Cosmic Times

Cosmic Times Lesson Plans

The table below lists all the Cosmic Times lessons. "Year" and "Article" indicate which Cosmic Times issue and article(s) the lesson goes with. Some lessons may be used for both middle school (MS) and high school (HS) classes. The lesson titles are linked to descriptions and downloads of the lessons.

Year Lesson Title Summary Level Article Discipline
1919 Einstein and His Times Students look at other 1919 events to decide if Einstein should be elected "Man of the Year". MS,HS Sun's Gravity Bends Starlight Multidisciplinary
1919 Eclipses and Moon Phases Students explore how eclipses happen and why Einstein needed a total eclipse to image stars near the Sun. MS Why a Total Eclipse? Earth Science, Physical Science
1919 Two Versions of Gravity: Newton and Einstein Students explore the differences between Einstein and Newtonian gravity through an information exchange. HS Sun's Gravity Bends Starlight Physics, Astronomy
1919 Einstein's Gravity Students use hands-on demonstration to understand how General Relativity explains gravity and explores Einstein's theories through outside research. HS Sun's Gravity Bends Starlight Physics, Astronomy
1929 Discovering the Milky Way Students look at historic astronomical data to find the pattern originally seen by Henrietta Leavitt. HS Andromeda Nebula Lies Outside Milky Way Galaxy Physics, Astronomy
1929 Just How Far is that Star? Students work with light meters to determine how astronomers find distances to objects of known brightness. HS Andromeda Nebula Lies Outside Milky Way Galaxy Physics, Astronomy
1929 Cosmic CSI Students explore what spectra from different elements looks like and how astronomers can learn composition of objects with this tool. MS Universe is Expanding Earth Science, Physical Science, Chemistry
1929 Determining the Universe Students measure the size of several galaxies to reproduce a plot of Hubble's Law. HS Andromeda Nebula Lies Outside Milky Way Galaxy Physics, Astronomy
1929 Unsung Heroes of Science Students investigate figures in science who are often overlooked. MS,HS The Minds atop Mount Wilson Multidisciplinary
1955 The Evidence is Clear Students consider observations and inferences to determine the support for each of two theories on the origin of the univese. HS Origin of Everything: Hot Big Bang or Ageless Universe? Physics, Astronomy, Nature of Science
1955 Cosmic Jeopardy Students will play Jeopardy! based on the articles in the 1955 Cosmic Times. MS,HS All 1955 articles Physics, Astronomy
1955 Big Bang Science Fiction Students create a fictional narrative on the beginning of time. MS,HS Origin of Everything: Hot Big Bang or Ageless Universe? Multidisciplinary
1955 Discovering 'Yardsticks' are 'Metersticks' This lesson uses a simple discrepant event to demonstrate the underlying cause for early miscalculation of the size of the Milky Way galaxy. HS 'Yardsticks' in Neighbor Galaxy Double Universe's Size Physical Science, Astronomy
1955 Hubble's Law Mis-calibration Extension This lesson is an extension of the Cosmic Times 1929 lesson "Determining the Universe" to reproduce a plot of Hubble's Law. HS 'Yardsticks' in Neighbor Galaxy Double Universe's Size Physics, Astronomy
1965 Reading Strategies Students learn several reading strategies that can be used to understand the Cosmic Times materials, and other readings that may be challenging to them. MS,HS All Multidisciplinary
1965 Cosmic Microwave Background Students explore the cosmic microwave background to understand why it permeates the Universe and why it peaks as microwave radiation. HS murmur of a Bang, Big Hiss Missed by Others Physics, Astronomy
1965 Tornadoes and Galaxies Students study how the Doppler effect helps scientists study both tornadoes and galaxies. MS,HS Galaxies Still Misbehaving Physics, Astronomy
1965 What's the Matter? Students explore the density of substances as a model for understanding how astronomers have come to find the existence of dark matter. MS,HS Galaxies Still Misbehaving Physics, Astronomy
1993 Raisin Bread Universe Students examine the idea of inflation in the Universe using raisin bread as a model for Universal expansion. MS,HS Inflation in the Universe Physics, Astronomy
1993 What's the Problem with Isotropy Students explore the cosmic microwave background to understand why a completely smooth (isotropic) background poses problems for the Universe we see today. HS Baby Universe's First Picture Physics, Astronomy
1993 Gravitational Waves Students explore the idea of gravitational waves and how they were discovered by Nobel prize winners Hulse and Taylor. HS Pulsar Gravitational Waves Win Nobel Prize Physics, Astronomy
1993 Melting ice Students explore a discrepent event when they design an experiment to measure the rate that ice melts when in pure water versus salt water. MS,HS Dark Matter Hunt Heats Up Physics, Astronomy
1993 Dark Matter NASA Conference Students explore the evidence for dark matter using the measurements made by the ROSAT X-ray satellite for a small group of galaxies. HS Dark Matter Hunt Heats Up Physics, Astronomy
2006 Measuring Dark Energy Students simulate an experiment in which the discovery of dark energy can be made by plotting modern supernova distances on a Hubble Diagram. HS Faster Walk on the Dark Side Physics, Astronomy
2006 Tools of the Trade Students explore the telescopes and technologies that will shape our understanding of the Universe in the coming years. HS Journey to Cosmos' Dark Heart Physics, Astronomy
2006 Cosmic Times 2019 Students predict the next discoveries that will shape our understanding of the nature of the expanding Universe as they write the 100th anniversary edition of Cosmic Times. MS,HS All 2006 articles Physics, Astronomy, Multidisciplinary
2006 Things Are Not What They Seem Students explore a discrepent event by designing experiments to test what makes a "come back can" return or UV beads change color. MS,HS Sorting Out the Dark Stuff Physics, Astronomy
2006 Century Timeline Students create a timeline of world events from 1905 through 2006, the years encompassed by the Cosmic Times posters, to get a sense of the history surrounding the discoveries over the past century. MS,HS All Multidisciplinary
All/Any Cosmic Times Gallery Walk Students spend a few minutes at each Cosmic Times poster to answer an open-ended question about the information on that poster. MS,HS All Multidisciplinary
All/Any Cosmic Times Jigsaw Students work in teams to see the big picture of about how scientists have come to know what they do about the Universe using articles from the Cosmic Times posters. MS,HS All Multidisciplinary
A service of the High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC), Dr. Andy Ptak (Director), within the Astrophysics Science Division (ASD) at NASA/GSFC