To wrap up their studies of the solar system, our Y3 boys headed out to the Prep Astro for a lesson with a difference on Tuesday with science teacher Mr Watson, from the Upper School.
In his fun, outdoor lesson, Mr Watson helped the boys visualise the sheer scale of our solar system. Using a football to represent our sun and a scale of 1mm to 6,000k, Mr Watson and the boys marked out the distance to each planet in our inner solar system on the Prep Astro. However, to reach the first planet in the outer solar system: Jupiter, the boys had to enter the Inky courtyard as the Prep Astro was simply not big enough. And, to plot the last planet in our solar system: Neptune, the boys would have had to walk all the way down to the river.
It was wonderful to see the boys’ attention held so raptly by the many fascinating facts that Mr Watson shared along the way, including:
- If the Sun were the size of a football, then the Earth would be the size of a ball bearing.
- Using the same scale as above, the closest star to our solar system would be all the way in New York City.
- When we look at the closest star to us, we see light that has taken four years to get here at a speed of 300,000k per second.
- Our sun is a yellow dwarf star, a relatively small star, while the biggest and brightest star in the Milky Way is VY Canis Majoris, a red supergiant with a radius some 1,420 times that of our sun.
It was clear to see that this topic has captured the imagination of the boys, and they have learned a great deal from their lessons and exciting trips to the school observatory. Indeed, many boys stayed on to talk with Mr Watson, who was delighted to share his knowledge and answer their many thoughtful and astute questions long after the bell rang for the end of the lesson.
