Space Questions from Homeschoolers - Please answer...?

Question

Hi, I homeschool my boys and we have a few more questions which we hope someone can answer.

1. We have telescopes in space that take pictures of distant galaxies. (The Hubble - is that still working?) Can we see individual planets and stars in these pictures of far away galaxies and can we tell how those galaxies work by looking at these pictures?

2. According to the scientists, there are now only 8 major planets in our galaxy, yet there are several dwarf planets of which Pluto is now one. a.) Should these dwarf planets be included in out planetary studies? (I believe yes) b.) Do all the planets ever line up completely, as in a straight line? (if yes, then I'm sure it's very rare, right, how rare?)

3. Does anyone know when the next solar eclipse is going to be and from where will you be able to see it?

Thank you all in advance for taking the time to answer these for us!

Answer 1

1. Yes, the Hubble Telescope is still working, although it may be retired in the next few years. No telescope has ever taken a picture of a planet in another galaxy. However, telescopes both in space and on the ground have found evidence of planets inside our own galaxy, and I believe the Hubble Telescope at least has actually taken a picture of an extrasolar planet (an extrasolar planet is a planet outside our solar system). Telescopes can also take pictures of galaxies, and with galaxies that are close enough to make out their shape and composition accurately we can make good guesses as to 'how they work' (it was this kind of research that led to the discovery of dark matter).

2. There are eight planets in our SOLAR SYSTEM. There are over 200 known planets in our galaxy, and scientists estimate that there are probably billions more. a) It depends what you mean by 'planetary studies'. There are good reasons for not considering Pluto, Varuna, Quaoar, etc, as planets, but that doesn't mean they are not of scientific value. In fact, a probe called New Horizons is heading towards Pluto right now and will reach it in I think about 2014. b) Presumably this could happen, but it would be extremely rare and may not have happened since the beginning of the Solar System.

3. The next partial solar eclipse will be on September 11, 2007 (sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks), and will be visible from South America and Antarctica. After that there will be two total solar eclipses in 2008, the first one on February 7 and the second one on August 1. The first one will be visible from Antarctica, Australia and New Zealand, and the second one will be visible from Canada, Greenland and areas of eastern Asia. You can read this for more information:
http://www.happynews.com/living/space/solar-eclipse-viewing.htm

Answer 2

1. For the Hubble information, try the first link.

2. For 7th grade and up, yes I would include Pluto, Ceres, and Eris.
2.b) No, the planets never all line up completely. Even when you allow some tolerance, such as 1 degree, they don't get that close all at once. On very rare occasions (1 or 2 per century), five planets will get within 15 degrees or so of each other.

3. Solar eclipses: There will be a partial Solar Eclipse: 2007 Sept 11 (visible from South America, Antarctica and the South Atlantic). A total eclipse will happen on 2008 Aug 1 (visible from northern Asia, Europe, and far northeast Canada).

Answer 3

How can we tell how galaxies work? You can get some information from the colours, e.g. the pink areas indicate there's ionised hydrogen, which is associated with star formation. They're found in the spiral arms of galaxies, so we can infer that there's a connection between them. You can also get some idea of the sizes of dust particles. If you look at cigarette smoke before it's inhaled it's blue, exhaled smoke has larger particles (they're covered with water) and they're gray - you can use the same principle.

Some supernovae and variable stars can be used as "standard candles" - if you know how bright they appear to be you can work out how far away they are. The more distant galaxies should be younger, so by comparing young and old galaxies you can get some idea of how they evolve.

Once you start using spectroscopy you can also use the doppler "red shift" to see how far away they are and what they're made of. Looking at the red shift in different parts of the galaxies will tell you how quickly they're rotating and in which direction - it turns out that some galaxies have stars going in both directions.

Answer 4

It is my understanding that we cannot see stars in distant galaxies, certainly not planets. We can't even "see" other planets in our own galaxy - they are detected through indirect means.

There are nine planets, maybe ten. The recent decision stripping Pluto was politically motivated - you might want to include the controversy in your lesson.

If the planets do align, it would be extremely rare. I would guess it would be on the order of hundreds of thousands, perhaps tens of millions of years.

I don't know about the eclipse, but you should be able to find out with some simple web searches.

I hope this helps.

Answer 5

I don't know which grade you will be entering in the fall, but I will give you a few ideas of what might work well for a ninth grade student. Science Apologia Biology (available through Rainbow Resource Center) Math Life of Fred Geometry available through Polka Dot Press) English Language Lessons for the High School Student (available from Queen Homeschool) Literature 9th Grade Reading "A Time to Heal" (available from Rod and Staff books) History history books in Easy Pack J at Queen Homeschool

Answer 6

yes hubble space telescope is working.
we can see individual planets etc.
working cannot be told to the deepest extend
the problem is to give well defined statement for planets if the other planet accept pluto doesnt go with, it also crosses into neptune's orbit . i heard that on january 12 , 2004 all planets lined up almost ina straight line. watch news for next solar eclipse.

Answer 7

Look under NASA I think u can get most of what u want. All truth should be included ,the global warming thing I doubt.
Look at CO2 and plants and photosynthesis .
Methane is a very light gas and goes very high in our atmosphere and something happens to it as I cannot find it any more.