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Best of The Solar System - Part I

(A)  Before going to the computer:  Answer the following questions to the best of your knowledge.

1)  Which planets do you think are visible from Earth with the unaided human eye?

2)  What do you think planets look like when viewed from Earth with the unaided human eye?

3)  Before the telescope was invented what were ancient astronomers able to learn about the planets?

4)  When was the telescope first used to study astronomy?

5)  What are some discoveries made with the telescope?

6)  When did spacecraft first send back data and images from the planets?

7)  What features do you think we can see in images of the planets?  

(B) At the computer:  Instructions for  Part I - Observing Images

You will be working with one or two other students at the computer.  Each person must do the written work and it must be her or his own words/work.

You will look at the following images: 1, 2, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 17, 18, 20, 22, 23

On your paper, write the following for each image . . .

1.  Image number

2.  In a short paragraph, write a detailed description of what you see in the image - all physical characteristics such as what textures, solid, liquid, or gas, etc. and then write down your best guess of what planet or moon you are looking at and the specific kind of  features you may be observing, like a volcano, river, etc.

3.  Skip 6 to 8 lines after each entry for Part II, which we will do next class.

When you have finished looking at all of the images, read your description to your partner(s) and see if they can recognize which image you are describing.  If your partner(s) can not recognize the image, you should add more details and revise your descriptions.

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