears, the air gets
cooler, and the sky turns dark. The
Suns hot but thin outer atmosphere,
the corona, forms delicate streamers
of light around the Moon. And the first
or last moment of sunlight can form a
diamond ring a thin ring of light
around the Moon, with a bright burst
where sunlight streams through canyons
or between mountains.
The Moons orbit is tilted a little,
so most months the Moon passes just
above or below the Sun, and theres no
eclipse. But two or more times a year,
the Moons orbit lines up just right,
creating an eclipse. Many eclipses are
partial, so the Moon appears to only
nick the Sun. But this month it goes right
across the heart of the Sun, creating a
beautiful eclipse.
The total eclipse is visible along a
thin path that runs through China and
Russia, across the tip of northern Greenland, and just into Canada. The partial
eclipse is visible across a much wider
area, but it doesnt include the U.S.

aired July 31, 2008. Script by Damond Benningfield,
Copyright 2008.
20
Without being informed of the expected product, the students will

make a Play-doh model of the Earth-Moon system, scaled to size and
distance. The facilitator will reveal the true identity of the system at
the conclusion of the activity. During the construction phase, students
try to guess what members of the solar system their model represents.
Each group receives different amounts of Play-doh, with each group
assigned a color (red, blue, yellow, white). At the end, groups set up
their models and inspect the models of other groups. They report patterns of scale that they notice; as the amount of Play-doh increases,
for example, so do the size and distance of the model.
Materials
On a central table for all to share
String
Rulers or meter sticks
Scissors (optional)
For each group
One or more cans of Play-doh. All the Play-doh for a group should be the
same color.
Large paper sheet as a work surface for rolling and shaping the Play-doh
Preparation
Color code each amount of Play-doh: red, 2 cans; blue, 1.5 cans; yellow, 1
can; white, 0.5 can. Divide students into groups of two to four members.
Lay out materials for all groups to share in a central location. Distribute
Play-doh and one large piece of paper to each group.
Activity
Introduce the problem
Tell the groups that they will make a scale model of two members of our
solar system. Do not reveal that it is the Earth and Moon thats the surprise that makes this activity memorable. Along the way, they can make
guesses about what the model represents.
Divide the Play-doh
Tell groups to divide their Play-doh into five equal pieces.
They may use whatever creative and clever means they can think of to
solve this problem. Example solution: Roll the Play-doh into a long cylinder, then divide it into pieces. A 50-cm cylinder can be cut into 10-cm
lengths, then formed into spheres. Tell groups to divide up one of the larger pieces into 10 equal size pieces; set one of these smaller pieces aside.
Create two carefully sized pieces
Tell each group to mash everything together (except the one small piece
previously set aside) into one big sphere. Roll the remaining small piece
into a little sphere.
Make a guess
After they have made two Play-doh spheres, ask each group to write down
three guesses about what these solar system objects might represent. Discuss the guesses with the students. At least one student will guess they are
Earth and the Moon. Next, ask them to make a guess of how far apart to
put their Earth and Moon spheres to make a true model. A scientist follows
up and tests guesses with observations and measurements.
Measure the big sphere diameter; this is the diameter of Earth
Tell each group to measure the diameter of the Earth sphere. They may
cut the sphere in half. They may measure with a string and mark off the
diameter or use a meter stick.
Separate the big and little spheres
After students have measured the Earth and Moon sphere diameters, ask
each group to place the big and little spheres apart by 30 Earth-sphere
diameters. Groups with the least Play-doh will probably be able to lay out
their models on the table top. The two-can group might have to lay out its
model on the floor.

Science (Earth in the solar system)
and Technology (Students should
develop abilities of technological
design)
Inspect other models, compare, and analyze

After all the groups have laid out their models, ask everyone to inspect
other groups models. Discuss the results. Models will differ in three main
ways, besides the color of the Play-doh: the relative sizes of the Earth
spheres, the relative sizes of the Moon spheres, and the distance between
the spheres. But all of these differences are related to the same set of proportions. The ratios of Earth diameter:Moon diameter and Earth diameter:
separation distance are the same for each model.
Extend
The Sun is about 150 million km from Earth. Estimate how many Earth
diameters and Earth-Moon distances in your system would be needed to
put the Sun in your model. Compare the sizes of the Sun and the Moons
orbit around Earth.
Background
Earth to Moon Ratio
Earth
Moon
Ratio
Diameter (km)
12,756
3,475
3.7
Volume (m3)
V= 4/3 r3
1.08 x 1021
2.2 x 1019
49
Since spherical volume is 4/3 r3, the ratio of Earth-to-Moon volume is

