Educational Activity for 9yr

[zakkhogan]

Hi all,

My 9yr old Niece has been asking me to take her out one night and show her Saturn.

Seeing that its not getting dark now till gone 10 ive not taken her out, however summer holidays are soon upon us.

To keep her interested for longer than 10 minutes I was planning on creating a small active guide where I show her for example Saturn and get her to draw what she see's, then showing her some constellations Ie Ursa major get her to count how many stars she can see and moving onto a mizar and getting her to draw that etc…

Has anybody got any idea’s of some obvious objects to show her?

Ive attached a very quick idea of the observation sheet

Many Thanks

amber.bmp

[Viv]

How about things like the ISS / iridium flares

It could be worth dropping Ad Astra a PM - he's got some brilliant to do / targets (think they are for older ones - but could be worth asking).

[ashenlight]

Hi zakkhogan,

I think you're onto a winner with your activity sheet idea. It'll make the observing process seem far more involved for her

My top suggestion would be to try and get her to identify the 'Summer Triangle' - it depends on how clear your view to the east is - it'll be east, towards the zenith at around 10:30pm, at this time of year (if you haven't already, go and get Stellarium. It's a desktop planetarium, will be fab for cloudy nights - you will be able to plan what you want to view next).

Anyway! Back to the summer triangle. It's really easy to spot as the three main stars are very bright. And, once you can determine these, you have nailed three major summer constellations - Vega, Cygnus and Aquila. These will give you great scope for star-hopping to nearby stars and objects. A favourite of mine, and easily located in the summer trangle region, is Brocchi's cluster (the coathanger). It should give her a giggle

I'll have a little think this afternoon, and anything else I can think of, I'll give you a shout. Good luck

[zakkhogan]

Thanks for the feedback, the Brocchi's cluster is an excellent idea!!!

Ive attached my Ursa Major fun sheet, if you guys would like to have a look over and tell me what you think.

it would be muchly appreciated

Thanks

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Great idea! M13, M27, and M57 are all beautiful targets to see in summer. A bit later M31 is awesome (she could even try to find them in binoculars).

[Capricorn]

Get her to identify Casseiopia.

If possible then Cygnus and get her to look at Alberio through the scope - the colour difference being the aspect.

On the constellation side, she can use the pointers to find Polaris, also if you go the other way they point to Leo.

The Plough handle round to Arcturus.

All simple enough but finding your way around is useful.

[ashenlight]

The sheet is excellent, zakkhogan. If you get on well with Ursa Major and have good seeing, you could give M81/M82 a bash. There's a nice contrast between the two galaxies, and, with a decent FOV, it'd give a good sketching opportunity. Be something for her to get her teeth into!

[zakkhogan]

what do you guys think of this brief summary of Cassiopeia, ive tried to keep it /PG\ so i left out torture

Cassiopeia

Cassiopeia, wife of King Cepheus and mother of Princess Andromeda.

Cassiopeia was obsessed with her own beauty and claimed that she and her daughter where more beautiful than any of Nereus the Sea God’s Daughters.

This claim angered the sea gods

Poseidon (a fellow Sea God) waged war against Cassiopeia and forever banished her to the heavens, where she sit’s on her throne with nothing but her reflection to keep her company for the rest of eternity.

[Matthew]

The sheets look very good Zakk,your niece is very lucky.My oldest daughter is 8 and she loves observing with me ( when the weather allows ),i tend to try and show her the brighter messier objects to keep her intrested.Jupiter would be another great target come the autumn