We're Ready...How about you Join us as we Explore Jupiter?

by the Galileo Outreach Coordination Team
Annette deCharon, Ed Hirst, Jan Ludwinski and Jo Pitesky

Welcome to the first issue of the Galileo Curriculum Module! 1995 is a very exciting year for all of us. The Galileo spacecraft, after a 6-year journey, will arrive at Jupiter in December and begin a tour of the planet and its system of moons. Let us h elp you and your students understand and appreciate WHY we're going and WHAT we hope to learn there.

We've provided lines as guides for cutting out single exercises. Each exercise's level of difficulty is expressed as:

easy (no math or writing required

challenging (some math, writing, or fairly difficult concepts to understand)

advanced (higher math skills and/or background knowledge required)

Contents:

What do YOU know already?
Compare Planet Size and Volume
Planet Structure & Interior
Jupiter's "Monstrous" Magnetosphere and "Danger Radiation Area"
Catch a Wave
What does the Spacecraft Look Like?
Japan's Weather Forecast
The Moons of Jupiter
Data Handling Techniques
Hearing Galileo's Whisper and Bibliography & Other Info
Answer Key

Here's a crossword puzzle that tests your knowledge of Jupiter. If you can't do it already, you should be able to completely fill out the puzzle after you've completed the other lessons in the Module.


DOWN

(1) The King of Planets
(2) Jupiter was hit by one (Shoemaker-Levy 9) in 1994
(3) Number of moons at Jupiter
(6) On Jupiter it's 9 hours 48 mintes (2 words)
(9) He's credited with first having observed Jupiter's largest moons
(10) On Dec. 7, 1995 an atmospheric Probe will provide this kind of report from Jupiter (Hint: think of local TV news)
(11) Jupiter's nearest "Gas Bag" planetary neighbor

ACROSS

(4) "Jupiter" Greek-style
(5) Jupiter's outermost moons are covered with this substance often associated with Wayne Gretzky.
(7) Are there mountains on Jupiter?
(8) In terms of planet size how does Jupiter rate?
(12) The Galileo spacecraft arrives __ Jupiter in December,1995.
(13) Common instrument used to view Jupiter at night: the naked ___.
(14) In our Solar System, this "belt" separates the 4 inner planets from the 5 outer planets.
(15) Short for Radio-isotope Thermoelectric Generator, the power source on the Galileo spacecraft
(16) Jupiter is 5 times farther from this than the Earth.
(17) In 1979, this spacecraft flew past Jupiter and discovered a ring!!
Next page Contents Teacher Activities


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