One of the Year 10 Science classes has just begun studying the topic "The Universe". Throughout this topic the class will look at concepts related to stars, the cosmos and the theories that outline the origin of the universe. Focus items include, how a star’s brightness can be measured from Earth (apparent magnitude) and also measured to compare stars and account for the varying distance from Earth (absolute magnitude) which is measured in light-years. The different stages and features of a star’s life-cycle and a number of nebulae (star nurseries). Students will look at emission spectra from distant galaxies and using the amount of red shift observed, form a model to predict the approximate age of the universe.

An introductory activity that was completed in class recently was a Developments in Astronomy timeline. Students were provided with 15 different images and 15 different event descriptions, ranging from 5000 years ago to 1991. Events needed to be matched to the corresponding image and a timeline constructed, the extension task featured eight additional brief event descriptions (without a date) which needed to be placed within the existing events of the timeline. Some notable events that featured in the timeline were;

4000 years ago – Stonehenge may have been designed as an astronomical instrument. It lines up roughly with the position of the rising sun on the longest day of the year (summer solstice)

1054 AD Chinese and Arab astronomers recorded the explosion of a supernova. It was so bright that it shone five times more brightly than Venus and could even be seen in the daytime! The remains of that explosion have formed the Crab nebula.

1543 AD – Nikolai Copernicus proved that the Sun is at the centre of the universe.

1925 AD – Edwin Hubble used the 100 inch (2.5m) telescope to show that there are numerous galaxies beyond the Milky Way and that the universe is expanding; leading to the ‘Big Bang’ theory of how the universe was created.

1969 AD – Armstrong & Aldrin walked on the moon. A year later a robotic Soviet space probe returned from the moon. This was one of the first of many probes to be sent to explore the solar system.

1990 AD – The first detailed images of distant galaxies were seen. We can now see 14 billion light years into the universe.

Science Teacher - Emma Kerr