Galaxies Read It! Read the article below and answer the questions on looseleaf. The Milky Way Galaxy
Have you ever looked up at the night sky and noticed a milky white area across the sky? That’s the Milky Way galaxy and we live in just one tiny solar system within it.
But wait a minute, how is it that we can see the Milky Way galaxy when we are supposed to be living inside of it? In order to see the Milky Way at all, you need seriously dark skies, away from the light polluted city. As the skies darken, the Milky Way will appear as a hazy fog across the sky.
The galactic core of the Milky Way is located in the constellation Sagittarius, and only really visible during the Summer. In really faint skies, the Milky Way is clearly thicker and brighter in that region.
We know it is a kind of flat system of stars because when we look at the night sky, the Milky Way's stars are arrayed along a rather thin band across the sky to form the familiar Milky Way.
Telescopically, we can study other galaxies and we see that they come in three basic types: Spirals, Elliptical, and Irregulars. The Milky Way cannot be of the last two categories because no amount of juggling of position of the Sun in these types of galaxies would give us the kind of night sky that we see. So by the process of elimination, the Milky Way must be some kind of spiral galaxy
1. In the fourth paragraph the word telescopically means...? A. To communicate via phone B. To use a telescope C. To view close distances D. To see without a device
2. What would be another good title for this passage? A. The Three Types of Galaxies B. Our Home Galaxy: The Milky Way C. Different Galaxies in the Universe D. The Universe Around Us
3. In what season can you most likely see the galactic core from the United States? A. Summer B. Fall C. Winter D. Spring
4. According to the passage, how do we know we live in a spiral galaxy? A. Because we can see it from the outside B. Life on other galaxies has told us C. The night sky aligns with other galaxies in the universe that we know are spiral D. Because the stars are equal distance apart
Watch It! Clink the link below. Answer the questions on looseleaf.
1. What are the 3 types of galaxies? 2. Describe characteristics of a spiral galaxy. 3. What is the type of galaxy that has no defined pattern or shape?
Research It! Click the link below and read the entire article.
1. Where do the spirals come from? 2. How many stars are contained in the Milky Way? 3. Why does an elliptical galaxy look like one giant star? 4. What are two characteristics of irregular shaped galaxies?
Explore It! You will be creating models. You will need 3 plates with a scoop of sand on each of them. These will be used for making the 3 types of galaxies. You will also need to label tparts of your model as specified.
1. Setup a model of a spiral galaxy using the image below as a guide. The sand represents stars within the galaxy.
A spiral galaxy has a dense population of stars in the middle of it. You will also notice that spiral galaxies have “arms” that stretch out from the middle of the galaxy.
Now locate and label our Sun. It is about 2/3 of the way out from the center, located on the edge of one of the arms.
The planets in our solar system only surround that one tiny star. The next closest star is 1000 times farther away from Earth than our Sun. There are over 100,000,000,000 (billion) stars in our galaxy!
2. Setup a model of an elliptical galaxy using the image above as a guide. The sand represents stars within the galaxy.
An elliptical galaxy is football shaped and doesn’t have ‘arms’ on it. The stars in an elliptical galaxy are evenly spread out throughout the galaxy.
3. Setup a model of an irregular galaxy using the image below as a guide. The sand represents stars within the galaxy. An irregular galaxy doesn’t have a defined shape or pattern. These galaxies are still forming or are the leftovers of two or more clashing galaxies.
An irregular galaxy doesn’t have a defined shape or pattern. These galaxies are still forming or are the leftovers of two or more clashing galaxies.
4. On your lab sheet list two characteristics of a spiral galaxy, an elliptical galaxy and an irregular galaxy.
Illustrate It! Station Directions
Draw a picture in the illustrate section of your lab sheet to show what a spiral, elliptical, and an irregular galaxy look like. Be sure to label each of them.
Organize It!
Make a three column table on looseleaf. Label each column Spiral Galaxy, Elliptical Galaxy and Irregular Galaxy. Write the phrases below in the appropriate columns “arms” coming out from the center of the galaxy
Dense cluster of stars in the center
Football shaped
Milky Way
No consistent shape
No recognizable pattern
Stars are evenly spread out throughout the galaxy
The Sun is located in this galaxy
Write It! 1. In your own words explain the difference between, spiral, elliptical, and irregular-shaped galaxies. 2. Describe where the sun is located in our disc-shaped galaxy, the Milky Way. 3. Describe Earth’s distance to the Sun compared to other stars in our galaxy.
Assess It!
1. Which galaxy is represented in the image above? A. Irregular galaxy B. Spiral galaxy C. Elliptical galaxy D. Electromagnetic galaxy
3. What are the names of the 3 types of galaxies? A. spiral, elliptical, electromagnetic B. spiral, irregular, electromagnetic C. elliptical, obtuse, irregular D. spiral, elliptical, irregular
4. Which of the components of the universe best describes a system of stars, gases and dust held together by gravity? A. Galaxy B. Planet C. Comet D. Solar system