3
Our Galaxy
What makes up our galaxy and solar system, and how do the parts work together?

Lvl 1:

  • We live in a galaxy called the Milky Way.
  • Our galaxy has stars, including the Sun.
  • The Sun is in the center of our solar system.
  • The planets go around the Sun in space.

Lvl 2:
  • Each planet has its own path (orbit) around the Sun.
  • The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy made up of stars, planets, gas, and dust.
  • Our solar system orbits within one arm of the Milky Way.
  • The Sun is a star, and the solar system formed from a cloud of gas and dust.

Hands On Project: My Cosmic Address
Materials

Discussion Questions
Level 1
 

  1. What is the name of the galaxy we live in? 
    Sample answer: We live in the Milky Way.
  2. What kinds of things are found in the Milky Way?
    Sample answer: The Milky Way has stars, planets, gas, and dust.
  3. What star is part of our solar system?
    Sample answer: The Sun is the star in our solar system.
  4. Where is the Sun located in our solar system?
    Sample answer: The Sun is in the center of our solar system.
  5. What do planets do as they move through space?
    Sample answer: Planets go around the Sun.
  6. How is the Sun different from the planets?
    Sample answer: The Sun is a star that makes light and heat, and planets do not.
  7. Can you name one planet that goes around the Sun?
    Sample answer: Earth goes around the Sun.(Other correct answers are also fine.)
  8. Why do you think the Sun is important for our solar system?
    Sample answer: The Sun gives us light and heat and keeps the planets moving around it.

Level 2 
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  1. What does it mean for a planet to have its own orbit around the Sun?
    Sample answer: It means each planet follows its own path as it goes around the Sun.
  2. Why is it important that planets follow regular paths instead of moving randomly
    Sample answer: Regular paths help keep the solar system stable and prevent planets from crashing into each other.
  3. How is the Milky Way shaped, and what is it made of?
    Sample answer: The Milky Way is a spiral galaxy made of stars, planets, gas, and dust.
  4. Where is our solar system located within the Milky Way?
    Sample answer: Our solar system is in one of the spiral arms of the Milky Way.
  5. How is a galaxy different from a solar system?
    Sample answer: A solar system has one star and its planets, but a galaxy has billions of stars and many solar systems.
  6. Why do scientists classify the Sun as a star instead of a planet?
    Sample answer: The Sun makes its own energy and light, which is what stars do.
  7. What does it mean that the solar system formed from gas and dust?
    Sample answer: Long ago, gas and dust came together and slowly formed the Sun and planets.
  8. How are stars, planets, gas, and dust connected in space?
    Sample answer: Gas and dust can form stars, and planets can form around stars.
  9. How might our place in the Milky Way affect what we see from Earth?
    Sample answer: Because we are inside the galaxy, we see the Milky Way as a band of stars across the sky.

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