Astronomy Project Ideas

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Difficulty: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Easy (for beginners) Hard

Saturn is a unique planet because of the many beautiful rings surrounding it. How are all of those rings made? Why is each ring unique? Have you ever heard that the moon is made of cheese? Even though the many craters on the surface of the moon resemble holes in Swiss cheese, we know that this common myth is not true. Find out how craters form by doing this simple experiment. One of my favorite things to do when I was a kid was to go outside and look at the stars. As an adult, I moved to a major city and the stars seemed to vanish from the sky. Where did they go? Did you know that ancient astronomers could measure the distance to other stars? They could also distinguish between stars and planets. How could they do that without modern technology of telescopes? See if you can discover the link between distance and perspective used to measure stars. Everyone loves looking at the full moon, but are these nights the best time to go stargazing? Can the moon interfere with certain astonomical observations? Do you wake up at the crack of dawn, or do you need an alarm clock to wake you up each morning? It may surprise you that the two are not always in synch. Nowdays, we use Standard Time to set our watches instead of Solar Time. Which method of timekeeping is the most accurate? Get ready to synchronize your watches! Do you ever wonder how pirates sailed the seven seas? The two most important things a pirate could have (besides a parrot and big hat) were a compass and an accurate watch. Ancient navigators didn't know about compasses, so how did they know where they were going? Could they have used the stars to know which way to go? How do astronomers collect stardust? They design and build satellites that are launched into space to collect particles on specially designed panels. Satellites can be sent to orbit around an object of interest: a planet, moon, or comet. In this experiment, you can build your own mini satellite and use it to collect some pretend stellar debris. If you simulate an asteroid impact, how much stellar dust will your satellite collect? Will placing your satellite at different "orbital" distances from the impact change the amount of debris collected? Sometimes a full moon can be so bright, you can walk around in the dark without a flashlight. How much brighter is a full moon than the other phases of the moon? How is the brightness of the moon measured? Do you like to look up into the night sky? There are so many stars, it can be mind boggling! Some ancient people marked time by the changes in star patterns. We still use changes in constellation patterns to mark astronomical time. Do constellations change more in one hour, one day, one month, or one year? Do you like looking out at the full moon? When it comes to the ocean, the moon is a powerful force that coordinates the tides. Are the phases of the moon important for coordinating the tides? Which phase of the moon is most powerful?

Globular clusters, compact groups of about a million stars that move around together in galaxies, are among the oldest objects found in the universe. Since they are found most galaxies and since they've been around for so long, globular clusters have a lot to tell us about what the universe looks like now and how it got that way. Is our Milky Way Galaxy just like all the other galaxies out there? What are galaxies made of? What can we learn about the universe from looking at galaxies? This project uses statistical analysis of real data to investigate these questions and explore the properties of globular clusters.

Sunspot activity has been monitored continuously since about 1700. The historical data shows that sunspot activity rises and falls in a roughly 11-year cycle. This project shows you how you can use both graphical and statistical analysis to look for patterns in cyclical data. Scientists have known for hundreds of years that sunspot activity waxes and wanes over a cycle that lasts approximately 11 years. In the 1970's, scientists discovered that the sun periodically blasts electrified gases into space, in huge outbursts called 'coronal mass ejections,' or CMEs. This project asks the question: do CMEs follow the solar sunspot cycle? This is a great project for someone that is interested in both stargazing and photography. Bright city lights and even the light of the full moon obscure the dimmest stars, which can make identifying constellations more difficult. This project shows you a way to measure the amount of background light (skyglow) in the night sky. It can be a great way for you to quickly compare the star viewing quality for different locations, or for the same location at different times of the year. How big a ruler would you need to measure the circumference of the Earth? Did you know that you can do it with a yardstick? (And you won't have to travel all the way around the world!) Want to stretch your imagination? One good way is to try to imagine how far it is to a distant star. How much farther away is it than the moon is from the earth? How much farther away than the earth is from the sun? How long would it take to get there? In this project, you'll learn one way of measuring the distance without leaving Earth. Here's a cool project that shows you how to use images from an orbiting observatory to measure how fast the Sun rotates.

