Many people know that fiber optics are used in delivering the Internet, but are surprised to learn they are also used in astronomy. Scholars explore light, reflection, and fiber optics through hands-on activities. They discuss...

Learners use the internet to gather information to create their own science lesson plan. They choose from optical, wind, or electrical phenomena and use the internet to research information. Finally, they organize the information they...

Students use lecture and research to answer the question: Why is the sky blue? students research a variety of other sky phenomena, chart their observations and participate in experiments.

In this retrograde motion worksheet, students draw a diagram of the night sky by connecting dots to show retrograde motion. They compare retrograde motion to an optical illusion and answer questions about both.

Young scholars analyze the optical region of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Students construct an interferometer using a simple telescope. In this physics lesson, students explain how light waves create the fringe patterns. They observe patterns made by different objects in the sky and compare them.

Students conduct a brief astrophysics lab matching the EUVE spectra of various kinds of "mystery" stars with the spectra of known stars taken at Extreme Ultraviolet and optical wavelengths to determine their type.

Take a look with another perspective. Pupils read to find out what portion of the electromagnetic spectrum a space telescope sees and the difficulties of viewing infrared radiation from other objects in space. Individuals discover how...

Students analyze a designated galaxy with a partner or in a small group.

In this comet tails and stars worksheet, students read about the star Mira and the vast clouds of gases it emits. They use a photograph from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer satellite to solve 5 problems about the scale of the image, the...

Learners describe the electromagnetic spectrum and astronomy.  In this astronomy lesson students complete an activity, predict what will happen and complete a worksheet. 

Students study a star system and see how the planets move around stars.  In this star system lesson students complete an activity and see what an eclipse is.

Students observe the outer planets. In this science activity, students use a telescope locate the outer planets of the solar system. Students create a video of their observations.

Learners explain how telescopes work and how they can contribute to our knowledge of the universe.

Students using experiments try to demonstrate how observations can be affected by the cycles of night and day.

Discusses Rayleigh scattering in plain language and attributes the blueness of the skies to this phenomenon. Discussion of scattering is just one topic of many on this lengthy page of optical topics.

Bill Nye explains why the moon appears smaller when it is higher in the sky, and he presents a Home Demo experiment that proves its an illusion. The experiment requires a bright moon on a clear night, a stiff piece of cardboard, and a...

An experiment where light is shone through a bottle of water, and then milk added, to see how this affects the path the light takes (with links to articles on reflection and refraction that explain what is happening).

The moon appears bigger at the horizon just as it is rising over the treetops, than it does later in the evening when it is overhead. This is because our perception of its size changes based on where it is in the sky. In this human...

United States Naval Observatory is a unique observatory run by the Navy. It does some of the grunt work of astronomy -- keeping accurate time, determining positions of stars (astrometry), etc. They are responsible for publishing the...