49.5. The mean separation between Earth and the Moon is 384,500 km.
So the ratio of the Earth-Moon separation to Earths diameter is:
384,500 km
= 30 Earth diameters.
12,756 km
In round numbers, Earths volume is 50 times that of the Moon, and
the Moon is about 30 Earth diameters away. The Sun is 11,759 Earth
diameters, or 390 Earth-Moon distances away from Earth. The diameter
of the Moons orbit is twice the Earth-Moon distance (384,500 km x 2
= 769,000 km); the diameter of the Sun is 1,392,000 km. The Moons
orbital path around Earth is about half the diameter of the Sun.
21
Sunspots
Reversed Polarity
When a character in TV science fiction
faces a tough technical problem, one solution always seems
to work: reverse the polarity.
That may not fix problems in
real life, but for the scientists who study
the Sun, reversing the polarity is a big
event. It signals that the Sun has started
a new 11-year cycle of magnetic activity.
A new cycle began in January, when
telescopes on the ground and in orbit
measured a small sunspot a relatively cool, dark magnetic storm on
the surface of the Sun. The observations
showed that the polarity of the sunspot
was reversed from that of the sunspot
before it.
As the Sun spins on its axis, different
layers of hot gas spin at different rates.
That generates a powerful magnetic
field around the Sun.
Over a period of several years, the
lines of magnetic force get twisted and
tangled. That produces many more
sunspots. The lines can also cross each
other, creating short circuits powerful explosions of energy and particles.
These outbursts can disrupt communications and electrical systems on Earth.
At the end of a cycle, the Suns magnetic field flips over: magnetic north
becomes magnetic south, and vice
versa.
The Sun has been quiet for the last
few years. But the start of a new cycle
means that itll get busier in the years
ahead. The new cycle should peak
around 2012, and end around 2019
when scientists will once again be
waiting for the Sun to reverse polarity.
The Sun is a huge sphere of gas. The visible layer of the Sun, which
we view as the surface, is the photosphere. Its temperature is about
6,200 degrees Celsius (10,340 degrees Fahrenheit). Above the surface
are the chromosphere and corona. Sunspots are some of the most
noticeable features of the Sun.
Materials
Telescope (with finder covered)
Piece of white cardboard mounted on a
tripod
Preparation
The easiest way to position the telescope

(since the finder is covered and you dont want to
sight along the side) is to move the telescope until
its shadow is smallest. If your telescope doesnt have
a special motor, the image will slowly track across
the cardboard as Earth rotates. You may use binoculars, although too
much sunlight can cause heat to build up inside the binoculars and damage them. For binoculars, the standard size (7x35) works satisfactorily.
Experiment
Draw a circle around the edge of the Sun on some paper placed over
the cardboard. Now quickly sketch the positions and sizes of all the visible sunspots. Write the time and date on the edge of the paper. Repeat
your observations over several days or weeks. (If you trace the images on
very thin paper, you can later overlap them to see changes.) Be careful to
include the fine detail that surrounds some sunspots. An alternative is to
download images from web sites each day to use for this activity or to compare to your own data.
Analysis
1. Can you identify any sunspots or sunspot groups? Did they change
shape, size, or position over time?
2. If you move the cardboard screen farther away, what happens to the
image?
3. (Advanced) The diameter of the Sun is about 1.4 million km (864,000
miles). Measure the diameter of your image and estimate the physical size
of your largest sunspot. Earth is 12,700 km (7,900 miles). Compare your
largest sunspot with the size of Earth. Find the size of the sunspot with a
proportion equation:
1,390,473 km
diameter of Suns image in mm

2008.
22
4. Why are sunspots dark?
sunspot diameter in km
sunspot image in mm
Answers
Safety Warning
Do not look directly at the Sun,

especially with a telescope. You can
PERMANENTLY DAMAGE YOUR
EYES! When working with students,
its best to cover the finder telescope
completely so that they cannot look
through it. Never trust filters that
go into the eyepiece or that
cover the objective.
1. Sunspots change size and

shape over a period of days.
The Sun rotates on its axis in
about 25 days (its equator
rotates faster than its poles).
Observations taken over a
period of several days should
show this.

2. As you move the cardboard

screen back, the image becomes
fainter and larger.
3. Large sunspots can equal Earth in diameter.

4. Do the following demonstration to illustrate that sunspots appear dark
since they are cooler than the photosphere (they are about 4,500 degrees
C/7,100 degrees F). Attach a dimmer switch or rheostat to a clear incandescent light bulb. Place the bulb on its side on an overhead projector.
With the projector on, focus the bulb so that the filament appears as a
sharp silhouette on the screen. Turn up the power until the filament glows
against the screen, then turn the power down until the
filament is just barely dark against the background.
Turn off the projector and the bulb will seem to
glow dimly by itself. Sunspots are only dark
with respect to the hotter, brighter background of the photosphere.
NOAO/NSF
Spanning more than 13 times the total

area of Earths surface, this large group of
sunspots photographed in 2001 coincided
with the peak of the 11-year solar cycle
(see sunspot number chart below). Inset:
Close-up view of a typical sunspot.
SUNSPOT NUMBER
300
200
100
0
1900
1910
1920
1930
1940
1950
D AT E
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
23
Spectroscope
Electromagnetic Spectrum
Scientists learn much about the world
by splitting things apart. A geologist can split rocks, a botanist
can split seeds, and a physicist
can split atoms. About the only
thing an astronomer can split is a beam
of light, but even that reveals a great
deal from the temperature of a star
to the final moments of matter falling
into a black hole.
Our eyes perceive the light from a
star as a single color. But instruments
split the light into its individual wavelengths or colors. The intensity of each
wavelength tells astronomers how hot
the star is, what its made of, how its
moving, and whether it has companions, like other stars or even planets.
Visible light is just one of the forms
of energy that make up the electromagnetic spectrum. Other forms include
infrared and radio waves, which have
a longer wavelength than visible light,
and ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma
rays, which are shorter than light.
Telescopes on the ground or in space
detect these forms of energy and split
them into their component wavelengths,
too. Each type of energy tells us about
the environment in which it was created. Infrared, for example, comes from
relatively cool objects like gas clouds
and planets. And X-rays come from
some of the most violent objects in the
universe, like disks of hot gas spiraling
into black holes.
By splitting each form of energy,
astronomers build a more complete
understanding of the universe one
wavelength at a time.

