Curated OER
Galaxies and the Expanding Universe
In this galaxies and the universe worksheet, students are given 8 clues about galaxies of the universe, spectrographs, and the theory of the universe expanding. They write the answer to each in given blanks with boxed letters. They...
Curated OER
Hubble Space Telescope Webquest
Students research the Hubble Space Telescope. In this Hubble Space Telescope lesson, students complete a webquest about the Hubble Space Telescope.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Building a Fancy Spectrograph
Students create and decorate their own spectrographs using simple materials and holographic diffraction gratings. A holographic diffraction grating acts like a prism, showing the visual components of light. After building the...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Engineering Your Own Spectrograph
Students use simple materials to design an open spectrograph so they can calculate the angle light is bent when it passes through a holographic diffraction grating. A holographic diffraction grating acts like a prism, showing the visual...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Designing a Spectroscopy Mission
Students find and calculate the angle that light is transmitted through a holographic diffraction grating using trigonometry. After finding this angle, student teams design and build their own spectrographs, researching and designing a...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Spectroscopy
Students learn how using a spectrograph helps us understand the composition of light sources. Using simple materials and holographic diffraction gratings (available online at a variety of sites, including Edmund Scientifics and the...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: Stellar Spectra
When the light of a star passes through a spectrograph, elements of that star reveal a specific signature. Compare the spectra of four elements and a star to identify which elements you can detect in the star's atmospere.
NASA
Nasa: Spitzer Science Center: Code of Faraway Worlds
Under the heading, "Cracking the Code of Faraway Worlds" this site explores the uses of spectrum (and spectrograph, spectra) in planetary study. In addition to an image, a description of spectrum and its uses in space science is provided.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Using a Fancy Spectrograph
Students use the spectrograph from the "Building a Fancy Spectrograph" activity to gather data about different light sources. Using the data, they make comparisons between the light sources and make conjectures about the composition of...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: A Spectral Mystery
Students use the spectrograph from the "Building a Fancy Spectrograph" activity to gather data about light sources. Using their data, they make comparisons between different light sources and make conjectures about the composition of a...
The Tech Interactive
Tech Museum of Innovation: Eye on the Universe: The Hubble Space Telescope
This site provides information about the Hubble Space Telescope, and its mission into space.