Feb 5, 2026 | Big Ideia 4, Big Ideia 6, Black Hole, FHOU, Resource, Star
Students analyze time-series images of stars orbiting the Galactic center to reconstruct their trajectories and identify orbital shapes. They extract quantitative data (positions, distances, periods) and model the orbit of a reference star as an ellipse. Using these...
Feb 5, 2026 | Big Ideia 10, Big Ideia 4, Big Ideia 6, Exoplanet, FHOU, Resource, Star
Students analyze spectral data of a star over time and measure the shift of absorption lines to determine its radial velocity. They model the periodic variation of this velocity as the effect of an orbiting companion using a sinusoidal function. From this model, they...
Feb 5, 2026 | Big Ideia 4, Big Ideia 5, Big Ideia 6, Big Ideia 9, Black Hole, Galaxy, IAC, Resource, Star
There are different methods for measuring the distances at which heavenly objects are located. Each method is useful for measuring a certain range of distances. In Unit 2 “Distances in the universe. Galaxies”, you can see how distances to the nearest stars in our...
Feb 5, 2026 | Big Ideia 1, Big Ideia 4, Big Ideia 5, Big Ideia 6, Big Ideia 7, IAC, Resource, Solar System
This activity is part of teaching unit 5, Laws of Planetary Motion. You can find the introduction and teaching guide here. Laws of Planetary Motion – Galilean Satellites This activity is part of teaching unit 5, Laws of Planetary Motion. You can find the introduction...
Feb 5, 2026 | Big Ideia 3, Big Ideia 4, Big Ideia 5, Big Ideia 6, Big Ideia 9, Galaxy, IAC, Resource
When we look up at the night sky with our eyes, almost all of the bright spots we see twinkling are stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way. If the night is dark, we can also see faint spots of light. These are the galaxies closest to our own, the Andromeda Galaxy and the...
Feb 5, 2026 | Big Ideia 6, OAE, Resource
In this activity, students play role of scientists to explore the possible existence of other components of the Universe besides the normal matter. As they understand how dark matter and dark energy are discovered, they also realize that science understanding can...