aired in July 2004. Script by Damond Benningfield,
2001, 2004.
24
Just as a geologist collects rocks or minerals and a botanist collects

plants, an astronomer collects light. Astronomers usually cannot touch
the objects they study, like stars or galaxies. But they can analyze the
light these celestial objects radiate using a spectroscope. When an
astronomer looks at a star through a spectroscope, he or she sees a
colorful spectrum that is full of information.
Students will construct their own spectroscope as they explore and
observe spectra of familiar light sources. Extension activities expand
their understanding of different kinds of spectra and sharpen their
observing skills. You may challenge more advanced students to make
technological improvements to their instruments.
Materials
For class:
For each spectroscope:
Incandescent light bulb (60100-watt frosted) and base
Half of a manila folder
String of clear holiday lights

(optional)
3 index cards (3x5-inch size)
Fluorescent light (single bulb)

Transmission grating sheet
(available from science supply store)
2 transparency sheets
Sheet of black paper

Tape or rubber bands
Scissors
A small paper clip
Hole puncher
Glo-Doodler
(available from Colorforms)
Preparation
Making the transmission grating cards

1. Cut a 3x5-inch index card in half, resulting in two 3x2.5-inch cards.
Then cut a narrow strip off the three inch side of one of the halves. This
will help fasten the card onto the spectroscope tube.
2. Fold each 3x2.5-inch card in half along the short side, then snip a slit
perpendicular to the fold about half a centimeter from either corner of
the fold. Punch a hole about two centimeters down in the fold. The opening should be about a centimeter wide.
2.5 in
Preparing the grating
paperclip
1. Sandwich the transmission
slit
grating material between two
punched
sheets of transparency mateholes
3 in
rial. Try not to touch the very
sensitive grating with your
fingers.
2. Cut the sandwich into 1x2cm pieces.
3. Tape it into place over the viewing hole on the index card along the
edges. Do not put tape OVER the hole or small slit.
spectrum
sandwich
spectrum
Activity
Engage
Distribute individual grating cards to the students. Let them look around
the room. You may wish to have a light bulb (e.g. 60- 100-watt frosted
bulb) or string of holiday lights available.
Explore
Content Standard in 9-12 Physical

Science (Interactions of energy
and matter)
and Space Science (Origin and
evolution of the universe)
and Technology (Abilities of
technical design)
With gratings in hand, ask students to look at an incandescent light

source (light bulb with a filament) through the grating while holding it
close to their eye.
Ask students
Where does the spectrum appear?
Spectra appear to the right and left of the light source.
What is the color order?
Violet is closest to the light source and red is most distant.
What could be done to improve the appearance or view of the spectrum?
Darken the room.
The grating is part of a spectroscope. As the students noticed, spectra are
best viewed against a dark background. Ask for alternatives to darkening
the room. If necessary, hint at something hand-held, since this instrument
should be portable. If no one mentions it, suggest that a tube, with the grating fixed at one end, will block stray light from the view of the spectrum and
provide the structural support for the spectroscope components.
What could you use to block out the stray light to make a dark background for viewing spectra?
Paper Clip
Attach the grating to one end of a tube. Cut a manila folder in half along
the fold. Place a black sheet of construction paper on top of the manila
folder half. Roll them together along the long side so that the black paper
lines the inside of the tube. Secure with rubber bands or tape.
Attach the grating card to the tube (see figure, right). Fasten a paper clip
to one end of the tube, leaving a bit of the clip end over the tube edge. Fasten the grating card to the paper clip and secure with a folded card strip.
Folded
Strip
Have the students look at the incandescent bulb through the tube (with
the grating end next to the eye). The tube should aim directly at the bulb;
the students may need to move their heads to one side to see the spectrum.
Turn off the incandescent bulb and turn on a single fluorescent
bulb. Does the spectrum of the fluorescent bulb look like that of the
incandescent bulb? What is the same or different? (Students should see
a continuous spread of color in both bulbs spectra. They also may see
separate bands of color only in the fluorescent bulb spectrum.)
Grating card
Finished spectroscope
25
Cover up part of the fluorescent light bulb so that a narrow slit of light is
seen. Try making a slit in a double-thick manila folder and holding it in
front of the fluorescent source. Compare the incandescent light and the
fluorescent light. Do you see color bands now in one of the lights? Which
one?
Color bands appear dimmer and thinner with the slit in place for the fluorescent
bulb. The incandescent bulb has no bands.
Which observing method renders the best detail view of the spectrum feature with or without the slit?
With the slit. There is a limit if the slit is too narrow, the spectrum appears
too faint.
Where is a better place to put the slit, so that an observer can view other
light sources?
At the opposite end of the tube.
Make an adjustable slit from two index cards. Cut identical rectangular
slots, about 1x3 cm, into the center of two index cards. Stack the cards
then fold both cards together along both long sides. The cards
should now slide across each other. Adjust the size of the slit
by sliding one slot over the other.
Hold the adjustable slit at the opposite end of the tube from
the grating and open and close it until you find a position that
shows detail and still allows enough light through to see the
spectrum clearly. Rotate it if necessary so that the spectrum
has its largest height. This insures the parallel grooves in the grating run
in the same direction as the slit.
Congratulations! You have constructed a working spectroscope.
Explain
This is a transmission grating. Its surface is scored or etched with thousands of parallel grooves per centimeter. As light travels through the narrow grooves, diffraction effectively turns each groove into a new source
of light. As the light spreads out, it interacts or interferes with light of the
same wavelength from other grooves. Sometimes the light waves reinforce
each other (constructive interference), other times they cancel out and
become invisible (destructive interference). Collectively, the constructive
interference pattern directs a particular color along a unique angle from
the grating. The result is a color spectrum. Thats why blue light appears
closest to the image of the source, while red is farthest away. Along those
angles, the constructive interference for that color lines up.
The tube blocks stray light that washes out details in the spectrum.
Against the dark background, subtle details of the spectrum are easily
seen. It also acts as a structure to attach the grating. The slit allows the
wavelengths (colors) of light to be resolved. The diffraction grating is
allowing you to see images of the slit side by side. The narrower the slit,
the more detail you can see. For instance, a narrow slit may resolve a pair
of lines in what appeared as a single emission feature viewed through a
26
wide slit. But as the slit narrows, less light passes through. So an observer
must strike a balance between the spectrums resolution and brightness.
The incandescent light has a hot filament which produces a continuous
spectrum (hot liquids also produce continuous spectra). The fluorescent
light is made of a tube of hot gas which produces an emission spectrum
more energy is released at certain wavelengths than at others so those
colors are more distinct. Which wavelengths are produced depends upon
the nature of the gas within a tube. Each gas has its own fingerprint or
pattern of wavelengths. In a fluorescent light, the gas is mercury.
Technical notes for

