Introducción

El Observatorio Vera C. Rubin detectará millones de supernovas y galaxias tenues desconocidas hasta ahora, proporcionando una gran cantidad de datos que revelan que el Universo se está expandiendo y que la velocidad de expansión está cambiando con el tiempo. Los estudiantes examinan la velocidad de expansión del Universo en diferentes galaxias y descubren que el Universo parece expandirse de manera uniforme, independientemente de su ubicación. En conjunto, estas observaciones proporcionan pruebas que apoyan la teoría del Big Bang.

Prerequisite Concepts

• Students should be familiar with how to calculate the kinetic energy of an object.
• Students should know the difference between common Solar System bodies: asteroids, meteoroids and comets.
• Students should be familiar with the brightness measurement of magnitude and its scale.
• Students should have been introduced to Newton’s Laws of Motion and gravity.

Learning Outcomes

• Students analyze orbits of near-Earth asteroids recently discovered by Rubin Observatory to estimate the likelihood of a serious threat to Earth.
• Students develop an appreciation for how uncertainty in observations of moving Solar System objects affects the predictions of their orbits.
• Students can explain the factors that affect the gravitational interactions between two Solar System objects, and how such interactions can alter the orbits of small Solar System objects.
• Students evaluate how the velocity and mass of an asteroid determines the amount of potential damage if it impacts Earth.
• Students come to understand that Earth impacts are rare events.

Essential Questions

• What factors determine if an asteroid could hit Earth?
• What is needed to accurately define the orbit of a newly-discovered Solar System object?
• What factors determine the amount of damage from an asteroid impact?