Topicmd410dc831151e0a0_1528449000663_0Topic

Construction of the Galaxy. Galaxy or the Milky Way

Levelmd410dc831151e0a0_1528449084556_0Level

Third

Core curriculummd410dc831151e0a0_1528449076687_0Core curriculum

III. Gravity and elements of astronomy. The student:

4) describes the structure of the Solar System and its place in the GalaxygalaxyGalaxy; uses the concepts of the astronomical unit and the light year.

Timingmd410dc831151e0a0_1528449068082_0Timing

45 minutes

General learning objectivesmd410dc831151e0a0_1528449523725_0General learning objectives

Explains how astronomers classify galaxies.

Key competencesmd410dc831151e0a0_1528449552113_0Key competences

1. Explains the basic properties of the different types of galaxies.

2. Describes the structure of the Milky Way.

Operational (detailed) goalsmd410dc831151e0a0_1528450430307_0Operational (detailed) goals

The student:

- describes different types of galaxies,

- explains the structure of our Galaxy.

Methodsmd410dc831151e0a0_1528449534267_0Methods

1. Discussion.

2. Text analysis.

Forms of workmd410dc831151e0a0_1528449514617_0Forms of work

1. Individual work.

2. Group work.

Lesson stages

Introductionmd410dc831151e0a0_1528450127855_0Introduction

The students present the status of their knowledge about the Milky Way in form of a discussion initiated by the teacher.

What is the Milky Way?

Proceduremd410dc831151e0a0_1528446435040_0Procedure

The teacher introduces the concept of galaxies.

Our Solar System is a part of a galaxygalaxygalaxy known as the Milky Way Galaxy. Our Galaxy appears as a milky band in the sky. The most of the Milky Way is not visible to our eyes because of interstellar dust hiding its large areas, particularly towards the centre of the Galaxy. But infrared lightinfrared lightinfrared light is not absorbed by the interstellar dust. By studying the infrared radiation from the cosmic space we can learn a lot not only about the Milky Way but also about other galaxies.

Definition:
GalaxygalaxyGalaxy - a galaxy is a tremendous collection of billions of stars, planets, gas and dust bound together by forces of gravity. A diameterdiameterdiameter of a galaxy is of order of thousands light‑years.

The stars observed in galaxies are divided into so‑called young and old stars. They are distinguished on the basis of the content of elements heavier than helium. Old stars contain few metallic elements, while young stars contain a lot of them.

Types of galaxies:
The classification of galaxies was introduced by Hubble and developed by de Vaucouleurs. The galaxies are divided into three main types:

- spiral,
- elliptical,
- irregular.

Spiral galaxies:
Spiral galaxies are the most common in the Universe. They have both young and old stars. They are given the symbol „S”. Some of the spiral galaxies have in the middle a bar of stars and other objects and are called barred spiral galaxies (denoted by a symbol “SB”). The further classification of spiral galaxies depends on e.g. the number of its arms.

Elliptical galaxies :
Elliptical galaxies have elliptical shape and do not have a disk or arms. They contain mostly old stars, and possess little gas or dust. Elliptical galaxies have a symbol “E”.

Irregular galaxies:
Irregular galaxies (Irr) have no regular shape. They tend to be smaller objects and to have very hot newer stars mixed in with lots of gas and dust. The examples of irregular galaxies are The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds which orbit around the Milky Way.

[Illustration 1]

Structure of a galaxygalaxygalaxy:
The components of a galaxy are organized in some structures. Spiral galaxies have a bulge and disk containing spiral arms and are surrounded by a halo. Elliptical galaxies have a central area that resembles a bulge, surrounded by a galactic halo. They do not have a disk.

[Interactive graphics]

Bulge:
Bulge is round structure placed centrally in a galaxy. It is made up of old stars, gas and dust. The edges of the bulge are smeared and surrounded by the halo.md410dc831151e0a0_1527752256679_0Bulge is round structure placed centrally in a galaxy. It is made up of old stars, gas and dust. The edges of the bulge are smeared and surrounded by the halo.

