ECOLOGY!

We have spent most of the school year looking beyond our own planet. We have studied the planets and the solar system that surrounds us. You know the atmospheric composition of Earth and how that compares to other planets. You know where we are in the solar system. You even know how the Earth compares to other planets, moon and other celestial objects...BUT do you know what is in your own back yard?! Let's find out!

We will start our investigation by learning a little about Ecosystems. Watch this video to learn more!

To help with this ongoing investigation into our planet's ecology get the list of Key Terms from the resources tab. You will keep this list of terms and definitions in your One Note (Ecology Tab). Some of the definitions can be found on my blog, some during class and some may take a little work on your own. Make sure to have them all defined by Thursday (3-27) so you can study for the quiz on Friday (3-28).  

COMING SOON!

LIVE FROM SPACE

Tonight there is a great event on TV. Live from Space will take a look at life aboard the International Space Station. Please watch if you can. It should be very cool! 

Get ready for Spring Break but do not forget about everything we have done so far! We had a great week of meteorites and discussions about critical reading. There will be no homework over the break (3rd hour, you got lucky), but I will have several extra credit opportunities for you. There are two new Science Battles that will be due on Monday the 24th of March and some critical reading for you as well.

KEPLER SPACE TELESCOPE

If you are interested in more information on the Kepler then click here. This NASA website is full of cool stuff about the telescope. Imagine being able to find new worlds!

Image take by Kepler

Here is a video about how Kepler Works

Extra Credit Reading:

In Newsela there are two new articles that I have added to your Binder. They are Mapping Out Biodiversity in the Tropics (Read at 1030L) and Strange Disease Kills Thousands of Starfish along the West Coast (Read at 970L). Both are assigned today so check the dates if you are unsure about which article to read. The quiz on the starfish article is extra credit. A short summary of the article written by you will be extra credit on the Biodiversity article (put in One Note).

Have a great break!

3-7-14: Meteor Showers

What happens when a meteor starts smelling?
A METEOR SHOWER! Ha-Ha-Ha

Seriously, now that we have learned the difference between asteroids, meteors and meteorites it is time to find some. Actual meteorites are hard to find but if you know when to look up you can see many meteors shooting through the night sky. Below is a calendar and article about viewing meteor showers. Let's see if we can find a time to see some cosmic showers!

2014 Meteor Showers
The next meteor shower is the Lyrids on the night of April 21

The Lyrids are a modest shower, with perhaps a dozen or two meteors per hour at best. The Moon is in its waxing gibbous phase, so it fills the sky with light for most of the night. It sets a couple of hours before sunrise, though, providing a brief viewing window before morning twilight erases the fireworks.

Name	Date of Peak	Moon
Quadrantids	2-Jan	Just past new
Lyrids	21-Apr	Rises around 3 am
Eta Aquarida	5-May	Sets after Midnight
Comet 209 P/L	Night of May 23	Early morning/ crescent
Perseids	12-Aug
Orionids	21-Oct	Cresecent
Leonids	November 16 &17	Crescent
Geminids	13-Dec

NOTES These are approximate times for the Lower 48 states; actual shower times can vary. Bright moonlight makes it difficult to see all but the brightest meteors.

What is a meteor shower?
A meteor shower is a spike in the number of meteors or "shooting stars" that streak through the night sky.
Most meteor showers are spawned by comets. As a comet orbits the Sun it sheds an icy, dusty debris stream along its orbit. If Earth travels through this stream, we will see a meteor shower. Although the meteors can appear anywhere in the sky, if you trace their paths, the meteors in each shower appear to "rain" into the sky from the same region. Meteor showers are named for the constellation that coincides with this region in the sky, a spot known as the radiant. For instance, the radiant for the Leonid meteor shower is in the constellation Leo. The Perseid meteor shower is so named because meteors appear to fall from a point in the constellation Perseus.

What are shooting stars?
"Shooting stars" and "falling stars" are both names that describe meteors -- streaks of light across the night sky caused by small bits of interplanetary rock and debris called meteoroids vaporizing high in Earth's upper atmosphere. Traveling at tens of thousands of miles an hour, meteoroids quickly ignite from the searing friction with the atmosphere, 30 to 80 miles above the ground. Almost all are destroyed in this process; the rare few that survive and hit the ground are known as meteorites.
When a meteor appears, it seems to "shoot" quickly across the sky, and its small size and intense brightness might make you think it is a star. If you're lucky enough to spot a meteorite (a meteor that makes it all the way to the ground), and see where it hits, it's easy to think you just saw a star "fall."

