Northern Ireland Key Stage 3

Have you noticed the Moon is brighter some nights than others? And it looks like the Moon changes shape? We call these changes the phases of the Moon.

There are 8 planets in our Solar System. And there are many thousands of planets orbiting around other stars. We call these planets exoplanets. 

Astronomy is driven forward by always asking new questions. When we get to a question that we can’t answer, it usually means that we don’t have the technology, or the knowledge, to get to the bottom of the problem. This drives technology forward.

Have you ever wondered how many stars you can see in the night sky? Did you know that the number you can see depends on where you are?

An Orrery is a moving, mechanical model of the Solar System. It shows how all of the planets orbit around the Sun.

Comets are large balls of ice, rock and dust but you can think of them as large dirty snowballs that travel through the 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.

In the UK, we experience 4 seasons each year. These are Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter. But why do we have seasons? 

This animation shows you why we have seasons. Watch carefully what happens and read the words that appear on the screen. 

A solar eclipse occurs when the Earth and Moon line up with the Sun.

A satellite is an object which orbits another. An orbit is the curved path that an object in space takes around another object.