Astronomy Science Experiments (55 results)

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 information about planetary satellites, including dimensions and accompanying pictures. From the pictures, classify the satellites and asteroids according to how round they are. Can you think of… Read more

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 during the first billion years of the Moon's formation, but you should confirm that this is true for the the Moon areas you've selected in your photographs by doing background research. Is cratering uniform… Read more

How long of a tape measure would you need to measure the circumference of the Earth? Would you need to walk the whole way around the Earth to measure it? Do you think you can do it with just a meter stick in one location? Try this project to find out!   Important: this project will only work within about 2 weeks of the spring or fall equinox (usually about March 20th and September 23rd). Read more

Throughout history, people have always been captivated by celestial objects like stars, planets, and the Moon. Now, man-made satellites have entered the picture. Did you know you can see many satellites with the naked eye? Try this activity and find out for yourself! You will even learn how to classify them! Read more

Do you enjoy going stargazing on a warm night? Summer can be a great time to watch the stars as well as other celestial events, like the Perseids, which is an impressive meteor shower that happens each year from mid-July to late August. Did you know that ancient astronomers could actually measure the distance from Earth to faraway stars? How could they do this without modern technologies? In this activity you will find out by exploring the relationship between the distance of an object and the… Read more