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| Galaxies Galore |
Purpose: To learn the three basic types of galaxies
Materials
- black construction paper
- books and other resources on galaxies
- colored paint
- computer with internet access
- glow-in-the-dark paint
- science journal
Background
The Greeks derived the term galaxy from their word gala, which means milk. Our galaxy is called the Milky Way Galaxy. If you step outside on a clear, moonless winter night, you will see a faint whitish band of light stretching across the sky directly overhead. The ancients imagined that the whitish band was a trail of milk across the sky left by a goddess who was nursing her baby.
In the fourth century B.C., the Greek scholar Democritus was the first to guess the true nature of the Milky Way. He thought that the trail of milk was actually made by small stars very close together. In 1610, Galileo used his new invention, the telescope, to prove that Democritus was correct. Our galaxy is not alone. There are more than 100 billion galaxies in the universe! Galaxies come in three basic shapes: spiral, elliptical, and irregular. Our galaxy is a spiral galaxy, and our solar system is located in the outer edges of one of the arms.
Web Sites for Galaxy Images:
National Optical Astronomy Observatory
http://www.noao.edu/image_gallery/
Hubble Site—News Center
http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/category/galaxy/
Anglo-Australian Observatory
http://www.aao.gov.au/images.html/general/galaxy_frames.html http://www.aao.gov.au/index.html
William Keel’s Collection at the University of Alabama
http://crux.astr.ua.edu/choosepic.htmlProcedure
- 1. Conduct research on the three basic types of galaxies.
- Determine the basic shape of each type and create a sketch of each in your science journal.
- Following your sketch and using colored paint on black construction paper, create a galaxy to represent each of the basic shapes.
- Write a paragraph describing each shape.
- Share your report with your group or class
Extension
Use glow-in-the-dark paint to create the galaxies and hang them in various locations around the classroom. Use black butcher-block paper to cover any windows in the classroom to create a dark environment. Turn off the lights and enjoy your universe!