SCAVENGER HUNT
1) What is the “blue
marble?”
2) What are two differences between the
satellite photos of the United States in
January and in July?
3) How high above the earth does the Hubble Space
Telescope orbit?
4) Name at least two types of
information that can be captured by
satellites.
5) Does an orbiting
satellite pass over the
7) When and where did Hurricane
same part of Earth on
Charley make landfall?
every trip?
6) What happened to the
rainforests in Brazil between 1986
and 2001?
8) From how far above the Earth are aerial
photos taken? From how far are satellite
photos taken?
9) Find the giant satellite photo
of the United States. Can you
find Eugene? Can you find the
Willamette Valley?
A View from Space Scavenger Hunt – Answer Key
1) What is the “blue marble?” The “blue marble” is a picture of the entire Earth assembled by
NASA using satellite photos. It is not a single photograph; it was assembled using many
photos taken by different satellites at different times.
2) What are two differences between the satellite photos of the United States in January
and in July? Possible answers include differing amounts of visible snow and ice and a greater
presence of green vegetation.
3) How high above the earth does the Hubble Space Telescope orbit? The Hubble orbits at
an altitude of around 370 miles, according to the “How high are the satellites?” station.
4) Name at least two types of information that can be captured by satellites. Possible
answers based on the exhibits include: photographs/visual images, ocean temperatures,
infrared radiation, pollution or carbon monoxide levels, sea surface wind speeds, reflected
sunlight, heat loss, cloud structure, and ozone levels.
5) Does an orbiting satellite pass over the same parts of Earth on every trip? No; the
“Satellite orbit” station shows that the Earth rotates relative to the polar orbiting satellite, so that
each trip around the Earth captures a different “slice” of Earth’s surface. (It is possible to
position a satellite so that it stays fixed in the same position relative to the Earth below. These
are called geosynchronous satellites.)
6) What happened to the rainforests in Brazil between 1986 and 2001? Satellite images
demonstrate that there was extensive deforestation in Brazil; the rainforests were cut or
burned down.
7) When and where did Hurricane Charley make landfall? Hurricane Charley arrived at
Charlotte Harbor, on the Gulf coast of Florida, on August 13, 2004.
8) From how far above the Earth are aerial photos taken? From how far are satellite photos
taken? Aerial photos (from airplanes) can be taken as high as 8 miles up. Satellite photos are
much higher – the photo of the Grand Canyon in the exhibit was taken from 440 miles above
Earth.
9) Find the giant satellite photo of the United States. Can you find Eugene? Can you find
the Willamette Valley? It is difficult to see cities from a satellite image. However, the
Columbia River is visible in the top left corner of the picture, and the Willamette Valley can be
seen directly below the river as a light green patch. Eugene is located at the south end of the
valley.