Resources by Royal Observatory Greenwich

The History of the Universe

This resource, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, introduces the age of the current universe and what its final fate may be.

The video answers some questions...

The probability of life in the Milky Way

Produced by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, this booklet introduces the Drake equation. The Drake equation is used to estimate the number of planets in the Milky Way that have intelligent life. Included is an online video that discusses what is required for life and where and how we might look for it. The terms of...

The Rotational Period of the Sun

This activity, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, introduces students to ways of combining errors (uncertainties) from two independent measured quantities. Using the equation for Doppler shift, the error in the rotational velocity and time period are calculated....

This item is one of over 25,000 physical resources available from the Resources Collection. The Archive Collection covers over 50 years of curriculum development in the STEM subjects. The Contemporary Collection includes the latest publications from UK educational publishers.

The Spinning Earth

In this activity, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, students are introduced to the rotating Earth and the concept of longitude. They will carry out simple arithmetic that relates the 24 hour clock with the Earth’s rotation. The questions in the activity require an understanding of angle: one hour being equal to...

Time dilation by a black hole

Produced by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, this booklet introduces time dilation and the Schwarzschild radius of a black hole. Included is an online video that discusses what is inside a black hole and how light and time behave near one. Equations for time dilation and the Schwarzschild radius are introduced and...

Unusual orbits in the Andromeda galaxy

Produced by the Royal Observatory Greenwich, this uses understanding of Kepler’s third law and the Doppler equation guide a lesson on plotting and interpreting a velocity vs radius graph for the Andromeda galaxy. A brief overview of the lesson is provided for the teacher as well as key questions to ask students...

What did the early Universe look like?

This resource, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, looks at what information we can gather by viewing (but not visiting) different parts of the universe. 

The...

What is gravity and how is it calculated?

This resource, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, introduces students to how our understanding of gravity has changed over time, and what this means for the gravitational field strength of different bodies in our galaxy.

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What is Light?

This resource, from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, has a video that introduces 'light' as the electromagnetic spectrum and how an electromagnetic wave is made. It discusses the wavelength, speed and frequency of electromagnetic waves and how we can detect them. How light interacts with matter and the concept of...