Build Your Own Planet

What is a simply DIY craft project that you and your space-crazed kid can complete together? Try making this easy, mess-free solar system to hang in your Blaster’s room!

Materials

The materials you need to complete this galactic task are as follow:

  • Color paper
  • Scissors
  • Compass or several circular objects (mugs, bowls, plates, etc.)
  • Pencil
  • Fishing line
  • Stapler
  • Glue
  • Star-shaped stickers (optional)

StackedStapledFishing Line

Steps:

  1. To create our hometown, Earth, you will need blue, green, brown, and white colored paper.
  2. To be precise, you can set your compass’ width to be 7 cm, which means the diameter of your circles will be 14 cm in total. Or you can use a large mug instead, and trace the outline onto the colored paper by using your pencil.
  3. Using your scissors, cut out the circles. Then, fold them in half.
  4. As shown in the image, stack the paper and staple across the crease that you just folded to keep the paper intact
  5. Then, fold the paper backwards to create a 3-dimensional shape.
  6. Tie the fishing line around the center seem.
  7. Tie a knot and your Earth is completed!
  8. Optional: You can purchase star-shaped stickers and use it as a label for the planet and to cover up the knot you tied in step 7.
  9. Repeat steps 1 to 8 to create Saturn, but this time, use orange, yellow, brown, and white colored paper instead, and set your compass’ width to 10 cm, or find a bigger circular object.
  10. To create the ring, simply create two circles in white and brown respectively that are just a tiny bit smaller than the ones you did to create the spherical shape of Saturn.
  11. Glue them together by slightly overlapping them, and slide it over the 3D Saturn.
  12. Repeat steps 1 to 8 to create the other planets, but make sure you alter the measurement of your compass slightly to show the scale between the different planets.

Complete

Note:

  • The more circles you cut out, the more detailed your planets will look, but it will also be harder to staple all the paper together.
  • Assist your kid when using the compass – the sharp tip can be hazardous.

Europa – Our Potential Habitable Environment

What is the first criterion to defining a habitable environment for humans? Water to sustain life. Through NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, scientists were able to observe water vapor above the south polar region of Europa, providing the first solid evidence of the existence of an ocean under Europa’s icy crust.

Photo by Lunar and Planetary Institute

Photo by Lunar and Planetary Institute

Researchers are able to speculate that the water vapor is most likely generated when water plumes erupted on the surface. If these findings are proven to be true, this would make Europa the second moon in the solar system known to have water vapor plumes. Also, the evidence provides a general idea of the chemical makeup of Europa and its potential of becoming a habitable environment, without digging through the layers of ice.

Photo by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Photo by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Since this moon has a strong gravitational pull, majority of the -40°F vapor would fall back onto the surface, rather than escaping into space. This new observation, if confirmed, can demonstrate the reliability and power of the Hubble Space Telescope, and its ability to explore new worlds for potentially habitable environments in our solar system.

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