Grades Nine to Twelve at the RAO
Teachers may choose one of the programs below and book through our Acuity page: See our Booking Information for details including cost, class size, and how to prepare for your visit. Please email rao@ucalgary.ca for questions or to discuss specific requests.
How Do Astronomers Know?
Astronomers cannot travel to a star, so how can they determine what it contains, how far away it is or how it is moving? Students will rotate through activities involving parallax, spectral fingerprints and optical and radio images before choosing the best observing method for a final astronomy mystery.
If the sky is clear, students will observe the Sun or planets during the day. They will also tour the observatory and discuss our research as it connects with their curriculum. Students are encouraged to share their big astrophysics questions and learn how astronomers in Calgary are contributing to our understanding of space.
Curriculum Connections - Grade Nine Science: Space Exploration, optical and radio telescopes, spectral analysis, parallax and technologies used to study space.
Spectroscopy Lab: Reading Light
Light carries far more information than our eyes normally notice. Students will build their own diffraction-grating spectroscope and use it to examine several safe light sources. They will sketch and compare the resulting spectra and learn how astronomers use similar patterns to study stars.
If the sky is clear, students will observe the Sun or planets during the day. They will also tour the observatory and discuss our research as it connects with their curriculum. Students are encouraged to share their big astrophysics questions and learn how astronomers in Calgary are contributing to our understanding of space.
Curriculum Connections: Astronomy enrichment that builds on Grade 9 spectral analysis and prepares students for electromagnetic-radiation and spectroscopy outcomes in Physics 30 and Science 30.
The Active Sun
Our Sun is not a quiet, unchanging object. Students will compare white-light and hydrogen-alpha images, investigate sunspots, prominences and solar activity, and prepare a space-weather briefing for satellite operators, airlines or the electrical grid.
If the sky is clear, students will observe the Sun or planets during the day. They will also tour the observatory and discuss our research as it connects with their curriculum. Students are encouraged to share their big astrophysics questions and learn how astronomers in Calgary are contributing to our understanding of space.
Curriculum Connections - Science 10: Solar energy, energy flow in global systems and the connection between the Sun and conditions on Earth.
Orbits and Exoplanets
How can the orbit of a moon reveal the mass of a planet? How can a tiny dip in starlight reveal a planet around another star? Students will choose an orbital investigation, work with astronomical data and use their results to draw a physical conclusion.
If the sky is clear, students will observe the Sun or planets during the day. They will also tour the observatory and discuss our research as it connects with their curriculum. Students are encouraged to share their big astrophysics questions and learn how astronomers in Calgary are contributing to our understanding of space.
Curriculum Connections Physics 20: Circular motion, planetary and satellite motion, orbital period and predicting the mass of a celestial body from orbital data.
The Invisible Universe
Our eyes reveal only a small part of the universe. Students will compare visible, infrared, radio and X-ray observations and discover why the same object can look completely different at different wavelengths. Teams will select the best telescope for a research question and prepare a short telescope-time proposal.
If the sky is clear, students will observe the Sun or planets during the day. They will also tour the observatory and discuss our research as it connects with their curriculum. Students are encouraged to share their big astrophysics questions and learn how astronomers in Calgary are contributing to our understanding of space.
Curriculum Connections - Science 30 and Physics 30: The electromagnetic spectrum, atmospheric windows, optical and radio telescopes, detectors and remote sensing of the universe.