Exmouth Watches Over Space Junk

While Luca V. was away in Exmouth, he wrote this article about Space Junk to publish as a journalist.  He went to the Harold E. Holt Naval Base in Exmouth where they have a space telescope and this is what he found out…

You might know some messy people who leave rubbish behind, but did you know that there is also lots of rubbish left in space?  It is called space junk and it is a major problem.

Last year it was thought that there were more than 300 000 items of space junk orbiting Earth.  This includes old satellites, burnt out rocket stages, lost tools from spacewalks and specks of paint and dust.  Because the junk is travelling at hypersonic speeds, even the tiniest paint specks can cause damage like bullets when they collide with satellites and the International Space Station (ISS).

Every day we rely on satellites for watching TV, weather forecasts, GPS and even banking.  So, what can we do?

Scientists are working on ways to clean up space junk.  In the meantime, a Space Surveillance Telescope (SST) and a C-band radar was installed at the Harold E. Holt Naval Base in Exmouth, Western Australia.  It can detect where the space junk is and it will alert satellite operators and spacecraft so they can move to avoid collisions.

When I was visiting my uncle’s bowling alley near the SST, I saw the SST moving – scanning the skies.  It moved faster than I expected.  It’s really tall and skinny and looks like it’s reaching into the clouds.

The telescope and radar will even detect and track the launch of Chinese satellites and missiles, but this is top secret, so I can’t tell you any more!

Very interesting information, Luca!  We will have to watch the news to see what happens here.  Mrs Veary 🙂

 

Science Experiment at home – Gravity on our Bodies

Don’t forget to bring in your measurements from home so that we can all find out whether gravity actually does change our bodies during the day….?  We’ll be looking at the data from your Science experiment in class tomorrow morning (Tuesday)!  🙂

Also – we will be doing BUDDY READING with T5 (Year 4) tomorrow afternoon, so don’t forget to bring in your favourite book to share!  I wonder what you will choose…?

And – remember to start collecting your recycled materials for your Spacecraft Constructions this week on Friday!  (We hope to see some Mums and Dads there too….9:00 a.m. on Friday.)

Mrs Veary 🙂

Spacecraft Designers!

Dictionary definition of the word SPACECRAFT is

noun, plural        spacecraft.

1. a vehicle designed for travel or operation in space beyond the earth’s atmosphere or in orbit around the earth.

One of our Creating Inquiry Cards tells you to design and construct a spacecraft out of recycled materials.

We will be planning this design and the materials to be used this week and we plan to build it together next week on the Friday morning.  You can start collecting materials for your design now.  Any parents who wish to come in and help students with the construction are welcome.  🙂

Here are some videos and website links to give you some more ideas about the characteristics of spacecraft, to use when planning your design!

NASA  FOR KIDS WEBSITE – click here to explore

WIKIPEDIA – SPACECRAFT  – interesting site with photos of past and future spacecraft

ABOUT THE MOON SPACECRAFT – this website has some really good pictures of the parts of the Apollo Spacecraft

DRAGONX – first non-government spacecraft

And you can google “spacecraft” and use images for your search.  But you will need to try to work out which are real and which are imaginary and used only in games.

Have fun as you learn about spacecraft in this project.  😎

 

 

MY ALIEN FRIEND

In Writing today we are going to be looking at descriptive writing.

This means writing in a way that allows the reader to picture exactly what you are describing.  You will be using words to paint a picture for your reader.  This means that you need to choose your words carefully and use lots of really good adjectives (describing words).

WHAT WILL YOU BE WRITING ABOUT?  You will be describing your alien friend.  Give your alien a name and decide which planet your alien comes from and how he or she got to Earth.  You have already created your alien and now you will have to describe him or her. 🙂

Describe different characteristics of your alien:
• Size
• Shape of parts of body
• How many heads, eyes etc. (make it interesting)
• Skin (colour, texture, made from…)
• Special features or extra body parts (like the Purple People Eater’s horn…)
• Personality
• Any special powers

To create a really good picture for your reader, you will also need to use some similes in your description.  A simile compares your alien to something that we can all picture.  It uses the words like….. or as…..as.

Eg. “My alien has scarlet eyes as hot as the furnace of the sun.”  It’s eyes are as bright as a car’s headlights shining through the dark.

Here are some posters about similes to get your imagination going.  🙂

poster

dog simile

 

frog simile

definition

You all have such good imaginations that I’m sure you are going to invent really different aliens and write amazing descriptions today!

Click here for a PDF of the Description Rubric we are going to use to mark our work to see what your MUST DOs are.   Description Rubric for alien

 Mrs Veary 🙂

ALL ABOUT THE MOON

This week we will be learning all about the moon.  We’ll look at the moon from the Earth and then what it is like to actually visit the Moon too.  Mankind first stepped onto the Moon in 1969 and it was the first time humans had stood on another body in space that was not Earth!  🙂

For Inquiry Groups – COMPUTER activity.  You will need to visit the websites below (in red) and watch the video to complete your worksheet on PHASES OF THE MOON.

THE EARTH AND BEYOND is a site where you can read all about the different shaped moons we see in the night sky at different times.  You can also read lots more moon facts there (and look around using the links).  There is an excellent animation of the PHASES OF THE MOON there.

COOL FACTS ABOUT THE MOON – is a kid-friendly site with interesting facts and phases of the moon explained.

and the original NASA footage of the actual landing!

PURPLE PEOPLE-EATER SONG

For Writing this week we will be writing a description of our own little Alien.  We will need to use lots of adjectives (describing words).

Listen to this song.  Here are the lyrics.  Listen for all the adjectives describing the Purple People Eater.  😎

The Purple People Eater – Lyrics

Well I saw the thing comin’ out of the sky
It had the one long horn, one big eye
I commenced to shakin’ and I said “ooh-eee”
It looks like a purple people eater to me

It was a one-eyed, one-horned, flyin’ purple people eater
(One-eyed, one-horned, flyin’ purple people eater)
A one-eyed, one-horned, flyin’ purple people eater
Sure looks strange to me (One eye?)

Well he came down to earth and he lit in a tree
I said Mr. Purple People Eater, don’t eat me
I heard him say in a voice so gruff
I wouldn’t eat you cuz you’re so tough

It was a one-eyed, one-horned, flyin’ purple people eater
One-eyed, one-horned flyin’ purple people eater
One-eyed, one-horned, flyin’ purple people eater
Sure looks strange to me (One horn?)

I said Mr. Purple People Eater, what’s your line
He said it’s eatin’ purple people and it sure is fine
But that’s not the reason that I came to land
I wanna get a job in a rock and roll band

Well bless my soul, rock and roll, flyin’ purple people eater
Pigeon-toed, undergrowed, flyin’ purple people eater
(We wear short shorts)
Flyin’ purple people eater
Sure looks strange to me

And then he swung from the tree and he lit on the ground
He started to rock, really rockin’ around
It was a crazy ditty with a swingin’ tune
Sing a boop boop aboopa lopa lum bam boom

Well bless my soul, rock and roll, flyin’ purple people eater
Pigeon-toed, undergrowed, flyin’ purple people eater
I like short shorts
Flyin’ little people eater
Sure looks strange to me (Purple People?)

And then he went on his way, and then what do ya know
I saw him last night on a TV show
He was blowing it out, a’really knockin’ em dead
Playin’ rock and roll music through the horn in his head

by Sheb Wooley

We are going to be drawing Purple People-Eaters using the characteristics in this song.

Now you can watch the animation with the song