The Stars Next Door
The nearest stars, how we measure their distance, and the planets that might be habitable.
Grades 6-12About 15 minutes of narrated flight, plus discussion stops10 stops
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What students will see and do
Students learn the light-year, visit Alpha Centauri, Proxima and its planet, Barnard's Star, Sirius, Vega and Polaris, then explore the seven-planet TRAPPIST-1 system and the Earth-like Kepler-452 b.
Learning objectives
- Use the light-year to describe distance and look-back time
- Define the habitable zone and explain why it does not guarantee life
- Describe the wobble and transit methods for finding exoplanets
- Explain why Polaris is useful for navigation
NGSS connections
| 5-ESS1-1 | Stars look dimmer or brighter partly because of their distance (Proxima vs Sirius). |
|---|---|
| MS-ESS1-3 | Scale of interstellar distances using light-years and models. |
| HS-ESS1-1 (extension) | Different stars (red dwarfs, Sun-like stars, giants) have different masses and lifetimes. |
| DCI ESS1.A | The Universe and Its Stars. |
Stops on this journey
- Measuring the distance
- Alpha Centauri A and B
- Proxima Centauri
- Proxima b (discussion stop)
- Barnard's Star
- Sirius
- Vega
- Polaris, the North Star (discussion stop)
- TRAPPIST-1 (discussion stop)
- Kepler-452 b
Vocabulary
- light-year
- red dwarf
- binary star
- exoplanet
- habitable zone
- transit
- radial velocity
- biosignature