Welcome to AstroLabs!

The all-in-one astronomy lab kit

About AstroLabs

AstroLabs allow online, distance learning or home-schooled students to perform cool astronomy labs from anywhere. Here's a description of the included labs:

AstroLab #1: Celestial Coordinate Systems and the Use of the Star Chart

Experiment Summary

One of the goals of any astronomy course is to help you learn to find your way around the night sky with the use of a star chart. Once this skill is mastered, the universe is yours to explore! Using a star chart is not difficult, but understanding it requires setting up a framework and developing a number of concepts. This lab exercise is designed to assist you in learning to use the provided SC001 and SC002 constellation charts. You will also learn about the equatorial and ecliptic coordinate systems that astronomers use to pinpoint the locations of objects in the sky. Time Allocation: 2 hours

Objectives

To learn the proper use of the SC001 and SC002 star charts
To use the equatorial coordinate system to locate objects on the celestial sphere
To use ecliptic longitude to plot the positions of solar system bodies
To estimate the sidereal time on a given date and time

AstroLab #2: Refractive Optics and the Galileoscope™

Experiment Summary

The purpose of this lab exercise is to explore the properties of lenses (refractive optics) and to assemble the Galileoscope™ telescope kit. Students will use the Galileoscope™ to make an initial observation of a celestial object as part of this exercise. Time Allocation: 2.0 hours

Objectives

To measure the focal length of a lens
To calculate the focal ratio of a lens
To estimate and calculate the magnifying power of a telescope
To assemble the GalileoscopeTM refracting telescope kit
To observe the Moon or a planet with your Galileoscope™

AstroLab #3: Kepler’s Laws of Planetary Motion

Experiment Summary

Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) solved the centuries-old riddle of the shape of planetary orbits when he carefully analyzed the precise positions of the planet Mars collected by him and famed Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546-1601) years earlier. It turns out that planets do NOT orbit the Sun in perfect circles at constant speeds, as had been believed for centuries! Kepler summarized his discoveries in his Three Laws of Planetary Motion, published between 1609 and 1619. In this experiment, you will explore each of Kepler’s discoveries about planetary orbits as you plot and measure the orbit of a hypothetical planet named Crouton. Time Allocation: 2.0 hours

Objectives

To learn and understand each of Kepler’s 3 Laws
To apply Kepler’s 3 Laws to a hypothetical planet’s orbit
To construct an ellipse on paper and calculate its eccentricity
To calculate the orbital period of a planet, given its semimajor axis
To calculate the perihelion and aphelion distances of a planet, given its orbital eccentricity and semimajor axis
To measure the areas swept out by a hypothetical planet in equal time intervals to test Kepler’s 2nd Law

AstroLab #4: Measuring Time and Using a Sundial

Experiment Summary

In this exercise, you will study several different methods used to measure time. You will construct and use a simple sundial to read time and to estimate the equation of time. Time Allocation: 2.0 hours

Objectives

To define/distinguish between sidereal time, apparent solar time, mean solar time, and zone time
To construct a simple sundial and use it to measure the local apparent time
To estimate the equation of time using your sundial

AstroLab #5: Predicting Planetary Alignments

Experiment Summary

In this exercise, you will plot the actual positions of the planets Earth, Venus, and Mars in their orbits to determine the dates on which these planets are seen at certain special alignments. In so doing, you will learn about the orbital motions of the planets as well as the alignments that they periodically make with the Sun as viewed from Earth. Time Allocation: 2.0 hours

Objectives

To recognize the major alignments that the planets periodically make with the Sun
To use an orbit chart to plot the actual positions of the planets in their orbits
To predict the dates of planetary alignments using the actual heliocentric ecliptic longitudes of the planets

AstroLab #6: The Orbit and Motion of the Moon

Experiment Summary

The purpose of this laboratory exercise is to acquaint you with the properties of orbits and to demonstrate how some of these properties can be determined from simple visual observations. When you have completed this exercise, you should know what the six orbital parameters are and be able to estimate them from naked eye observations of the positions of a celestial body. Time Allocation: 2.0 hours

Objectives

To identify and define the six orbital parameters
To estimate the six orbital parameters of the Moon’s orbit from positional data

AstroLab #7: Kirchhoff’s Laws of Spectroscopic Analysis

Experiment Summary

Most of what we have learned about the physical and chemical makeup of the universe has been gained through the analysis of the light and other forms of electromagnetic energy that comes to us from objects in space. On that little beam of starlight comes coded information about the star’s size, mass, distance, radial velocity, chemical composition, temperature, and the existence of any planets orbiting the star. To break the code, it is important to understand the three different types of spectra produced by luminous objects. Gustav Kirchhoff (1824-1887) described the different types of spectra in his three laws of spectroscopic analysis. In this lab exercise, you will explore examples of each type of spectrum: continuous, emission, and absorption. Time Allocation: 2.0 hours

