Seeing Stars

Did you know light can decrease visibility? Light pollution absolutely makes it more difficult to see stars. Scholars build a simple magnitude reader to determine the magnitude of stars. They use these data to estimate the impact of...

Three astronomy activities in one resource! Here you will find one hands-on activity, one demonstration, both with discussion questions, and one activity worksheet. During these lessons young scientists discuss how stars are different,...

Digital compass alignment enables navigation of the skies with true orientation at any time. Just point to the sky or "aim for the stars!" This application acts as a virtual telescope, allowing you to zoom in on any object that is...

What are all those shiny things we see in the sky at night? It could be a star, planet, or asteroid! This is the focus of a video that helps viewers distinguish between these three objects in the sky.

We know stars are giant balls of plasma, so why are they drawn as pointy star shapes? The video solves this mystery through an explanation of how lenses work both in our eyes and in telescopes. It also discusses the proper way to color a...

Up to 75 percent of the stars in the Milky Way are red dwarfs, yet we can't see any from Earth. The video explains what makes red dwarf stars unique. It highlights the potential for finding aliens or a planet humans could live on once...

There's something to look forward to in 2021 or 2022! Although the actual event occurred almost 2,000 years ago, the appearance of a new star will become evident from Earth in a few short years. The video instructor from the solar system...

Parallax is the apparent change of an object determined by the line of sight. Sal defines the concept of parallax and applies it to how we determine the relative distance between us and near-by stars. He draws a diagram to illustrate...

This is one heavy video! Introduce the topic of neutron stars with a brief but informative resource. Young astronomers discover the history of neutron star research, the conditions present in and around a neutron star, and the...

Stars are amazing to see in the night sky. Learn how each star has different colors and that some are hotter and some are colder. A young girl and an astronomer discuss starlight, nebulae, galaxies, and life on other planets. This is a...