Distance Discovery

Hello fellow Space Rangers! Your mission today, is to create a scale model of the distances the planets are from the sun. This scale model will help you determine how far you’ll be traveling each day in order to help you plan for things such as time and fuel needed to get to each planet. You will research the planets to determine their actual distance from the sun then convert that distance into a more easily comprehended number. Your data will be compiled in a chart, noting the distance each planet lies from the sun and your conversion, as well as the diameter of each planet. You will then draw the planets relative to their distance from the sun, using your scale of conversions, and noting the diameter of each planet in order to draw them as realistically as possible.

Materials Needed:

4 meters of adding machine tape
Meter stick
Colored pencils or crayons
Distance Discovery Chart
Writing utensil

Your Task:

For interplanetary distances we use the Astronomical Unit (AU), a ruler that corresponds to the average distance between the Sun and Earth: about 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers. The Astronomical Unit is useful within our solar system to help us comprehend the distances between the sun and each planet. You will use the astronomical unit to scale down your drawing of the solar system.
You must start by printing out this chart to record your data on.
Visit the NASA website and click on each planet to find their average distances from the sun in astronomical units. Then convert their distance in astronomical units to a scale that is easily comprehended and record it on your chart. Your scale will be 1 AU = 10 cm. Also remember to take note of the diameters of each planet, there is a column to record this data on your chart as well. This will come in handy when you are drawing your planets later.
After completing the chart, check your data and conversions with this key and make any changes necessary. You may want to go back and revisit the site above if you misinterpreted any data.
Take your adding machine tape and draw the sun at one end.
Use your meter stick and your conversions from AU to cm. to measure from the Sun to Mercury. Estimate by looking at the data you collected on the diameters of the planets, how big you think Mercury is in relation to your scaled drawing. Draw and label Mercury.
Continue to use your meter stick and conversions from AU to cm. to measure from the Sun to the following planets: Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. Estimate by looking at the data you collected on the diameters of the planets, how big do you think each of the planets should be drawn in relation to your scaled drawing? (What do you notice about the diameter of Jupiter?)
Now you have a scaled drawing of the solar system in easily comprehensible numbers to help you plan effectively for your trip to each of the nine planets!

Distance Discovery

Materials Needed:

Your Task:

You must start by printing out this chart to record your data on.

After completing the chart, check your data and conversions with this key and make any changes necessary. You may want to go back and revisit the site above if you misinterpreted any data.

Take your adding machine tape and draw the sun at one end.

Use your meter stick and your conversions from AU to cm. to measure from the Sun to Mercury. Estimate by looking at the data you collected on the diameters of the planets, how big you think Mercury is in relation to your scaled drawing. Draw and label Mercury.

Now you have a scaled drawing of the solar system in easily comprehensible numbers to help you plan effectively for your trip to each of the nine planets!

This task was created by Jenny Sunde.