chemistry/physics teachers
This activity fits well with your
exploration of atomic structure,
spectra of various elements, how
spectra vary for isotopes, and
Kirchhoffs laws.
[For some grade levels, the above explanation is too technical; the teacher may
wish to demonstrate constructive and destructive interference with water
waves.]
Extend
Turn on the incandescent light and hold up the Glo-Doodler in front of it.
Ask students to describe how this spectrum is different from that of the
bulb by itself or from the fluorescent bulb. (The Glo-Doodler absorbs certain wavelengths, which show as black bands in the spectrum.)
Think of a safe way to view the spectrum of the Sun DONT LOOK AT
THE SUN DIRECTLY!! For instance, point the spectroscope at brightly lit
clouds or the full Moon (which shines by reflected sunlight). What type of
spectrum does the Sun produce? (The Sun produces an absorption spectrum. The Suns photosphere, the solar layer where the Sun radiates most
of its light, is cooler than deeper solar layers. The hotter, deeper layers of
the Sun act like the light bulb filament while the photosphere acts like the
Glo-Doodler. Atomic elements in the photosphere selectively absorb certain
wavelengths of light. The resulting spectrum shows the absorbed wavelengths as diminished bands, or lines, as astronomers call them.)
Scientists use spectroscopes to safely explore any heated object, from the
surface of the Sun to a chemical heated by a flame. How could a scientist
determine what elements may exist in the Suns photosphere? What process would you suggest?
The spectroscope that the students construct in this activity does not allow
for direct measurement of wavelengths. Based on their knowledge of spectroscope construction and their observations of spectra, ask students how
they would improve their spectroscope. Could it allow an observer to measure the wavelength as they view a spectrum through the spectroscope?
They should include a procedure for calibrating the wavelength scale.
Evaluate
NOAO/NSF
Given a diagram of a scientific spectrograph or spectroscope, identify the

main parts: slit, tube, and grating or prism. Early spectroscopes used a
prism instead of a grating.
A portion of our Suns spectrum reveals
dark lines representing specific elements
present in the Suns atmosphere.
27
Stars and Galaxies

