This activity, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, allows students to visualise the orbits of planets as ellipses, rather than circles, and allows for the further study of the geometry of these orbits through basic algebra, using terms derived from the drawing...

This simple activity from NASA allows classrooms to study rocket stability as students construct and fly small "indoor" paper rockets. The rockets can be used for a range of activities into forces and movement in which students collect data and interpret the results.

From NASA, this resource looks at how bodies in the solar system are classified. In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) defined the terms "planet" and "dwarf planet". The IAU's decision created an opportunity for students to understand the solar system better by considering the definitions of planet,...

Astronauts have been taking photographs of the Earth from space for over 50 years and Earth Observation scientists have used satellite images for a similar amount of time.

The EO Detective activities aim to demonstrate how a vantage point in space, such as the International Space Station, provides a unique...

These resources use real satellite data from different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum to provide an introduction to scientific image processing techniques. They link to elements of GCSE science specifications as well as supporting aspects of the curriculum for...

The Gaia spacecraft is a European Space Agency mission to map one billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy.

This resource includes a teacher’s guide, with suggested teaching sequence for the resource, and background information for both the teacher and student on the Gaia mission.  It also includes an...

The Gaia spacecraft is a European Space Agency mission to map one billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy.

‘Using the LCO and ESA Gaia data archives to find Type Ia supernovae targets – Student Guide’ – this guides the students through the process of data-mining the Las Cumbres Observatory (LCO) and Gaia...

The Gaia spacecraft is a European Space Agency mission to map one billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy.

‘Introductory Activity – Hubble expansion’ – Students use spreadsheets and sample data from historical supernovae to produce lightcurves and calculate the distances to the supernovae, leading to a...

This collection contains case studies and evaluation studies from work funded by or associated with ESERO-UK. ESERO-UK is the European Space Education Resource Office, otherwise known as the UK Space Education Office.

Funded by the European Space Agency and the Department of Education, the ESERO-UK is part...

This Science upd8 resource is set in the context of astronomy. Astronomers have found the most Earth-like planet outside our Solar System. Through analysing data students justify whether or not they believe the 'new' planet to be Earth-like. 

This series of activities from NASA take a mathematical approach to looking at the Earth and its atmosphere. They are intended as supplementary problems for students looking for additional challenges in mathematics and physical science from age 11 to 19 years.

The problems were created to be authentic...

Basketball Earth
This resource uses a basketball as the Earth to set up a scale model to the distance to the Moon, satellites and distances such as the thickness of the...

Produced by the Hamilton Trust, these resources give details of seven lessons on space. This includes lesson plans, practical activities and all student materials. Students find facts about the Sun, Moon and Earth. They develop an understanding of day and night, the four seasons and the Moon’s phases. The Sun and...

This resource from Physicists in Primary Schools (PIPS) supports the teaching of Earth and Space at Key Stage Two. A presentation introduces Earth and the planets of our solar system, with an activity in which children help demonstrate the relative sizes of planets and the distances between them. It moves on to...