The Night Sky

This week we look at the night sky. We will discuss what we see there--the moon, stars, comets, meteors and asteroids.

Comets (made of ice, dirt and gas) and asteroids (large space rocks made of rock and metal) orbit the sun, just like the planets in our solar system, but they orbit in a long, narrow circle so we don't see them very often. Meteors are bits of rock, perhaps broken from an asteroid, that enter the earth's atmosphere. The friction of the meteor against the earth's atmosphere causes it to burn, which produces the glow we see in the sky (a "shooting star").

Scientists learn about space by studying the sky and by sending satellites and rocket ships into space to get a closer look and collect information. So, we are going to blast off "rockets" today in class (film canisters and alka seltzer tablets), and make our own comets and meteors to fly across the classroom. We will play with some "moon mud" and also have a "night sky" snack. Lots of fun!

Books We Read: The Cat in the Hat--No Place Like Space; The Golden Book of Comets, Meteors and Asteroids.