Seeing into the Past
We cant travel into the past, but we
can get a glimpse of it. Every
time we look at the Moon, for
example, we see it as it was a
little more than a second ago.
Thats because sunlight reflected from
the Moons surface takes a little more
than a second to reach Earth. We see
the Sun as it looked about eight minutes
ago, and the other stars as they were a
few years to a few centuries ago.
And then theres M31, the Andromeda galaxy the most distant object
thats readily visible to human eyes.
This great amalgamation of stars stands
almost directly overhead late this evening. When viewed from a dark skywatching location, far from city lights,
it looks like a faint, fuzzy blob. But that
blob is the combined glow of hundreds
of billions of stars seen as it looked
more than two million years ago.
Andromeda is like a larger version of
our own Milky Way galaxy. Its a flat
disk that spans more than a quarter-million light-years. Its brightest stars form
spiral arms that make the galaxy look
like a pinwheel. Yet the galaxy is so
far away that its structure is visible only
through telescopes.
The light from M31 has to travel
about two and a half million light-years
to reach us about 15 quintillion
miles the number 15 followed by
18 zeroes. Yet even across such an
enormous gulf, the galaxy is so bright
that we can see it faintly with our
own eyes, crossing high overhead late
tonight.
Student Page
A galaxy is a gravitationally bound system of stars, gas, and dust. Galaxies range in diameter from a few thousand to a few hundred thousand light-years. Each galaxy contains billions (10 9) or trillions (10 12)
of stars. In this activity, you will apply concepts of scale to grasp the
distances between stars and galaxies. You will use this understanding
to elaborate on the question, Do galaxies collide?
Explore
On a clear, dark night, you can see hundreds of bright stars. The next table
shows some of the brightest stars with their diameters and distances from
the Sun. Use a calculator to determine the scaled distance to each star
(how many times you could fit the star between itself and the Sun). Hint:
you first need to convert light-years and solar diameters into meters. One
light-year equals 9.46 x 1015 meters, and the Suns diameter is 1.4 x 109
meters.
Star
(Constellation)
Diameter
Distance
(Sun=1)
(light-years)
261
Betelgeuse (Orion)
600
489
Deneb (Cygnus)
200
1,402
Altair (Aquila)
17
Vega (Lyra)
2.7
26
Sirius (Canis Major)
1.6
8.6
Spica (Virgo)
Scaled Distance
(distancediameter)
There are three galaxies beyond the Milky Way that you can see without
optical aid: the Andromeda galaxy, the Small Magellanic Cloud, and the
Large Magellanic Cloud. Figure the scaled distance to these galaxies (how
many times you could fit the galaxy between itself and the Milky Way).
Galaxy
Diameter
Distance
(light-years)
(light-years)
Milky Way
100,000
Andromeda Galaxy
125,000
2,500,000
Large Magellanic Cloud
31,000
165,000
Small Magellanic Cloud
16,000
200,000
Explain
Scaled Distance
(distancediameter)
(no conversion needed)
How does the scaled distance of galaxies compare to stars?

that aired October 14, 2006. Script by Damond
Benningfield, 2006.
Elaborate
Do you think galaxies collide? Why or why not?
28
Teacher Lesson Key
Objectives

as Inquiry (Understanding about
scientific inquiry)
and Space Science (Origin and
evolution of the universe)
Calculate scale distances of stars and galaxies.

Compare neighboring galaxies to neighboring stars.
Understand the relative distances between objects in space.
Engage
Find a round object in the classroom that is about 2 to 5 inches in circumference (such as a water bottle, tennis ball, or soda can). We will use a tennis
ball as an example. Using a table that everyone can see, ask the students,
How many tennis balls would it take to go from one end of this table to the
other? In other words, how many tennis balls across is the table? Accept all
answers. Then find the answer in front of the class by moving the ball across
the table one space at a time, counting each move out loud.
Explore (Answers)
Stars
To convert
Distance (ly) x 9.46 x 1015 (m/ly)
Diameter (Suns) x 1.4 x 109 (m/Sun)
Scaled Distance
DistanceDiameter
(both must be in the same units,

do conversions first)
Galaxies
DistanceDiameter
Scaled Distance
from Milky Way
DistanceDiameter
Spica (Virgo)
2.22 x 10
Betelgeuse (Orion)
5.51 x 10
Deneb (Cygnus)
4.74 x 107
Large Magellanic Cloud
5.32
Altair (Aquila)
5.74 x 107
Small Magellanic Cloud
12.5
Vega (Lyra)
6.51 x 107
Sirius (Canis Major)
3.59 x 107
Milky Way
Andromeda Galaxy
-----20
Explain
How does the scaled distance of galaxies compare to stars?
Galaxies, compared to their size, are much closer together than stars. Neighboring stars are usually millions of star-diameters apart, while galaxies are
usually less than 100 galaxy-diameters apart.
Elaborate
Do you think galaxies collide? Why or why not?
Galaxies do collide. They are relatively close to each other and they have the
combined mass of billions of stars. So even over large distances, the attraction
between galaxies can accelerate them toward each other. Thick of bowling balls
(galaxies) versus sand grains (stars) on a trampoline (space). The galaxies stretch
and distort the trampoline much more, and over a wider area, than do single stars.
Even though galaxies collide, the stars within galaxies seldom collide because
they are so far away from each other. Clouds of gas and dust in the galaxies do
collide, though, giving birth to new stars.
Evaluate
Rubric: Explore = 60 pts (6 pts for each calculation), Explain = 25 pts,

Elaborate = 15 pts
29
Coma Cluster of Galaxies

Content Standard in 9-12 Science as
Inquiry (Abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry, Understanding about

scientific inquiry)

