Episode 703: Preparation for Cosmology Topic

From the Institute of Physics, these resources help students to understand that cosmology is the study of the Universe, its origins, history and possible future. In these activities, students look at the expanding universe and cosmology. There are two learning episodes in this topic:...

Episode 704: The Expanding Universe

Produced by the Institute of Physics, in this learning episode, students look at the expanding universe by examining galaxies, Hubble's observations and cosmological red shift. A simple activity allows students to model Hubble's law.

Through discussion and activities, students look at:
* observing a...

Episode 705: Cosmology

From the Institute of Physics, these activities encourage students to discuss the origins, history and future of the universe. Through a range of discussions and activities, students look at:
• the hot big bang
• the age of the Universe
• cosmic microwave background radiation
• the future of...

Solar System: Images of Individual Planets

From NASA, these high resolution images show separately the planets of our solar system. Images in this resource include: Sun, Earth, Moon, Mars, Venus, Neptune, Mercury, Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and the dwarf planet Pluto.

Moon Landing: Apollo 11

On July 20, 1969, the astronaut Neil Armstrong was the first human to set foot on the moon. From NASA, these images illustrate the story behind "One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." Truly a milestone moment in space exploration.

Life of a Star: Planetary Nebula Lithograph

This resource from NASA describes how low-mass stars expand in size and become red giants at the end of their lives. Then they shed their outer layers and become planetary nebulae.

The image of NGC 2440, a planetary nebula, is on the first page of the lithograph. Background information about the life cycle...

Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope

NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST, is a space-based telescope that looks at the universe in the gamma ray wavelengths. This telescope will study known sources of gamma rays in detail but will also discover thousands of new gamma-ray sources in its five-year mission. This resource has an image of...

Developing a Blog-Style Webquest to Support Independent Skills

Published by LSIS, this research report describes a project undertaken by New College Nottingham. The project describes the creation of a webquest to aid the learning of space exploration for a BTEC first diploma.

Using a blog facilitated a dialogue between the students themselves and also with the class...

Flying Weightless *suitable for home teaching*

This Catalyst article looks at what it means to say that an astronaut is 'weightless'. The article looks at how astronauts are trained in aircraft and how underwater work can also help prepare them for space travel.

This article is from Catalyst: Secondary Science Review 2008, Volume 19, Issue 1.

...

Journey into Inner Space

A Catalyst article about physicists working at Europe’s Large Hadron Collider who hope to have received the first results from what is probably the biggest, most expensive and most ambitious scientific experiment ever carried out. Later, they hope to solve the mystery of the fundamental forces of nature.

The...