Stargazing Live Activity Cards

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    1 Open the cereal box at thetop and stick the white card

    to the inside at the bottom.This will be the viewing area.

    2 Remove the two small tabsat the top of the box and cut4cm from each end of thetwo larger flaps.

    3 Fold the remaining flapstogether and stick with tape,leaving two rectangularholes A and B.

    4 Place the foil over hole Aand secure with tape.

    5 Carefully pierce the middleof the foil with a pin be sureto make only a small hole!

    6 Stand with your back to theSun, allowing the light to

    enter though the pin hole.7 Look in through hole B and

    see an image of the Sun onthe bottom of the box!

    SOLAR VIEWERYou should NEVER lookdirectly at the Sun, butusing this viewer youllbe able to see our closeststar safely.Youll need:

    Cereal box, white card orpaper (same size as baseof box), foil, tape and pin.

    FACTS ABOUT THE SUN

    Gravity: 28 (Earth = 1)

    Planets: 8 in orbit

    Mass: 333,000 (Earth = 1)Size: 110 times widerthan Earth

    B. Lookin here

    A. Foil

    CARD 1/9

    See the BigPicture, visitbbc.co.uk/stargazing

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    Youll need:A shallow dishat least 30cm square, flour,

    cocoa powder, pebbles ofvarious sizes. Warning:Thiscan get messy!

    1 Fill the dish with 3-4cmof flour.

    2 Sprinkle a little of thecocoa on the surface.(This will make the impactsmore visible.)

    3 Pick out one of the smallestpebbles and drop it (notthrow) from eye level into

    the flour to make a crater.

    4 Next drop a medium-sizedpebble from the sameheight. What is differentabout the crater formed?

    5 Now drop the largest pebblefrom the same height.

    6 Compare the craters madeby each pebble.

    METEOROID, METEOROR METEORITE?Meteoroids are piecesof dust or rock oatingthrough space. If theyenter the Earthsatmosphere and startto burn up, they becomea meteor (or shootingstar). If they hit the groundwithout burning up,craters are formed and

    they become meteorites.Heres how to make yourown crater!

    FACTS ABOUT MERCURY

    Gravity: 0.38 (Earth = 1)

    Moons: 0

    Mass: 0.055 (Earth = 1)Distance from Sun: 0.4 AU(Astronomical Unit)

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    See the BigPicture, visitbbc.co.uk/stargazing

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    LOO ROLL SOLARSYSTEMMake a scale model ofthe Solar System usingone sheet of loo roll as10,000,000 miles!

    1 The first sheet is the Sun.

    2 Unroll 3.6 sheets, here isMercury! Use a picture ofthe planet or suggestedobject to mark the place.

    3 Roll out 3.1 more sheets(6.7 in total) this is Venus.Mark the spot!

    4 Keep going until you get allthe way to Neptune.

    FACTS ABOUT VENUS

    Gravity: 0.9 (Earth = 1)

    Moons: 0Mass: 0.815 (Earth = 1)

    Distance from Sun: 0.7 AU

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    See the BigPicture, visitbbc.co.uk/stargazing

    Planet /Sheets from Sun/Sheets from previous object/

    Object

    Mercury /3.6 /3.6 /Peppercorn

    Venus /6.7 /3.1 /Cherry tomato

    Earth/9.3 /2.6 /Cherry tomato

    Mars /14.1 /4.8 /Blueberry

    Jupiter /48.4 /34.3 /Watermelon

    Saturn /88.7 /40.3 /Large grapefruit

    Uranus /178.7 /90 /Apple

    Neptune /279.7 /101 /Lime

    V

    V

    V

    V

    V

    VV

    V

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    1 Can you see the eight mainstars in Orion (Fig 1)?

    If you can see Orion, trycounting the stars youcan see around the eightmain stars.

    2 Can you see our galaxy theMilky Way (Fig 2)?

    This means your skies arevery dark!

    3 Try this again when visitinganother location andcompare the results.

    4 Visit bbc.co.uk/stargazingand follow the link toDark Sky Discovery to findyour nearest dark sky site.You can even nominateyour area!

    HOW DARK IS YOUR SKY?Light pollution can be aproblem because it makesit difficult to see the stars.You can work out how darkyour sky is by looking fortwo features in the nightsky. Use the charts inthe Star Guide on theStargazing website to helpfind them. Youll need aclear night to try this.

    FACTS ABOUT EARTH

    Gravity: 1

    Moons: 1Mass: 1

    Distance from Sun: 1 AU

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    See the BigPicture, visitbbc.co.uk/stargazing

    1 2

    FIG 1: ORION FIG 2: MILKY WAY

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    4 Pace out the distance tothe next star in Orion and

    place another bag here,with another lit tealight.

    5 When you have completedall eight stars, stand backand admire Orion!

    6 Try using the StargazingLIVEStar Guide from thewebsite to create moreconstellations.

    WALK AMONGTHE STARSUsing tealights, brownpaper bags and somesand or soil, you canrecreate a constellationon the ground.

