Educational resources in astronomy
This activity allows you to create the “rotation lightcurve” of an object, matching the approach that astronomers use when trying to determine the rotation rate of an asteroid.
The original version of this activity used a potato as the “asteroid”, so it is sometimes referred to as the “Rotato Experiment”!
In this activity, the students will learn different ways of roughly separating the features of observable structures in the universe and will gain the tools needed for identifying what kinds of objects they can observe through telescopes when visiting the observatory.
Turn an old wall calendar into a timeline of the universe!
In this assignment, you will try to fit the entire history of the universe from the Big Bang to present day into one calendar year from January to December. Were you surprised to see how late humans enter the picture?
This material is also available in:
Keywords: calendar, timeline, universe
Have you ever wondered what your body is made of? Or how much of each element you contain? Use this calculator to find out! Every element you contain that is heavier than hydrogen and helium was created over billions of years during the various developmental stages of stars. So we are made of star stuff!
This material is also available in:
Keywords: elements, stellar evolution, human body
The rotation of the Earth is investigated by observing the length of a toy figure’s shadow in the course of a day.
As an extended task, you can use the Stellarium software to investigate the movements of the Sun. Alternatively, the students can make real observations of the position of the Sun in the sky in the course of a year (the analemma pattern).
Keywords: sky, diurnal motion, daily motion, shadow, Sun, analemma
Every day, several tons of material fall from space down on earth. Some of this material are rocks of sufficient size to make meteors (shooting stars) that survive the extreme heat as they are decelerated through our atmosphere. A few times every year, we see big fireballs, meteors big enough to survive all the way down onto the ground.
The possibility of finding a meteorite have sent many out looking for stones that carry the signs of a space rock. Several networks of all-sky cameras exist around the globe, with the aim of doing research on meteor activity. Now, a network is being built to supply schools with unique class room material, where young students can participate in identifying meteors, calculating where their landing sites and their extra terrestial origins.
Here at the Online Observatory, we develop activities and tools that allow schools to contribute in the hunt for meteors and meteorites. The following talk was given at an event held at the Brorfelde Observatory in Denmark, June 2019.
As presented on the Multiplier Event at Brorfelde Observatory in June 2019
As presented on the Multiplier Event at Brorfelde Observatory in June 2019
Do you want to learn more about this project or have ideas on how to make these ideas even better, please contact us with your ideas and questions.
Some activities require Geogebra files, where students can manipulate arrows indicating the path of given meteors. In these files, they can get acquainted with coordnates and distances of any given event. The files are still only prepared with maps of southern Norway.
Here are a few Geogebra files for download: