Measurement

Hunt the Asteroids

How do we find asteroids?



An image of a pair of binoculars on the Earth looking out to space showing small asteroids scattered through it.


Distances in Space

Distances to objects in space are very, very large. The nearest star (excluding the Sun), Alpha Centauri, is 41.23 trillion km, or 41,320,000,000,000 km!!



a starry background with a tape measure and the word year


Investigate: Measure the Size of a Galaxy

Have you ever wondered how big a galaxy is? They contain millions to billions of stars but what does that really mean for size?

Reading about sizes in a book is one thing, but what if you could make an observation of a galaxy and then measure its size?



Picture of a galaxy with a ruler next to it and question marks


Measure Mountains on the Moon

Short Intro Text: 

Did you know there are mountains on the Moon? How tall do you think they are? Are they higher than mountains on Earth?

Complete this activity to find out! You will use high resolution images of the Moon and a bit of maths to investigate the answer.





Make a Sundial



A paper sundial lying on the grass


Make a Play-doh Solar System

You may know that Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System, but do you know how much larger than the Earth it is?

Find out by creating a scale model of each planet in our Solar System!

 



The 8 planets of the Solar System made out of Play-Doh


Make Your Own Impact Crater

Impact craters are made when a space rock (called a meteorite or asteroid) hits a rocky planet or moon. The impact makes a round hole in the surface, called a crater.



Photo of the Barringer Meteor Crater in Arizona


Maths with the Moon

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The Apollo mission badge. It shows a large capital A between drawings of the Moon and the Earth. The constellation of Orion is in front of the A
The Apollo missions badge
Credit: NASA




Explore The Moon's Surface

You have probably seen the Moon in the sky but have you ever studied it in detail?



The surface of the Moon with cartoon rulers and tally-counts


Create An Expanding Universe

You have likely heard about the Universe expanding. Or that redshift can tell us about the movements of galaxies. Both are difficult ideas to imagine and understand.



Cartoon of a person blowing up a balloon. The balloon is covered with galaxies.


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