While a cosmic distance ladder sounds like fun, it is actually the name given to the variety of methods astronomers use to determine the distance to objects in space. This video examines the method of determining the distance of a star by using the orbit of the Earth. 

Concepts

stars, focal points, light years, the universe, galaxies

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Additional Tags

science

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Instructional Ideas

• Challenge class members to find the distance to the farthest object in space that we are able to measure

Classroom Considerations

• Preview the comment section before showing the video
• Assumes prior knowledge of how the eyes work and focal points

• This video is hosted on YouTube

Pros

• Includes closed captioning in English and Spanish
• Offers a glimpse at the presenter not knowing and then discovering new material, thus reinforcing the idea that we all have things to learn

Cons

• None