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These resources have been reviewed and selected by STEM Learning’s team of education specialists for factual accuracy and relevance to teaching STEM subjects in UK schools.

How Big Is the Universe?

It is almost impossible for the human mind to grasp just how big the universe is, but astronomer Pete Edwards gives it his best shot in this Teaching Astronomy and Space video from the Institute of Physics (IOP), Teachers TV and Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC). Along the way, he explains how astronomers have learned to measure the distance to the stars using concepts such as parallax. Pete also explains the concept of a light year as a measure of distance. He shows that the Hubble Space telescope has led us to believe that there are more stars in the visible universe than there are grains of sand on the Earth.

Please refer to the information and acknowledgements for this resource.

STFC is a part of the Research Councils UK (RCUK) partnership of research councils.

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