The purpose of this lesson is to gain an understanding of the techniques astronomers use to measures the distance to and speed of distant stars and galaxies.
Students learn how to take and graph scientific data, and to interpret the results.
Students have the option of choosing from several differnet Internet research project designed to allow further exploration of the ideas contained in the hands-on activities. Students will measure the variation of the brightness of a light with distance and compare their results to the inverse square law. Students will discuss the use of the inverse square law to measure distance to a light. By using a diffraction grating or spectrometer, students will observe that light can be split into different wavelengths, which correspond to different colors. Students will measure the wavelengths at which each of several elements emit light.