Astronomy resources - Key Stage 4 and GCSE

An activity to motivate or reinforce learning about the electromagnetic spectrum in which students compare and contrast views of the Sun and the Milky Way Galaxy in different wavelengths of light.

In this classroom activity, students will use bearings to plot constellations. They are then asked to think about what they represent.

This video explains how we can measure the distance to near and far objects in the universe using parallax, 'standard candles' and the Doppler effect.

In this video, Royal Observatory Greenwich astronomer Radmila demonstrates how the Doppler effect can be applied to finding planets orbiting distant stars in our galaxy called exoplanets. She carries out a short demo from which data can be collected and analysed and explains how these techniques can be applied to light and the hunt for exoplanets.

ROG astronomer Brendan explains how we determine the age of our Solar System from space rocks and how we can work out how long the Sun has left before it engulfs the inner planets.

Royal Observatory astronomer Liz shows us the expanding nature of the Universe and how this affects the light reaching us from distant galaxies, some of which will remain forever hidden from our view.

Royal Observatory astronomer Rad explains where black holes come from, how we know they’re there and the strange effects they have on surrounding matter.