Best of the Solar System

This lesson introduces students to planetary research. Using some of the most famous and interesting images of the Solar System, students learn to focus on details by studying uncaptioned images. They increase their knowledge of the planets and their features by comparing their observations to those of real researchers. Students organize their findings to infer a key difference between inner and outer planets. They will be able: to understand that planetary images contain valuable information, but require interpretation, which is somewhat uncertain; to recognize each planet or moon by its unique and identifiable features; and understand that scientists summarize findings in order to look for patterns in groups like planets and moons. Educational levels: High school, Middle school