Measuring

Over the past few hundred years, astronomers have discovered thousands of stars whose brightness goes up and down over time. These are known as variable stars. But what causes this to happen?

How do we find asteroids?

Distances to objects in space are very, very large. The nearest star (excluding the Sun), Alpha Centauri, is 41.23 trillion km, or 41,320,000,000,000 km!!

You may know that Jupiter is the largest planet in the Solar System, but do you know how much larger than the Earth it is?

Find out by creating a scale model of each planet in our Solar System!

Impact craters are made when a space rock (called a meteorite or asteroid) hits a rocky planet or moon. The impact makes a round hole in the surface, called a crater.

Our Solar System contains the Sun, 8 planets, and many small objects like dwarf planets, moons, and as

You have probably seen the Moon in the sky, but have you ever studied it in detail?

Asteroids are small, rocky objects that orbit the Sun. Most are located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. This area of our Solar System is known as the Asteroid Belt.

You have likely heard about the Universe expanding. Or that redshift can tell us about the movements of galaxies. Both are difficult ideas to imagine and understand.