Leftovers usually aren’t that interesting or important, but the leftovers that circled our Sun just after its birth are another story. Gravity helped to separate that matter by density, forming all the different planets in our solar system. Our own planet, Earth, was uniquely positioned at just the right distance from the Sun and composed of diverse elements. But early Earth was very different from the world we know today. Alphonse the Camel is back to help us understand what changed and why.
Driving Question: How did our Earth and Solar System form?
- Before 1995, most people believed that the only planets in the Universe were found in our solar system. Since then, hundreds of planets outside our solar system have been discovered orbiting other stars. Turns out we’re not as unique as we once thought. In fact, planet formation is now considered quite common. It can happen in the wake of the formation of any star. Based on what you know about star formation and death, how do you think planets were created from all of this?
Word of the Day: Accretion
- Definition: An increase by natural growth or addition; something contributing to growth or increase.
- In astronomy, accretion refers to the formation of a celestial object by the effect of gravity pulling together surrounding objects and gases. The process of accretion created planets!
Lesson
- Go to Khan Academy and do the activity Planet Card Sort.
- This activity asks you to explore how planet formation is connected to star formation. Use your old claim tester pals, intuition and logic, to make deductions about what might happen next to the matter that is left over after a star has formed.
Historian’s Journal Prompt
- In what ways has life changed since the coronavirus pandemic began? How has it remained the same?
- Make a list in your journal of the ways life has both changed and continued on fairly normally. Consider constructing a T-chart to help simplify and organize your thinking. You might be surprised to see that you’re carrying on with many of your usual activities, but perhaps in new ways.
