Warm Up – Watch the video below and answer the questions on your Note Taking Outline

SC.8.E.5.3 Distinguish the hierarchical relationships between planets and other astronomical bodies
relative to solar system, galaxy, and universe, including distance, size, and composition.
 The universe contains billions of galaxies and each galaxy contains many billions of stars.

Stars are made As the star generates energy

mostly of the through fusion, it creates other
elements hydrogen elements that can form planets,
and helium. moons and more.

Stars are held together by gravity.

 Stars are not just randomly scattered through the universe.

Each galaxy
They are gathered contains billions
into groups called and billions of
stars.
galaxies.

Galaxies are made of Galaxies are classified

gas, dust, stars, and or organized into
stars’ solar systems three main types and
which include planets, shapes: elliptical,
moons, comets, spiral, and irregular.
asteroids and other
debris.

These main shapes are determined by the bulge at the center and the outer disk formations.
The Universe is made up of many galaxies. Which of the
following statements BEST describes a characteristic of a galaxy?

A It is a cluster of billions of stars.

B It is a cluster of thousands of stars.
C It is a cluster of millions of stars.
D It contains everything in outer space.
The Universe is made up of many galaxies. Which of the
following statements BEST describes a characteristic of a galaxy?

A It is a cluster of billions of stars.

B It is a cluster of thousands of stars.
C It is a cluster of millions of stars.
D It contains everything in outer space.
 The galaxy in which we live is called the Milky Way Galaxy.

On a dark,
cloudless night, if This is the Milky Way.
you go out and look
up, you may be
able to see the faint
haze that spreads
across the sky.

The haze that you see is part of the spiral arm of the galaxy where the concentration of stars, gas and dust makes it visible.
The universe contains many galaxies including the Milky Way galaxy. The Milky
Way galaxy contains stars, planets, moons, and other objects. What do other
galaxies have in common with the Milky Way galaxy?

A They are all spiral shape

B They are all held together by gravity
C They all have the same number of stars
D They are all the same size
The universe contains many galaxies including the Milky Way galaxy. The Milky
Way galaxy contains stars, planets, moons, and other objects. What do other
galaxies have in common with the Milky Way galaxy?

A They are all spiral shape

B They are all held together by gravity
C They all have the same number of stars
D They are all the same size
 The Milky Way Spiral galaxy has pinwheel type arms that our solar system happens to be a part of.

If you look on this Remember that even

map, you can see the though we are used to
marked location of our seeing diagrams of the sun
Sun and where we are as the largest body in our
relative to the center solar system, it is still small
of the galaxy. in comparison to the entire
Universe.

It is one
quintillion
kilometers from
one side of our
galaxy to the
other.

If you could travel as fast as the speed of light, it would take you about 100,000 years to travel across the Milky Way.
Jamal is making a model of the universe using common objects to represent the
universe, the Milky Way, the solar system and the Sun. He chooses a grape, his
classroom, a tennis ball and an extra-large pizza to represent objects in his model.
He decides to use the pizza to represent the Sun. Why is Jamal’s decision not the
best choice?

A The classroom should be used since it is large like the Sun.

B The grape is the better choice since it is the smallest of the selected objects.
C The pizza is the better choice because of its shape.
D The tennis ball is the better choice due to its yellow color
Which statement BEST describes the number of galaxies and stars in the universe?

A Billions of galaxies and billions of stars

B Millions of galaxies and millions of stars
C Millions of galaxies and billions of stars
D Billions of galaxies and millions of stars
Which statement BEST describes the number of galaxies and stars in the universe?

A Billions of galaxies and billions of stars

B Millions of galaxies and millions of stars
C Millions of galaxies and billions of stars
D Billions of galaxies and millions of stars
The universe contains galaxies made of stars and their solar systems, gas, dust and all matter.

Our home
galaxy is the Within the
Milky Way, universe,
which is an scientists estimate
active spiral large numbers of
galaxy galaxies.
containing
millions and
millions of stars.

There are somewhere between 100 billion and 225 billion galaxies.
Jamal is making a model of the universe using common objects to represent the
universe, the Milky Way, the solar system and the Sun. He chooses a grape, his
classroom, a tennis ball and an extra-large pizza to represent objects in his model.
He decides to use the pizza to represent the Sun. Why is Jamal’s decision not the
best choice?

