Curriculum Map
Astronomy
Author:
Martin Hackworth, Senior Lecturer, Idaho State University, Pocatello, Idaho
This Curriculum Map provides a list of highly relevant and engaging content from throughout AccessScience for use in enriching your teaching. Site assets such as tables, graphs, diagrams, photos, and animations have been mapped to standard topics taught in an introductory Astronomy course. Use the "Copy Link" functionality to paste a direct link from each asset into your school's learning management system for easy incorporation into your curriculum.
Course Topics
- Historical Astronomy
- Celestial Mechanics
- The Night Sky
- The Earth-Moon System
- The Solar System
- The Sun
- Stars
- Galaxies
- Cosmology
Historical Astronomy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Diagram | This diagram, from the article Archeoastronomy, shows how some features of Stonehenge were probably used to keep track of celestial events. Suggested use: Have students use this diagram to set up a "mini" Stonehenge in the classroom to determine various lunar and solar observing events. |
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Diagram | This illustration, from the article Retrograde motion, shows Ptolomy's early geocentric view of retrograde motion. Suggested use: Show this diagram while reviewing the terms epicycle, equant, and deferent. Have students explain how a planet moving in an epicycle (whose deferent circles Earth) would appear to move in Earth's skies. |
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Diagram | This illustration, also from the article Retrograde motion, shows the Copernican, heliocentric view (as opposed to the geocentric view) of retrograde motion. Suggested use: Point out that the Copernican system of retrograde motion did not explain all details of planetary motion any better than the Ptolemaic model, as the latter had been tweaked over many centuries. |
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Biography | This biography summarizes the contributions of Ptolemy, noted for his compendium of astronomical knowledge circa the 2nd Century, the Almagest. Suggested use: Have students read this biography, and follow the link to the biography of Aristarchos. Then, moderate a discussion with students around the following question: If you lived during Hellenistic times, would you subscribe more to the geocentric model of Ptolemy or the heliocentric model of Aristarchos, and why? Encourage students to back up their answers with reasons based only on information that would have been available to people in ancient times. For example, no one in those times was able to detect stellar parallax, the apparent shifting in the positions of stars and constellations in Earth's skies that should have occurred if Earth were moving around the Sun. |
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Biography | This biography summarizes the contributions of Nicolaus Copernicus, the chief progenitor of the heliocentric view of the solar system in 16th-century Europe. Suggested use: Have students read this biography, and, referring back to the Ptolemy biography (see above), create a chart comparing the Copernican and Ptolemaic models on the universe. Then, pose the question of whether Copernicus really solved any issues, and, if so, which issues. Discuss whether there was enough evidence in Copernicus' time to support a heliocentric model. |
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Biography | This biography details the meticulous observations of Tycho Brahe and the role that he played in influencing Kepler and others. Suggested use: After assigning this biography as reading material, ask students to provide reasons why Tycho was not fully convinced of the Copernican model. Discuss the Tychoian model in which the Sun orbited Earth, but all the other planets orbited the Sun. Have students attempt to make a 3D model of such a compromised system. |
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Biography | This biography summarizes the contributions of Johannes Kepler, a principal figure in the history of astronomy renowned for his laws of planetary motion. Suggested use: Have students read this biography, and then discuss how Kepler's ideas of planetary motion changed the Copernican model. |
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Celestial Mechanics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Diagram | This diagram from the Planet article illustrates the seven orbital elements that define the position of a planet in its orbit and the orientation of the orbit in space. Suggested use: Use the diagram as a starting point to review the orbital elements, which include the ascending node N, the descending node N′, the longitude of the ascending node, which is the angle Ω measured in the plane of the ecliptic from the vernal equinox ∊, the orientation and size of the ellipse in the plane, and the position of the planet on the ellipse at any given time. |
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Table | This table from the Planet article summarizes orbital data from our own solar system. These data include distance from the Sun, period of revolution around the Sun, orbital velocity, orbital eccentricity, and orbital inclination. Suggested use: Based on data in the table, have students list a few characteristics that they think define the differences between Jovian planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune), terrestrial planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars), and dwarf planets. |
