Big Idea 2.3

Advanced: An older learner (9-12+), or a learner that has a lot of experience with the subject matter.

Quick Facts

How does light teach us about distant objects thousands of light years away?

  • Educator Background

    We learn about distant planets, stars, and galaxies by their light, captured by ground-based and space telescopes. Light is produced when atoms are excited, their electrons jump energy levels, and when they fall back to their original ground state, they release photons (particles of light). Depending on the type of element the atom is, the characteristic of that light changes. Each element generates its own unique set of wavelengths of light emission or light absorption. We can use these patterns of emission and absorption, like fingerprints, to allow identification of the presence of an element, even in microscopic quantities, on a distant object. This is called spectroscopy, and it is a critical tool that astronomers use every day.

  • Learning Constraints

    At this level, students learn that EM radiation can be represented by a particle model (HS-PS4-3), which helps explain how atoms create photons. Students learn about how light spectra are used to identify compositional elements of stars (HS-ESS1-2,3)(HS-PS1-1).

  • Connect to Heliophysics

    Connect to the Sun by emphasizing that scientists use our understanding of the Sun and the solar system to try to find other places in the galaxy where life could exist. They use spectroscopy to look for evidence of the key elements needed for life. For example, scientists can use spectroscopy to identify the composition of the atmosphere of an exoplanet by analyzing the starlight being filtered through the planet's atmosphere.

  • Extend Exploration

    Extend student exploration by having them compare the composition and processes of our star, the Sun, to how other stars behave and how those stars affect their planetary systems.

  • Differentiate for Beginner Learners

    Support beginner students by examining the spectra of different kinds of elements.

  • Differentiate for More Advanced Learners

    Challenge students at the next level to examine data from Parker Solar Probe about the composition of the Sun, and compare that to the data the James Webb Space Telescope has gathered on the atmospheres of nearby exoplanets.

Featured Advanced Resources

Explore this guiding question with these featured advanced level resources.

A brightly colored map of Western Australia created using data from a Landsat satellite.

Lesson Plan

Using Light to Study Planets

side-by-side images of a galaxy cluster

Interactive

Exploring Light with the Hubble Space Telescope

Diagram showing spectroscopy of exoplanet atmosphere

Web-based Activities

Determining the Atmospheric Composition of Exoplanets

Seven figures of people with various symbols on their chests.

Kinesthetic Activity

How Light Carries Information