How can I best view a meteor shower?
Get away from the glow of city lights and toward the constellation from which the meteors will appear to radiate. For example, drive north to view the Leonids. Driving south may lead you to darker skies, but the glow will dominate the northern horizon, where Leo rises. Perseid meteors will appear to "rain" into the atmosphere from the constellation Perseus, which rises in the northeast around 11 p.m. in mid-August.
After you've escaped the city glow, find a dark, secluded spot where oncoming car headlights will not periodically ruinyour sensitive night vision. Look for state or city parks or other safe, dark sites.
Once you have settled at your observing spot, lie back or position yourself so the horizon appears at the edge of your peripheral vision, with the stars and sky filling your field of view. Meteors will instantly grab your attention as they streak by.

Check out this cool video on an asteroid passing in front of a star. Doesn't happen often. While we won't be able to see it here in Wichita, it is some good information and the video gives you some great viewing tips for the night sky!

Always remember that Science is about failing and learning from that failure! Always keep pushing yourself beyond what is comfortable and safe. That is where TRUE LEARNING takes place!

3-6-14
GOOD LUCK on the National Mythology Exam to all of my students!



Today and tomorrow we are completing the Meteorite Activity Guide!
Review on Monday...Quiz on Tuesday. 

Impact Site for the Canyon Diablo Meteorite that we have been studying!

3-4-14:
Meteorite Activity Guide: Activity One

Here are a couple of numbers for Activity One that will be helpful.
1. b. 2,000 pounds
1. c. 16 ounces
3. a. 8,000 miles
3. b. 4,000 miles


Some Notable Asteroids


Asteroids, Meteors, Meteoroids and Meteorites

The terms asteroid, meteor, meteorite and meteoroid get tossed around recklessly. Here's a quick explainer:

An asteroid is a rocky object in space that's smaller than a planet — they're sometimes called minor planets or planetoids, according to NASA. Other sources refer to them loosely as "space debris," or leftover fragments from the formation of the solar systems (like the extra pieces that remain after constructing a build-it-yourself bookcase from IKEA).

There are millions of asteroids orbiting the sun, some 750,000 of which are found in the asteroid belt, a vast ring of asteroids located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Asteroids can be as large as hundreds of kilometers wide: The asteroid Ceres, sometimes referred to as a dwarf planet, is 940 km (584 miles) wide.

Asteroids have no atmosphere or a very thin atmosphere, but many are large enough to exert a gravitational pull — some, in fact, have one or two companion moons, or they form binary systems, in which two similarly sized asteroids orbit each other.

Scientists are eager to study asteroids because they reveal so much information about the early formation of our solar system some 4.6 billion years ago. One way to study them is to observe them when they come close to Earth, as 2012 DA14 did Feb. 15.

A meteor is an asteroid or other object that burns and vaporizes upon entry into the Earth's atmosphere; meteors are commonly known as "shooting stars." If a meteor survives the plunge through the atmosphere and lands on the surface, it's known as a meteorite.

Meteorites are usually categorized as iron or stony. As the name implies, iron meteorites are composed of about 90 percent iron; stony meteorites are made up of oxygen, iron, silicon, magnesium and other elements.

And meteoroids? That's a general term describing small particles of comets or asteroids that are in orbit around the sun. There's no universally accepted, hard-and-fast definition (based on size or any other characteristic) that distinguishes a meteoroid from an asteroid — they're simply smaller than asteroids.

Only when these objects enter the atmosphere are they referred to as meteors, like the meteor that was seen over Russia in 2013. Because that meteor exploded in the atmosphere, the resulting fireball is known as a bolide. Again, there's no precise definition of a bolide — most astronomers understand a bolide as simply a very bright fireball.

3-3-14: WHAT IS A METEORITE?!

Your assignment tonight is one simple question. Why is the outside of a meteorite smooth? Answer that and be ready to learn more about them tomorrow.

Here are a couple of videos that might help as well. Make sure to watch them tonight.

The Life of a Meteorite

 http://www.brainpop.com/science/space/asteroids/