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Diagram | This simple diagram, from the article Kepler's laws, illustrates Kepler's first and second laws, showing that when a planet moves along an elliptical orbit at a nonuniform rate, the radius vector drawn to the Sun sweeps out areas that are proportional to time; thus, the planet will take equal times to traverse unequal distances along the ellipse. Suggested use: Use this diagram to review Kepler's first two laws with students, pointing out that the Sun is at one of the two foci of the ellipse when it travels in its orbit, and that the planet moves faster when it is closer to the Sun than when it is farther away. |
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Biography | This biography summarizes the work of Galileo Galilei, who, before Newton, was the principal figure to use the scientific method to explore astronomy, light and the motions of objects. Suggested use: Based on their reading of the article, have students discuss Galileo's role as an early experimental scientist. |
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Biography | This biography summarizes the considerable contributions of Sir Isaac Newton to the fields of astronomy and physics. Suggested use: After reading the biography, have each student write down one reason why Isaac Newton is considered to be one of the most fundamental figures in the history of science. Have each student read his or her reason aloud, and then moderate a discussion of Newton's place in science. |
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The Night Sky | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Diagram | This diagram, from the article Astronomical coordinate systems, summarizes a common way to view the night sky using a horizon-based method for locating celestial objects. Suggested use: Arrange students in small groups. Have each group build a 3D model of the horizon system of astronomical coordinates based on this diagram, and explain the model to their classmates. |
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Diagram | This illustration of the sky, from the Celestial sphere article, shows the celestial coordinate system with meridians and a celestial equator. Suggested use: Display the diagram and have students describe how the coordinate system that we use to keep track of objects in the night sky is analogous to lines of latitude and longitude used in the coordinate system for Earth's surface. |
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Diagram | This diagram from the Precession of equinoxes article summarizes the motion of Earth's axis of rotation, which is responsible for a slow change in the appearance of the night sky over a period of many years. Suggested use: Invite students to create a dynamic and/or interactive model of Earth's precession based on this diagram, such as a video presentation or movable sculpture. |
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Photograph | This image from the Planet article shows a large and complex crater of the Moon. These can often be seen on a clear night when viewed from Earth. Suggested use: Challenge students to look at the full Moon on a clear night and photograph or draw the Moon's surface, including any large craters that they can observe. |
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Photograph | This photograph from the Star article shows a view from the night sky in a Chilean desert, featuring two particularly bright stars: Sirius and Canopus. Suggested use: Ask students to research more about Sirius, the brightest star other than the Sun as seen from Earth, and present their findings to the class. They can use AccessScience as a resource for their research. |
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The Earth-Moon System | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Diagram | This schematic drawing from the article on tides shows tide-generating forces at different points in the Earth. Suggested use: Have students draw a diagram of the effects of lunar and solar tides on Earth's oceans. |
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Diagram | This illustration, from the article Earth rotation and orbital motion, shows how the Moon produces tidal bulges in Earth's oceans. This, in turn, slows Earth's rotation, and causes the Moon to move farther away. Suggested use: Have students provide examples of effects of the Moon being closer to Earth in the past than it is today (ocean tides moved over greater distances on land, days were shorter, and so on). |
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Map | This map of the far side of the Moon, from the article Moon, shows its two major types of surface: maria and highlands. Suggested use: Have students count the craters on the far side versus the near side of the Moon using the map. Students should find that the far side is more heavily cratered. Use this finding as a starting point to discuss the differing topography of the far and near sides of the Moon. |
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Diagram | This illustration shows the heat balance in Earth's atmosphere, which is influenced by the solar flux, heat trapping in the atmosphere (greenhouse effect), and reflectivity of the Earths surface (albedo), among other phenomena. Suggested use: Show this diagram to students as you define the solar constant and global albedo. Then have students discuss what is meant by the heat balance of the Earth–atmosphere system. |
