Las Cumbres Observatory
Star In a Box (Paper-Based)
Do stars age gracefully? Young astronomers use colored paper and data on luminosity and temperature to model the changes of a star during its lifetime. They then compare models of stars of different mass and radii.
Las Cumbres Observatory
Star In a Box
Stars may all look the same from down here, but their surfaces tell a different story. Using an animation, learners collect data about the temperature and luminosity of stars and compare them to their mass and radius. They then answer...
University of Texas
Lives of Stars
Stars exist from a few million years to over 10 billion years, depending on their mass. Scholars perform a play acting as stars to learn about their different life cycles. They develop an understanding of many of the fundamental concepts...
Urbana School District
Light
You matter, unless you multiply yourself by the speed of light ... then you energy. Presentation covers the behavior of light as both a wave and a particle, light versus sound, space travel, why objects have colors, depth perception,...
Exploratorium
Oil Spot Photometer
Are these two light sources the same? Groups use a white card and a little cooking oil to create a photometer that allows for the comparison of two lights. The Inverse Square Law provides a way to calculate the actual difference in...
NASA
Just How Far is That Star?
Pupils often wonder how we know the distance to various stars. Starting with a thought experiment and progressing to a physical experiment, they determine the brightness and distance to various stars. The evaluation requires critical...
It's About Time
Our Community's Place Among the Stars
But isn't the Milky Way a candy bar? Lead a detailed discussion on the complex topic of our solar system and the Milky Way Galaxy as the class explores stellar evolution, structure, and investigates the relationship between luminosity...
Curated OER
How Hot is that Planet?
In this planet learning exercise, students read about finding the temperature of a planet using the distance to its star, its reflectivity and the luminosity of the star. Students use a given equation to determine the surface temperature...
Curated OER
Stellar Temperature, Size and Power
In this stellar temperature of stars worksheet, students use a given formula that relates the stellar light output with the surface area and temperature of a star to solve 3 problems. Students find luminosities of different stars and...
Curated OER
How Many Quasars Are There?
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...
Curated OER
Star Types-Color and Surface Temperature
In this types of stars worksheet, students complete a table with the color and star type for 17 stars. They are given their luminosity and surface temperature along with a chart that has characteristics of stars to use as reference.
Curated OER
Star Light, Star Bright: Exploring How Stars are Classified
For this star classification worksheet, students are given laminated star charts to make observations about stars. They work in groups to classify groups of stars based on different characteristics. For each group of stars they list at...
Curated OER
Labs from Chicago, Summer 1993: Calibrating the Sun's Light
Students experiment with the luminosity of the Sun's light. In this luminosity lesson, students participate in an experiment with luminosity of the sun and flashlights. They make filters and fiber optic sources.