Five planets line up 'like string of pearls'

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhYawpOQAgY

Five major planets in our solar system lined up in a row over the weekend in a celestial event called a conjunction. In many parts of the world, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn could be seen with the naked eye (without the need for a telescope). The rare planetary conjunction was visible in clear skies before dawn. The AccuWeather website said the best time to view this event was about an hour before sunrise. Astronomer Professor Lucie Green described the event as being, "like a string of pearls spread out from close to the horizon". Professor Green was particularly happy at seeing Mercury, which is usually hard to spot. She said: "It is very satisfying [to] see this faint twinkling planet."

AccuWeather said a conjunction in this order would not be visible from Earth again for another 20 years. The next time it will happen will be August 2040. It said this planetary event was special because the planets appeared in the order they are positioned from the sun, with Saturn being the farthest away and Mercury the nearest. Another astronomer, Dr Diana Hannikainen, said the conjunction was noteworthy on Friday morning as a crescent moon accompanied the five planets. She said the alignment was a "delightful sight". The conjunction is rare because the five planets all have different orbits of the sun. Mercury takes 88 days to orbit the sun, while Saturn takes 29 years.


2. SCHOOL SUBJECT: Students A strongly believe astronomy should be a school subject for all students; Students B strongly believe otherwise. Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
3. FIVE PLANETS: What do you know about these planets? What do you want to know about them? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

 

What I Know

Mercury

 

 

Venus

 

 

Mars

 

 

Jupiter

 

 

Saturn

 

 

Uranus

 

 


4. SPACE: Rank these with your partner. Put the most interesting things at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

·         Solar systems

·         Asteroids

·         Black holes

·         Comets

·         Shooting stars

·         The moon

·         The sun

·         Galaxies far, far away

 

5.Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

      1.

celestial

a.

Vision without the help from a telescope, microscope, or other device.

      2.

conjunction

b.

Of a sight, smell, or sound that is barely noticeable.

      3.

the naked eye

c.

Positioned in or relating to the sky, or outer space.

      4.

dawn

d.

The action or an instance of two or more events or things happening at the same point in time or space.

      5.

horizon

e.

The first appearance of light in the sky before sunrise.

      6.

faint

f.

The line at which the earth's surface and the sky appear to meet.

      7.

twinkling

g.

Shining with a gleam that keeps quickly changing from bright to not bright.

    Paragraph 2

      8.

astronomer

h.

Arrangement of things in a straight line or in correct positions.

      9.

noteworthy

i.

An expert in or student of the science of the planets and space.

      10.

crescent

j.

Was present or happened at the same time as something else.

      11.

accompanied

k.

Charming.

      12.

alignment

l.

Worth paying attention to; interesting or significant.

      13.

delightful

m.

One complete circuit of a planet or spacecraft around the earth or sun.

      14.

orbit

n.

A curved shape, like a quarter moon.

 

6. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

  1. major
  2. celestial
  3. naked
  4. dawn
  5. faint
  6. positioned
  7. noteworthy
  8. accompanied
  9. delightful
  10. orbit
  1. coincided with
  2. daybreak
  3. impressive
  4. planetary
  5. charming
  6. rotation
  7. arranged
  8. important
  9. unclear
  10. bare

7.Role play

Role  A – Asteroids
You think asteroids are the most interesting things about space. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): black holes, planets or comets.

Role  B – Black Holes
You think black holes are the most interesting things about space. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): asteroids, planets or comets.

Role  C – Planets
You think planets are the most interesting things about space. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): black holes, asteroids or comets.

Role  D – Comets
You think comets are the most interesting things about space. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them what is wrong with their things. Also, tell the others which is the least interesting of these (and why): black holes, planets or asteroids.

8.Discussion - Planets

  1. What do you know about our solar system?
  2. What's your favourite planet?
  3. How interested are you in celestial events?
  4. What do you know about Saturn?
  5. Do you prefer dawn or dusk?
  6. What do you think of looking at the horizon?
  7. How do you feel when you see stars in the sky?
  8. Would you like to see Earth from space?
  1. What do you know about the sun?
  2. Should humans try to get to planets like Saturn?
  3. What's your favourite phase of the moon?
  4. When was the last time you saw a delightful sight?
  5. How big is the universe?
  6. What are the benefits of studying astronomy?
  7. What questions would you like to ask the astronomers?

9.Spelling

Paragraph 1

  1. in a eectslial event
  2. without the need for a ltcseoepe
  3. The rare ojucnctnoin was visible
  4. sraonomter Professor Lucie Green
  5. spread out from close to the irozhon
  6. see this faint wiktilnng planet

Paragraph 2

  1. this lnpteaary event
  2. in the order they are oipoitnsed
  3. creuMry the nearest
  4. a rscecent moon
  5. ccmanapioed the five planets
  6. the lgamnient was a "delightful sight"

 

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