Space Science (Origin and evolution
of the universe)
Invisible Cluster
If you aim a big telescope at the Coma
Cluster, youll see galaxies galore
thousands of galaxies of all sizes
and shapes, from little puffballs to
big, fuzzy footballs. Even so, you wont
see most of the cluster because its invisible to human eyes.
Some of the clusters dark side is in
the form of superhot gas that glows in Xrays. All together, the gas is several times
as massive as the galaxies themselves.
Theres a dynamic interplay between
the hot gas and the galaxies.
As galaxies fall toward the center of
the cluster, they fly through the hot gas,
which strips away the cold gas inside
the galaxies. Without their cold gas, the
galaxies cant give birth to new stars. That
helps transform the appearance of some
of the galaxies. Spiral galaxies lose their
spiral arms, so they look like featureless
disks.
But the galaxies may have an effect on
the hot gas, too. Over the eons, it should
have cooled, but it hasnt. Hot jets of
particles from the centers of some galaxies may act like big blowtorches, keeping
the gas hot.
In 2006, Hubble Space Telescope aimed at a nearby collection of

galaxies called the Coma Cluster. Using the HST images, astronomers
gained fascinating insights into the evolution of galaxies in dense
galactic neighborhoods. In this activity, students will first learn the
basics of galaxy classification and grouping, then use HST images to
discover the morphology-density effect and make hypotheses about
its causes.
Materials & Preparation

Each student needs a copy of the next 7 pages (not this page). You may
copy the pages out of this guide, but it is recommended that you go to
mcdonaldobservatory.org/teachers/classroom and download the student
worksheets. The galaxy images in the online worksheets are negatives
of the real images, which provides better detail when printing. Supplemental materials for this activity are also available on the website.
Each student or student team will need a calculator and a magnifying
glass (a linen tester works well).
Knowledge of percentages is needed before doing this activity.
Suggested Grading
Page 31 (5 pts): Student provides clear explanations of the scheme.
Page 32 (2 pts total, 2 pts each): Answers: (E/S0/SB0 2,6,9), (S
1,8,12), (SB 3,4,10), (IR 5,7,11)
Pages 34 and 35: Not graded; based on students subjective interpretation.
Page 36 (30 pts): Graded for completion, not accuracy. Students will get
different numbers, but math should be correct. Answers for percentages
are typically in the following range: (Cluster: E 50 percent, L 30 percent,
S 20 percent) (Field: E 20 percent, L 10 percent, S 70 percent). Students
usually find a higher percentage of spirals in the field.
Page 37 (bottom, 30 pts): Student hypothesis should mention the
effects of interactions and ram-pressure stripping in changing past gasrich spirals into current gas-poor ellipticals and lenticulars in clusters.
Yet even the gas and the galaxies combined make up only a small fraction of the
Coma Cluster. As much as 80 percent of
its mass may consist of dark matter a
form of matter that produces no detectable
energy, but that exerts a gravitational pull
on the visible matter around it. The dark
matter ensures that most of this impressive
cluster remains invisible.
aired May 6, 2008. Script by Damond Benningfield,
2008.
30
GEMS COLLABORATION
Engage
The diagram above shows a mosaic of

40 galaxies. These images were taken
with Hubble Space Telescope and show
the variety of shapes that galaxies
can assume. When astronomer Edwin
Hubble first started studying these various types of galaxies in the 1920s, he
realized he needed to develop a way to
organize and categorize them. He created a classification scheme in which he
grouped similar galaxies together. Your
job is to do the same thing. In the chart,
invent your own four galaxy types and
provide a description and three examples
for each one.
Galaxy Type
(name and draw)
Defining Characteristics
Three Examples
(write a short description, provide enough detail

so that anyone could use your scheme)
(give 3 grid
coordinates)
31
Explore
ELLIPTICAL GALAXIES
SO
SP
RY
IRALS
Sa
SBa
Boxy
Disky
SBO
BA
RR
ED
S PI
Sb
Sc
SBb
SBc
Im
IBm
IRREG LARS
U
John Kormendy/Tim Jones
A
DIN
OR
The image on the left is the classification scheme that Hubble himself
came up with. He thought that the tuning fork sequence represented the
evolutionary progression of galaxies. This concept turned
out to be wrong, although astronomers still use these
general categories and labels to describe galaxies.
The Main Galaxy Types

Elliptical (E): Spherical or elliptical shape (like
a football), has no flat disc or spiral arms
Lenticular (S0): Smooth, flat disk shape without spiral structure, often hard to distinguish
from ellipticals
Barred Lenticular (SB0): Same as above, but with an

elongated (barred) nucleus
R A LS
Spiral (S): Flat disk shape with notable spiral patterns in

the outer disk, also contains a large bright
central bulge
Barred Spiral (SB): A special type of spiral

characterized by an elongated nucleus with
the spiral arms springing from the ends of
the bar
There are two other categories for classifying
galaxies:
Irregular (IR): An oddly shaped galaxy

that doesnt fit into any other category
Interacting (INT): Two or more galaxies that are so close together that they are
affecting each others shape
Using the definitions above, place the 12 galaxies on the left into their proper morphology categories:
Morphology
Picture Numbers (3 each)
E/S0/SB0
S
SB
ESO (top right); all others NASA
10
11
12
IR
The smallest galaxies are often called dwarf

galaxies (No. 5 and No. 7 are dwarf galaxies). These contain only a few billion stars
a small number compared to the Milky
Ways 200 billion. The largest ellipticals contain several trillion stars.
32
The Coma Galaxy Cluster
The Coma Cluster, which is centered about 320 million light-years away,
contains several thousand individual galaxies. The cluster has a roughly
spherical shape and is about 20 million light-years across. (For comparison, the Milky Way is 100,000 light-years across). That many galaxies
in a relatively small space makes the Coma Cluster one of the richest and
densest galaxy clusters in our region of the universe.
Arcturus
BIG DIPPER
Tim Jones
COMA BERENICES
NW
On the following pages you will be asked to count different

types of galaxies. Use the labels on this picture as an example
of how to count the various objects.
I) Ellipticals or Lenticulars
It can be hard to tell these apart. If you know its either an
E or S0/SB0, it is okay to
guess between these two.
II
?
?
It can be hard to tell these

apart. If you know its
either an S or SB, it is okay
to guess between these two.
II
II
III) Irregular galaxy

