Kelston Boys High

School
Junior Science 2015

Year 9: Unit Four

Astronomy

Learning Objectives
During this unit you will learn about different types of planets. Tick off the
following learning objectives when you have covered them.
At the end of this unit you should be able to
Planets
Identify the planets in our solar system and list them in order
Explain what causes the difference between our planets in our solar
system
Be able to identify the types of astronomical bodies found in our solar
system

Stars
Identify the main features of the southern night sky
Describe how and why features of the night sky change position during the
night and year.
Describe examples of the use of the night sky in maori culture
Investigate different uses of the night sky in different cultures

Astronomical Cycles
Identify the phases of the moon and match them to the moons location
around earth
Use diagrams to show how solar and lunar eclipses occur
Use diagrams to show what causes the Earth to have seasons

The Planets
As a class brainstorm what you know about planets and solar systems.
What are planets?

What is a solar system?

How many planets in our solar system?

Do other solar systems have planets?

What else is in our solar system apart from planets?

The Planet in our Solar System

Label the planets on the following diagram.

The following diagram shows the scale of the Earth in relation to other
parts of the universe, Label it using these words: Milky Way Galaxy, Earth,
Galaxy Cluster, Solar System

Interact with this website in class:

http://scale2.s3.amazonaws.com/scale2.swf
What surprised you most about the size of the universe we live in?

Getting to know the planets

Use this information about each planet in our solar system to complete
the table.

Description

Planet

A gas giant with the most rings. The second largest planet and
the lightest in the solar system.
A rock planet which is red in colour. The length of the day on
this planet is about the same as Earth.
The smallest of the gas planets, it has some rings.
The coldest planet, with the longest year in our solar system.
The only planet so far where life has been found. A rock planet
with liquid water.
A planet made of rock with the shortest year in our solar system.
A planet with no solid surface. It has a tilted axis.
A gas giant which is the largest planet. It has the highest gravity
and the shortest day in our solar system.
A planet that has a greenhouse effect, making it the hottest
planet in our solar system. This is the planet with the
longest day.

The Seasons

What causes Earth to have seasons?

Do other planets have seasons?

C
B
D

Complete the following table

Location

Season

Length of day v

Scientific name

of Earth
length of night
A
Autumn
B
C
Both equal length
D
What would have change about the Earth for there to be no seasons?

You will be writing a paragraph in your own words about what causes the
seasons using information your teacher provides to you.
Firstly, pick out what you think are the key ideas in each paragraph. The
think about these questions before writing your paragraph.
Are there any ideas that are the same or overlap?

What scientific words will you need to use in your answer?

What should you describe first?

Day and Night

What causes day and night?

How long does it take Earth to complete one rotation on its axis?

Why is it midnight in England when it is midday in New Zealand?

What is a timezone? Why are there different timezones?

Using Astronomical Information

Use the information to answer the following questions

The planet that would be expected to be the hottest is

because:

The planet that would be expected to be the coldest is

because:

The planet where you would need to wait the shortest amount of time for your
birthday is
because:

The planet where where you would need to wait the longest time for your
birthday is
because:

The planet with the shortest day is

because:

The planet where you would weigh the most is

because:

The planet which you could jump the highest is

because:

The planets which have seasons are

The planet most like Earth is

because:

because:

Astronomical Bodies
Planets are not the only thing in our solar system. Label the following
diagrams and complete the following definitions.
Diagrams

Choose from: Solar System, Asteroid, Planet, Moon, Star, Meteor, Comet,
Meteorite

Definitions
1. An astronomical body which orbits a planet
2. A small solid body which has moved from space into the atmosphere
of a planet
3. A star with surrounding astronomical bodies
4. An astronomical body which produces light
5. Contains frozen gases which can vapourise near a start forming a
tail
6. A small rock which has reached the surface of a planet or moon
7. A large, spherical astronomical body which orbits a star
8. A small, solid, non-spherical astronomical body which orbits around
a star

Terms
A comet
A Satellite/Moon
A Meteorite
A Planet
A Meteor
An Asteroid
The Solar System
A Star

Dwarf Planets
Complete the Venn diagram with the following facts about planets and
dwarf planets.