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Diagram | This illustration, from the Magnetosphere article, shows a cross-section of the major phenomena produced by Earth's magnetosphere as a result of the charged particles of the solar wind, and other charged particles, being deflected or redirected by Earth's magnetic field. Suggested use: Have students copy the illustration of the geomagnetosphere. As they do this, point out and discuss the various plasmas and belts that the magnetosphere causes. |
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Animation | This animation shows how the phases of the Moon depend on the relative positions of Earth, Moon, and Sun. Suggested use: After the students view the animation, ask them to produce their own simulation of lunar phases using a powerful spotlight to represent the Sun, and globes of the Earth and Moon in a dark room. |
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Animation | This animation explains how seasons depend on Earth's annual orbit around the Sun. Suggested use: After showing the animation, ask students to explain the reason for seasons. |
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Animation | This animation explains some of the factors that produce Earth's magnetic field, particularly the dynamo effect created by flowing liquid metal. Suggested use: Going through the animation and pausing it at various points, call on students to explain how processes inside the Earth produce its magnetic field. |
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Graph | This graph, from the article Earth rotation and orbital motion, denotes millisecond-per-year variations in day length, resulting from variations of the speed of Earth's rotation over the past few centuries. Suggested use: Based on the data shown in the graph, have students describe the trend in day length over the past 3000 years. Then, discuss the various phenomena that alter Earth's rotational motion. |
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The Solar System | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Diagram | This illustration from the article Planet depicts a plan of the solar system's major and dwarf planets in the outer solar system. Suggested use: Based on the two diagrams, have students draw a large diagram that includes the orbits of the eight major planets, plus the four dwarf planets of the outer solar system. Instruct student to add another dwarf planet, Ceres, which orbits between Mars and Jupiter. |
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Animation | This animation shows the formation of our solar system through a process in which a cloud of gas spins and condenses, eventually flattening and forming a central disk that becomes the Sun. Dust and gas in orbit around the new Sun form planetismals, eventually leading to planets and other celestial bodies. Suggested use: After showing the animation to students, have students write down each milestone in the formation of the solar system. Point out that the process depicted in the animation is known as the nebular hypothesis, and that this hypothesis explains the gross orbital properties of the solar system. Refer interested students to the "Origin of the solar system" section in the Solar system article in AccessScience for further reading. |
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Biography | Pierre Laplace, a progenitor (with Immanuel Kant) of the nebular hypothesis of the origin of the solar system, contributed greatly to the field of celestial mechanics, as this biography explains. Suggested use: Have students come to class having read this biography. After discussing Laplace's work with the class, ask students to give examples of other scientists who have provided a mathematical framework for science, particularly space science. |
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Biography | The biography discusses the contributions of Immanuel Kant, with emphasis on how he brought Copernican cosmology into philosophy. Also mentioned is how Kant's theoretical work in astronomy supported Laplace's nebular hypothesis. Suggested use: Set up a demonstration featuring a sperical clump of a semisolid substance, such as gel or clay, in a spinning bowl. Have students observe what happens to the shape of the spinning substance (it flattens and spreads out as it spins). Discuss with students how this behavior relates to Kant's idea about how spinning nebulae of proto-planetary materials flatten out in Kant–Laplacian theory. |
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Image | Kepler was NASA's first mission dedicated to the search for planets beyond our solar system. This depiction of the Kepler spacecraft shows its main components, particularly the solar panel and telescope. Suggested use: Use the picture to review the operations of the Kepler spacecraft. Point out that the Kepler mission found thousands of extrasolar planets, including many in Earth's size range. |
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The Sun | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Table | This table summarizes and quantifies the various physical properties of the Sun. Suggested use: Review the table with students and explain what each characteristic is. |
