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
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
- Criteria for GCSE Astronomy Observing Task
- Allowed observational tasks
- 1. Observation Planning Workbook
- 2. Unaided Observation Recording Form
- 3. Analysis and Evaluation Workbook
- Handy link – Light Pollution/Bortle Scale: https://astrobackyard.com/the-
bortle-scale/ - Some examples of simple astrophotography:
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
- Planet Earth Presentation
- Planet Earth Questions
- Model answers: https://youtu.be/OrLN6ljVmEU
- Earth structure
- The Earth-Moon-Sun System Presentation (Part 1 Topics 3.1-3.4)
- The Earth-Moon-Sun System Presentation (Part 2 Topics 3.5-3.10)
- Presentation Part 1 – The Equation of Time Time and the Earth Moon Sun Cycles (1)
- Equation of time example questions from Edexcel eotime
- Mark scheme and model answers eotime EOT model answers
- Presentation Part 2 – Determination of Longitude Time and the Earth Moon Sun Cycles (2)
- Example questions from Edexcel earth-moon-sun-cycles
- Mark scheme and examiner’s report earth-moon-sun-cycles earth-moon-sun-cycles (1)
- Solar System Observation Presentation (Part 1 Topics 5.1-5.4)
- What is retrograde motion? Study this presentation and answer the questions it asks – you will also need to print out the ‘Retrograde Motion of Mars’ worksheet:
- Solar System Observation Presentation (Part 2 Topics 5.5-5.8)
- Presentation Celestial Observations
- Edexcel Topic 6 Guide ‘The Celestial Sphere’ GCSE_Astronomy_Topic_Guide_Celestial_Sphere
- Celestial sphere revision quiz Quick Quiz
- Past paper questions:
- Example questions set 1 from Edexcel celestial-observation-examples (2) (1)
- Mark scheme and examiner’s report (1) celestial-observation-examples (1) celestial-observation-examples
- Example questions set 2 from Edexcel celestial-observation-examples-2
- Mark scheme and examiner’s report celestial-observation-examples-2 celestial-observation-examples-2 (1)
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
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 presentation
- GCSE Astronomy – Space Probes notes
- The 7 Coolest Active Space Probes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiQpudokpzc
- A scale drawing of distances to all the objects in the solar system, GCSE Astronomy class January 2021
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 Presentation – Topic 14 Stellar Evolution
Topic 15 Presentation Topic 15 Our place in the galaxy
- 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.