Several teachers and students have asked what the planets look like in "true" or "natural" colors. They've noticed that each planet's appearance can vary greatly in photographs, and that many of the photographs are labeled as a "false-color" view. Many times scientists enhance the colors, or contrast of an image to draw out more detail. Or they use colors of light that our eyes can't detect and produce representative color images using colors we can see. It's actually quite difficult to reproduce in a photograph the way we see things with our eyes. It's especially difficult to do with the special, sensitive "black & white" (gray-scale) cameras on most telescopes, satellites, and space probes.
The challenge for teachers is increased by the abundance of images now available on the Internet. Since I was unable to find a good web page to send teachers to, I've created this one. The photos below are the best I could find as representatives of what the planet would look like if we were looking out the window of a space craft as it passed by the planet.
The Hubble Space Telescope web site has a nice tutorial on the Meaning of Color in Hubble images. The information there provides a good explanation for color in most of these cameras.
The Planets as seen in natural or true colors
(click images for larger images; these photos do NOT show the comparative sizes)
Teachers, are you having trouble keeping track of the number of moons for each planet? With improvements in technology, discoveries of more and more of the smaller moons have been coming in. Now they are detecting these objects down to only a couple of kilometers in diameter. So how small can these objects be and still be called a "moon"? There is no clear answer, because there is no clean cut-off for the size an object has to be in order to be called a moon. If you want to be safe, you can call them all natural satellites, but it's still okay to call them moons.
Here are the latest numbers. We will update them as new moons are found. Numbers between sources may vary. However these numbers are the generally accepted ones.
Planet
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto
# moons
00
00
01
02
95
146
28
16
05
Links to great sources of information about moons (natural satellites) in the solar system below.
Recent Updates: Links for up-to-date information on moons (natural satellites)
This activity was developed by the staff of the MMSD Planetarium. All are welcome to download, print, and copy this activity. Please also feel free to pass this activity on to other teachers, but only in its entirety. Permission for re-distribution can be obtained by contacting our office.
About the activity
This activity allows you and your students to experience the sizes and distances of the planets on the same scale. Most similar activities use a different scale for each, which can cause misconceptions. Almost every diagram we've seen leads us to the impression that the Solar System is much more "full" than it really is. Students find it difficult to understand why it takes so long to send a space probe out to another planet. This activity gives them a more complete perspective.
In this activity, the teacher has the option of having the students complete the scaling calculations, he/she can provide the data for the students, or even set up the entire model for the students to simply experience.
The activity guide includes student pages, teacher pages, and answers to the questions on the student pages. Background information and variations are discussed.
Use OUR model when you visit!
If you plan a 2 hour visit to the planetarium, you could stroll through OUR 1 kilometer scale model of the solar system in front of Memorial High School. These arrangements can be made when making your planetarium reservations. Take a virtual tour of our model as a preview.
Obtaining a copy of this activity
The Solar System Stroll activity is available for download (copy permission is granted for educational use, but not for redistribution for profit).
There are two separate versions of the activity. Please review the following descriptions and choose the appropriate file to download.
Solar System Stroll (PDF MMSD Version 3.0, 9/23/11; 126k): this version is for teachers in the Madison Metropolitan School District to use with the Solar System Stroll kit (including the stainless-steel plates) which is available through the Science Materials Center. If you are an MMSD teacher and would like to borrow this kit, contact the MMSD Science Materials Center Technician. The sidewalk outside the planetarium (adjacent to Memorial HS) is an ideal location for this activity. You may borrow the planetarium's kit for use on-site. You can preview the model at our location using our Picasa web album which links to Google Maps and Google Earth. Non-MMSD teachers are still welcome to download and use this version if you find it helpful, or to use when you visit the planetarium.
Solar System Stroll Version 2.1 (PDF 3/27/00; 150k): this version is for teachers to use with wooden stakes drilled with the appropriate sized hole.
NOTE: If you are unable to download and print the activity, please call our office, and we will either help you download it, or send you a copy.
The Solar System Stroll kit is available through the MMSD Science Materials Center. It contains the stainless steel plates that show the planet sizes, planet plate holders, and instructions. If you are an MMSD teacher and would like to borrow this kit, email the MMSD Science Materials Center Technician.
Take a Virtual Tour of Our Scale Model of the Solar System
When we use this activity at the MMSD Planetarium, we use the sidewalk on the west side of Memorial High School, next to Gammon Road. If you start with the sun near the Lussier Community Center (next to Jefferson Middle School), the dwarf planet Pluto is about 1 kilometer away, at the intersection with Odana Road. The virtual tour can be explored using our Picasa web album, which can also be viewed in Google Maps and Google Earth (Google Earth must installed on your computer).
This activity was developed by the staff of the MMSD Planetarium and Observatory. All are welcome to download, print, and copy this activity. Please also feel free to pass this activity on to other teachers, but only in its entirety. Permission for re-distribution can be obtained by contacting our office.
About the activity
This activity allows you and your students to explore the current positions of the visible planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn). Students (grades 5-12) will build and explore a model of the current positions of the planets in their orbits around the sun. Students then look for connections between the model and when/where they see them in the current sky. Students will also design a flight plan for a space probe using the current positions of the planets.
