About the Course
Astronomy takes you on a journey through the cosmos—from our own Sun and solar system to distant galaxies and the origins of the universe. Students explore the science of celestial objects, space phenomena, and humanity's quest to understand our place in the universe.
Through interactive simulations, real astronomical data analysis, and virtual observations, students develop scientific inquiry skills while investigating the forces that govern stars, planets, and the fabric of spacetime.
Our Sun and stellar processes
Planets, moons, and solar system
Star life cycles and constellations
Galaxies and the universe
Interactive Learning
Explore the cosmos through interactive simulations and real astronomical data
Our local star, planetary motion, and the worlds that orbit our Sun
Investigate Newton's three laws using interactive simulations. Discover inertia and friction, collect data to calculate F = ma, combine forces to find net force, and explore action-reaction pairs in real motion.
Apply Newton's law of universal gravitation to real worlds. Use an interactive satellite simulator to model gravitational field strength (g = Gm/r²), calculate force on different planets, and explore why the Hubble Space Telescope and the Moon stay in orbit.
Discover how our solar system formed by studying the Orion Nebula — a live stellar nursery captured by Hubble. Investigate the nebular hypothesis, accretion, the frost line, and why terrestrial planets are rocky while gas giants are huge.
Investigate the Sun's 11-year activity cycle, analyze real solar data, and explore how sunspots affect life on Earth.
Investigate why Venus and Mars appear to "loop backward" against the stars. Compare Ptolemy's geocentric model to Copernicus and Galileo's heliocentric model with interactive simulations.
Map Jupiter's orbit using real triangulation. Measure heliocentric and geocentric longitudes with a virtual protractor, calculate orbital eccentricity, and connect your measurements to Kepler's Three Laws of planetary motion.
Master the ESRT Solar System Objects Data Table. Compare eccentricity, axial tilt, and orbital periods with three interactive simulators. Includes the Panther Mountain Crater reading and 25 practice questions.
Investigate why Pluto was demoted in 2006. Compare it to Eris, Ceres, and other icy worlds using the ESRT Solar System Data Table. Includes a Kuiper Belt orbit simulator and a classification sorting challenge.
Plan and execute a multi-day Mars mission. Select your crew, calculate launch windows and fuel, survive the seven-month transit, choose a landing site, and terraform the red planet.
Earth's closest companion — phases, tides, gravity, and lunar science
Explore Kepler's Laws, lunar gravity, Earth's tides, and moon phases. Includes interactive simulations and the Moon Word Scrambler rescue game.
Apply real physics to investigate conspiracy claims about the Apollo missions. Analyze evidence from the Van Allen belts, lunar retroreflectors, regolith footprints, and vacuum physics to separate fact from fiction.
Understand the lunar cycle, predict moon phases, and explore how the Earth-Moon-Sun system creates eclipses and tides.
Stellar life cycles, constellations, and the science of starlight
Plot real stars on the H-R Diagram and follow them from nebula to main sequence to red giant — and on to white dwarfs, neutron stars, or black holes. Includes nuclear fusion, supernovae, and Hubble's Law.
Learn to identify major constellations, use star charts, and understand how Earth's rotation and orbit change our view of the night sky.
Exoplanets, distant galaxies, and the evolution of the universe
Hunt for life beyond Earth. Use the transit method to detect exoplanets, explore the habitable zone, analyze biosignatures, and investigate worlds like TRAPPIST-1 and Proxima Centauri b.
Classify galaxies using the Hubble sequence, explore spiral, elliptical, and irregular galaxies, and discover our Milky Way's structure.
Travel from the Big Bang to today. Explore the cosmic timeline, redshift, the Cosmic Microwave Background, Hubble's Law, and how Hubble & James Webb telescopes reveal the universe's history.
Course Content
Core concepts covered throughout the Astronomy curriculum