Universe in the
Classroom
Robotic Telescope Activity Book
The UNIVERSE is everything that exists, all planets, stars, galaxies and every other object on Earth and in space. A GALAXY is a gigantic collection of stars, along with cosmic gas, dust and other stuff. The galaxy we live in is called the Milky Way. A STAR CLUSTER is a huge group of stars bound together in space. A star cluster can contain a few hundred stars or many millions. A NEBULA is a cloud of gas and dust in space. Some are the remains of dead stars and others are where stars are born. A TELESCOPE is an instrument used to see objects that are very far away. Telescopes are often used to look at distant planets, stars and galaxies. A ROBOT is a machine controlled by a computer. Robots can be taught to do many different things, like clean a carpet, control a telescope or even build a car!
INSTRUCTIONS FOR ENJOYING THIS BOOK: Write and draw anything you want! Be as creative as possible! Be as silly as possible!
LET'S START!
The telescopes This map shows where you can find all of our robotic telescopes around the world.
Texas Teide Haleakala
Cerro Tololo
Day and night When it is daytime at your school, which telescopes could you use to look at the night sky?
Ali
Sutherland
Siding Spring
Controlling all the telescopes and sending beautiful pictures of space to your computer is hard work! Can you design me a friend to help do my job?
Draw a picture of the robot which controls the telescope
Join the dots Join the dots to reveal a secret picture! 40 41 42
39
38
33 37 36 35
43
32
34 31 30 26
27 29
25 44
45 47 46
24
23
28
22 19
18
21 20
49 48 50 2 1 3 4
14 15 16
5
6
12 13 11 7 8 10 9
17
FUN FACTS Each day Serol the robot is sent thousands of requests for observations from all around the world!
Serol the robot knows when the Sun rises and sets, everywhere in the world. That's how it knows which of the telescopes to use to look at the night sky.
Each of our telescopes has over 650 wires, if you put them in a line it would stretch the length of the world's tallest building!
TS Serol the robot works 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, telling each of the telescopes where it should be looking. It doesn't even take Christmas off.
It takes 18 months to build one of our robotic telescopes, that's the same amount of time it takes for a baby elephant to grow!
The mirrors in our telescopes are incredibly smooth. A human hair is 1000 times thicker than the biggest bumps on their surface!
How does the telescope work? Draw your own light path: draw the path the light takes to reach the eyepiece. Remember that light always travels in straight lines!
Light Mirrors =
When you use this telescope you are a scientist. Draw yourself as a scientist
COMIC STRIP Serol the robot is on top of a mountain in Chile controlling one of our telescopes. Draw a comic strip to show his night-time adventure!
Look through the telescope, what do you see?
The Sun has come up, what do you do?
Can you find these objects in the picture above?
STARS, SPIRAL ARMS, BLACK HOLE
Spot the Difference Can you find 5 differences between these two galaxies?
Write a poem about galaxies... in the shape of a telescope! . see.
can I pe sco e l e t
y hm t i W
HOW BIG? How big are these famous cosmic objects?
The Universe is bigger than...
a Galaxy ...is bigger than...
a Star Cluster ...is bigger than...
the Sun ...is bigger than...
Jupiter ...is bigger than...
the Moon
This booklet is brought to you by Universe in the Classroom
Want to know more? Our website is: h ttp : // blog s. c ardif f. ac . uk / p hy sic soutre ach / unive rse - in- the - c lassroom
This booklet was inspired by UNAWE's Cosmos in your pocket www. e u- unawe . org
Illustrated by Charlotte Provot Funded by