June (Grades 6-8)

Stars

The vastness of space is nearly impossible to imagine. We can think about distance in several ways: miles, astronomical units (AUs) or light years. Let's explore all three in terms of how far each planet is from the Earth.

We can use astronomical units (AU) to measure the distances in space. One astronomical unit (AU) represents the mean distance between the Earth and our sun. An AU is approximately 93 million miles (150 million km). It’s approximately 8 light-minutes.

More exactly, one astronomical unit (AU) = 92,955,807 miles (149,597,871 km).

Below are the mean distances of the planets from the sun:

Mercury: 0.387 AU

Venus: 0.723 AU

Earth: 1.000 AU

Mars: 1.524 AU

Jupiter: 5.203 AU

Saturn: 9.582 AU

Uranus: 19.201 AU

Neptune: 30.047 AU

Calculate the distance in miles from the sun for each planet.

If a light year (the distance light travels in one year) is approximately 5,878,489,000,000 miles, find out how many light years away each planet is.

◇ ◇ ◇

Which measurement is most helpful in understanding distances in space? Miles away? AUs away? Light years away? Explain your thinking.

---

Candy Month

Did you know that June is National Candy Month?  

In the U.S., over 400 million M&Ms are produced each day, how many are produced in one year?  In 5 years? In 10 years?