Ever found it difficult to observe the night sky with pupils because school takes place during the day? Host a stellar lesson using a detailed night sky interactive! Scholars view the apparent rotation of the sky from the comfort of the classroom. The interactive features many customizable options and layers of difficulty for nearly endless observations.

Concepts

the earth, the earth's axis, stars, the earth's rotation, making observations, the night sky, latitude and longitude, the earth's tilt, the equator

Show More Show Less

Additional Tags

science

Show More Show Less

Instructional Ideas

• Provide coordinates for specific locations for viewing, or have the class research them and compare stellar observations for each location
• After using the interactive, ask learners to summarize their observations to describe the motion of the stars relative to a viewer on Earth
  

Classroom Considerations

• The interactive requires an Internet connection and prior knowledge of basic astronomical vocabulary
  

Pros

• Clear instructions make the interactive easy to manipulate
• The variety of observations available in the activity make it a great choice for both middle and high school students
  

Cons

• None