The sun sometimes releases huge bursts of electrified gases into space. These bursts are called coronal mass ejections (or CMEs). When CMEs are directed towards Earth they can generate auroras, the spectacular atmospheric displays also known as "northern lights" (photo by Chris VenHaus, 2001). In this project you'll use images from the SOHO satellite to measure how fast CMEs move.

Additional Project Ideas

Note: The following project ideas are abbreviated, without notes to start your background research or a procedure for how to do the experiment. You can identify abbreviated project ideas by the asterisk at the end of the title. If you want a project idea with full instructions, please pick one without an asterisk.

You can measure the diameter of the Sun (and Moon) with a pinhole and a ruler! All you need to know is some simple geometry and the average distance between the Earth and Sun (or Moon). An easy way to make a pinhole is to cut a square hole (2–3 cm across) in the center of a piece of cardboard. Carefully tape a piece of aluminum foil flat over... Make a pinhole projector (see Measuring the Diameter of the Sun and the Moon). Use the pinhole to project an image of the Sun onto a wall or a piece of paper. Do you notice any dark spots on the projected image? Trace the projected image and... Here's an astronomy project idea from Dr. James Pierce, a professor in the Astronomy Program at Minnesota State University, Mankato: "Determine the length of twilight at different times of the year by observing the time at which certain bright stars first appear and comparing with the sunset time. Beware of variations due to stars appearing at... Use your Internet sleuthing skills to learn about solar system objects. Create a table of measurements of moons and asteroids in order to determine if there is a size threshold for roundness. A good source of information would be an online guide such as The Nine Planets (Arnett, W.A., 2006). You'll find... Get good photographs of the Moon showing lots of craters and count how many craters you find in a range of diameter classes. One useful source is the Consolidated Lunar Atlas (Kuiper et al, 2006). Make a histogram that shows the distribution of diameters. Most of these craters were formed... Some claim the Moon appears larger when near the horizon. Make a series of observations of the Moon, measuring the Moon's angular diameter each time. You should also note the Moon's altitude above the horizon, and the Moon's phase. You should do background research on the lunar orbit to determine the necessary time period. Do you find predictable... Let's suppose you can take advantage of the Internet and get a 'pen pal' located a 1000 miles away in another city. On the same night, and at EXACTLY the same time 'Universal Time', make a CAREFUL observation of where the Moon is located with respect to the background stars. You should be able to discern a slight (about 1/2 the Moon's diameter)... For an advanced science fair project, you can build your own telescope and learn how to use it to make observations of the night sky. Can you make your own observations to determine the orbital period of Jupiter's major moons? Complete instructions for building a Dobsonian telescope are available here: ...

Resources

A great book for learning the constellations is (and yes, this is the same H. A. Rey who wrote Curious George):
Rey, H. A., 1966. The Stars: A New Way to See Them, Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Sources for Additional Project Ideas

Arnett, W.A., 2006. "The Nine Planets: A Multimedia Tour of the Solar System," [accessed July 31, 2006] http://www.nineplanets.org/.
Dobson, J., 2001. "Plans for Building a Sidewalk Telescope," [accessed July 31, 2006] http://www.cdcc.sc.usp.br/cda/telescopios/tie-jpl-nasa/index.html#TOC.
Kuiper, et al. Consolidated Lunar Atlas. available online from the Lunar and Planetary Institute [accessed July 31, 2006] http://www.lpi.usra.edu/resources/cla/.
Odenwald, S., 1997. "Do you have any science fair suggestions for Middle School students?" Ask the Astronomer, Astronomy Cafe website [accessed July 31, 2006] http://www.astronomycafe.net/qadir/q2077.html.
Pierce, J., 2004. "Ideas for Astronomy Science Fair Projects," Astronomy Program, Minnesota State University, Mankato [accessed July 31, 2006] http://www.mnsu.edu/astro/JP/JPScifair.html.
UC Regents, 2001. "Finding the Size of the Sun and Moon," The Center for Science Education @ Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley [accessed July 31, 2006] http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/AtHomeAstronomy/activity_03.html.
Wood, C., 2006. "Different Populations of Lunar Craters," Lunar Photo of the Day, February 21, 2006. [accessed July 31, 2006] http://www.lpod.org/?m=20060221.