To the Universe… And Beyond?
Created
By: Elizabeth Jahn on 10/18/04
Topic:
Galaxies
Suggested Grade Level: 5th
Introduction:
You
have been a noted astronomer for years thanks to all the discoveries
you have
made about the universe but you are about to become one of the greatest
astronomers of all time thanks to your latest discovery (and thanks to
a brand
new telescope that allows you to see further than anyone ever before)…
a new
cluster of galaxies! In order to gain
the recognition you deserve, your accomplishment will be documented in
the
American Journal of Science.
The Challenge:
The
journalist has asked you to supply background information on our
universe and
galaxies within it to assist him in his documentation of your discovery. Then you are to describe the new galaxy
cluster you have found. You will need to
label the types of galaxies you can see in it and give specific
information
comparing one galaxy in the new universe to the galaxy we live in, the
Milky
Way.
Task 1:
The journalist
who will be writing about your discovery created the list of questions
below. These are the pieces of
background information he would like you to gather for him. These are the same questions that are in your
web quest packet. As you find the
answers to these questions write them down in your packet.
1. What is a
galaxy?
2. What galaxy
do we live in?
3. About how
many stars are in our galaxy?
4. How large
is our galaxy in lightyears?
5. What galaxy
cluster does the Milky Way belong to?
6. What galaxy
is the closest neighbor to our galaxy?
How far away is it?
7. How big is
the largest galaxy?
8. What is the
name of the largest galaxy?
9. What is the
Hubble Tuning Fork?
10. Draw the
illustrations to complete to Tuning Fork Diagram in your packet.
11. According
to the Hubble Tuning Fork, what are the three classifications of
galaxies?
Use the
following links to research galaxies and answer the questions from the
journalist (remember to write the answers in your web quest packet).
Commonly
Asked Galaxy Questions
**Be sure to
scroll all the way to the bottom of this site or you will miss lots of
useful
links.
You may also
want to use one of the following search engines and search for words
such as:
Milky Way, Galaxies, and Hubble Tuning Fork.
Google Search Engine
Yahoo Search
Engine
Task 2:
The picture
below is the one you were able to take through your amazingly powerful
telescope. You gave this picture to the
journalist writing about your discovery.
He has asked you the following questions to better understand
your new
cluster. Analyze the photograph and
respond to the journalist’s questions listed below.
Some of the questions have specific answers;
others will be left for you, the master astronomer, to determine. Be
sure to
write your responses in your web quest
packet.
Your
Photograph:
1. Referring
to the three types of galaxy classifications from the Hubble Tuning
Fork Diagram,
how many different classifications do you see in your galaxy cluster? List the names of the types you see.
2. What type
of galaxy is most common in this cluster?
3. Since you
were the first to discover the galaxy cluster you get the opportunity
to name
the large galaxy located at the top of the picture.
4. What type
of galaxy is this (refer to the Hubble Tuning Fork Diagram)?
5. How big is
this galaxy in lightyears? (Refer to the size of the Milky Way from
task one
and choose to make the size of this galaxy larger or smaller).
6. How many
stars are in this galaxy? Refer to the
number of stars estimated to be in the Milky Way (this is the answer to
a
question in the first task) then think about the size of your galaxy
compared
to the size of the Milky Way.
7. How would
you compare this galaxy to the Milky Way? State three similarities or
differences between the galaxy you named and the Milky Way. You may want to think about size, number of
stars, type of galaxy, which cluster they belong to, etc.
Teachers Get the
Handouts!
Click the link
below to get a printable version of the worksheets to go along with
this
webquest.
Thanks for
participating in my web quest! Email
questions, comments or concerns to
Elizabeth.Jahn@uvm.edu
Created by
Elizabeth Jahn
October 18, 2004