Comparing Comets Lesson Plan
| Levels |
|
|---|---|
| Material Type |
|
| Heliophysics Big Ideas |
|
| NGSS |
|
| Heliophysics Topics |
|
| Material Cost per Learner | Free |
| Language | English |
The resource provides a guided exploration of comets which helps learners build upon their own knowledge of these icy visitors. The guide includes step-by-step instructions for several activities that engage with learners and invite them to think about what they already know before diving into deeper knowledge.
Cometary scientists think that the surface layer of a comet's core or "nucleus" is highly evolved. This means that in successive orbits that take it close to the Sun, the surface has been altered by exposure to sunlight. This in turn causes outgassing and sublimation of volatile substances from the surface exposed to the Sun.
In this activity, students play the role of cometary scientists, using images to observe and compare the surfaces of two comet nuclei from close range. Comets are so small that, even when viewing through a large telescope, they are just points of light in the sky. And these points of light are reflections of sunlight on the comet’s coma, the gaseous cloud surrounding the nucleus, and the dust tails of the comet, not the nucleus itself.