NASA -Voyager Makes an Interstellar Discovery.

science@nasa – Sky-Spy Safari.  This is really fun! Take a stroll through the cosmos and see different objects through the eyes of different telescopes.

Mission : Science.  A new NASA science site specifically for teenagers.

NASA – Earth’s Moon.  Amazing photo I wanted to share. Click on the link to see a larger version and read about how this photo was created.

Thank you for your kind comments and emails. I will really miss you all too. Have fun in the parade tomorrow! We’ll be watching.  :o)

Dear Class:

I’m very sorry to say that I am no longer your Earth Space Science Teacher. I had no intention of ending my time at Blake today but some things changed and I am no longer able to be there. I wish I was able to say goodbye to each of you as you are all wonderful and unique students. I wish you much success in your studies and in the lives you have ahead of you. I will miss you all greatly. I know my boys will miss you too. You really are a great bunch. I hope you are able to have your Moon & Star Parties. I will have my husband drop the telescope off at school.  I found it pretty easy to figure out and it has a good user’s manual so hopefully someone else can learn how to work it. It does some amazing things!

And now a note for each of you …

Brody – you always amaze me by seeming like you don’t know what’s going on at times and then doing very well on quizzes and tests. whatever you are doing, keep it up!

Jarret – try not to get any more viruses on your computer! seriously though, i think you have a future with computers and graphics. never stop learning.

Mike – i wish you the best. you are one of the nicest students i’ve ever taught.

Kayla – stay out of trouble!  you are capable of so much more than you allow yourself at times. don’t sell yourself short.

Shawna – i’m so proud of you. keep up the studying and you will go very far in life. please keep smiling … it really brightens the room and i will miss it.

John – i really enjoy your inquisitive nature. the questions you ask in class always lead to good discussion. never lose the desire to learn!

Amelia – you are such a great student and a sweet person. i really enjoyed watching you learn. keep that motivation up and you will surely do amazing things with your life.

Rebecca – i enjoyed our talks. never give up on your dreams. you can do anything you put your mind to.

David – i love your artwork and your love of space. you remind me of myself in some ways. thank you for sharing your books with me. i left them on my desk. never stop dreaming!

I wish you all the best life has to offer. Never stop learning, dreaming or growing.

~Mrs. C

Please click on the picture below to see a larger version of the invitation.  Hope to see you all there!

 

http://www.space.com/spacewatch/moon_guide-1.html

http://www.space.com/spacewatch/sky_calendar.html

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/sightings/planningguide.html

http://astrosociety.org/education/astro/astropubs/htm_events.html

 

Hubbles dusty laboratory

via Hubbles dusty laboratory.

 

Amazing Space: Explorations.  We may use some of these activities in class this week.

No Escape: The Truth about Black Holes.

A black hole is an object whose gravity is so strong that its escape velocity exceeds the speed of light. Since nothing is known to exceed the speed of light, nothing can escape from a black hole.  We talked about the speed of light in class last week.  The speed light travels in empty space is 2.99793 X 10⁸ m/s, or 186,000 miles/second.  That’s fast!  If it travels 186,000 miles per second, just imagine how far it would travel in a year.  That distance is the definition of  a light year.

Build A Star Finder – Yerkes Activity.  A third option for making a star finder. I might like this one the best so far.

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We may use this one as well or instead:  http://hilaroad.com/camp/projects/stars.html

The Space Place :: Make a Star Finder.  We will use this site this week to make a star finder in preparation for our Moon Party on Friday.

This is fun.  Be a citizen of Mars and learn a thing or two.  Check it out.

http://beamartian.jpl.nasa.gov/welcome

NASA – New Moon Sets Stage for Brilliant Leonids Meteor Shower.  Make sure to check out the night sky tomorrow.  Good chance to see some meteors.

11/16 Monday:  Ch. 4 Test

• Moon Observation Project Due

11/17 Tuesday:  5.1 Stars

• notes
• vocab
• WBA 18 (due 11/18)

11/18 Wednesday:  5.2 Distance to Stars

• notes
• vocab
• WBA 19 (due 11/19)

11/19 Thursday:  5.3 Life of a Star

• notes
• vocab
• demo (model of a supergiant)

11/20 Friday:  Review 3.1-3.3

The Blake School Earth Science Class Moon Party will be Friday December 4th from 7:30-9:30pm.  Moon rises that night at 8:08 pm so we will have some time to meet up, get set up, have some snacks and watch the moon rise together.  Sounds great!

This is the test review we will go over today.

Ch 4:  The Solar System

Test Review

1. All 12 Chapter 4 vocabulary terms
2. Explain what the solar system is:
   • What it is made of
   • What holds it together
   • What is at the center
3. Difference between stars, planets and moons
4. Why moons and planets shine in the night sky
5. Understand how the planets move around the sun and how the moons move around the planets.
6. Difference between revolution and rotation.
7. Even though our book calls Pluto a planet, Pluto was reclassified as a minor planet and is not considered one of the planets that make up our solar system.
8. The Sun:
   • Size relative to all the planets (remember basketball/pin demo)
   • Two main gases it is made of
   • How it rotates
   • Layers of the sun’s atmosphere
9. Sunspots
   • What they are
   • Where they are located
10. Four Inner Planets
    • Identify names: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
    • They are closer to the sun (remember measuring distance on string)
    • Why are they similar (composition is rocky, positioned close to the sun)
    • Know at least one unique feature of each
    • Why earth is unique
11. Greenhouse effect
    • What is it
    • How it causes Venus to be hotter than Mercury even though Mercury is closer to the Sun
12. Four Outer Planets
    • Pluto is no longer considered a planet
    • Identify names: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
    • Composition is mostly frozen gas and liquid
    • They all have rings
    • Know at least one unique feature of each planet
13. Difference between asteroids and comets
14. Asteroids
    • Rocky object smaller than planet
    • Has own orbit around sun
    • Asteroid Belt (what it is, where it is)
15. Comets
    • Made of ice, rock, frozen gases and dust
    • Gas and dust are released as they get closer to the sun, allowing them to reflect sunlight and be seen
    • Tail of comet points away from the sun
    • Large orbits not on same plane as planets
16. Difference between meteors and meteorites
17. Nicolaus Copernicus & Galileo Galilei
    • Why are they important to the information studied in this chapter
    • What advances did they make in astronomy
    Sorry about the weird spacings in this post. WordPress is doing this and I can’t seem to fix it.

Amazing Space: Tonight’s Sky.  This is really great!  Check it out please.