When you look into the sky, sometimes you see the Sun, clouds, and flying objects like birds or planes. At other times, you see twinkles of light in the darkness of night time or the bright, scarred surface of our Moon. All objects that you can see from Earth - and those you cannot - make up the universe.
The universe is EVERYTHING that exists or that is known to exist over the last 14 billions years. Matter and energy are the major components of the universe, but most of the universe is believed to be empty space. The “space” that makes up the known universe is at least 10 billion light years in diameter, or roughly
5.8 x 1022 miles (58,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles)!!! Even though a majority of the universe is empty space, there are still billions of galaxies and trillions of stars out there. In this activity, you will explore what the universe is made of and how it is structured.
5.8 x 1022 miles (58,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles)!!! Even though a majority of the universe is empty space, there are still billions of galaxies and trillions of stars out there. In this activity, you will explore what the universe is made of and how it is structured.
Use the "Structure of the Universe" booklet below to take notes as you learn more about the universe.
The Universe
Use the resources below to learn more about the history, composition, and scale of the universe. As you learn, fill in the "Universe" page of your booklet.
Galaxies
Use the resources below to learn more about the history, composition, and scale of the universe. As you learn, fill in the "Galaxies" page of your booklet.
Bonus: Make a Galaxy Pinwheel!
Solar Systems
Use the resources below to learn more about the history, composition, and scale of the universe. As you learn, fill in the "Solar System" page of your booklet.
Bonus: Make a Scale Model of our Solar System! (Scale the distances between planets in the solar system.)
Stars
Use the resources below to learn more about the history, composition, and scale of the universe. As you learn, fill in the "Stars" page of your booklet.
Bonus: Compare the size of our Sun to other stars!
Planets
Use the resources below to learn more about the history, composition, and scale of the universe. As you learn, fill in the "Planets" page of your booklet.
Bonus: Create a scale model our planets!
Moons
Use the resources below to learn more about the history, composition, and scale of the universe. As you learn, fill in the "Planets" page of your booklet.
Bonus: Learn more about our Moon's Lunar Phases!