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Sites2See: Astronomy for primary

A small galaxy of sites and resources, from Galileo making discoveries that changed our view of the universe, to new images and understandings from Hubble, on a page tailored for Primary students.

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Earth rotation: night and day

Watch an animation of the Earth rotating in space showing day and night, the equinox where locations on Earth experience close to equal hours of daytime and night-time (12 hours) and views of the Earth from above the North and South Poles. Turn an animated model of the Earth to explore how rotation is related to night and ...

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Orrery, c1770 - part 1

This is a close-up of a mechanical model of part of the solar system, commonly known as an orrery, made by renowned London instrument maker Benjamin Martin in about 1770. This bronze model features a cylindrical clockwork mechanism with an orb representing the Sun placed in the centre. Extending from this on an arm is a ...

Video

A long history of planet Mars

Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, is a cold, dry, desert-like place with a thin atmosphere and no signs of existing water or life. However, evidence suggests that its surface might once have looked very different, and that it possibly contained bodies of water. Watch this animation showing what Mars may have looked ...

Video

Why we can see some planets but not others

In this planetarium demonstration, the air has been sucked out of the sky to give us a black sky so we can actually see the planets that are above us. Why is it that we can't always see the planets? How does our proximity to the sun affect how visible a planet is to us?

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And now for the Sun's weather

The Sun is the primary source of energy on Earth and plays a major role in the weather we experience, but how does it affect weather in space? Watch this animation showing what happens when there is solar wind, solar flare and even a solar storm. Find out about their impacts on our planet and on us.

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The Milky Way

What do you know about the Milky Way? Did you know that there are hundreds of billions of stars in it? Before you embark on your stargazing expedition, watch this video to learn how you can use just your hands and a compass to locate stars in the sky! What is the unit of measurement used when you're measuring distances ...

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Catalyst: Scaling down our solar system

Can you imagine how huge the Sun is, or how far away planets such as Saturn are? Watch this clip to discover how 'mind-bending-ly big' the solar system is. Presenter, Bernie Hobbs, scales down the the solar system to fit into a football field to demonstrate the relative sizes and distances of the Sun and planets. Find out ...