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How long will the Sun live?

The Sun converts hydrogen to helium in its core, under enormous pressure and temperature. When this core hydrogen runs out, the Sun will swell up into a giant and new fusion sequences will start. In this process, inner planets, like the Earth, will be damaged, even destroyed.

But, how long is it before this happens?

In this activity, students will follow their worksheets to explore stellar lifespan. They will make calculations based around our Sun and its life by looking at mass defect and the use of equations.

Age Range: 16-18
Prep. Time: 0
Lesson Time: 1 hour
Cost per activity: Low (printing costs)
Includes the use of: Calculator

Teacher Guide

TeacherGuide_HowLongWillTheSunLiveDownload

Student Guide

StudentGuide_HowLongWilltheSunLiveDownload
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Life cycle of Stars

This session uses a mixture of group and individual work to explore Stellar Evolution. Students will learn about stars, comparing their life cycles of birth, life and death to that of humans. They will get to see how mass effects the type of star and the knock-on effect this has on the timeline of its life.

Age Range: 9-12
Prep. Time: 10 minutes
Lesson Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Cost per activity: Low (print cost only)
Includes the use of: Paper

Teacher Guide

TeacherGuide_TheLifeCycleofStarsDownload

Student Guide

StudentGuide_TheLifeCycleofStarsDownload

Activity Resources

starlifecycle_timelineinfocardsDownload
starlifecycle_diagramwhiteDownload
starlifecycle_diagramDownload
starlifecycle_activityimagesDownload
lifecyclediagram_modelanswersDownload
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Stellar Heartbeats

This activity covers pulsating variable star cycles, considering how their brightness varies as if it were a heartbeat. Students will be asked to estimate data from an image and then convert it into a graph. They will then need to read data from the graph and consider what this implies.

Age Range: 12-16
Prep. Time: 10 minutes
Lesson Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
Cost per activity: Low (printer cost)
Includes the use of: Graph paper, ruler, pencil, print outs

Slide Pack

StellarHeartbeats_powerpointDownload

Teacher Guide

TeacherGuide_StellarHeartbeatsDownload

Student Guide

StudentGuide_StellarHeartbeatsDownload

Activity Resources

InformationGuide_VariableStars-FTDownload
Activity1_variablestarDownload
Activity2_variablestarDownload
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Baldone observatory Virtual Tour

Welcome to this Virtual Tour of the Baldone observatory in Latvia, where you can “walk” inside the observatory through your browser window, exploring rooms, the telescope itself and read about several interesting details of the observatory.

View the tour in your browser

You can also download the tour as an executable file to your PC or mac and run it from there.

Baldone Virtual Tour (Windows)Download
Baldone Virtual Tour (Mac)Download
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Galaxy Distances using Tully-Fisher

The distance to the spiral galaxy NGC7331 can be estimated using the Tully-Fisher Relationship. In this activity we will calculate the distance to this spiral galaxy. Students will determine the rate of rotation of the galaxy, revealing its mass and likely luminosity. The apparent magnitude of the galaxy, as viewed from Earth can be used with the absolute magnitude to find the distance to NGC7331.

Age Range: 14-18
Prep. Time: 30 minutes
Lesson Time: 1 hour
Cost per activity: Low (printing costs)
Includes the use of: Calculator, pen, ruler, etc.

Teacher Guide and Model Answers

TeacherGuide_GalaxyDistanceDownload
ModelAnswers_GalaxyDistancesDownload

Student Guide

StudentGuide_GalaxyDistanceDownload

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Lunar Exploration Comprehension Exercise

Students will explore the moon through a comprehension activity. Reading the document provided to them and answering a set of questions. They will need to analyse text to pick out the key, relevant, information and then use this to fill out the work sheet in the student guide.

Age Range: 12-16
Prep. Time: 0
Lesson Time: 1 hour
Cost per activity: Low (printing costs)
Includes the use of: Pen/pencil, printouts

Teacher Guide

TeacherGuide_LunarExplorationComprehensionDownload

Student Guide and Resources

StudentGuide_LunarExplorationComprehensionDownload
RAS-Lunar_explorationDownload
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Moon Landing Investigation

Did Man land on the Moon, or was it faked?

In this activity, students will be given a range of pieces of evidence including a short video of the Apollo 11 lunar landings. They will examine 21 different pieces of evidence arranged around the classroom. Approximately half of the evidence suggests that the Moon landings were faked, the other half indicate they were real. The students are given a worksheet to fill in as they tour the evidence, forming their own opinions.

Age Range: 9-12
Prep. Time: 10 minutes
Lesson Time: 1 hour
Cost per activity: Low (print costs)
Includes the use of: Printouts, post-it notes

Teacher Guide

TeacherGuide_MoonLandingInvestigationDownload

Student Guide

StudentGuide_MoonLandingInvestigationDownload

Activity Resources

MoonLandingInvestigation_evidenceDownload
MoonLandingInvestigation_evidence-1Download
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Moon Phases

The moon is Earths natural satellite and a key element of our night sky. This activity starts with an overview of the moon and will deepen understanding of the phases of the lunar cycle and their names. Students will then complete an investigation to discover why the moon appears to us the way it does.

Age Range: 9-11
Prep. Time: 10 minutes
Lesson Time: 1 hour
Cost per activity: Medium
Includes the use of: Balls, printouts, markers

Teacher Guide

Teacher-Guide-Lunar-PhasesDownload

Student Guide

Student-Guide-Lunar-PhasesDownload

Activity Resources

Moon-Phase-DiagramDownload
Lunar-Phases-Activity-1Download
Lunar-Phases-Activity-1-Model-AnswersDownload
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Kepler’s Laws

This activity makes use of a simulator to help visualise the concepts for each of Kepler’s Laws of planetary motion and Newtonian features. It could either be used as an introduction to Kepler’s Laws, or as a revision task to check understanding.

Age Range: 16-17
Prep. Time: 0
Lesson Time: 40 minutes – 1 hour
Cost per activity: Low (print costs)
Includes the use of: Internet Access

Teacher Guide

TeacherGuide_KeplersLawsDownload

Student Guide

StudentGuide_KeplersLawDownload
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Interpreting the Geology of Europa and Ganymede

How to Jupiter’s moons compare?

Using reference images, students will compare the surface of Ganymede and Europa, two of Jupiter’s moons. They will explore aspects such as the moons’ geologies and the age of features. A peer review process can be used to mark the work.

Age Range: 12-16
Prep. Time: 0 minutes
Lesson Time: 40-50 minutes
Cost per activity: Low (printing costs)
Includes the use of: Printout, pens/pencils

Teacher Guide and Model Answers

TeacherGuide_EuropaAndGanymedeDownload
ModelAnswers_EuropaAndGanymedeDownload

Student Guide

StudentGuide_EuropaAndGanymedeDownload