Level: High School

Creator: Concord Consortium

Topic: Astronomy

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In Stella, students act as astronomers, studying stars in a “patch” of the sky in our own galaxy. Using simulated data from spectroscopy and other real-world instrumentation, students learn to determine star positions, radial velocity, proper motion, and ultimately, degree of parallax. As students establish their expertise in each area, they earn “badges” that allow them greater and easier access to the data. The Teacher Guide includes background on stellar spectroscopy (the brightness of a star), photometry (the breakdown of light from a star), and astrometry (measuring the positions of stars).