    ! Adult supervision isrecommended.

    1 Go outside and choose adark spot a slight slope is

    good too.2 Fill your bags with enough

    sand to weigh them down.

    3 Place a tealight in onebag on top of the sandand light it.

    FACTS ABOUT MARS

    Gravity: 0.38 (Earth = 1)

    Moons: 2 Deimos and

    PhobosMass: 0.107 (Earth = 1)

    Distance from Sun: 1.5 AU

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    See the BigPicture, visitbbc.co.uk/stargazing

    3 steps

    3 steps

    2.5 steps

    2 steps2 steps

    3.5 steps

    3 steps

    ORION

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    4 Adjust the aperture: Ifyou can, set the cameras

    f-number to the smallestpossible (this lets inmore light).

    5 Set the zoom: Make sureyou are zoomed out to thefullest extent.

    6 Adjust the sensitivity:Higher ISO number = moresensitivity and easier tocapture faint objects. (If theISO is set too high you mayget digital noise, which can

    ruin your picture.)For more advice, download ourguide to photographing thenight sky from bbc.co.uk/stargazing

    PHOTOGRAPH THENIGHT SKYMost digital cameras arecapable of capturing basicshots of the stars.

    1 Use a tripod or rest yourcamera on something solidto stop camera shake.

    2 Set the focus: Turn offautofocus as it wont workwell in the dark, and set the

    focus to infinity. (

    )3 Refine the focus: Point

    your camera at a bright starand adjust the focus until itlooks sharp.

    FACTS ABOUT JUPITER

    Gravity: 2.64 (Earth = 1)

    Moons: 64 known thelargest are Ganymede,

    Callisto, Io and EuropaMass: 318 (Earth = 1)

    Distance from Sun: 5.2 AU

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    See the BigPicture, visitbbc.co.uk/stargazing

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    1 Remove the lid from theempty tube and pour in two

    teaspoons (10ml) of water.

    2 Drop half a tablet into thecanister and close thelid sharpish!

    3 Quickly place the rocket ona flat surface CAP SIDEDOWN and STAND BACKat least 2 metres.

    4 After 10 seconds, your rocketshould launch into the sky!

    5 If not, leave it for at least 30

    seconds before retrieving it.

    MAKE YOUR OWNROCKET!Rockets need fuel to powerthem through the Earthsatmosphere. Heres howto make a simple rocketpowered by carbondioxide. Youll need:A tube of fizzy vitamintablets (or film canister),water, eye protection.

    ! Children should besupervised for this activity.Wear eye protectionand go outside it canget sticky!

    CARD 7/9

    See the BigPicture, visitbbc.co.uk/stargazing

    Fizzy vitamin

    Cap down

    FACTS ABOUT SATURN

    Gravity: 1.16 (Earth = 1)

    Moons: 62 conrmed,including Titan and

    EnceladusMass: 95 (Earth = 1)

    Distance from Sun: 9.6 AU

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    around Polaris and never setbelow the horizon.

    3 Use yellow dots to createseasonal constellations(whose visibility vary withthe time of year) and jointhe stars with the long thinstickers and label.

    4 Once complete, you canuse your mini planetariumto help you stargaze!

    MINI PLANETARIUMMake your own guide tothe night sky and staydry! Youll need a dark sixpanel umbrella, stickywhite and yellow dots,long thin stickers.

    1 Open your umbrella.The centre representsthe North Star (Polaris).

    2 Use the diagram to help

    mark out constellationswith white dots to createUrsa Minor, The Ploughand Cassiopeia. These arecircumpolarconstellations,which appear to rotate

    FACTS ABOUT URANUS

    Gravity: 0.89 (Earth = 1)

    Moons: 27 known,including Titania, Oberon,

    Umbriel, Ariel and MirandaMass: 14.5 (Earth = 1)

    Distance from Sun: 19.2 AU

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    See the BigPicture, visitbbc.co.uk/stargazing

    Cassiopeia

    Pisces

    Gemini

    The Plough

    Virgo

    Ursa Minor

    Sagittarius

    Polaris

    UMBRELLA MINI PLANETARIUM

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    1 Cut the card into threepieces that each measure

    2.5cm x 13cm.

    2 Tape two of the piecestogether into a hoop.Make sure you overlapthe ends to help make agood hoop shape.

    3 Use the last strip to makea smaller hoop.

    4 Tape the hoops to the endsof the straw, as shown.

    5 Launch your glider into the

    planetary atmosphere andwatch it glide!

    HOOP ATMOSPHEREGLIDERScientists are looking atnew ways to explore otherplanets, and some probeshave been designed toglide through the planetaryatmosphere. Try makingyour own gliding probe!You will need:A drinkingstraw (non-bendable), anindex card or sheet of stiff

    paper and a ruler.

    FACTS ABOUT NEPTUNE

    Gravity: 1.14 (Earth = 1)

    Moons: 13 known,

    including TritonMass: 17 (Earth = 1)

    Distance from Sun: 30 AU

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    See the BigPicture, visitbbc.co.uk/stargazing