Tour of the Solar System

Take a ride on an imaginary spacecraft past all our planets

Tour of the Solar System is vivid and informative overview of the solar system using an imaginary spacecraft which allows us to visit all the planets that orbit around our Sun in one day. This is a full astronomy course on its own, or it can be used as part Home School Astronomy's larger full year of Astronomy with a total of 26 astronomy lessons.

This Course includes great BONUS LESSONS:

• What on Earth is Astronomy?

• Mini-Lesson: Eclipses

• Mini-Lesson: Meteor Showers

• Mini-Lesson: Aurora

• Project Artemis: America Returns to the Moon

Tour of the Solar System

1. Objective

2. Warm-up activity

3. Definition of a solar system

4. Overview of space program

5. Brief description of current spacecraft speed and life-support capabilities

6. Description of our Solar System and layout of planets

7. Overview of each of the eight planets in our Solar System: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune

8. Planetary weather and atmospheres, including storms, temperatures and wind patterns

9. Geological activity

10. Orbital and rotational norms

11. Planets and their moon(s)’s sizes and numbers

12. Planet types (i.e., solid and gas), and a discussion of density

13. Description of the asteroid belt

14. Comets

15. Observational astronomy

16. Planet name origins

17. Early misconceptions about the planets

18. Earth’s uniqueness

19. The sun and events on its surface, such as solar tornadoes

20. Test questions

21. Cross-curricular activities

My name is Tony Ceraso and I will be your instructor. I sometimes run the planetarium and have written curriculum for the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. I have also written curriculum for NASA’s school visitation program and teach on the college level in NJ.

My goal is for you to thoroughly enjoy this lesson. I love astronomy and I want nothing more out of our time together than for you to have a greater appreciation for the universe through the understanding of this material. Besides the lesson I’m going to preview for you now, the course includes warm up activities, test questions, and cross-curricular activities for you to download as a supplement.