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NASA is a useful resource to gain information and to teach students about the known celestial space objects. For example, Understanding the reclassification of Pluto as a dwarf planet

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Which sentence best describes Pluto?

1. Pluto is actually closer to the Sun than Neptune for about 8% of its orbit.

2. Pluto is just one of many icy objects in a distant area of our solar system.

3. Pluto and its large, orbiting companion object Charon, are tipped on their sides.

4. All of the above.

Well, just pick the answer you like best, because they are all true!

Pluto is a dwarf planet that lies in the Kuiper Belt. It's an area full of icy bodies and other dwarf planets at the edge of our solar system. Because Pluto is the biggest known object in this region, some call it "King of the Kuiper Belt."

One thing is certain. Pluto and its neighborhood are very peculiar. If scientists could unravel some of their mysteries, we would know more about how our solar system formed.

More Fun Facts About Pluto:

Pluto is only about half the width of the United States. Charon is about half the size of Pluto. Charon is the largest moon compared to the body it orbits (whether planet or dwarf planet) of any moon in the solar system.

Almost all the planets travel around the Sun in nearly perfect circles. But Pluto does not. It takes an oval-shaped path with the Sun nowhere near its center. What's more, its path is quite tilted from the nice, orderly plane where all the planets orbit. (Mercury has a slightly lop-sided orbit, although not nearly so much as Pluto's.)

Compared to most of the planets and their moons, the whole Pluto-Charon system is tipped on its side. Like the planets, Pluto's spin axis stays pointed in the same direction as it orbits the Sun. But unlike all planets except Uranus, Pluto is tipped on its side. The planets' axes of rotation stand more or less upright from the plane of their orbits.

If you lived on Pluto, you'd have to live 248 Earth years to celebrate your first birthday in Pluto-years.

If you lived on Pluto, you would see Charon from only one side of the planet. Charon's orbit around Pluto takes about six and one-half Earth days. Pluto's day (that is, one complete rotation) takes exactly the same amount of time. So, Charon always "hovers" over the same spot on Pluto's surface, and the same side of Charon always faces Pluto.

At Pluto's current distance from the Sun, the temperature on its surface is about 400 degrees below zero Fahrenheit! It will get even colder as it moves farther from the Sun. From Pluto, the Sun looks like just a bright dot in the sky, the brightest star visible. The light from the Sun is as bright on Pluto as the light from the full Moon is on Earth.

If you weigh 100 pounds on Earth, you would weigh only 7 pounds on Pluto!

Pluto orbits in a far-out region of the solar system called the Kuiper (rhymes with viper) Belt. There are lots of icy, rocky objects out there. But they are so far from the Sun they are really hard to see, even with powerful telescopes.

Why Pluto is *not* a planet

A while back, Pluto was the ninth planet from the Sun. It was also the smallest planet.

But not anymore. Poor Pluto. Just how did it get "kicked out" of our family of planets? And who are its "real" family members?

Astronomers have already named three other objects in the solar system that are about the same small size as Pluto. They are Ceres [SEAR-ees], Makemake (MAH-kee-MAH-kee], and Eris (AIR-iss]. These objects, along with Pluto, are much smaller than the "other" planets.

Ceres orbits in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Makemake, like Pluto, is part of the Kuiper [KI-per] Belt, which is a region of trillions of icy objects orbiting beyond Neptune. Eris' orbit is even farther out.

Astronomers have put these objects into a new family called dwarf planets.

Let's go there!

We finally got to visit Pluto, Charon, and the Kuiper Belt! On January 19, 2006, NASA launched a robot spacecraft on the long journey. This mission is called New Horizons. The spacecraft arrived at Pluto in July 2015, and will continue to study other objects in the Kuiper Belt from about 2018 to 2022.

With New Horizons, we are visiting and learning about the objects at the very edge of our solar system. They may help us understand how our solar system formed.

Related Resources for Educators

Our World: Pluto - Our First Dwarf Planet

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Dwarf planet Pluto is still fun to study.

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Students can test themselves on the key aspects relating to comets, asteroids and meteors. Quizlet allows them to test their understanding of key words and definitions against their peers in a fun, interactive way. It can be used as an activity for a recap lesson.

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Inquiry based approach to the science classroom will improve the students scientific skills in managing information and their thinking. It was used in my planning through the use of educational technology. In my planning inquiry was used to create powerful visualizations of space exploration for students through video representations and group work.

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This video allows students to understand how the universe is structured and sequenced

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Describing the relationships between the different planets. Students were required to communicate in a collaborative group work task to create a model of the solar system by applying their knowledge

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A sample of resources available on astronomy that can be used for revision

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the world book web site offers an encyclopedia

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and curriculum guides. world book is publisher of the world book encyclopedia.

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The World Book web site offers an encyclopedia, dictionary, atlas, homework help, study aids, and curriculum guides. World Book is publisher of the World Book Encyclopedia.

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EaS 1 - Students should be able to describe the relationship between various celestial objects including moons, asteroids, comets, planets, stars, solar systems, galaxies and space. 

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EaS 1 - Students should be able to describe the relationship between various celestial objects including moons, asteroids, comets, planets, stars, solar systems, galaxies and space. 

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"The Martian" is an insight to looking at how life might be possible on other planets

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The JCT website has the required learning outcomes for the new junior cert specification

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NoS 1 - The reclassification of Pluto as a dwarf planet. In line with the specification, the chapter on our universe explores a single model to illustrate the origin of the universe, the big bang theory.

NoS 2 - The aim is for students to be able to recognise questionable hypothesis about the universe and evaluate how scientists used such guesses to identify relationships within the universe around us.
EaS 2 - As well as the objects listed in the specification, dwarf planets can be described.
EaS 3 - Students will compare the different planets with respect to mass, size and number of moons.
EaS 8 - This LO allows to discuss the future role of and implications of space exploration in society which will include discussing the different celestial bodies.

PW 3 - Students will investigate how several celestial bodies behave in relation to one another in the universe.
- These outcomes are addressed through discussion of space technologies that are used in everyday situations, the work of the international space station, recent, current and possible future space exploration and ethics of space exploration.

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Students can use scientific data to interpret and compare the different planets solar systems that exit. This video would be a good introduction for understanding and describing the relationships between our solar system and its eight planets

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This website has excellent resourses that allow students to get the best experience from the topic through inquiry