Measuring the Diameter of the Sun

Ninth graders study the sun and its distance from Earth.  In this Sun's diameter lesson students examine how measurement data permits accurate measurement of the sun's diameter. 

Scientists could measure the diameter of the sun before they knew its distance. Scholars construct a simple mirror box to measure the diameter for themselves. They compare this measurement with the official size, listed in a textbook,...

Starting with a paragraph of information presenting the different ways we can observe planetary objects, pupils work through these instructions to see how they can observe and measure angles.  Your class will discover how these angles...

Students complete mathematical calculations to determine that the sun's diameter is about 100 times that of Earth's diameter. In this sun and Earth lesson plan, students complete worksheets provided.

In this space science activity, students find the correct measurements using the tools provided in this lab experiment. The second page is used to record data.

In this sun's diameter worksheet, students use a photograph taken by the SOHO satellite of the sun showing a change in diameter from one month to another. Students find the average diameter of the sun, they determine the percent change...

In this Sun and Moon activity, students solve 6 problems about the angular scale of the images given, the size of the features on the images and the area of the features shown.

In this sun worksheet, students use a Sunspotter to observe the rotation of the sun by identifying the presence of sunspots and watching them rotate over time. Students calculate how many days it takes to see the sunspots they observe in...

Students investigate the characteristics of the Sun using Seymor Simon's book, The Sun. They watch a teacher demonstration of a candle to compare it to the Sun. They examine the distance the Earth is from the Sun and the existing size...

Students conduct an experiment to measure the diameter of the sun. In this astronomy lesson,  students construct a simple equipment to collect scientific data. They calculate the sun's diameter using a given formula.