A The classroom should be used since it is large like the Sun.

B The grape is the better choice since it is the smallest of the selected objects.
C The pizza is the better choice because of its shape.
D The tennis ball is the better choice due to its yellow color
Here is another look at how far away Proxima Centauri is. It would take light 4.3 years to get here after the photon left the
star.
 The Hubble Space Telescope

The Hubble Space Telescope is

One of the most famous as big as an oversized school
telescopes that has been bus and as it orbits the Earth, it
orbiting the Earth since the faces out toward space,
1900s was launched by capturing pictures of galaxies,
NASA and is named the dying stars, star births, planets,
Hubble Space moons and many more objects
in space.
Telescope after the
astronomer, Edwin Hubble.

The Hubble has provided images like these and others that has allowed us to gain immense knowledge about the universe we
are a part of.
 We need to switch to another larger unit called the light year.

Alight
year is
equal to the
time it takes
light to travel in
one year.

Even the light year isn’t big enough for further travel.
Just traveling to the nearest galaxy from the Milky Way will be far.

We will have to switch to parsecs.

12

This is equal to about 3.26156 light years.

The distance from the Sun to the nearest star, Proxima Centauri, is
approximately 4.22 lightyears. Which conclusion best fits this
information?

A The Sun is 4.22 years older than Proxima Centauri.

B Light from Proxima Centauri takes 4.22 years to reach the Sun.
C Proxima Centauri travels 4.22 more quickly than the Sun.
D Light from the Sun is 4.22 times brighter than the light from Proxima Centauri.
The distance from the Sun to the nearest star, Proxima Centauri, is
approximately 4.22 lightyears. Which conclusion best fits this
information?

A The Sun is 4.22 years older than Proxima Centauri.

B Light from Proxima Centauri takes 4.22 years to reach the Sun.
C Proxima Centauri travels 4.22 more quickly than the Sun.
D Light from the Sun is 4.22 times brighter than the light from Proxima Centauri.
Scientists have launched a number of spacecrafts on missions that involve visits to
the planets of our solar system. Which of the following missions would take the
longest period of time?

A From Earth to the closest star

B From Earth to Neptune
C From Earth to Venus
D From Earth to Saturn
Scientists have launched a number of spacecrafts have on missions that involve
visits to the planets of our solar system. Which of the following missions would
take the longest period of time?

A From Earth to the closest star

B From Earth to Neptune
C From Earth to Venus
D From Earth to Saturn
 Stars are extremely far away compared to the planets.

other than the Sun

If you live in a big city, the comparative distances between the planets and the stars are like this; The planets are in the
kitchen and the stars are across town or in the next state.
 All of the matter in the universe is made from a combination of these elements.

Over time and

depending on
Most of the the size and
universe energy of the
massive stars,
started out these elements
as hydrogen formed through
and helium fusion into
larger elements
which are including
the smallest carbon,
and lightest nitrogen and
oxygen.
elements.
 planet
A ________________ is a celestial body that orbits a star. A planet
has a near circular orbit that has also basically cleared its
neighborhood of debris.

Not all planets are like Earth with a solid surface. Scientists have
rocky
determined that planets can be ______________or
gaseous
_________________. Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune and Uranus in our
solar system are considered gas giants.
Moons are natural satellites that orbit a planet.
________
 Scientists have estimated the size of the universe to be 93 billion light years across!

Look at the This is an area

center of this containing our galaxy,
picture at the but other galaxies as
area marked well.
Virgo
Supercluster.

That tiny dot contains hundreds of billions of stars.

 An astronomical unit is how we measure the distances within our solar system.

The average
distance from the This is the equivalent of
Earth to the Sun is 1 about 149,800,000 km.
astronomical unit of
1 AU.

If the astronomical unit is what we use to measure the distances in our solar system, what happens when we are going even
further?
 When we describe objects in the universe, we use distances such as the light year.

