Curriculum Requirements
- Some star patterns can be recognised in the visible Universe and that these stars are suns of different sizes
- The spatial relationships, effects on each other and features of the Sun, Earth, Moon and other planets in our solar system (eg orbits of planets around the Sun, the different sizes and locations of the planets, some with orbiting moons)
- Changes in the night sky are observed (eg changes in the stars and planets varies through the night, but during the day the sunlight prevents observation;viewing comets or meteors)
- The Effects of the Earth's orientation around the Sun (eg rotation causing night and day, tilting causing seasons)
- The effects on Earth of the Moon (eg different tides with the orbit of the moon)
- Conditions that sustain life on Earth (eg air, heat, water, food, protection, gravity) and what would be needed for life in space or on another planets.
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Film - Oasis in Space - 24 minutes
- Life on other planets
- Characteristics of our solar system
- Scale of the solar system
- Moon and planet patterns
- Why is liquid water crucial to life
- Search for water on other planets
- Conditions needed to create and sustain life
- Understanding the vastness of space
Or
Film - Earth's wild Ride - 21 minutes
Subjects Covered
- Solar eclipses
- The ice age
- Earth's water cycle
- Difference between the Earth and the Moon
- Asteroids and the death of the dinosaurs
- Volcano's
- Thunder and lightning
Plus
Planetarium Show (Short) - 20 minutes
- The Milky Way and star patterns in the sky
- Close up view of the constellations Orion and Southern Cross. Stories associated with these and other constellations
- Stars aren't always what they appear to be. Close up view of, nebulae, double stars, star clusters and galaxies
- Components of the solar system. Fly by of the planets. Demonstration of orbits.
- Demonstration of the Earth's orbit showing night and day and the seasons
- Demonstration of the moon's phases
- The movement of the Sun across the sky. The and rise and setting position.
- Demonstration of a total solar eclipse from a viewpoint on the Earth
- Comparison of other stars to the Sun, fly by of the Sun, a red giant star and a white dwarf star.
Question Time - 5 minutes
Or
Planetarium Show (Extended) - 40 minutes
Under Development
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Night Sky Tour
- Students will be given a 1 hour tour of the night sky with particular emphases on the Moon, the brightest planets, the Milky Way and the brightest nebulae and star clusters.
- Each object will first of all be pointed out with the naked eye. Once identified, students will then have the opportunity to view the objects first through binoculars and then through the large telescopes.
- The same constellations which were shown in the planetarium will then be identified in the night sky and we will recall the associated stories.
- Students will then try identifying objects in the night sky using electronic, hand held personal sky guides.
- The night sky tour is completed with 5 minutes of question time.
Solar Observing
- Discussion on solar safety
- Telescope views of the Sun using automated telescopes and Hydrogen Alpha solar filters.
- View the Sun at various magnifications including the full solar disk, individual sun spots and solar flares
- 5 minutes of questions time
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