Lesson 50 of 84 · Space
Simulation⭐ 30 XP🚀 StarbaseHow Far Is a Light-Year? (Part 3)
How Far Is a Light-Year? (Part 3).
🎯 Your mission
Play with the model. Break it. Understand it.
⚡ The twist
Gravity is invisible — but it shapes everything.
Mind = Blown
🌟 The light from the closest star (after the sun) takes 4 years to reach you.
Make a hypothesis first
Before you check: which is closer?
What You'll Learn
Light from the sun takes about 8 minutes to reach Earth. A light-year is the distance light travels in one year—about 9.5 trillion kilometers.
Key Words
- asteroid
- comet
- solar system
Steps
Study the diagram and label the parts you recognize.
Use a flashlight, a large ball, and a small ball to model eclipses. Show both a solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse.
Use your senses (except taste) to describe what you notice.
Write a summary of your findings in 3-5 sentences.
Check Your Understanding
Question 1
1 of 3Which planet is known as the Red Planet?
Where you see this in real life
Every sunrise and every shadow is this idea in action.
Stretch Challenge
Try this in real life this week.
Look at the moon tonight. Notice its shape. Look again in 3 days.
For the dinner table
“If you could visit any planet, which would you pick and why?”
Next Smart Experiment
We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.
Share this experiment
Send it to a parent who's looking for a 10-minute kitchen science win.
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