Where Do Planets Come from
Zhong 1 Justin Zhong Ms. Ljoka 2nd Annual Holy Spirit Science Fair February 21, 2013 Where do planets come from? Abstract Astronomers have spent many centuries wondering how our solar system and its planets came to be. We could only see the end result of planet formation, not the process itself. And we had no other examples to study. Even with the knowledge gained about other solar system, we were left to wonder, are there other planetary systems out there, and did they form like ours? This project leads you to find out how mighty planets are formed from cosmic dust. The red beans (dependent variable) were tested in the vacuum chamber with Earth’s gravitation pull and without the gravitation pull (independent variable) by pouring water into the chamber (buoyancy counteracts gravity). My hypothesis was that without the Earth’s gravitation pull, the particles would clump up; and with the gravitation pull, the particles would just remain the same. The
Zhong 2 experimental results supported my hypothesis by showing that in the gravity-free condition, particles don’t float apart, they clump up together. People think space as being something very distant and remote. It’s light-years away, hugely distant from us. That’s completely wrong. We are their children. They literally put us together. We are star stuff, without them, we couldn’t exist. Variables Independent Variable: With the Earth’s gravitation pull or not. Dependent Variable: Red beans. Hypothesis With the Earth’s gravitation pull, the particles will remain the same; without the gravitation pull, the particles will clump up. Background Research For centuries, astronomers and philosophers wondered how our solar system and its planets came to be. As telescopes advanced and space probes were sent out to explore, we learned more and more about our solar system, which gave us clues to how it might have taken place. (Hubble Site) What is a planet? There have been many attempts to define the term “planet” over the
Zhong 2 experimental results supported my hypothesis by showing that in the gravity-free condition, particles don’t float apart, they clump up together. People think space as being something very distant and remote. It’s light-years away, hugely distant from us. That’s completely wrong. We are their children. They literally put us together. We are star stuff, without them, we couldn’t exist. Variables Independent Variable: With the Earth’s gravitation pull or not. Dependent Variable: Red beans. Hypothesis With the Earth’s gravitation pull, the particles will remain the same; without the gravitation pull, the particles will clump up. Background Research For centuries, astronomers and philosophers wondered how our solar system and its planets came to be. As telescopes advanced and space probes were sent out to explore, we learned more and more about our solar system, which gave us clues to how it might have taken place. (Hubble Site) What is a planet? There have been many attempts to define the term “planet” over the
Cited: “Charles Liu.” The Handy Astronomy Answer Book. 2008: 125-126 “How the Universe Works.” Mike Rowe. June 28, 2011 “Hubble Site.” Hubble Discoveries. . “What is a planet.” The Handy Astronomy Answer Book. 2008: 128