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1929 Lessons

Download all lessons with their associated handouts (doc, pdf).
(Note that the pdf handouts for the "Discovering the Milky Way" and "Unsung Heroes" lessons are included in the .doc file.)

• Discovering the Milky Way – Students will look at historic astronomical data to find a pattern originally seen by Henrietta Leavitt.
  • Lesson Plan (doc, pdf)
  • Reading: Henrietta Levitt's original paper (pdf)
• Just How Far is that Star? – Students will work with light meters to determine how astronomers find distances to objects of known brightness.
  • Lesson Plan (doc, pdf)
• Cosmic CSI: Stellar Fingerprints and Doppler Red Shifts – Students will explore what spectra from different elements looks like and how astronomers can learn composition of objects with this tool.
• Lesson Plan (doc, pdf)
• Handout with sample spectra to view and identify (pdf)
• Determining the Universe– Students will measure the size of several galaxies to reproduce a plot of Hubble's Law.
  • Lesson Plan (doc, pdf)
  • Supporting Materials:
    • Appendix A: The Rule of 57 (doc, pdf)
    • Appendix B: Galaxy Images (doc, pdf)
    • Appendix C: Galaxy Fact Cards (doc, pdf)
    • Appendix D: Questions for Students (doc, pdf)
• Unsung Heroes of Science– Students will explore figures in science who are often overlooked.
  • Lesson Plan (doc, pdf)