Disk:
In spiral galaxies bulge is surrounded by a flatten disk containing mostly young stars and also gas and dust. These objects are organised in the spiral arms.

Spiral arms:
The spiral arms in the disk begin in the bulge and extend to the outer edges of a galaxygalaxygalaxy. They are present only in spiral galaxies.

Galaxy halo:
Halo is a space filled with gas, dust, dark matter and clusters of old stars (globular clusters) as well as single old stars. Dark matter are invisible objects that interact gravitationally with other objects, but they do not emit or reflect light, which makes them unobservable.

Milky Way:
The white belt seen on a dark night on the sky is called the Milky way.The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy formed several billions of years ago and has a diameter of about 100000 light‑years. What our eyes see is the densest part of the Milky Way, namely the disk and bulge. Our Galaxy is made of stars, planets, comets, meteors, asteroids and nebula (clouds of dust and gas). All these objects rotate around the centre of the Galaxy. The Solar System is a part of the Milky Way. Its distance from the centre of the Galaxy is about 28000 light‑years. The period of the Sun’s orbit around the centre of Galaxy is 250 million years. Our Solar System lies on a spiral arm called the Orion Arm.md410dc831151e0a0_1527752263647_0The white belt seen on a dark night on the sky is called the Milky way.The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxy formed several billions of years ago and has a diameter of about 100000 light‑years. What our eyes see is the densest part of the Milky Way, namely the disk and bulge. Our Galaxy is made of stars, planets, comets, meteors, asteroids and nebula (clouds of dust and gas). All these objects rotate around the centre of the Galaxy. The Solar System is a part of the Milky Way. Its distance from the centre of the Galaxy is about 28000 light‑years. The period of the Sun’s orbit around the centre of Galaxy is 250 million years. Our Solar System lies on a spiral arm called the Orion Arm.

[Illustration 2]

Task  1

Fill the table using the collected information.

[Table 1]

Answer:

[Table 2]

Lesson summarymd410dc831151e0a0_1528450119332_0Lesson summary

galaxygalaxygalaxy is a tremendous collection of billions of stars, planets, gas and dust. A diameterdiameterdiameter of a galaxy is of order of thousands light‑years.

The Milky Way is a barred spiral galaxyspiral galaxyspiral galaxy and our Solar System is a part of it.

Selected words and expressions used in the lesson plan

galaxygalaxygalaxy

infrared lightinfrared lightinfrared light

spiral galaxyspiral galaxyspiral galaxy

elliptical galaxyelliptical galaxyelliptical galaxy

irregular galaxyirregular galaxyirregular galaxy

diameterdiameterdiameter

distancedistancedistance

light‑yearlight‑yearlight‑year

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galaxy1
galaxy

galaktyka

R1IlrPQl1rLTC1
wymowa w języku angielskim: galaxy
infrared light1
infrared light

promieniowanie podczerwone

R1ERnXT0WUFeK1
wymowa w języku angielskim: infrared light
diameter1
diameter

średnica

RL5PfDiHNXK771
wymowa w języku angielskim: diameter
spiral galaxy1
spiral galaxy

galaktyka spiralna

RdDgXh66KNnF71
wymowa w języku angielskim: spiral galaxy
elliptical galaxy1
elliptical galaxy

galaktyka eliptyczna

R1WPvK9tDdMpy1
wymowa w języku angielskim: elliptical galaxy
irregular galaxy1
irregular galaxy

galaktyka nieregularna

R1c4F6awXpKy21
wymowa w języku angielskim: irregular galaxy
distance1
distance

odległość

Rwi8jqmSG9Hfu1
wymowa w języku angielskim: distance
light‑year1
light‑year

rok świetlny

Rkbi6P9TOuslR1
wymowa w języku angielskim: light‑year