Galaxies and the universe
Describe the scale of the universe, including the structure of galaxies, the position of the Sun in the Milky Way, and the use of light years as a unit of distance, and appreciate why space exploration requires enormous timescales
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“If your child heard that a star is 400 light years away, could they explain what a light year means, roughly how far that is, and why we will never be able to visit it with current spacecraft?”
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- Activity. Describe the scale of the universe, including the structure of galaxies, the position of the Sun in the Milky Way, and the use of light years as a unit of distance, and appreciate why space exploration requires enormous timescales
What to notice. Defines a light year as the distance light travels in one year • Describes the structure of a galaxy and states that the Sun is a star in the Milky Way galaxy • Compares the distances within the solar system with the distances between stars and between galaxies, expressing them in appropriate units
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If your child heard that a star is 400 light years away, could they explain what a light year means, roughly how far that is, and why we will never be able to visit it with current spacecraft?
Describe the scale of the universe, including the structure of galaxies, the position of the Sun in the Milky Way, and the use of light years as a unit of distance, and appreciate why space exploration requires enormous timescales
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- Defines a light year as the distance light travels in one year
- Describes the structure of a galaxy and states that the Sun is a star in the Milky Way galaxy
- Compares the distances within the solar system with the distances between stars and between galaxies, expressing them in appropriate units
“If your child heard that a star is 400 light years away, could they explain what a light year means, roughly how far that is, and why we will never be able to visit it with current spacecraft?”
Curriculum record
- Type
- Conceptual
- Subject
- Science
- Domain
- Space Systems & Earth's History
- Age range
- Ages 12–13
Standards