Popular Astronomy Lectures

for Schools and General Audiences

Source: https://www.astro.gla.ac.uk/users/martin/outreach/reachlist.html Parent: https://www.astro.gla.ac.uk/?page_id=60

Popular Astronomy Lectures for Schools and General Audiences

Above is a montage of some title pages for lectures which I have developed as part of "Reach for the Stars" - a project funded initially by the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council. All lectures have been prepared in PowerPoint, and many are available (with accompanying notes) for download. Click here for a complete list of presentations.

If you are interested in arranging a lecture at your School, or gaining web access to copies of the lectures, email martin@astro.gla.ac.uk

Talks aimed particularly (but not exclusively!) at secondary schools' physics students are:-


Title	Topics covered	Level
Rocket Science	How do rockets work in space? Newton's laws of motion and gravity; Gravity in Einstein's universe; Future space travel: solar sails and fusion rockets; Black holes, hyperspace and warp drive?....	Standard grade Higher grade Advanced Higher
Extra-Terrestrial Life: Is there Anybody Out There?	Life in the Solar System: Greenhouse effect, tides Extra-Solar Planets: making stars 'wobble' Doppler effect; the Bohr atom; atomic spectra Detecting Earth-like planets using spectra SETI: the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence	Standard grade Higher grade Advanced Higher
Getting the Measure of the Universe	How planets move - before and after Copernicus Galileo's telescopes, Kepler's laws and Newton's gravity Measuring planetary distances: Pythagoras at work Measuring the speed of light using marshmallows! Atomic spectra and extra-solar planets	Standard grade Higher grade Advanced Higher
The Life and Death of Stars	Energy from the Sun: Solar flares and Solar storms Forming stars and planets: gas pressure and gravity Hydrogen fusion: fuelling the Sun's nuclear furnace When the fuel runs out: red giants and white dwarfs Supernovae explosions: putting the Iron in Irn Bru!	Higher grade Advanced Higher
Light in Lumps or Ripples	Newton's early ideas about light; reflection and refraction Measuring the speed of light Young's slits and the interference of light The ultraviolet catastrophe and the Bohr atom The photoelectric effect: Einstein triumphs again! De Broglie waves and quantum mechanics Heisenberg, Schrodinger's Cat and non-locality	Higher grade Advanced Higher
The Runaway Universe	Measuring astronomical distances Hubble's law and the expansion of the Universe Random and systematic errors Will the Universe expand forever? Echoes of the Big Bang: the Microwave Background Radiation Dark Matter and Dark Energy	Higher grade Advanced Higher
Einstein's Universe	Newton's laws of motion Newton's gravity: 'action at a distance' Measuring the speed of light The elusive ether and Einstein's Special Relativity Spacetime and moving clocks General Relativity: gravity and spacetime warps	Advanced Higher

Complete List of Presentations