Light helps us to The light from

calculate distances the sun takes
in space.
8 minutes
to get here.
Bob Williams, an
astronomer working with
the Hubble telescope set
the telescope to aim at a
dark spot in the sky and
take a long exposure
picture
 Warm Ups
1. The Universe is made up of many galaxies. Which of the following statements
BEST describes a characteristic of a galaxy?
A It is a cluster of billions of stars.
B It is a cluster of thousands of stars.
C It is a cluster of millions of stars.
D It contains everything in outer space.
2. The universe contains many galaxies including the Milky Way galaxy. The
Milky Way galaxy contains stars, planets, moons, and other objects. What do
other galaxies have in common with the Milky Way galaxy?
A They are all spiral shape
B They are all held together by gravity
C They all have the same number of stars
D They are all the same size
 A planet is a celestial body that orbits a star.

A planet has a near Scientists have

circular orbit that determined that
has also basically planets can be rocky
cleared its
neighborhood of or gaseous.
debris.

Saturn, Jupiter,
Neptune and
Not all planets
Uranus in our solar
are like Earth with
system are
a solid surface.
considered gas
giants.

Moons are natural satellites that orbit a planet.

 Other types of solar system objects include comets, meteoroids, and asteroids.

Asteroids in our solar When this

system are more meteoroid
common in space enters Earth’s
between Mars and atmosphere, we
Jupiter- This area is call them
called the asteroid
belt.
meteors.

When a piece of an When they impact the

asteroid breaks off, it ground, we call them
is called a
meteoroid. meteorites.

Comets, while often confused with meteoroids are made of mostly ice and rock.

They are often referred to as dirty snowballs.

 How did our Solar System come to be?
The story begins about 4.6 billion years ago, with a wispy could of stellar dust.

This cloud was part of a bigger cloud called a nebula.

At some point, the

cloud collapsed- When it fell on itself, it
possibly because of the created a disk of
shockwave of a nearby material surrounding it.
exploding star, which
caused it to compress.

Finally, the pressure caused by the material was so great that the hydrogen atoms began to fuse into helium, thus creating our

Sun!
 How did our Solar System come to be?
Even though the Sun gobbled up more than 99% of all the stuff in this disk, there was some material left over.

Bits of this
material Rocky planets, like
clumped Earth, formed near the
together Sun, because icy and
because of gaseous material
gravity. couldn’t survive close to
all that heat.

Some of
these objects Gas and icy stuff
became big collected further
enough to be away, creating the
planets.
gas and ice giants.

And just like that, the solar system as we know it today was formed.
 The Sun, because of its size, exerts quite a large gravitational effect on objects around it.

Like most other stars, our

Sun radiates a huge
amount of energy This releases enough
converting hydrogen into energy to spread over
150 million km to
helium through reach Earth and warm
nuclear fusion in its core. our planet.

But how does the Sun compare to other stars?...

 Our star, the Sun, is pretty average; it’s not the dimmest or smallest star, and not the oldest or youngest.

They use the

Scientists classify stars
Hertzsprung-Russel or
by their brightness,
H-R diagram to show
called
comparisons; the Sun’s
luminosity, luminosity is 1.
and their temperature.

If a star is brighter than the sun, its luminosity would be greater than 1, but if it was dimmer than
the Sun, it would be less than one.
 You might have also noticed that there is a measurement called magnitude.

Absolute magnitude is how bright the star is from a standard distance of 10 parsecs, versus apparent
magnitude of how bright it appears to be from Earth.

The use of absolute

magnitude allows Apparent
us to compare stars magnitude can
to one another no be confusing
matter how far by looking at
away they are from the numbers.
Earth.

A brighter absolute magnitude will actually have a lower number on the scale, so the star with an absolute magnitude of -5 is
actually brighter than a star with an absolute magnitude of +15.
Ordering the stars by temperature, you can see that the hottest stars are on the left, while the cooler stars are on the right.

While the
The hotter stars are
temperature
blue and whiter,
has an impact
while the cooler
on how bright a
stars are more
star is, so does
orange and red.
its type.
The following diagram shows the relationship between five star's
absolute magnitude and their temperatures. Which star is most
likely to be the coolest and dimmest?

AA
BB
CC
DE
The following diagram shows the relationship between five star's
absolute magnitude and their temperatures. Which star is most
likely to be the coolest and dimmest?

AA
BB
CC
DE
Eduardo observes the stars through his telescope. He states that the star Regulus is brighter
than the star Rigel. In reality, Rigel has a greater absolute brightness than Regulus. What can
explain Eduardo’s observation?

