High School, Astronomy Science Projects (Page 2)

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

Why do the planets orbit the sun without flying off into space? Do they move in perfect circles or do their orbits take a different shape? And how could you possibly do a science project about any of this—you can't do an experiment with the planets! However, you can build a model of our solar system that demonstrates the concept of gravity, using balls of different sizes to represent the sun and planets. Watch the summary video for an excellent introduction to the model. Think about how… Read more

Using a Digital Camera to Measure Skyglow

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

This is a great project for someone 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. In this astronomy science project, you will calibrate a digital camera to measure the skyglow in different locations. This can be a great tool to comparing the quality of different star viewing locations. Read more

Planet Hunters TESS

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is a space telescope for NASA's Explorers program, designed to search for exoplanets using the transit method in an area 400 times larger than that covered by the Kepler mission. It was launched on April 18, 2018 atop a Falcon 9 rocket. During its two-year primary mission, it was expected to find more than 20,000 transiting exoplanets, compared to about 3,800 exoplanets known when it launched. The first light image from TESS was taken on August… Read more

Space Radiation Protection

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

The radiation sources recommended in this experiment are low-dose radioactive sources and do not require a license to purchase; they are safe to work with as long as these common-sense safety tips are followed: Wear disposable gloves when handling any radioactive source. Never rub your eyes or mouth while you are handling the radioactive source. NEVER swallow any radioactive source and use protective glasses when bringing a source within a few inches of… Read more

Using the Solar & Heliospheric Observatory Satellite (SOHO) to Measure the Motion of a Coronal Mass Ejection

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

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. Read more

Using Kepler Space Telescope Data to Identify an Exoplanet

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

The Kepler space telescope is a retired space telescope launched by NASA to discover Earth-size planets orbiting other stars. Named after astronomer Johannes Kepler, the spacecraft was launched on March 7, 2009, into an Earth-trailing heliocentric orbit. The principal investigator was William J. Borucki. After nine years of operation, the telescope's reaction control system fuel was depleted, and NASA announced its retirement on October 30, 2018. Designed to survey a portion of Earth's region… Read more

Sunspot Cycles

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

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

Similar Triangles: Using Parallax to Measure Distance

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

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. Read more

A Matter of Time

Science Fair Project Idea

Scientific Method

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. Nowadays, 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! Timekeeping is the science of how to keep time with precision and accuracy. People have been finding ways of measuring time for thousands of years, usually based on the movements… Read more

Colorizing Images from the James Webb Space Telescope

Science Fair Project Idea

Engineering Design Process

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has shown us some amazing images of space, like its first "deep field" image (Figure 1). The JWST sees the universe in the infrared part of the electromagnet spectrum, which is not visible to the human eye. How, then, does it produce color images like the one in Figure 1? Scientists must colorize the images, or apply "false color." They map different bands of the infrared spectrum to colors of visible light, resulting in an image humans can view. Luckily,… Read more

High School, Astronomy Science Projects (28 results)

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