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HISTORY OF SPACE EXPLORATION

Read the following paragraphs concerning space exploration and observations. Use the information in the paragraphs to rearrange the table below, so that the earliest discovery or development is first! DON'T WRITE ON THE SHEETS!

Chinese astronomers made the earliest discoveries, including the satellites of Jupiter. The ancient Greek astronomer Aristarchus, 300 B.C., even believed the Earth went round the Sun. 2000 years later Galileo proved him right. In 200 A.D. the Egyptian Astronomer Ptolemy postulated that Earth was the centre of the Solar System.. A view that was only questioned 1300 years later by Copernicus and then by Galileo.

The 17 th Century produced major developments in astronomy. Lippershey's invention of the telescope in 1619 enabled Kepler to develop his ideas on planetary motion. Galileo developed his own astronomical telescope which he used to observe the Moon and Jupiter's satellites. He also proved Copernicus was correct. Newton then applied his ideas on gravity and forces to planetary orbits in 1687. Halley and Herschel made important discoveries in the 18 th Century, Herschel finding a planet in 1781.

The 20 th Century has had many astronomical events. The number of planets increased to nine in 1930 and van Brown experimented with rockets ten years later. This latest development enabled the Russians and Americans to develop space technology, which first launched satellites and then put man on the moon

Copy a blank table into your books and then fill it in! The dates are in the correct order! THE 2ND AND 3RD COLUMNS ARE WRONG. E.g.

                                                      
DATE      EVENT                                         KEY PERSON

200 Sun orbits the Earth Ptolemy


DATE      EVENT                                         KEY PERSON

2300 BC A comets return predicted Aristarchus

365 BC Apollo 11 launched; first man on the Moon Chinese astronomers

300 BC Aristarchus and Copernicus' ideas confirmed Chinese astronomers

200 Early observations Clyde Tombaugh

1543 Earth goes round the Sun Copernicus

1608 Earth orbits the Sun reconfirmed Galileo

1619 Gravity linked with planetary motion Halley

1633 Laws of planetary motion Herschel

1687 Pluto discovered Kepler

1718 Satellites of jupiter observed with the Lippershey naked eye

1781 Space shuttle launched - first re-useable NASA Scientists manned spacecraft

1930 Sputnik 1 first space shuttle Neil Armstrong

1940 Sun orbits the Earth Newton

1957 Telescope invented Ptolemy

1961 Uranus discovered Russian Scientists

1963 V2 rocket being developed Valentina Tereshkova

1969 Vostok 1 lunched: first man in space Werner von brown

1981 Vostok 3 launched: first woman in space Yuri Gagarin

Solar System Statements

The statements in the second column are not in the correct order. Link the correct statements together then copy them into your books.

Moon         The path of an object around the Sun

Jupiter Major force that holds the planets in orbit around the Sun

Hydrogen The last planet to be discovered

Asteroid The largest of the planets

Gravity The largest of Jupiter's moons

Venus Lump of rock between Jupiter and Mars

Ganymede Caused by the pull of the Moon's gravity

Charon A natural satellite of Saturn

Meteorite A Gas Giant planet surrounded by rings

Comet Mars' other moon

Tides The astronomer who discovered Uranus

Buz Aldrin A hole caused by meteorite impact

Milky Way Pluto's only moon

Titan Space probes sent to look at Jupiter and Saturn

Saturn Takes many years to orbit the Sun. Made of ice

Pluto Shooting star

Phobos Our Solar System is part of this Galaxy

Deimos Second brightest object in the night sky

Herschel Mars' closest moon

Orbit One of the terrestrial planets

Crater The fuel for the Sun

Voyagers The second man on the Moon

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The EIA Team / Tel:+44 (0)1274 234082 / 25 Sept 1995