A Rigel is a hotter star than Regulus

B Regulus is much closer to Earth than Rigel

rsa
ye
C Regulus is a hotter star than Rigel

ht
lig
D Rigel is much closer to Earth than Regulus

3
.6
77
ars Rigel
t ye
ligh
4. 3
8 6
Eduardo observes the stars through his telescope. He states that the star Regulus is brighter
than the star Rigel. In reality, Rigel has a greater absolute brightness than Regulus. What can
explain Eduardo’s observation?

A Rigel is a hotter star than Regulus

B Regulus is much closer to Earth than Rigel

rsa
ye
C Regulus is a hotter star than Rigel

ht
lig
D Rigel is much closer to Earth than Regulus

3
.6
77
ars Rigel
t ye
ligh
4. 3
8 6
 There are a few main types of stars.

This is mostly
determined based on Main sequence stars are thought to be
their location on the H-R the most common type of star and
diagram. shows in the middle of the chart along
the line from the top left down to the
bottom right.

The main line or

grouping of stars are
We classify a star’s type based on where
called the Main it is in the diagram such as is it a
supergiant or a main sequence star or
Sequence Stars. even a white dwarf.

We can get a lot of information about a star (its luminosity, color, type etc.) from the H-R diagram.

However, it’s important to note that stars can change over their lifetime; they get dimmer, brighter, expand, collapse, merge
with other stars, change color etc.
The sun's surface temperature is about 6,000 degrees Celsius but that the corona--
the sun's atmosphere--is much hotter, millions of degrees.

Our Sun is amedium - Huge magnetic loops can be

sized star with a radius of seen to rise far into the
about 435,000 miles (700,000 corona, and it is quite
kilometers). Many stars are plausible that the solar
much larger – but the Sun is magnetic field is the ultimate
far more massive than our source of physical heating of
home planet the corona
The graph below shows the relative sizes and surface temperatures of four
groups of stars. The surface temperature of the stars is measured in Kelvin (K).
The Sun is part of the main sequence group. According to the graph, which of the
following best
describes the
Sun?

A average sized, with a surface temperature of approximately 6,000 K

B average sized, with a surface temperature of approximately 8,000 K
C massive sized, with a surface temperature of approximately 10,000 K
D massive sized, with a surface temperature of approximately 20,000 K
The graph below shows the relative sizes and surface temperatures of four
groups of stars. The surface temperature of the stars is measured in Kelvin (K).
The Sun is part of the main sequence group. According to the graph, which of the
following best
describes the
Sun?

A average sized, with a surface temperature of approximately 6,000 K

B average sized, with a surface temperature of approximately 8,000 K
C massive sized, with a surface temperature of approximately 10,000 K
D massive sized, with a surface temperature of approximately 20,000 K
We classify a star’s type based on where it is in the diagram such as is it a supergiant or a main sequence star or even a white
dwarf.

We can get a lot of

information about a Stars change over
star from the H-R their lifetimes.
diagram, including its
luminosity, color,
temperature, or even
its type.

They get dimmer, they get brighter, they expand, they collapse, they merge with other stars, their colors change and it all
depends on many factors including their ingredients, their size, and their gravitational force.
 Stars are grouped into 7 main categories or classes

Stars in the 'O'

class are the most
massive and
The classes are called hottest, stars in
O, B, A, F, G, K and M. the 'M' class are
the smallest and
coolest.

The color of light a star gives off is controlled by its temperature. Hotter 'O' stars glow bluer and cooler 'M' stars glow redder.
Spectral Class

Class Absolute Brightness

O -6 to -8
B 0 to -4
A 4 to 0
F 6 to 2
G
4 to 6
K
6 to 12
M 12 to 16
The Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) Diagram was developed to help others
understand the properties of stars. The H-R diagram shows the
characteristics of some stars. Which statement is supported by data on
the diagram?

A) White dwarfs are more luminous than Sirius A and Spica

B) Sirius B is closer to Earth than Proxima Centauri

C) Aldebaran’s temperature is less than that of Spica

D) Deneb is cooler than the Sun

The Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) Diagram was developed to help others
understand the properties of stars. The H-R diagram shows the
characteristics of some stars. Which statement is supported by data on
the diagram?