IV) Uncertain
An edge-on view of a galaxy that could possibly be

an S0, SB0, S, SB, or IR.
There are too many possibilities, so do not count
these.
?
I
Star
II
Star)
Any object that has
crosshairs sticking out of
it is a foreground star in the
Milky Way galaxy, so do not
count these.
I
IV
IV
Star
?)
Dont count small, faint
objects like these that are
too hard to classify.
NASA/STScI/Coma HST ACS Treasury Team (3)
II) Spirals and Barred Spirals
Star
II
IV
III
33
Count the number of galaxies of each

morphological type and write down the
number in the correct spot in the table.
Use the guidelines on page 4 to help you
decide which objects to count.
S0 /SB0
SB
IR / INT
Top Image (A)

Bottom Image (B)
34
E
Top Image (C)
Bottom Image (D)
S0 /SB0
SB
IR / INT
Count the number of galaxies of each

morphological type and write down the
number in the correct spot in the table.
Use the guidelines on page 4 to help
you decide which objects to count.
NASA/STScI/Coma HST ACS Treasury Team (4)
35
Explain
Galaxies in Clusters, Groups, and the Field
Galaxies are found throughout the universe, from our next door neighbors
the Magellanic Clouds and Andromeda all the way out to the edge
of the visible universe 13 billion light years away. Nobody knows for sure,
but it is estimated that there are 100 billion galaxies or more in the visible
universe, and many more beyond that. Galaxies live in a variety of environments. Sometimes large numbers of them are packed close together in
clusters, such as the Coma Cluster; sometimes they gather in smaller numbers called groups, like the Local Group that contains our Milky Way; and
sometimes they are isolated far from one another in the field.
Galaxy Cluster
Large and dense
Galaxy Group
Small and dense
The Field
Large and deserted
Number of
Galaxies
Minimum Number
of Non-dwarf
Galaxies
(1 Mpc = 3.26
million light years)
Diameter
50 to thousands
2 to 10 Mpc
1014 to 1015
solar masses
less than 50
1 to 2 Mpc
1013 solar
masses
very few
Voids, can be larger

than 100 Mpc
< 1010
Total Mass
Clusters, groups, and some isolated galaxies can all be part of even larger
structures called superclusters. At the largest scales in the visible universe,
superclusters are gathered into filaments and walls surrounding vast
voids, often described as resembling large soap bubbles. This structure
often is referred to as the cosmic web.
On the previous two pages, the images on the top (A&C) show the dense
central core of the Coma Cluster, and the images on the bottom (B&D)
show galaxies out in the field. Fill in the table below using the numbers
you wrote down on the previous two pages:
E
S0 & SB0
Morphology Ellipticals Lenticulars
S & SB (sum both together)

Total
Regular and Barred Spirals (E+S0+SB0+S+SB)
Image A
Image C
Sum Total From
A+C
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
(i)
(j)
(k)
(m)
Image B
Image D
Sum Total From
B+D
Using a calculator, find the percentages

of each galaxy type in the cluster versus
the field (ignore IRs and INTs). Fill in
each of the boxes on the right:
m
j
m
k
Where did you find a higher percentage of spirals in the Cluster or in the Field? Answer: __________________________
36
The percentages that you just found tell us which types of galaxies are
common in the Coma Cluster versus which types are common in the field.
Astronomers have done this same exercise on hundreds of thousands of
galaxies in the nearby universe, and discovered that the following percentages are pretty typical:
In dense clusters, 40 percent of the galaxies are ellipticals, 50 percent
are lenticulars, and 10 percent are spirals.
In the field, 10 percent of the galaxies are ellipticals, 10 percent are lenticulars, and 80 percent are spirals.
When galaxies are found very close together there are more ellipticals and lenticulars. When galaxies are far apart there are more
spirals. Astronomers call this the morphology-density effect (the word
morphology means type or class, not transformation, as in biology).
The term basically means that in crowded galaxy neighborhoods, like clusters, there are different types of galaxies than are found in open areas, like
the field.
Extend
The clues needed to answer the last question are in the following paragraphs. Please read the paragraphs carefully and then answer the question
at the right.
As a general rule, spiral galaxies (S and SB) have a lot of gas and are still
forming lots of new stars. Elliptical and lenticular galaxies (E, S0, and SB0)
are gas poor and are not making many new stars.
Spirals are Gas-rich
Both Ellipticals and Lenticulars are Gas-poor
Galaxies that are very close to each other, such
as those in clusters, often undergo many violent
interactions with each other. When a gas-rich
spiral galaxy interacts with another galaxy, it
tends to quickly use up most of its gas to make
new stars, leaving little gas behind. Galaxy-galaxy
interactions often change gas-rich galaxies into
gas-poor galaxies. Many lenticular galaxies are the
remains of old spirals that have lost their gas, and
many elliptical galaxies are the remains of several
spiral galaxies that have collided.
Using what youve learned, write a hypothesis that might explain why we see
the morphology-density effect. In other words, why do we see more elliptical
and lenticular galaxies in clusters and more spiral galaxies in the field? Remember that galaxies change and evolve over time, and these galaxies have had a
very long time to get to this point.
Galaxy clusters are usually filled with a lot of

