How Soon After Sunset Does the Sky Become Dark?
*
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...
Read more...
Finding the Center of the Milky Way Galaxy Using Globular Star Clusters
The Milky Way is the edgewise view of our home galaxy, a disk made up of billions of stars. The Sun resides on one of the spiral arms of the disk, 30,000 light-years from the thick hub of the galaxy. The actual center, with a black hole 3-4 million times the Sun's mass, is hidden by dust clouds in space. In this astronomy science fair project, you will use astronomical data to locate the center of this galaxy.
Read more...
How Much Mass Is Needed to Make a Body Round?
*
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...
Read more...
The Milky Way and Beyond: Globular Clusters
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 in 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.
Read more...
Lunar Crater Counting
*
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
Read more...
Why Does the Moon Appear Larger at Some Times?
*
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...
Read more...
Sunspot Cycles
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.
Read more...
Correlation of Coronal Mass Ejections with the Solar Sunspot Cycle
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?
Read more...
Using a Digital Camera to Measure Skyglow
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.
Read more...
Calculating the Circumference of the Earth
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!)
Read more...
|
Index of Astronomy Project Ideas |
|
|
