The continuing fascination of young people with celestial bodies leads them to pose challenging questions to their science teachers, such as how was the universe born? How were the stars formed? In this paper we present an extremely inexpensive but highly engaging activity to teach the basics of spectroscopy. Guided by the question "how do…

This study (Note 1) investigated the beliefs about stars that students hold when they enter an undergraduate introductory astronomy course for nonscience majors. Students' preinstructional ideas were investigated through the use of several student-supplied-response (SSR) surveys, which asked students to describe their ideas about topics such as…

Investigating stars can be difficult. The five-day unit presented in this article is designed for fifth graders to work toward Next Generation Science Standard (NGSS) performance expectation 5-ESS1-1, with each lesson lasting about 30 minutes. Students investigate the relationship between the brightness of light and distance, apply their…

Data from the Kepler satellite were analysed using the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes database. With the participation of 53 students, we determined the parameters of the HAT-P-7b (Kepler-2) exoplanet system (transit duration, planet-to-star radius ratio, orbital period, semi-major axis and star mass). We used approaches that are easy to…

We investigated to what extent secondary school students have insight in the apparent motion of the Sun and stars (AMoSS). We used the AMoSS test instrument, which focuses on distinctions between different aspects of the apparent motion of the Sun and stars. It consists of 12 multiple-choice questions accompanied by explanations. We administered…

In this study, it is aimed to reveal the models related to star subject as one of the concepts of astronomy of prospective science teachers before and after the current instruction through model analysis. This modeling situation is expressed as a Grounded Mental Model (GMM), since there will be a mental modeling that is revealed according to what…

Young children, students, and adults may have alternative ideas about the motion of the Sun and stars as we observe them in the sky. However, a good understanding of this apparent motion is essential as a starting point to study more advanced astronomical concepts, especially when these include astronomical observations. In this paper, we describe…

In this study, high school and first-year undergraduate students were asked about their understanding of stars. The hypothesis guiding this research posits that high school students who have taken a semester-long astronomy course will have an understanding of stars most related to scientific knowledge, compared with high school students enrolled…

This videotape recording shows students the many ways scientists look at the stars and how they can use what they see to answer questions such as What are stars made of?, How far away are they?, and How old are the stars? Students learn about the life span of stars and the various stages they pass through from protostar to main sequence star to…

Children are very curious about the world around them. You may find them peering at tadpoles in a pond, counting ants on a log, or wondering about the stars, the sun, and the moon. I have been asked many times: Is the moon really made of cheese? Do astronauts live on the moon? Why does the moon look different every time I look up? Introducing…

To span the great distance from the solar system to the farthest clusters of galaxies in the universe, astronomers break down the distance indicators into steps. The nearest ones are measured geometrically, with what is known as parallax. Among the objects whose distances are thus directly measured are a rare type of star known as a Cepheid…

Children understand the natural world in ways that make sense to them before they learn any science in school. This column provides ideas and techniques to enhance science teaching. This month's issue helps students connect scientifically correct ideas to what makes sense to them.

The purpose of study is to investigate the fifth graders' understandings of the basic astronomy concept and, if they have, to define their misconceptions and then to determine what reason/s behind them. For this purpose, two hundred seventy fifth grade students from 6 different schools participated. Randomly selected 45 students performing under…

Stars of different masses have varying life spans, with the more massive stars "burning out" more quickly than stars of lower masses. How or what they do when they burn out also varies, depending on the mass of the star. All stars are called "main sequence stars" as they continue fusing hydrogen and staying in a state of equilibrium--a balance…

A conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter which occurred in 7 B. C. is proposed as a possible explanation for the Christmas star. (CP)