Course Details

The Edexcel Specification:

Doing the course as an additional subject – some advice:

GCSE Astronomy Briefing slide presentation

GCSE Course Revision Resources for Candidates

This is a suggested plan for guided self study of the Edexcel specification points covered in Paper 1 Naked-eye Astronomy

Paper 1 Naked-eye Astronomy Edexcel GCSE Astronomy Learning Plan

This is a suggested plan for guided self study of the Edexcel specification points covered in Paper 2 Telescopic Astronomy

Paper 2 Telescopic Astronomy Edexcel GCSE Astronomy Learning Plan

Royal Greenwich Observatory GCSE Astronomy Resources:

https://www.rmg.co.uk/schools-communities/teacher-resources/gcse-astronomy-resources

Mickledore Publishing textbook and other resources for sale:

Astronomy Learning Resources For Students and Teachers

A lovely image of the half moon by one of the John Mason School GCSE Astronomy pupils

Analysis of a star trail photograph to calculate the length of a sidereal day

Photograph of Ursa Minor by a John Mason School student

Determination of the longitude of Abingdon to within 0.03° by a John Mason School student

Ursa Minor by Henry, John Mason School

Venus and The Pleiades

The Moon’s Terminator

Very low spring tides during the early April Supermoon in 2020

Arcturus in Bootes

Vega, Lyra, Deneb and part of Cygnus

Scorpio emerging from behind the rooftops

A satellite travelling above the constellation of Ophiucus

Ursa Major and Ursa Minor with Draco between them

Ursa Minor showing the red star Kochab and blue Pherkad sometimes known as ‘Keepers of the Pole’ as they circle Polaris to the right,

Cassiopeia and nacreous clouds above Portsmouth.

A4 Estimate a Celestial Property Using Drawings

A9 Longitude from a Shadow Stick

A10 Assess the accuracy of a sundial

Some example work by GCSE Astronomy students:

Determination of the longitude of Abingdon using the shadow stick method by Henry, John Mason School

Topic 1 - Planet Earth

Why is the sky blue?

Topic 2 - The lunar disc

Topic 3 - The Earth-Moon-Sun system

Topic 4 - Time and the Earth-Moon-Sun cycles

The Equation of Time – a real example.

Here is a photo of a sundial at Abingdon School taken at 15:23BST on 11 October 2021:

The shadow shows the time as approximately 2:31 which is not the same as clock time.

Correction 1 – adjust for BST so 2:31+1 hr = 3:31

Correction 2 – the equation of time shows that for 11 October, which is Day 284 of the year, a sundial will be approximately 13 minutes fast. This means the clock  should read 12 minutes earlier which is 3:18

Correction 3 – the longitude of Abingdon is 1.288 degrees west and the Earth takes 4 minutes to turn every 1 degree so 4 x 1.288 = 5.152 minutes. This must be added to the sundial time as it is a westerly longitude, giving the final, corrected time as approximately 3:23 compared to the actual clock time of 3:23.

Not bad!

Topic 5 - Solar System observation

In this image students are demonstrating ways of observing the Sun safely:

1.Right of image – using a commercially purchased solar projector (see the next image to see the projection)

2. Centre – using a home made pinhole projector, a long box with a pinhole punched in tinfoil at the ‘Sun’ end and white paper stuck inside the opposite end to make a screen. A viewing aperture has been cut in the top of the box nearest the screen. NOTE that the student is facing away from the Sun to avoid accidentally looking directly at it.

3. Left of image – using a specialised solar telescope with a Hydrogen-Alpha filter safe for direct observation of the Sun.

An image of the projection screen inside the commercially purchased solar projector during a partial solar eclipse in June 2021.

Modelling the zodiacal band – this site has a good diagram https://www.space.fm/astronomy//planetarysystems/ecliptic.html

Jupiter and Venus over Abingdon School Tuesday 2 November 2021

Topic 6 - Celestial observation

Topic 7 - Early models of the Solar System

Topic 8 - Planetary motion and gravity

Topic 8 Presentation 8.Planetary Motion and Gravity

Example Edexcel questions Topic 8

Mark scheme Topic 8

Model answers video https://youtu.be/87R–zHVbsY

Topic 9 - Exploring the Moon

Topic 10 - Solar astronomy

Topic 10 Solar Astronomy

Here are some suggested Solar Astronomy self-study exercises Topic 10 Solar Astronomy – Sunspots and Structure Exercises

NASA/SOHO Sunspot Tracking Exercise Sunspot Exercise

Print this off to carry out the sunspots exercise Sunspot Grid 

If you are a registered user of the National Schools Observatory then you can access and carry out their Sunspots and Solar Cycles activity here https://www.schoolsobservatory.org/discover/activities/sunspots_workshop

Topic 11 - Exploring the Solar system

Topic 13 - Exploring starlight

Topic 13 Part 1 Presentation Topic 13 Exploring Starlight Part 1

Written answers to NASA GSFC Inverse Squared Law Quiz questions in Part 1 (NASA Inverse Squared Law Quiz ):Inverse Square Law Solutions

Topic 14 - Stellar evolution

Topic 14 Presentation – Topic 14 Stellar Evolution

Topic 15 - Our place in the Galaxy

Topic 15 Presentation Topic 15 Our place in the galaxy

Useful resources

  • Stellarium: an excellent, free to download, planetarium package. It runs on various platforms and allows you to find your way around the night sky in real time, the past and the future. We hope to post some simple Stellarium tutorials before too long. (The app version may not be free of charge and other planetarium packages are available, but you can also use the web version without any download here Web version of Stellarium)
  • National Schools’ Observatory: many online resources, simulations and access to real, astronomical imagery for many topics in the GCSE course.

I have recorded a presentation about the structure and assessment methods of the course which can be viewed online here:

This is a copy of the slides if you prefer to read them in your own time:

GCSE Astronomy Briefing