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Graph | This graph from the Sun article shows sunspot observations over the course of more than three centuries. Suggested use: Based on the figure, ask students to predict whether a plotting of sunspot numbers would increase or decrease at a measurement taken subsequent to the 2018 measurement—the final measurement on the graph. |
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Photograph | This photograph from the Sun article shows a symmetric sunspot with umbra and penumbra. Suggested use: Have students draw their own diagram of a sunspot and label the key features as described for this photograph. |
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Photograph | This photograph, also from the Sun article, shows a coronal mass ejection (CME). This is an incredibly energetic event, consisting of an expulsion of a large amount of matter from the solar corona. Suggested use: Display the picture in class, reviewing each component of the CME, to help students understand the massive scale of this phenomenon. |
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Animation | This animation illustrates how eclipses occur when the Sun's rays are blocked, emphasizing the differences between solar and lunar eclipses. Suggested use: Based on their viewing of the animation, have students draw their own diagrams illustrating the mechanisms for lunar and solar eclipses. |
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Stars | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Table | This table lists the names and characteristics of the 22 brightest (first-magnitude) stars in the night sky. Suggested use: Have students work in small groups to come up with mneumonics for memorizing the names of the 22 brightest stars. |
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Table | This table summarizes the characteristics of the 10 stars and three brown dwarfs nearest to Earth. All of these bodies are located within nine light-years of Earth. Suggested use: While displaying this table, lead a discussion about which of these nearest stars are most similar to the Sun, and why. |
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Table | The table lists and defines the standard spectral classes astronomers use to classify stars. Suggested use: Using information only from the table, ask students to guess which class of star might be most comparable to the Sun in terms of creating conditions favorable to life on an Earth-like planet orbiting the star at a distance comparable to Earth's distance from the Sun. Have students provide their reasoning, and discuss the merits and drawbacks of each student's idea. |
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Diagram | This figure shows a classic Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) diagram, with absolute visual magnitude plotted against spectral class. Suggested use: Use the diagram to review the topic of stellar luminosity. |
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Diagram | This H-R diagram, from the article Stellar evolution, charts the evolution of intermediate-mass stars. Suggested use: Display the diagram and have students trace the evolution of an intermediate-mass star from its main sequence on the HR diagram to hydrogen fusion and the change to a class K, all the way up to helium fusion and the creation of carbon via the triple alpha process and so on. |
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Diagram | This H-R diagram, also from the article Stellar evolution, charts the evolution of high-mass stars. Suggested use: Have students compare and contrast this with the HR diagram of intermediate-mass stars (see above row). |
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Galaxies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Image | This figure shows superposed optical and x-ray images of a typical galaxy cluster observed with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Suggested use: Engage students in this unit by showing the image while emphasizing that billions of such clusters, and many individual galaxies, contains billions of stars. |
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Photograph | This photograph is a view toward the center of the Milky Way Galaxy along the galactic plain as seen from the Atacama desert in Chile, such that a very high concentration of stars is visible in the background. Suggested use: Use the picture as a starting point to explain that the term "Milky Way" refers to the concentration of stars that we see while looking toward the galactic plain. |
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Diagram | This artist's conception shows the Milky Way Galaxy seen from "above," which is to say that the line of site is perpendicular to the galactic plane of the spiral disc-shaped galaxy. Suggested use: While showing the figure, point out to students that the Sun is closer to the edge of our galaxy than to the middle. The Sun is about two-thirds of the way outward from the center, at the edge of the Orion arm, which is thought to be a minor arm of a major arm of a galaxy called the Sagittarius arm. |
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Biography | This biography of Edwin Hubble details his important contribution to our understanding of galaxies. In particular, Hubble discovered redshifting of light from galaxies in all directions from Earth, indicating that the universe is expanding. Suggested use: Have students read the biography and make a list of all of Hubble's contributions to our understanding of galaxies. |
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