Webquest+Example+-+New+Planet?

>>> ==New Object Discovered - Is It A Planet?==



Introduction
Looking at the night sky has generated questions about those little lights we see for as long as there have been people. Some objects seem to change over time, while others appear unchanging. What are those lights? Are there different types of objects or are they all the same? Why do some seem to move around and other look like they are always in the same place? If we could travel there what would we find?

Task
A new celestial object has been discovered by a powerful telescope. This object is in our solar system orbiting the sun. Your job is to classify this new object.

Process
Working in groups of three experts, classify the new object.

Group Roles:
 * Statistician - This person is responsible for accessing statistical information on existing solar system objects to help compare the new object to existing objects.
 * Star Gazer - This person is an Astronomy expert, knowledgable in historical and current methods and tools of observation (i.e., what methods have been/are used to view the celestrial bodies, what changes of been made in how we analyze bodies, etc.).
 * Reporter - This person is an expert on the criteria for identifying planets, moons, and other celestial objects.

Assignment Steps:
 * 1) Spend a few minutes using the resources below to familiarize yourself with your area of expertise.
 * 2) The Reporter describes the current classification methods for the group.
 * 3) Decide as a group if you are going to keep the existing classifications or if you would like to modify them. Be prepared to justify your reasons for keeping or modifying the classifications of celestial objects.
 * 4) As a group, review the information on the new object.
 * 5) Using your adopted classifications, decide what to classify the new object. Be prepared to justify your classification.

New Object Data
Radius: 1800 km Mass: 0.144 x 10 to the 24th kg Average Distance from Sun: 42.07 AU Rotation: 2.734 (days) Orbit: 312.628 (years) Shape: roughly spherical

Solar System Statistics:
Physical Data & Dynamical Constants NASA JPL solar system statistics http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/?phys_data Solar System - Interactive Solar System - By KidsAstronomy.com http://www.kidsastronomy.com/solar_system.htm Solar System - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_system

Current Classifications:
Planetary Satellite Discovery Circumstances which moons were discovered when http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/?sat_discovery Naming Astronomical Objects | IAU naming conventions for astronomical objects http://www.iau.org/public_press/themes/naming/

Historian:
Solar System - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Discovery and exploration http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_system#Discovery_and_exploration Chronology of Solar System Discovery http://www.nineplanets.org/history.html Curious About Astronomy? The History of Astronomy http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/history.php History of astronomy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_astronomy

General Solar System Resources:
Solar System Exploration: Planets NASA JPL Solar System Exploration http://sse.jpl.nasa.gov/planets/index.cfm NASA - JPL Solar System Simulator http://space.jpl.nasa.gov/ Solar System, Solar System Information, Facts, News, Photos -- National Geographic http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/solar-system An Overview of the Solar System Ninepanets.org http://www.nineplanets.org/overview.html Solar System Live Shows positions of planets http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/Solar/action?sys=-Sf

Evaluation
Group members can be evaluated on their presentations, their ability to work in small groups, and the demonstration of understanding about different celestial object classifications.

Conclusion
Groups share their classifications of the new object as a proposal to present to the International Astronomical Union.

Teacher Section
Given enough time, this Webquest could be extended by asking students to suggest a name for the new object.

CC image from http://flickr.com/photos/godwind/2381509941/sizes/s/