Hunting for dark energy with the WiggleZ
Activities
1. Understanding our expanding universe
Other activities
Imagine the universe (National Aeronautics and Space Administration, USA)
2006 CosmicTimes – provides a ‘newsletter’ on dark energy and a series of five related class activities. In Measuring dark energy students simulate the discovery of dark energy using a Hubble diagram. In Century timeline students create a timeline of our understanding of the universe up to the discovery of dark energy.
Teachers’ Domain (USA)
Gravity and the expanding universe – provides a short video describing the history of our understanding of the expansion of the universe including the discovery of dark energy. Class discussion questions are included.
Cosmic questions: our place in space and time (Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics, USA)
Educator’s guide – includes a series of activities including Modelling the expanding universe in which students create one-dimensional and two-dimensional models of the expansion of the universe. In Evidence for the expanding universe students use spectra of galaxies to measure their speed as they move away from us.
Sky Server (Sloan Digital Sky Survey, USA)
The universe – students learn how big the universe is, and how scientists know it is expanding. They then make a Hubble Diagram.
NOVA Online
Moving targets – students learn through an engaging interactive tutorial how the speed of stellar objects is measured using the Doppler effect.
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
How fast do galaxies move? – students learn about spectroscopy and use data to measure the movement of galaxies. This activity can be completed online using the ‘virtual spectroscope’ or as a classroom activity.
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Posted June 2009, edited September 2012.