July 18-24, 2013, Current Events Lesson Plan
Current Event:
The Cassini space probe recently took a group portrait of Earth and its moon and the Saturn system. In the photograph–a mosaic of images–Earth appears as a pale blue dot hanging in the darkness of space between several of Saturn’s outer rings. The picture was taken when Cassini had a rare opportunity to photograph Saturn, its moons, and its entire ring system in the same frame. Scientists hope the new photographs will reveal additional details about Saturn’s thinner rings and allow them to study how the rings have changed since 2006, the last time Cassini was able to capture all of the Saturn system at once. This photograph marked only the third time that Earth had been photographed from the outer solar system. The Voyager 1 spacecraft took the first image in 1990, after it had passed the orbits of Neptune and Pluto. Cassini’s cameras captured a distant Earth in 2006.
Objective:
Cassini is a spacecraft sent to Saturn to study the planet and its rings and satellites. The craft was named for the Italian-born French astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini, who made major discoveries about Saturn in the late 1600′s. Cassini carried a probe called Huygens. The European Space Agency designed and built Huygens to drop into the atmosphere of Titan, Saturn’s largest satellite. The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched Cassini on Oct. 15, 1997. The craft began orbiting Saturn on July 1, 2004. About six months later, Cassini released Huygens. Huygens arrived at Titan’s atmosphere on Jan. 14, 2005. For 2 1/2 hours, the probe analyzed chemicals, recorded sounds, and measured winds as it parachuted toward the moon’s surface. Huygens became the first craft to land on a satellite of a planet other than Earth. After Cassini completed its primary mission in 2008, NASA granted it two mission extensions, until 2017. Cassini’s final duty will be to “crash” into Saturn’s surface. The Behind the Headlines news stories and related World Book articles explore the planets, space probes, and other astronomical topics.
Words to know:
- Astronomy
- Cassini
- Giovanni Domenico Cassini
- European Space Agency (ESA)
- Christiaan Huygens
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
- Planet
- Saturn (planet)
- Solar System
- Space Exploration
- Titan
- Voyager
Discussion Topics:
1. Ask your students if they can name the seven other planets, besides Saturn, in the solar system. (The other planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune.)
2. Ask your students what they know about Saturn. (Students might say that it is the second-largest planet in the solar system [Jupiter is the largest]; it is known for its rings; it has at least 62 satellites, the largest being Titan; it was the farthest planet from Earth known to ancient observers.)
3. Ask your students to debate, “Money spent on space exploration is money well spent.” (NASA’s 2013 budget is about one-half of 1 percent of the total 2013 budget of the United States.)
4. Private companies have begun launching people into space. Ask your students if they would want to visit space.
5. Ask your students to use the World Book’s Timelines feature to create a timeline of space exploration. (Students may wish to use the Space Exploration article for help.)