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	Rusty Rocket’s Last Blast     A production of the Sudekum Planetarium, Nashville, TN
	Recommended Grade Level:  1-5

Show Summary:

Instructor Rusty Rocket takes a class of rookies on a tour of our solar system.  Along the way, he mentions several basic rocket principles, recounts great moments in space exploration, and points out unique planetary features.  Rusty helps his pupils understand the great distances between planets by comparing how long it takes a rocket, a jet airplane, and a pizza delivery car to make the same journey.   Rusty encourages his pupils to seek answers to their own questions about the universe.

OBJECTIVES:

 As a result of viewing the planetarium show, Rusty Rocket’s Last Blast, students should be able to:

1. Name at least four planets of the solar system.
2. Name a planet that is relatively close to earth and a planet that is much farther away.
3. Name two ways in which space travel can be dangerous for rockets and for people.

CONCEPTS:

• Rockets move by pushing away their own exhaust gases, not by pushing against the ground or the air.
• Gravity is an invisible force that holds everything "down" on planets, moons, and stars.
• A rocket has to reach a certain speed to balance against a planet’s gravity in order to stay in orbit.
• Inner planets (nearest the sun) are small and rocky.  Outer planets are large and gaseous.  Pluto is an exception.
• Planets vary in composition, size, atmosphere, and temperature.
• All four gas giant planets: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune have ring systems.
• Asteroids are pieces of rock and metal that orbit the sun in a belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

SUGGESTED PRE-VISIT ACTIVITIES:

1. Discuss the following terms with students:

2. Brainstorm with students the names of the planets and other objects in the solar system.  Construct a scale model of the solar system using balls.  You may want to do this in the gym or cafeteria if working outside is not an option.  The distances of planets from the sun are typically given in astronomical units (a.u.).  One a.u. is the average distance from the earth to the sun, or about 93 million miles.  A good scale to use would be 2 feet = 1 a.u.

                        Distance Chart:

NOTE:  At this scale, showing the relative sizes of the planets is impractical since the sun would be about the width of a student’s little finger and Jupiter could easily ride on a piece of dust!  A larger scale model can encompass the relative sizes of the planets, for instance: the 1000-yd model.

3. Have students make a "top ten" list of the objects they would want to take along if they were going to take a trip to the moon or to another planet.  Describe some of the restrictions that space travelers have today, such as weight and size constraints.

4. Discuss how the solar system formed. 
   
   The planets formed along with the sun almost five billion years ago.  There was a cloud of gas and dust (probably the remains of an ancient, giant star that exploded) that was so large that its gravity caused it to begin spiraling in on itself.  The sun formed in the middle where most of the dust and gas was concentrated.  The crushing force of gravity caused intensely hot nuclear reactions to begin within the sun's core.  Our nearest star was born!  The outflow of gas boiling off the surface of the sun pushed away the gases that remained nearby the star.  Only the heavier, rocky materials remained.  These materials condensed to form the inner planets:  Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.  Much further out, both gas and dust collected to form the “gas giant” planets:  Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.  Pluto is an exception.  Perhaps it formed elsewhere and came to its current position as the result of a collision or gravitational perturbation.

SUGGESTED POST-VISIT ACTIVITIES:

1. Review the names and order of the planets.  Ask if students have any questions about them.

2. Discuss the planetarium visit with students.  What did they like the most?

3. Ask students to pretend they are astronauts experiencing microgravity for the first time.  What kinds of day-to-day activities would be different and/or more difficult in microgravity?

4. Look up some of the unmanned spacecraft mission that were mentioned in the show.  On a solar system model in the classroom, show where each spacecraft visited and what happened to it.

5. Many sources have created multi-disciplinary teaching units on building and launching model rockets.  If you need sources, check our NASA Connection page and the NASA Regional Teachers Resource Center at C.M.U.

Be sure to review our ready-to-print hand-out materials, available on the website. 

Thank you for visiting the Delta College Planetarium and our website!  Let us know how we can better serve your needs.  Please come again.

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