Space

Guiding Question: In what ways can the solar system be explored?

Composition of the Solar System

Sun

A medium-sized star; provides light and heat

planets

Inner Planets (rocky): Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars

Outer Planets (gas/ice giants): Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune

dwarf planets

Pluto, Eris, Ceres

asteroids

Rock fragments (mostly in the asteroid belt between Mars & Jupiter).

comets

Ice & dust; tails form when near Sun.

meteroids

Smaller rocks in space → become meteors when entering Earth’s atmosphere.

Celestial bodies differ in size, shape, composition, atmosphere, and temperature.
Some emit light (Sun), others reflect (planets, moons).

Models & Representation

What is a model?

Scientists often use models to understand or visualize things that are too large, small, or distant to study directly.

For the solar system, models help us picture:

the Sun and the planets,
their relative sizes,
their order and orbits around the Sun.

Limitations of solar system models

We can’t show both size and distance perfectly in one convenient model—if planet sizes look right, distances are too short, and vice versa.
Orbits shown in neat circles are really slightly elliptical.
Planets don’t line up; they constantly move.
Models can’t easily display the tilt of rotation axes, moons, or atmospheric features to true scale.

Despite these limits, good models help us see patterns—like the order of planets, asteroid belt position, and the difference between inner rocky and outer gas planets.

Exploring Space

Tools & Technologies

Telescopes: gather light to view distant objects.
Satellites: objects orbiting Earth or other planets (can be natural or artificial).
Probes: unmanned spacecraft (Voyager, New Horizons).
Rovers: move on planets’ surfaces (e.g., Curiosity on Mars).
Manned spacecraft: astronauts explore, e.g., Artemis 2!
ISS: orbiting research station.
Ex‑Alta 1: Alberta’s first satellite, launched 2017.

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