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Saturn was the most distant of the five planets known to the ancients. In 1610, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei was the first to gaze at Saturn through a telescope. To his surprise, he saw a pair of objects on either side of the planet. He sketched them as separate spheres, thinking that Saturn was triple-bodied.
This lesson introduces students to Saturn and its place in the solar system. Students see Saturn as part of the larger system of the Sun and its orbiting planets. A whole-class read-aloud provides students practice in listening to nonfiction text and a KWL chart supports the discussion of the text. Also in
Saturn, the sixth planet from the Sun, is the farthest planet that is visible without a telescope, and so it has a long history of discoveries associated with it. The National Science Education Standards state that students should understand that science is an ongoing, changing enterprise.
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun. That means Jupiter and Uranus are Saturn’s neighboring planets. Quick History. Saturn has been known since ancient times because it can be seen without advanced telescopes. Four robotic spacecraft have visited Saturn, including Pioneer 11, Cassini, and Voyager 1 and 2. What does Saturn look like?
Introducing Saturn. Saturn spins on its axis (rotates) just as our planet Earth spins on its axis. However, its period of rotation, or the time it takes Saturn to spin around one time, is only 10.7 Earth hours. That means that a day on Saturn is just a little more than 10 hours long.
Saturn is often referred to as the “jewel of the solar system.” Its striking rings and numerous icy moons set it apart from the other planets. It is important for students to understand that planets have distinct features that make them of particular interest to scientists and motivate our ongoing planetary explora tion.
Now that we have read the mini-books on Saturn from scientists at NASA, you can design your posters with claims that have been tested and have “evidence” from discoveries of the Cassini-Huygens mission. Put information you learned from the mini-books on your poster.
