Counting Stars (Secondary)

Credit:

NSO

Counting Stars

This activity involves students calculating how many stars are visible in the night sky. Students count the number of stars in a small patch of the night sky then multiply their number by how many such patches would make the entire sky.

Resources

Each pupil will need:

One piece of A4 paper
Sticky tape
A printed copy of the Counting Stars Recording Sheet (see below)
A printed copy of the Counting Stars Activity Sheet (see below)
One pencil

Age Suitability:

11 to 14

14 to 16

Step 1: Roll the A4 paper lengthways into a tube, trying to keep the overlap as small as possible.

Step 2: Secure your paper tube with the sticky tape.

Step 3: Take your tube outside and allow your eyes to adjust to the dark. This involves not looking at any light sources, and simply standing in the darkness for a few minutes. This allows the eyes to become more light sensitive and will mean you are able to see more stars.

Step 4: Looking through your tube select a piece of the night sky that is free of any clouds and count how many stars you can see through the tube, being very careful not to move the tube.

Step 5: Record your count on the recording sheet.

Step 6: Repeat steps 3 and 4 for a further four different parts of the night sky, each time being careful to select a part of the sky free of clouds and to keep the tube as still as you can.

Step 7: Add up the five results you have and record your total on the recording sheet.

Step 8: Go to www.schoolsobservatory.org/discover/stem-clubs/counting-stars-results and enter your school’s postcode and your result to find out how many stars were visible across the entire night sky.