Objectives

To learn and understand each of Kirchhoff’s 3 Laws of Spectroscopic Analysis
To measure the wavelength of each color in the rainbow (ROYGBV)
To identify an unknown gas by measuring the wavelengths of the bright lines in its emission spectrum
To identify some of the chemical elements in the Sun by analyzing the dark lines in its absorption spectrum

AstroLab #8: Measuring Angles in the Sky

Experiment Summary

The precise measurement of angles to determine the positions and directions of stars on the celestial sphere is essential in astronomy. In this lab exercise, you will learn to measure angles in the sky and to determine the positions of objects on the celestial sphere. To accomplish this, you will use your fist, your fingers, and an ancient instrument called a cross staff. Time Allocation: 2.0 hours

Objectives

To measure angles in the sky using your fist and fingers
To construct a cross staff
To measure angles in the sky using a cross staff
To identify some of the seasonal stars and constellations

AstroLab #9: Measuring the Motions of the Earth

Experiment Summary

WARNING: This activity requires a minimum of one month to complete. Plan ahead and allow enough time for completion. In this activity, you will use your own observations of the northern circumpolar stars to measure the length of the Earth’s sidereal day and sidereal year, that is, the time required for the Earth to rotate once on its axis and orbit the Sun once, relative to the stars. Time Allocation: 1.5 hours (not counting the time to acquire the three required sky drawings)

Objectives

To locate the North Star and several important northern circumpolar constellations
To observe how the motions of the Earth create the illusion of a moving celestial sphere, centered on the Earth
To draw the changing positions of stars around the North Celestial Pole over a period of time
To calculate the length of Earth’s sidereal day and sidereal year from these changing positions

AstroLab #10: Exploring the Surface of the Moon

Experiment Summary

In this exercise, you will explore the different types of features visible on the surface of the Moon: impact craters, lava-flooded maria, sinuous rilles, mountain ranges, and more. These features are not unique to Earth’s moon -- analogous features can be found on other planets, moons, and minor bodies in the solar system. Time Allocation: 2.0 hours

Objectives

To identify the names and locations of some major lunar surface features
To measure the dimensions of some major lunar surface features
To recognize the distinctive characteristics of impact craters
To apply the principle of superposition to determine the relative ages of lunar surface features
To measure the relative frequency of lunar craters of different sizes

AstroLab #11: A Mission to Mars

Experiment Summary

The purpose of this lab exercise is to plan an economical trip from Earth to the planet Mars and to get your crew there and back to Earth again safely. In so doing, you will learn about the motions of the planets and interplanetary spacecraft. Time Allocation: 2.0 hours

Objectives

To apply the principles of orbital motion and celestial mechanics to plan a least-energy mission from Earth to Mars and back to Earth again, including launch date and return date
To choose scientific goals for a human mission to Mars
To select potential landing sites for a human mission to Mars

AstroLab #12: The Moonplot Project

Experiment Summary

WARNING: This activity requires a minimum of five weeks to complete. Plan ahead and allow enough time for completion. In this activity, you will use your own naked-eye observations of the Moon, made over a period of at least five weeks, to measure the Moon’s orbital period, distance from Earth, orbital inclination, and several other orbital parameters. Time Allocation: 2.0 hours (not counting the time to acquire the 12 required Moonplots)

Objectives

To locate the zodiacal constellations through which the Moon moves over the course of a month
To plot the position of the Moon among the stars for a period of not less than five weeks
To use your own naked-eye observations of the Moon’s position to estimate some of the Moon’s orbital parameters

AstroLab #13: The Sky Journal Project

Experiment Summary

WARNING: This activity requires a minimum of five weeks to complete. Plan ahead and allow enough time for completion. The Sky Journal Project is a long-term project where you will document your naked eye and telescopic observations of celestial objects by making pencil sketches of them in a journal. For this project, you will use your SC001 and SC002 star charts to locate and sketch at least twelve constellations visible in your seasonal sky. You will also use your Galileoscope™ to observe and sketch the Moon, a planet, and several deep sky objects. Time Allocation: five weeks minimum

Objectives

To locate and sketch twelve different constellations and identify the major stars in each
To follow the Moon through a cycle of phases and use the GalileoscopeTM to sketch five different phases of the Moon and identify the names of the craters and maria visible
To observe and sketch the planet Jupiter (or Saturn) with the GalileoscopeTM on several different nights to document the changing orbital positions of any moons visible
To locate and sketch several deep sky objects using the Galileoscope™

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AstroLab in action!

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