In this orbit of stars in galaxies learning exercise, students are given an equation that models the orbital speeds of stars as they relate to their distance from the nucleus of a galaxy. Students solve 5 problems using this equation and...

In this speed of a galaxy worksheet, students use a given equation for the speed of an object and they use the spectral lines for Hydrogen Alpha and Beta from the Seyfert galaxy to answer 6 questions. They determine the observed...

In this counting stars worksheet, learners construct a histogram for stars in a given star field using their apparent magnitude. Students answer 5 questions using their tabulated data and histogram to answer questions about the stars of...

For this most distant galaxy instructional activity, students use a Deep Field image taken by the FORS camera at the ESA-VLT observatory to answer 4 questions about the redshifts identified in the field. They use an on line redshift...

In this star count worksheet, students solve three problems using a given polynomial and its logarithm to determine the number of stars in a given area.

In this galaxy worksheet, students use the Internet or other resources to answer 13 questions about the galaxy NGC-1232. They are given a photograph of the galaxy to help determine the width and diameter of certain regions of...

Students gain an understanding of how the powers of 10 and scientific notation can be used to represent the scale of things in the universe. They relate the number of stars in the universe to the number of grains of sand on Earth's beaches.

For this distance between stars worksheet, students plot the distance between the sun and 11 other stars on a 2 dimensional grid using a protractor and a ruler. They determine the distances between various stars and they find the...

High schoolers solve five problems including finding the cross sectional area of two bodies, determining the swept out volume of a moving body, finding the average particle volume of a body and determining the collision time for a body.

How do you put something as large as the universe in perspective? Use a series of scale experiments. Classmates collaborate around four experiments to examine the scale of the earth-moon system, our solar system, the Milky Way galaxy,...

In this brightness of stars worksheet, high schoolers answer 7 questions about the apparent magnitudes of stars, the sun, and the moon. They compare the brightness of stars, galaxies, astronomical objects and the sun.

In this Sombrero Galaxy worksheet, students observe infrared images taken by the Spitzer Infrared Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope. They answer 9 questions about the details of the images such as the radius of the stellar...

In this comet tails and stars worksheet, high schoolers 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,...

For this stars worksheet, students read about the Spitzer space telescope and they solve 5 problems about the mass, size, and power of dust grains and interstellar mediums detected by the telescope.

For this galaxy worksheet, students calculate the volume of the Milky Way Galaxy, they determine the total mass, the density and the volume of the Milky Way Galaxy. They also solve 2 problems about the volume and size of the universe in...

Students use the slopes of various curves plotted on log-log graph paper to classify stellar objects as binary stars, supernovae, or active galaxies.The data used in this lesson were obtained from X-ray astronomy satellites.

Physical science starters play with a pendulum in order to experience periodicity. Detailed procedures and a worksheet are included for day one. For day two, learners will use a graphing calculator to help them plot orbit data from a...

In this black hole worksheet, students read about the black hole in the center of the Milky Way Galaxy called Sagittarius A and observe a Chandra image of the area where the black hole exists. Students solve two problems which include...

In this cosmic bar graph worksheet, students solve 2 problems using given bar graphs that plot the number of galaxies vs. the galaxy type and the number of gamma-ray bursts vs. the burst classification. Students find the fraction of...

In this quasars worksheet, students read about how astronomers can detect quasars by their luminosity. Students use a given equation to solve 4 problems including finding quasar magnitude, determining the number of quasars with given...

Students perform an experiment in which they will use a statistical method called `sampling' to count to a billion (and beyond). Students practice sampling by estimating the number of characters on a page from the classified section of a...

In this supernova instructional activity, students read about the expanding supernova shell that was discovered by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Students solve two problems including finding the scale of the given images and determining...

Students investigate radiant energy by completing discrepant events and identify various temperature changes through absorption and how radiant energy can be used for solar panels. They experiment with different color fabrics in order...

In this Milky Way galaxy worksheet, students are given a table of distances and angles of nebulae and star clusters from the sun. Students plot each one on a piece of paper and solve 2 problems using the data.