Planet
s

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Dwarf
Planet
s

Orbits a star
May have one or more moons
Does not share their orbit with other astronomical bodies
Do share their orbit with other astronomical bodies
Are relatively large
Are relatively small
Are round
The orbit may be elliptical and/or in a different plane

Phases of the Moon

The Moon produces no light of its own. It is a giant reflector for the sun,
reflecting sunlight from its surface. As the Moon orbits the Earth we can
different amounts of the surface that is lit from the sun. The way the Moon
looks depends on the position of the Moon, Earth and Sun.

We use four key words to describe the appearance of the sun. Write
definitions of these words below.

Waxing
Waning
Crescent
Gibbous

Look at the position of the Sun, Earth and Moon for the Full Moon and New
Moon. How are the positions different?

How does this affect the phase of the moon?

Cut out and arrange the following pictures of the phases of the Moon in
order from a Full Moon.
Staple together and flip through to see the phase of the moon change.

Eclipses

Solar and Lunar Eclipses occur when the Sun, Moon and Earth are in
certain positions. They do not occur very often, and they are sources of
many legends. What cultural or historical events do you know of that have
been told about eclipses?

Solar Eclipses
Look at the following diagram of a solar eclipse.

A
B
C

A solar eclipse occurs when (statement about the position of Moon in

relation to Sun and Earth)

The person at position A would see

because

The person at position B would see

because

The person at position C would see

because

Solar Eclipses

Look at the following diagram of a lunar eclipse.

A
B
C

A solar eclipse occurs when (statement about the position of Moon in

relation to Sun and Earth)

The person at position A would see

because

The person at position B would see

because

The person at position C would see

because

The Night Sky

What objects can we see in the night sky? Do you know the names of any
planets, stars, constellations, or galaxies?

Below is a representation of the night sky in New Zealand in winter.

A star or a planet
A star

while a planet does not. This is because a star is

away and its light gets

in our atmosphere.

Shooting star or a man-made satellite?

A shooting start is really a

moving to the Earth.

The biggest man made satellite is the

made by a number of countries. It

around the Earth.

Looking upwards, a shooting start moves

moves in a

while a satellite

line.

What are constellations?

A constellation is a picture which people imagine they see at night, made
up by a group of

. The constellations present in the night sky the

day you were born is your

sign. For example: Scorpio, Leo,

Aquarius, Taurus.
The constellation which appears on the New Zealand flag is the
cross. Our flag has

stars while the Australian flag

has 6 stars.

Words: stars, southern, distorted, station, downwards, meteor, twinkles,

four, birth, far, straight, space, orbit

Use these two diagrams to discover the Maori names of common stars
and constellations in our night sky. Draw a line between matching words
or write the Maori word next to the European word.
Rigel

Tikatakata

Sirius

Matariki

Canopus

Rehua

Antares

Atutahi

Orions Belt
Matanuku

Rangi

Pleiades

Puanga

Crus

Tautoru

Small Magellanic Cloud

Mangaroa

Large Magellanic Cloud

Reti

Te Putea iti a

Milky Way

Takurua

Key Vocabulary
Match the following words to their definition; a satellite, a star, an
asteroid, a meteorite, a planet, a comet, a meteor, a shooting star, a
galaxy, a constellation, South Celestial Pole, a year, a season, a day, a
dwarf planet, a meteoroid.
Word

Definition
A large gaseous body which produces its own
light.
A large body which cannot produce its own
light, and orbits around a star.
A small solid body which cannot produce its
own light, and orbits around a planet.
A small planet-like body, spherical in shape,
which orbits around a star, but has other
objects within its orbit (other than moons).
A small body made up of a solid centre,
surrounded by frozen gases which vaporise
forming a tail as it gets close to the star it
orbits.
A small solid body moving through space.
A small solid body which has moved from
space into the atmosphere of a planet.
A meteor entering a planets atmosphere and
burning up.
A large meteor which has impacted on the
surface of a planet or moon (forming a
crater).
A small, solid, non-spherical body, which
orbits around a star (eg between Mars and
Jupiter).
The time taken by a planet to rotate about its
axis.
The time taken for a planet to revolve once
around the Sun.
A cyclic change in the climate of a planet
caused by the planet being tilted on its axis.
A very large group of stars.
A pattern seen for a small group of stars in
the night sky by people.

The centre of the southern night sky around

which the stars appear to rotate.