Lesson Plans (252 results)

Students learn how astronomers use the transit method to detect exoplanets, by measuring how the brightness of a star changes over time. Animations illustrate how light curves vary for systems with single versus multiple planets, and for planets of different sizes. Students interpret and analyze light curve data from actual exoplanet discoveries, and make connections to Kepler's laws of planetary motion. Read more

This lesson plan enables students to describe a transit and the conditions when a transit may be seen, describe how a planet’s size and distance from its star affects the behavior of transits, and interpret graphs of brightness vs time to deduce information about planet-star systems. Read more