Churchill Science

Create your own planet with Planet 10!
221 did, and look what happened… Click on the picture to play the game!

Update: 222 won on the very first try! How did they do it???

Once you’ve made your planet, give it a name and launch it into our solar system. Watch the left side of the screen to see what your planet’s fate is!

If you take a screenshot of your planet, we’ll post it here!

Good luck!

By popular request…

In this game, you get to be the Sun. You can “fire” small, medium, or large solar winds at the Earth and watch as the Earth’s magnetic field produces an aurora in response. Then click “Evaluate” to find out what your solar winds did to the Earth.

The above videos show how the Earth’s magnetic field protects it from the Sun’s energy.

Here’s what it looks like when solar wind hits the Earth’s magnetic field. It causes the Northern and Southern Lights (Auroras).

This video starts with Pluto, a dwarf planet, and then moves up in size order. Can you see why everything in the solar system orbits the Sun and not Earth or another planet?

Also, look at the size of the Sun compared to other stars. What would happen if our planet orbited a bigger star? We are going to be talking more about stars and why bigger is NOT better!

What does our Sun look like today? Click here to take a look!
Some of the images you’ll see were taken with special cameras. There are some kinds of light that our eyes can’t see, like UV rays (the kind that give you sunburn) so we use these cameras to take pictures of the Sun, sort of like an X-ray machine takes pictures of your bones.

Click here to learn more facts about the Sun. From National Geographic’s great website about the solar system!

Just the animation:

The Kepler spacecraft was launched into space last night. Its job is to take pictures of planets that orbit around other stars.

Here’s an animation:

And here’s the video of Kepler’s launch.

222’s Moon – created with flour, chocolate powder and marbles

The Moon – Visible Light

Bored at home on this unexpected day off? Why not make your own wild weather?