The Astronomy Anywhere Curriculum for Educators of Teens is currently under construction, please check back later!
In the Astronomy Anywhere curriculum, students will learn how to access, gather, and interpret real astronomical data using Sonoma State University’s Gamma-ray Optical Robotic Telescope (GORT). This curriculum comes with 5 Sessions such as our Solar curriculum. Session 1, “A Cosmic Perspective,” begins with thinking about where we are located within the Universe and understanding the size scale between objects and astronomical distances. The students will then request their own images from GORT to see how astronomers gather scientific data. In Session 2, “What are Images?” the students will have a lecture about Pinhole Projectors sandwiched by two activities where the students make their own projectors and compare their eyes to a telescope. Session 3, “Making Pretty Pictures,” focuses on how human eyes perceive color compared to how we view images from telescopes. Light is further explored in Session 4, “Light Detectives,” by having two activities for the students to learn about properties of stars such as brightness, changes over time, and what the color of the star can reveal about its temperature. The final session, “Astronomy from Home,” discusses different types of astronomical objects and an exoplanet finder game. Students will use an online image processor to view exoplanets, cepheid variables, and supernovas. Note that there are resources for Going Further into these lessons listed at the end of each Session document.