Several activities feature infrared radiation and
their role in astronomy:
(1)
Hot Spots! With this interactive game
you can learn to view your surroundings as if you were looking
through infrared goggles. Find the hot and cold spots in the
picture gallery, and an infrared picture will show you where
the hottest and coldest parts are in the picture.
(2)
Starforge
In Starmaker you can create your own star online - if you know
how! You have control over the conditions in the protostar system.
Starmaker will tell you whether you were successful in your
efforts to get cold dust to collapse into a new star.
(3)
The Herschel experiment
In 1800, William Herschel was the first to report infrared radiation
from an astronomical source: our sun. His experiment was very
simple, involving a piece of glass from his living room chandelier.
That breakthrough discovery can be repeated today with the help
of a glass prism, a few thermometers, and a sunny day.
(4)
Infrared Memory
As in the traditional memory board game, you have to match a
pair of tiles. One tile shows an object in the visible and another
shows it in the infrared. A whole class can play this hands-on
game and learn what everyday objects, animals, stars, and galaxies
look like in the infrared. This game is available at the Lethbridge
Astronomy Society, and through the Astronomy crate from
the Science
Alberta Foundation.
Click
on image for larger graphic. You can download a printable
version of the poster by right clicking on the larger graphic
(once opened) and saving the image to your computer.
Plug-in(s) Required:
The Macromedia
Flash Player is required. Click on the Flash
symbol to get the latest version of the free Flash Player
The Macromedia
Shockwave Player is required. Click on the Shockwave
symbol to get the latest version of the free Flash Player