extremely hot gas that is spread between galaxies
throughout the cluster. However, there is no hot
gas like this out in the field. When the radiation
from this hot gas hits a spiral galaxy, it strips the
spiral galaxy of its much cooler gas in a process
called ram-pressure stripping. This process quickly
converts a gas-rich spiral galaxy into a gas-poor
lenticular galaxy. Spiral galaxies have a hard time
surviving in the superheated gas environment.
37
Resources
The Stars: A New Way to See Them
by H. A. Rey, 1976
ISBN 0395245087
Internet
StarDate: The Solar System

1-800-STARDATE
stardate.org/resources/ssguide
Nearest Star: The Surprising Science

of our Sun
by Leon Golub and Jay M. Pasachoff, 2001
ISBN 0-674-00467-1
Universo Online
radiouniverso.org
StarDate: Beyond the Solar System

1-800-STARDATE
stardate.org/resources/btss
Cambridge Encyclopedia of the Sun

by Kenneth R. Lang, 2001
ISBN 0-521-78093-4
The Universe at Your Fingertips

Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 1995
ISBN 1-886733-00-7
www.astrosociety.org
Galaxies in Turmoil
by Chris Kitchin, 2007
ISBN 1-84628-670-0
Printed
materials
StarDate magazine
1-800-STARDATE
stardate.org/magazine
El Universo a Sus Pies

Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 2002
ISBN 1-58381-199-0
www.astrosociety.org
Observers Handbook
(for advanced stargazers)
Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
www.rasc.ca
Princeton Field Guides: Stars &
Planets, 4th ed.
by Ian Ridpath and Wil Tirion, 2007
ISBN 978-0-691-13556-4
Lawrence Hall of Science:

Great Explorations in Math
and Science
www.lawrencehallofscience.org/gems
Audio
StarDate radio
1-800-STARDATE
stardate.org/radio
Universo radio
1-800-STARDATE
radiouniverso.org/radio/
The Young Oxford Book of Astronomy

by Simon and Jacqueline Mitton, 1995
ISBN 0-19-521169-3
Unfolding our Universe
by Iain Nicolson, 1999
ISBN 0521-59270-4
National Science Education
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StarDate Teacher Guide 2008

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TEACHER GUIDE

Get Close to McDonald Observatory

Live for Students

The Frank N. Bash Visitors Center features

For complete details

Damond Benningfield; Frank Cianciolo (inset)

Support for Program number HST-EO-10861.35-A was

Modeling the Night Sky 

Special thanks to all the teachers who evaluated this guide.

NASA/STScI/Coma HST ACS Treasury Team

Visit StarDate Online at stardate.org

tarDate and Universo are daily

of the radio program content while

National Science Education Standards

Science is for ALL students.

may be distributed to other teachers, placed in your schools library, or

StarDate and Universo provide an opportunity

database of the information filed at

on skylore to create interest in

our solar system. They can

This is the transcript of a StarDate radio episode that

Begin in the morning. One member is to play statue holding still

What has changed?

Students should notice that the

National Science Education Standards

Content Standard in K-4 Earth

What has changed?

Students draw pictures of why we have day and night.

Modeling the Night Sky

Content Standard in K-4 Earth

This activity extends Shadow Play

Although Ophiuchus (oh-fee-YOO'-kus) is not

Activity continued, Page 10

Ophiuchus and Serpens

This is the transcript of a StarDate radio episode

We see different stars at different times of year because Earth orbits

0.24 year = 88 days

Observing the Moon

National Science Education Standards

Content Standard in 5-8 Earth and

Content Standard in K-4 Earth and

Content Standard in 5-8 Science

Soft drawing pencil

In choosing a day, keep these tips in mind:

For an in-class activity, make craters by dropping marbles or pebbles into a

Above: Impact craters and

This is the transcript of a StarDate radio episode that

JAXA/NHK (top); NASA

Learning the Lunar Landscape

Moon and Jupiter

Use StarDate or Universo CDs or printed materials such as StarDate: The

Develop a grading rubric for different grades, keeping in mind the

This is the transcript of a StarDate radio episode

National Science Education Standards

Future tourists may detour around

Solar System Science

National Science Education Standards

Content Standard in 5-8 Earth

Compare planets in our solar system to new extrasolar planets

What planet or object should NASA choose for future human

This is the transcript of a StarDate radio episode

First, as a class, students should agree on a course of action based on their

National Science Education Standards

Content Standard in 5-8 Science

Modeling the Night Sky