Contributor’s Name: William Hammer
The main theme in this cycle is mystery. Who am I? Where do I come from? Why am I here? Are we alone in the Universe? The answers, or lack of answers, to these questions will bring us awe, wonder, and mystery. Our search for our place in the Universe will start with discovering just how big our solar system is compared to us humans. Then how our solar system size compares to the rest of the objects in the Universe. We will discover the Big Bang – the sudden creation of everything, with no sound at the start (!) and its evolution into the Universe as we know it. We will explore the Universe and classify all the different types of stars, black holes, planets, solar systems, galaxies, and so on, how all that got to where it is today and where the Universe might end… or end up.
We will discover all the best possible harbors for life in our own solar system, from the clouds of the hottest planet in the solar system to distant frozen moons whose cloudy surfaces hide unknown watery secrets below. Additional studies of possible harbors of life will browse from the 24 superhabitable planets (planets better suitable for life than Earth) detected by astronomers so far. We will explore how Parallax of Stars can be used to discover how distant other star systems are really from Earth, including the closest superhabitable planet which is only (only!) 12 light years away. We will learn why only 12 light years away might not even be that close by human standards.
With knowledge in hand of these possible harbors of life, and how long it could take any intelligent aliens to reach from such places, we will learn about Fermi’s Paradox – why haven’t we discovered aliens yet?
Theme:
Geared Towards seventh,eighth
Curriculum: Curriculum – Science
Tags: Middle School
Kick off: Creation of our sun and planets in our solar system to scale
Seminar Title: False promise of DNA
Group Initiative: Alien Imposter (Mafia)
Project: Fermi’s Paradox
Discussion Topics: Possibility of life in our solar system, life in our galaxy
Outside Opportunity: Digital Visualization Theater
Download Files:
Middle School