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.

Getting to Know Pluto

For most of us, we fondly reminisce of Pluto as our solar system’s ninth planet. Discovered in 1930, Pluto was initially considered to be the smallest planet in the solar system until astronomers discovered similar worlds in a zone deep beyond Neptune called the Kuiper Belt in 2005. Were these newfound worlds also planets or a new type altogether? In 2006, this intriguing finding resulted in Pluto’s reclassification as a dwarf planet.

tumblr_lu9k58M1EG1r2h5u7o1_1280Dwarf planets are classified by a few unique properties. First, like planets they orbit the sun. Second, they have enough mass to have a nearly round shape. Third, they have not cleared the neighborhood around their orbit. Due to their smaller size, dwarf planets are unable to sweep up or scatter objects near their orbits like their larger counterparts. This characteristic is the main distinction between planets and dwarf planets. Planets have cleared a path around the sun while dwarf planets tend to orbit in zones with similar objects that cross their path around the sun. Finally, dwarf planets are not moons.

While dwarf planets like Pluto may be smaller, they can still have moons that orbit around them. In fact, Pluto has five moons, two of which were given names on July 2nd 2013. Formerly known as P4 and P5, Pluto’s new moons have been renamed Kerberos and Styx, respectively. The new moons were discovered in 2011 and 2012 during observations of Pluto using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3. Kerberos lies between the orbits of Nix and Hydra (discovered in 2005) while Styx lies between Charon and Nix. Kerberos has a diameter roughly between 13 to 34 kilometers while Styx is 10 to 25 kilometers across.

After their discovery, research team leader Mark Showalter called for a public vote to name the two moons. To remain consistent with Pluto’s other satellites, the names were derived from Greek mythology, particularly those associated with the underworld. Kerberos was named after Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guarded the entrance to the underworld (Kerberos is Greek for Cerberus). Styx was named after the goddess that ruled over the underworld river that transported the souls of the deceased.

While some may see Pluto’s new categorization to a dwarf planet as a demotion, new discoveries are revealing amazing qualities about it. With five moons and a family of other dwarf planets, Pluto is helping astronomers learn more about our solar system and the universe we live in.

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