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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A series of GCSE Astronomy coursework guides, created by the Royal Observatory of Greenwich. 

Alien worlds and the Doppler effect

Produced by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, this booklet gives instructions on a practical demonstration of the Doppler effect. The practical uses a portable speaker an audio software to calculate the change in frequency. Included is an online video that shows the demonstration and places it in the context of...

Calculating the energy output of the Sun

Produced by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, this booklet covers the age and energy output of the Sun. Included is an online video that discusses how the age of the Sun can be calculated. Questions and answers are included that test a student’s understanding of the physical and mathematical concepts.  It would be...

Calculating the mass of the Sun

Produced by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, this booklet places Newton’s law of gravitation and Kepler’s third law in the context of calculating the mass of the Sun. Included is an online video that discusses how the age of the Sun can be calculated. Equations and physical terms are introduced and discussed....

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