Jan. 24 – Jan. 31, 2013, Current Events Lesson Plan
Current Event:
A group of scientists is taking steps to make the first-ever image of an invisible black hole. The group is planning to use as many as 50 radio telescopes around the world to target a black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy. The group chose to use radio telescopes because they can “see through” the clouds of dust and gas that surround a black hole. The scientists hope to image the black hole so that they can answer basic questions about these mysterious objects. The fundamental descriptions of black holes are based on equations in Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity.
Objective:
Black holes are regions of space whose gravitational force is so strong that nothing can escape from them–not even light. Although scientists have found objects that they believe are black holes, no one has yet discovered a black hole for certain. To prove an object is a black hole, scientists would have to measure effects that only a black hole could produce. Two of these effects are a severe bending of light and an extreme slowing of time. The Behind the Headlines news story and related World Book articles explore black holes and other astronomical phenomena.
Words to know:
• Astronomy
• Black hole
• Albert Einstein
• Galaxy
• Gravitation
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
• Milky Way
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
• Relativity
• Star
• Supernova
• Telescope
• Universe
Discussion Topics:
1. Ask your students what they know about black holes. (They may say that light can’t escape from a black hole; a black hole’s matter is concentrated at a single point believed to be smaller than an atom; scientists believe that most galaxies have a supermassive black hole at the center.)
2. Have your students debate the topic “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.)
3. Ask your students to use the World Book’s Timelines feature to create a timeline of astronomy’s history. (Your students can consult the history section of World Book’s Astronomy article to help them.) Or, your students can use the World Book’s Timelines feature to create a timeline of Albert Einstein’s life.