The Birth of our Solar System
TWIG. (n.d.). The Birth of Our Solar System [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www-twig-world-com.db.plcscotch.wa.edu.au/film/the-birth-of-our-solar-system-882/
NB: Video requires Google Chrome or Safari to view.
Telescopes
TWIG. (n.d.). Telescopes [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www-twig-world-com.db.plcscotch.wa.edu.au/film/telescopes-857/
NB: Video requires Google Chrome or Safari to view.
Mirrors / Telescopes
- BBC Bitesize. (2014). Light waves and mirrors. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/zq7thyc/revision/2
The law of reflection states when light reaches a mirror, it reflects off the surface of the mirror:
the incident ray is the light going towards the mirror the reflected ray is the light coming away from the mirror. Ray diagrams show what happens to light in mirrors and lenses. - The Physics Classroom. (2017). Reflection and the ray model of light.Retrieved from http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/refln
The Physics Classroom discusses the physics of mirrors, plane, concave and convex. Reflection and image formation for mirrors, ray diagrams and image characteristics are discussed. - Urone, P. & Hinrichs, R. (2012). Telescopes (College Physics). Retrieved from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/physics/chapter/26-5-telescopes/Telescopes are meant for viewing distant objects, producing an image that is larger than the image that can be seen with the unaided eye. Telescopes gather far more light than the eye, allowing dim objects to be observed with greater magnification and better resolution. Although Galileo is often credited with inventing the telescope, he actually did not. What he did was more important. He constructed several early telescopes, was the first to study the heavens with them, and made monumental discoveries using them. Among these are the moons of Jupiter, the craters and mountains on the Moon, the details of sunspots, and the fact that the Milky Way is composed of vast numbers of individual stars.
Solar System
Solar system, assemblage consisting of the Sun—an average star in the Milky Way Galaxy—and those bodies orbiting around it: 8 (formerly 9) planets with about 170 known planetary satellites (moons); countless asteroids, some with their own satellites; comets and other icy bodies; and vast reaches of highly tenuous gas and dust known as the interplanetary medium. (Britannica, 2017)
Mapping the Solar System
- The Physics Classroom. (2017). Kepler's three laws. Retrieved from http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/circles/Lesson-4/Kepler-s-Three-LawsKepler's three laws of planetary motion can be described as follows:
- The path of the planets about the sun is elliptical in shape, with the center of the sun being located at one focus. (The Law of Ellipses)
- An imaginary line drawn from the center of the sun to the center of the planet will sweep out equal areas in equal intervals of time. (The Law of Equal Areas)
- The ratio of the squares of the periods of any two planets is equal to the ratio of the cubes of their average distances from the sun. (The Law of Harmonies) - Space exploration. (2017). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://school.eb.com.au.db.plcscotch.wa.edu.au/levels/high/article/space-exploration/111026#237065.tocThe focus of inquiry in space physics was later extended to understanding the characteristics of the Sun, both as an average star and as the primary source of energy for the rest of the solar system, and to exploring space between the Sun and Earth and other planets. Scientists sought a better understanding of the internal dynamics and overall behaviour of the Sun, the underlying causes of variations in solar activity, and the way in which those variations propagate through space and ultimately affect Earth’s magnetosphere and upper atmosphere.
Space Junk
- Space debris. (2017). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://school.eb.com.au.db.plcscotch.wa.edu.au/levels/high/article/space-debris/474044Space debris, also called space junk, man-made material that is orbiting Earth but no longer functional. This material can be as large as a discarded rocket stage or as small as a microscopic chip of paint. Much of the debris is in low Earth orbit, within 2,000 km (1,200 miles) of Earth’s surface; however, some debris can be found in geostationary orbit 35,786 km (22,236 miles) above the Equator.
Habitable Planets
- Habitable zone. (2017). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://school.eb.com.au.db.plcscotch.wa.edu.au/levels/high/article/habitable-zone/475112Habitable zone, the orbital region around a star in which an Earth-like planet can possess liquid water on its surface and possibly support life. Liquid water is essential to all life on Earth, and so the definition of a habitable zone is based on the hypothesis that extraterrestrial life would share this requirement. This is a very conservative (but observationally useful) definition, as a planet’s surface temperature depends not only on its proximity to its star but also on such factors as its atmospheric greenhouse gases, its reflectivity, and its atmospheric or oceanic circulation. Moreover, internal energy sources such as radioactive decay and tidal heating can warm a planet’s surface to the melting point of water.
GPS
- Relativity. (2017). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://school.eb.com.au.db.plcscotch.wa.edu.au/levels/high/article/relativity/109465#252904.tocThe global positioning system (GPS) depends on relativistic principles. A GPS receiver determines its location on Earth’s surface by processing radio signals from four or more satellites. The distance to each satellite is calculated as the product of the speed of light and the time lag between transmission and reception of the signal. However, Earth’s gravitational field and the motion of the satellites cause time-dilation effects, and Earth’s rotation also has relativistic implications. Hence, GPS technology includes relativistic corrections that enable positions to be calculated to within several centimetres.