Earth Science: Astronomy

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» What's the Big Question (PDF)
» Learning Set 1 (PDF)

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The Big Question: How can you know if objects in space will collide?

As part of exploring the potential for the impact of objects in space, students learn about evidence of collisions in the solar system, the components of the solar system (including the Sun, Earth, Earth’s Moon, other planets and their satellites, comets, and asteroids), the motion of those components, and the existence of other galaxies. Based on this understanding, students make a determination whether a fictional asteroid will or will not hit Earth.

Implements STEM initiative
Uses the Engineering Design Cycle

• apparent motion of the Moon
• apparent motion of planets and stars
• astronomical unit
• changes in shadows
• classification of solar system objects
• collisions
• collisions of solar system objects
• craters
• crater floors
• crater rim
• crater walls
• creation of craters
• creation of shadows
• criteria and constraints

• distance between planets
• Earth
• Earth craters
• ejecta
• eclipses
• first tools used to observe the planets
• Galileo
• Galileo's telescope
• gravity
• inclination of orbits
• mass
• meteor
• meteorite
• meteoroid
• models of the solar system
• Moon
• motion of solar system objects
• motion of the planets

• orbit
• predicting motion
• predicting phases of the Moon and eclipses
• rotation of Earth
• satellite's
• scale of the solar system
• shadow
• Shoemaker-Levy 9
• size of planets
• speed
• Sun system
• telescope
• to observe the sky
• tools of astronomers
• tools used
• tools used to observe the sky
• What are stars?
• What is the Moon?

• a fair test
• asking questions
• careful observation
• comparing through observation
• designing a fair test
• developing a procedure
• developing models
• evidence
• experimentation
• interpreting data

• keeping good records
• making inferences and sharing
• making measurements
• modeling and simulations
• tools used to observe the sky
• using evidence
• using evidence in explanations
• using scientific tools
• variables

21ST CENTURY SKILLS
Collaboration
Communicating plans and ideas Developing explanations
Finding trends in data
Critical thinking including:

• building on the work of others
• collecting, organizing, and analyzing data
• observations and interpretation using science knowledge
• using evidence to support claims