A) White dwarfs are more luminous than Sirius A and Spica

B) Sirius B is closer to Earth than Proxima Centauri

C) Aldebaran’s temperature is less than that of Spica

D) Deneb is cooler than the Sun

Pierre has been reviewing data acquired by other scientists related to the absolute
brightness (absolute magnitude), color, mass, and surface temperature of stars
within the Milky Way Galaxy. The data he has collected can be summarized by the
graph and the diagram below.
If scientists discovered a new G-Class star,
which of the following statements is most
true based on Pierre’s data?

A The G-Class star most likely has an absolute

brightness (absolute magnitude) between -2 and 0.
B The G-Class star most likely has an absolute
brightness (absolute magnitude) between 4 and 6.
C The G-Class star most likely has an absolute
brightness (absolute magnitude) between 8 and 10.
D The G-Class star most likely has an absolute
brightness (absolute magnitude) between 12 and 16
Pierre has been reviewing data acquired by other scientists related to the absolute
brightness (absolute magnitude), color, mass, and surface temperature of stars
within the Milky Way Galaxy. The data he has collected can be summarized by the
graph and the diagram below.
If scientists discovered a new G-Class star,
which of the following statements is most
true based on Pierre’s data?

A The G-Class star most likely has an absolute

brightness (absolute magnitude) between -2 and 0.
B The G-Class star most likely has an absolute
brightness (absolute magnitude) between 4 and 6.
C The G-Class star most likely has an absolute
brightness (absolute magnitude) between 8 and 10.
D The G-Class star most likely has an absolute
brightness (absolute magnitude) between 12 and 16
Pierre has been reviewing data acquired by other
scientists related to the absolute brightness (absolute
magnitude), color, mass, and surface temperature of
stars within the Milky Way Galaxy. The data he has
collected can be summarized by the graph and the
diagram below.
Which of the following statements best
describe the characteristics of a white
dwarf star?

A A star with an approximate temperature of

30,000 K and in Spectral Class B or O
B A star with an approximate temperature of
2,500 K and in Spectral Class K or M
C A star with an approximate temperature of
8,500 K and in Spectral Class A or F
D A star with an approximate temperature
of 2,500 K and in Spectral Class A or F
Pierre has been reviewing data acquired by other
scientists related to the absolute brightness (absolute
magnitude), color, mass, and surface temperature of
stars within the Milky Way Galaxy. The data he has
collected can be summarized by the graph and the
diagram below.
Which of the following statements best
describe the characteristics of a white
dwarf star?

A A star with an approximate temperature of

30,000 K and in Spectral Class B or O
B A star with an approximate temperature of
2,500 K and in Spectral Class K or M
C A star with an approximate temperature
of 8,500 K and in Spectral Class A or F
D A star with an approximate temperature
of 2,500 K and in Spectral Class A or F
Moon Jupiter Main sequence Star Solar System Nebula galaxy
In Science class, students were asked to arrange a group of astronomical bodies
from largest to smallest. Four of the lists created are shown below. After reading all
of the groups lists, the teacher stated that no group had the accurate order. The
students began to argue about how to correct their lists. Which statement best
states how a group could change their list to produce the correct sequence of
objects?

A Group 1: Since Jupiter is larger than a main sequence star, these two objects should switch places
B Group 3: A nebula is smaller than a galaxy and a main sequence star so it needs to be moved above Jupiter.
C Group 4: Jupiter is smaller than a galaxy and by switching these two objects the list becomes correctly ordered.
D Group 2: Objects are listed from smallest to largest so the list just needs to be flipped
In Science class, students were asked to arrange a group of astronomical bodies
from largest to smallest. Four of the lists created are shown below. After reading all
of the groups lists, the teacher stated that no group had the accurate order. The
students began to argue about how to correct their lists. Which statement best
states how a group could change their list to produce the correct sequence of
objects?

A Group 1: Since Jupiter is larger than a main sequence star, these two objects should switch places
B Group 3: A nebula is smaller than a galaxy and a main sequence star so it needs to be moved above Jupiter.
C Group 4: Jupiter is smaller than a galaxy and by switching these two objects the list becomes correctly ordered.
D Group 2: Objects are listed from smallest to largest so the list just needs to be flipped
The astronomical objects should be listed in order from largest and smallest. One
group is not. Which group is NOT listed in the correct order?

