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Galaxy zoo

What types of galaxies are there and how can we distinguish them? A visit to the galaxy zoo.

Niveau: B

The examination of galaxy types provides important insights about their formation and development as well as about the whole universe. In this activity, the students learn about the different types of galaxies and how to distinguish them. They will take pictures of selected galaxies with the Stellarium Gornergrat telescopes and discuss similarities and differences on their own. Then, they learn about Edwin Hubble's galaxy classification system (which he introduced in 1936 and is still commonly used today) and its limitations.

Requirements

Learning Objectives

The students…
  • know the four galaxy types (spiral galaxies, elliptical, irregular and lenticular galaxy) and assign them to real galaxies.
  • can name the most important differences of elliptical and spiral galaxies.
  • can classify pictures of galaxies according the Hubble-sequence and show the traits which are crucial for the classification.

Learning Steps

1: Galaxien beobachten

Short Description

<div style="text-align: justify; "> Die SuS erstellen mit Hilfe des Stellarium Gornergrat Bilder verschiedener Galaxien. </div> Die SuS erstellen mit Hilfe des Stellarium Gornergrat Bilder verschiedener Galaxien.

Difficulty Level

2

Duration

45 minutes

Materials

Printer for printing the images
computer with internet access

Social Form

Class Pairs Individual

Teaching Method

Think-pair-share

2: Aufnahmen vergleichen und gruppieren

Short Description

Die SuS vergleichen ihre Aufnahmen der Galaxien und bilden Gruppen von ähnlichen Galaxien.

Difficulty Level

1

Duration

15 minutes

Materials

Pictures from various galaxies (paper print)

Social Form

Group

3: Die Hubble-Sequenz

Short Description

Die SuS lernen nach welchen Kriterien Edwin Hubble die Galaxien in Gruppen eingeteilt hat.

Difficulty Level

1

Requirements

Basic knowledge of galaxies and their components (stars, gas, dust)

Duration

30 minutes

Materials

Coloured paper (A4)

Social Form

Individual Pairs Class

Teaching Method

Partnerpuzzle

4: Galaxien klassifizieren

Short Description

Die SuS klassifizieren ihre Galaxienaufnahmen gemäss der Hubble-Sequenz

Difficulty Level

1

Requirements

Knowledge of the Hubble sequence

Duration

15 minutes

Materials

Pictures from various galaxies (paper print)

Social Form

Group Individual

Documents for Learners

There are no teaching materials available for the English version of this activity.

Useful Links

http://www.galaxyzoo.org/

Galaxy zoo

http://stellarium-gornergrat.ch/

Website of the Stellarium Gornergrat

http://stellarium.org/

Stellarium Astronomy Software