Why do the stars come out at night?

Why do the stars come out at night?

Lesson narration:
Scroll for prep
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Stars in the country vs city

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Why`do`you`think
stars`come`out`at
night?`Why`can’t
you`see`them`during
the`day?

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Search for Big Dipper

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Big Dipper revealed

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# Extensions
Below are ideas for extending this topic beyond the activity and exploration you just completed.
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# Readings

These reading are free with registration on ReadWorks or Newsela:

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# Videos
  • This video from National Geographic shows how the night sky looks from places with different levels of light pollution.

  • What gets hidden by light pollution? In this video, a professional astronomy photographer takes you out of the city to see the stars.

  • This news report from The Today Show shows how a small mountain town redesigned its lights to cut down on light pollution.

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# Activity

Create your own star clock with these instructionsso you can tell the time at night and predict when different constellations will be visible!

Note: This star clock was designed for use in the Northern Hemisphere. It uses Standard Time, so you should subtract 1 hour if you are on Daylight Savings Time. If you live in a country farther north or south than the United States, you may need to adjust the star clock based on your location.

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Lesson narration:

Activity Prep

Print Prep

In this lesson, students use a model to investigate why the stars are visible at night but disappear when the Sun comes out during the day. In the activity, Star Projector, students use paper cups to project stars onto a sky picture, and observe what happens to these stars when a flashlight acts as a model of the Sun.

Preview activity
COVID-19 Adaptations
Students can work solo
See our advice below
Students need a printout

Students at home
Students need: 1 paper cup, 1 dot sticker and the Big Dipper Star printout (printed). We suggest that students use a push pin from home if they have one. Students also need a flashlight.
Students at school
Students can complete Step 1 - Step 8 of the action their own. Then, the teacher can demonstrate Step 9 - Step 14. Note: The results of the demo are shown in Step 15.

Exploration

11 mins

Wrap-Up

4 mins

Extend this lesson

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