Alien Earths

CONTENTS OF CURRICULUM UNIT 22.04.05

  1. Unit Guide
  1. Introduction
  2. Content Objectives
  3. Content Background
  4. The planet’s distance from the Sun
  5. Strategies
  6. Activities
  7. Activity 1: Solar System Mnemonic Design
  8. Activity 2: Planetary Scavenger Walk
  9. Activity 3: Planet Presentations
  10. Activity 4:  Solar System Scale Model
  11. Materials for Classroom Use
  12. Resources
  13. Appendix on Implementing District Standards
  14. Bibliography
  15. Endnote

An Alien Earth, Far, Far Away!

Malcolm McConner

Published September 2022

Tools for this Unit:

The planet’s distance from the Sun

Planet

Distance from the Sun/miles

Astronomical Unit

Light Travel Time

Mercury

36 million

0.39

3.2 minutes

Venus

67.2 million

0.72

6 minutes

Earth

93 million

1

8.3 minutes

Mars

141.6 million

1.52

12.6 minutes

Jupiter

483.6 million

5.20

43.2 minutes

Saturn

1,427 million

9.53

79.3 minutes

Uranus

1,784 million

19.8

159.6 minutes

Neptune

2,794 million

30

4.1 hours

Table 1: The distances of planets from the Sun

Calculating the distance

Calculating the distance between stars and planets can be complicated. However, astronomers use a simple unit called Astronomical Units, also referred to as AU.  The AU is the average distance between the Sun and the Earth, which equates to 1 AU. The closer a planet is to the sun the lower the distance in AU, and the farther away the larger the number in AUs. Uranus, which is approximately 917 million miles away from the sun has an AU of 19.2. Therefore, it is 19 times the distance from the sun as the Earth.

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