Are you ready to go out of this world and learn what lies beyond the planet we call home? Today we will take a look at the solar system we inhabit and study the other planets that share our sun. We will also learn about how the planets and their moons move and find out how that appears to us on Earth.      3...2...1... Blastoff!

Where does the moon fit in?

So far we've discovered that the rotation of the planets, including the earth, cast shadows that create our experience of night and day. As the planets orbit the sun, a complete revolution marks a year's time. But what about the moon?

All of the planets except Mercury and Venus have at least one moon. Let's take a look and Earth's moon.

• The moon rotates on its axis and simultaneously revolves around the Earth, just like how the Earth relates to the sun. Even though the sun and moon both appear to move throughout our sky, we know that the sun is actually stationary as the Earth moves around it, and the moon, by contrast, is actually moving.

• It takes approximately 27 days for the moon to rotate fully.

• It takes approximately 27 days for the moon to revolve all the way around the Earth. 

• Because these cycles happen on the same schedule, the moon follows a pattern of synchronous rotation, meaning that the same side of the moon is always facing the Earth. 

• Take a look at the image below to see how this is possible:

Special Events:

• When the moon is in the far left position on the diagram, the Earth is directly between the sun and the moon. This casts a shadow on the moon called a lunar eclipse.

• When the moon is directly between the sun and the Earth, as it is in the far right position on the diagram, there are rare cases where the moon lines up just right to block out the sun and create total darkness in the locations where the moon's shadow hits the Earth. This is called a solar eclipse.

How do you organize a space party?

You Planet!

Let's think bigger!

Now that we've covered how moons relate to planets, let's look at how planets relate to each other. The planets are enormous and they are also very very far apart. We are going to do two demonstrations that will help us understand how the planets relate in size and distance. The video below will help you visualize the sizes of the planets on a more manageable scale. Then, we'll go outside take a look at how we can represent the distances between them.

Something's not right...

Those planets are way too close together! If they were that close, we'd see giant planets in our sky. We'd also probably crash into the larger planets because they have very strong gravitational pulls. Let's try to figure out how far apart they would really be. We're going to do some quick math to scale down the distance between the actual planets, and then get outside to map out their distances on a measurable scale.

If we look at the chart below, we can see the planets and their distances from each other, as well as their distances from the sun. Don't worry, we won't be walking millions of miles to set up our scale! Let's do some math to make this more reasonable.

If we use 1 inch to represent 100,000 miles, we can calculate the amount of steps we need to take to travel between the planets. 

• 1 inch = 100,000 miles

• 1 foot = 12 inches, so in our model

• 1 foot = 100,000 X 12 = 1,200,000 miles

• 1 yard = 3 feet, so in our model

• 1 yard = 1,200,000 X 3 = 3,600,000 miles

1 yard is a big step, but for the sake of our scale, if we assume that our step size is approximately 1 yard, we can divide the number of miles between planets by 3,600,000 to find out the number of steps to take between planets. Once we have all our distances in yards, we can go outside and map this solar system out. Fill in the rest of the distances below the chart using the formula:

# of Steps Between Planets = Distance in Miles Between Bodies / 3,600,000

Then proceed to the video to receive your outdoor challenge!

# of Steps Between Planets: Round each to the nearest whole number

• Sun to Mercury - 10

• Mercury to Venus -  ___________ (fill in)

• Venus to Earth -   ___________ (fill in)

• Earth to Mars -  ___________ (fill in)

• Mars to Jupiter - 95

• Jupiter to Saturn -  ___________ (fill in)

• Saturn to Uranus -  ___________ (fill in)

• Uranus to Neptune - 281

Check your work: If you found all the correct values, they should add up to 777.

Now, watch the video below for an explanation of how we will use this data to map out our solar system.

Outdoor Challenge! 

Are you ready to get outside? Grab your planet cards and a jacket if you need one, and let's set up our solar system. When you're all done, come back for the reflection and the quiz. Feel free to also check out the video below for an even larger scale model that spans a much larger territory and includes the orbits of the planets:

Review and Reflection

Awesome job! Before we move on from our spacewalk, make sure you hydrate! Then, we'll take a moment to think about what we've learned before our quick quiz. Answer the questions below when you're ready: 

1. We discussed the orbits of planets and moons, which are created because the force of gravity from these large objects pulls them just enough to keep them moving at a specific distance. What do you think would happen if there was no gravity? Would these large objects continue to orbit? What would happen if the force of gravity suddenly increased by a lot?

2. Before humans knew what solar eclipses were and why they happened, they must have been scared when the sun suddenly vanished in the middle of the day. How would you explain this phenomenon if you saw it without knowing what it was?

3. If the Earth is rotating and also flying through space, why don't we feel the movement?

Quick Quiz

Alright Space Cadet, let's see what you've learned today. Below you'll find a quick quiz, but don't worry, it's not that hard. Feel free to look back at the lesson. You've got this!

About the Author

Rainbow*

There are so many colors of the rainbow, and she likes to use every one! When Rainbow graduated from high school, she went to Kent State University to study fine art, but found that her favorite time of year was the time she spent working at summer camps in between semesters. If you've been to an Ohio Girl Scout camp lately, you've probably seen her there! After earning a BFA in painting and sculpture, she came to Nuhop to work in a camp setting year-round. Her favorite activities are campfires, the high ropes course, and rock climbing.  She can't wait to see the smiling faces of all her campers when they come to Nuhop once again!

*The Nuhop Outdoor Education Staff use "nature names" when working with students. The reason for these nature names is twofold: first it gives them a built-in conversation starter with students, and second, it provides them a level of personal privacy when working with over 4000 students in a given year.