Obtaining a copy of this activity
The Our View of the Solar System activity is available for download (copy permission is granted for educational use, but not for redistribution for profit).
NOTE: If you are unable to download and print the activity, please call our office, and we will either help you download it, or send you a copy.
Download and Print the Protractor: For this activity, you'll need a 360 degree protractor (PDF 3/20/02; 108k) Special thanks to Jon Hardin for his work on this project (copy permission is granted for educational use, but not for redistribution for profit).
Explore Gravity
In support of the flight plan design portion of this activity, students can explore the gravitational effects of planets in a fun way by playing a fun game online called Gravity Simulator. See if you can get asteroids and planets to orbit a star without holding down "C"!
This section is dedicated to providing resources to support the FOSS Planetary Science Course for middle school students. The resources are organized according to the investigation number. If you have suggestions, corrections, or requests regarding these resources, please contact the MMSD Planetarium staff.
Supplemental Resources listed by FOSS investigation number:
Investigation 5: Moon Craters
To help with the Moon-Crater Controversy dialog, visuals from the CD have been compiled into a PowerPoint presentation. You can download that here: crater-controversy.ppt [1.2 MB file].
Investigation 6: Mapping the Moon
If you would like to set up an evening observing session so that your students can observe the moon in a telescope, we have 3 telescopes at the planetarium that we loan out to teachers and families. The planetarium director would be happy to show you how to use the telescopes and help you plan your observing session. See our Equipment Loan page for more information. Knowing that this isn't always possible, we have a video clip we'd be happy to share if you send us an email.
Investigation 9: Phases of the Moon
a. see Moon Motions Lab in the Planetarium Visits section below.
b. see Crescent Moon Around the World page.
c. see Moon FAQ page.
Investigation 10: Explore the Planets
Replace or expand on parts of this investigation by observing planetary movement in the current sky (planetarium director can help with this), and consider doing one or more of the following activities: Solar System Stroll, Our View of the Solar System.
Planetarium Visits
The planetarium is uniquely suited to supporting the FOSS Planetary Science unit. There are too many ways for us to list all of them here, and the planetarium director would be happy to tailor a program to meet your specific needs. The following list is provided to give you some ideas. You will need to prioritize based on your own circumstances.
Introduction: use the planetarium visit to raise awareness in the students of what we see from Earth; locate planets and the moon in the current sky; raise questions about where we are in the cosmos, and how we know where we are. When you make your reservations, choose the program Skywatching, and in the Comments section indicate that this is as an introduction to the FOSS Planetary Science unit.
Culmination: come to the planetarium at the end of your unit to tie together what they've learned; view the cosmos from their place here on Earth, and zoom out to see where we are, where the planets are at this present time, and how it all fits together. When you make your reservations, choose the program Cosmic Perspectives, and in the Comments section indicate that this is as a culmination of the FOSS Planetary Science unit.
Moon Motions Lab: Investigation #9 addresses some very difficult concepts. You and your students may find it helpful to participate in this lab at the planetarium where we can show what it looks like from the Earth, while we investigate the changes using modeling techniques.
Current Planet Positions: learn how to find the planets in the current sky, and investigate how their current positions in the solar system affect their appearance and placement in our sky. When you make your reservations, choose the program Skywatching, and in the Comments section indicate that you would like to focus on planet positions related to the FOSS Planetary Science unit.
Solar System Update: as an extension to the FOSS unit, get an update on some of the latest discoveries in the solar system, and find out which space probes are currently in use.
Our Star, the Sun: This FOSS unit doesn't include much on the sun. Use this program to extend their learning to include the sun. If weather permits, observe the sun in a telescope!
Beyond FOSS Planetary Science
The FOSS Planetary Science curriculum does not cover every topic that you may want to cover at this level to address the Wisconsin Science Standards (specifically E.8.7 related to the structure of galaxies and the universe). Below are some resources to assist you in addressing some of those standards.
Hubble Space Telescope Deep Field Lesson Package:
We recommend Activity One, in which students use a sampling technique to estimate the number of galaxies in the image, and eventually the number of galaxies in the observable universe. The MMSD Planetarium may still have a few copies of this package available, or you can do it online with your students.
How Fast Do Galaxies Move? An Interactive Lab
By examining the spectrum of light from a galaxy, you can determine whether the galaxy is moving towards or away from Earth, and how fast. This is a great activity, and can be done either online, or using print-outs.
How High Up Is Space?
This is an excellent activity developed by Andrew Fraknoi (Astronomical Society of the Pacific) in which students construct a scale model depicting the heights of things such as Mount Everest, airplane flights, beginning of space, and the Hubble Space Telescope. Download the PDF file of the activity. (Answer Key)
The following resources were used, mentioned, or referred to in this teacher workshop. Sources and credits have been provided. For resources created here, permission is granted for use in the classroom. The resources are in random order, but hopefully you can find what you are looking for! If you don't find what you are looking for, let me know. Geoff Holt
Building Academic Vocabulary: Teacher's Manual by Robert J. J. Marzano, Debra J. Pickering, Debra J. Pickering Textbook Paperback, ISBN: 1416602348, Pub. Date: January 2005
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