Question

use the storyboard graphic organizer to plan a comic strip depicting the significant events beginning with a nebula and continuing to the current configuration of planets orbiting the sun. complete the map that follows to help you plan your comic strip story

Explanation:

To plan the comic strip, we follow the stages of the solar system's formation:

1. Panel 1: Nebula Stage

Depict a vast, swirling nebula (a cloud of gas and dust) in space. Add labels or narration explaining that this nebula is the starting point, with gravity beginning to pull matter together.

1. Panel 2: Protostar and Disk Formation

Show a dense region of the nebula collapsing into a rotating protostar at the center, surrounded by a protoplanetary disk (flattened ring of material). Explain that the protostar is heating up, and the disk will form planets.

1. Panel 3: Planet Formation

Illustrate planetesimals (small rocky/icy bodies) colliding and merging in the disk to form larger planets. Show gas giants forming in the outer disk (capturing hydrogen/helium) and rocky planets in the inner disk.

1. Panel 4: Modern Solar System

Depict the Sun (now a main-sequence star) with planets orbiting in their current order (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune). Add details like moons, asteroids, or comets to show the current configuration.

Answer:

Panel 1 (Nebula)

• Visual: Swirling clouds of gas (hydrogen, helium) and dust.
• Text: "Billions of years ago, a giant molecular cloud (nebula) filled space."

Panel 2 (Protostar + Disk)

• Visual: A bright protostar at the center, with a flat, spinning disk of dust/gas around it.
• Text: "Gravity pulled the nebula inward, forming a protostar and a rotating protoplanetary disk."

Panel 3 (Planet Formation)

• Visual: Small planetesimals colliding to form larger planets (e.g., a rocky planet forming in the inner disk, a gas giant in the outer disk).
• Text: "Planetesimals in the disk merged, creating the planets we know today."

Panel 4 (Current Solar System)

• Visual: The Sun with planets orbiting (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune) and details like Earth’s moon or Saturn’s rings.
• Text: "Today, the solar system exists with planets orbiting the Sun in stable paths."