Group 1: Sun, Jupiter, Earth, Mercury, Moon

Group 2: Milky Way Galaxy, Universe, Solar System, Mars
Group 3: Sun, Earth, Moon, Meteorite
Group 4: Sun, Earth, Moon, Comet

A Group 1 is incorrect because the Moon is larger than Mercury.

B Group 2 is incorrect because the Milky Way is smaller than the Universe.
C Group 3 is incorrect because a meteorite should be listed between the Sun and Earth.
D Group 4 is incorrect because the moon is larger than Earth.
The astronomical objects should be listed in order from largest and smallest. One
group is not. Which group is NOT listed in the correct order?

Group 1: Sun, Jupiter, Earth, Mercury, Moon

Group 2: Milky Way Galaxy, Universe, Solar System, Mars
Group 3: Sun, Earth, Moon, Meteorite
Group 4: Sun, Earth, Moon, Comet

A Group 1 is incorrect because the Moon is larger than Mercury.

B Group 2 is incorrect because the Milky Way is smaller than the Universe.
C Group 3 is incorrect because a meteorite should be listed between the Sun and Earth.
D Group 4 is incorrect because the moon is larger than Earth.
Which of the following best represents the relationship among galaxies, the
Universe, and solar systems?
Which of the following best represents the relationship among galaxies, the
Universe, and solar systems?
 Pluto is located in the Kuiper Belt – a donut-shaped region of icy bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune

The Kuiper
Belt extends
just beyond The first mission
the orbit of to explore the
Neptune Kuiper Belt is
from about New Horizons
30 to 55 AU

Similar to the asteroid belt, the Kuiper Belt is a region of leftovers from the solar system's early history.
The distance from the Sun to each planet and to Pluto, in Astronomical Units.

Pluto

Pluto: 33.63 AU
During the summer of 2015, the New Horizon space probe provided the first fly by
images of the dwarf planet Pluto. The NASA engineers were amazed to see
mountains as high as 3,500 meters displayed across the icy surface. They also
observed a canyon that is 7 to 9 kilometers deep. One of the most amazing things
about the entire mission was the ability of a space probe, about the size of a piano,
to travel the enormous distance to the Kuiper Belt object. Which of the following
distances best reflects the distance the New Horizon traveled from Earth to Pluto?

A 7 million kilometers
B 60,000 miles
C 32.63 astronomical units
D 4.67 light years
During the summer of 2015, the New Horizon space probe provided the first fly by
images of the dwarf planet Pluto. The NASA engineers were amazed to see
mountains as high as 3,500 meters displayed across the icy surface. They also
observed a canyon that is 7 to 9 kilometers deep. One of the most amazing things
about the entire mission was the ability of a space probe, about the size of a piano,
to travel the enormous distance to the Kuiper Belt object. Which of the following
distances best reflects the distance the New Horizon traveled from Earth to Pluto?

A 7 million kilometers
B 60,000 miles
C 32.63 astronomical units
D 4.67 light years
 Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is considered a spiral galaxy.

It has pinwheel These clusters of stars

arms filled with are held together by
stars, gas and gravity.
dust.

Remember that each star may also have a solar system that orbits it.
 Scientists have identified older stars near the center of a spiral galaxy while newer stars are in the spiral arms.
.

At the center of It would take quite a

our spiral galaxy long time to travel
is an incredibly the distance from
strong one galaxy to
phenomenon another—and even
called a more to get to the
supermassive edge of the universe!
black hole.
 As we pass from one galaxy from another, we see different types of stars.

Giants – are so massive that they make our Sun look like a tiny dot

White Dwarfs Sometimes stars

– these small stars are so close that
release an incredible they interact
amount of energy; they directly.
are older stars that lost
much of their mass and
only the core is
remaining

These stars are called binary stars since they orbit each other.
 Neutron stars have an incredible amount of mass and energy for their very small size and have formed from a collapsed star.

Black holes
are so dense that
Black holes light can’t even
also have a escape; they have
tremendous an intense
amount of gravitational pull.
mass.

Scientists think that most of the universe consists of dark energy.

 For this reason, some nebulae are called "star nurseries."

Nebulae are made of dust and gases—mostly hydrogen and helium. The dust and gases in a nebula are very spread out,
but gravity can slowly begin to pull together clumps of dust and gas