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In July 1994 twenty-one fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 smashed violently into the planet Jupiter. Astronomers, both professional and amateur, prepared for the event for months in advance, and the data gathered from the impact continues to be analyzed. The following Unit plan outlines a guided research activity in which your students can use the Internet to learn about the Shoemaker-Levy 9 event. Astronomy and space exploration are topics about which there is an enormous amount of information available on the Internet. As your students work through this activity, they will be introduced to a few of these resources and gain a starting point for future research.
Unit Outline
Objectives
As a result of completing this unit, students will be able to:
- Use the Internet to find answers to research questions.
- Describe some of the most prominent characteristics of the planet Jupiter.
- Identify Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 and the people who discovered it, and describe its July 1994 impact with Jupiter.
- Create their own Web page using the data they collected from their Internet research.
- Describe some of the methods through which astronomers gather information about the solar system.
- Compare and contrast two astronomical objects, such as two planets or a planet and a star.
Building Background
At the start of the unit, you can tap into students' prior knowledge by asking them what they know about comets in general, about the planet Jupiter, and about the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet. (For free science resources, visit Freebies for Science Teachers at the National Science Teachers Association [NSTA] website.) Ask students what else they would like to learn about Jupiter and Shoemaker-Levy 9 as they work on the Internet activity.
As part of your background building, you might also make sure that students are familiar with the following terms and acronyms having to do with space exploration and the Internet:
- composite — an image made up of several separate images. For example, an image that shows all nine of the planets in our solar system is a composite image, since all of these bodies cannot be photographed at once.
- ESA — European Space Agency, an organization that combines the efforts of 19 European member states and Canada to explore space
- FAQ — frequently asked question. Many Web sites include a list of FAQs and answers as a way of providing general information that many visitors to the site will find helpful.
- HST — Hubble Space Telescope. Launched in 1990, the HST orbits the earth and provides images of astronomical bodies in our solar system and far beyond.
- JPL — Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Headquartered in Pasadena, California, JPL is managed for NASA by the California Institute of Technology. It is the leading U.S. center for robotic exploration of the solar system.
- SL9 — the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9
Student Activity
Click here to go to the Student Activities about Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9. The text on the activity page is directed at students, so you can send them to the page and let them start exploring on their own.
Enrichment Activities
The Methods of Astronomy
Often the ingenious methods by which astronomers collect and interpret their data are as fascinating as what their work tells us about the nature of the universe. Interested students can research the methods of astronomy and report their findings to the rest of the class. Specific topics they could focus on include:
- the concept of red shift, from which scientists concluded that the universe is expanding
- how astronomers determine the composition of a planet or star (without taking samples from its surface)
- how scientists determine the age of a planet
- what surface features such as craters tell astronomers about the history of a planet
- how astronomers determine the origins of a planet's various moons
One excellent book that gives an overview of recent knowledge about the solar system and how people have acquired it is The New Solar System, edited by J. Kelly Beatty, Carolyn Collins Petersen, and Andrew Chaikin (Cambridge, MA: Sky Publishing Corporation, 4th edition, 1999). Some of the information in the book is highly technical, but students who are enthusiastic about the topic will find a wealth of fascinating facts.
Compare and Contrast
How is Jupiter different from Neptune, and what characteristics are shared by these two "gas giants"? What makes a planet different from an asteroid or from a star? Why did scientists once think that Venus and Earth were "twin planets," and what differences did they discover between the two? Challenge students to select two celestial objects (or types of celestial objects) for a detailed comparison and contrast. They can use the NASA website Solar System Exploration as a starting point for finding a topic and collecting data. Encourage them to use a range of resources, including the Internet, books, magazine articles, and documentaries. They can present the results of their research in a classroom display.
Unit Wrap-Up
At the close of the unit, you may wish to bring the whole class together for a wrap-up discussion. The following questions can serve as a guide for the discussion.
- What was the most interesting thing you learned about Jupiter, Shoemaker-Levy 9, or astronomy in general during this unit? Did it overturn a belief or assumption you had before you started the unit? If so, how?
- Do you think it would be fun to be a professional astronomer or planetary scientist? What would you like best about the job? What might not be so great about it? How could you learn more about this career? Can you think of a way to use the Internet to get more information? (For information about careers at NASA, visit Careers at NASA. For information about women in planetary science, visit Some Profiles of Women in Planetary Science at The Planetary Society website.)
- Did you find the Internet helpful in learning more about the solar system? Which sites were the most helpful or interesting? How would you rate the Internet compared to other resources—such as books, magazines, and documentary films—as a way to find information? Do you think the Internet will ever replace these other resources entirely? Why, or why not?
Answer Key
The Answer Key contains answers to all student activities.
Return to the Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 Page.
