Royal Observatory Greenwich

The Royal Observatory Greenwich is the home of Greenwich Mean Time and the Prime Meridian of the World. These resources, designed for students aged from seven years up to post-16, contain astronomy based practical activities linked to the curriculum at each key stage.

  • Key stage 2 activities include moons, the Solar System, magnetism, shadows and the spinning Earth.
  • Key stage 3 activities have students plotting constellations, and learning about orbits, seasons and the formation of the solar system.
  • Key stage 4 activities get students to look at different wavelengths, exoplanets, gravity, the history of the universe, the life cycle of stars and Kepler’s Third Law.
  • At Post-16, topics include Doppler shift, nuclear fusion, the evolution of the universe, the Kármán line and the Hubble constant.

Most activities have some ideas and questions for class discussion to be carried out before the activity, and many include high-quality animated videos. Some activities require access to software or an internet connection.

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Mass of an exoplanet from radial velocity

Produced by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, this booklet shows how the Doppler effect and the radial velocity of an exoplanet can be used to calculate its mass. Included is an online video that demonstrates the Doppler effect using a portable speaker and discusses how it can be applied to a distant exoplanet....

Measuring the Universe

Produced by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, this booklet introduces the concept of parallax and how it can be used to measure the distance to stars, using the constellation of Orion as an example. Included is an online video that demonstrates parallax in everyday contexts and in astronomy.  It also discusses the...

Radioactive dating of meteorites

Produced by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, this booklet uses radioactive meteorites to test understanding of radioactive decay. Included is an online video that discusses how radioactive materials can be used to determine the age of something, and how this can be applied to calculate the age of a meteorite or the...

Rosetta mission to comet 67p

Produced by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, this booklet uses the Rosetta mission to comet 67P to test understanding of the concepts of speed, distance and time. Included is an online video that introduces the Rosetta mission and possible future missions. The booklet contains questions and answers that use the...

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