LO 1: Space is a vast area of emptiness.

The Sky - Sky Gallery Wonderful images of space - you can choose what music to listen to while you watch. Good for a topic introduction

This Week's Sky at a Glance Lets you know exactly what you should be able to see in the sky for each week

The Toilet Paper Solar System How to show the huge distances involved in the solar sysyem by using toilet paper sheets

An Interplanetary Hike Using 'steps' to show the size of the solar system

LO 2-4: The Solar System is populated by the Sun and planets. Planets close to the sun are warmer than those far away. Two types of planet occur: rocky planets and gas giants.

Engineering Interact - The Sun Excellent interactive 'module' explaining the sun as a star and how it relates to the earth

Engineering Interact - The Solar System Excellent interactive 'module' explaining the solar system and our place in it

Planet 10 (Scroll down the page to see the Play>> button). Use the Sun-Cam and Planet-Cam views on this model of the solar system. You can also zoom out to see orbits and watch tiny comets attracted towards the sun's gravity. Teacher Resources also available from the same page.

Planets, Moons and their dark sides Click Main Session Part 1 to order the planets, find facts for each one and discover 3 mnemonics

About the Planets Click on each planet - simple facts clearly presented

The Planets Simple facts and picture for each planet

The Nine Planets Excellent for facts and pictures

The Sky - Tour of the Solar System Facts and pictures about the sun and planets - more detail and depth

Views of the Solar System Excellent for images and very in-depth knowledge

Zoom Astronomy - The Planets Excellent comparative graphs, eg temperatures, gravity, orbital velocity

Idea Use RM Information Magic to create a datafile (data collection sheets and blank datafiles in CTB > Space) or browse records in the ready-made CTB > Space > Inf Magic 9 planets datafile

CTB > Space Find Publisher and PowerPoint demo files, pixbanks, picture files, sound files and keyboard practice files, etc

LO 5: Planets are tied to the sun by the force of gravity which makes them move in orbits.

Idea Try the following experiments to show how the planet orbits are controlled by gravity: Kepler's Orbits (scroll down the page to find it) and The Spinning Penny. Use the Digital Blue camera to record a movie of the experiment.

Idea Use RM Number magic to create a spreadsheet to calculate how your weight would change on different planets, depending on their gravity. This printable activity sheet explains how to do it.

Your Weight on Other Worlds Fill in your weight to see how it would change on other planets

European Space Agency Kids - Gravity Assists Animation of what happens when a spacecraft uses a planet's gravity to alter its flight path. This page explains more

LO 6: Space 'exploration' depended on the science available at the time.

Ancient Beliefs

Sun Myths 12 short sun myths from all over the world from Celts to Inuits. Also Moon Myths and Earth Myths

Stars, Constellations and Sky Myths Many myths from all over the world

The Sky - Pictures in the Sky Find constellations by month or by alphabetical listings. Shows the shape clearly, explains what stars are involved and tells the story behind the naming of the constellation

Northern Hemisphere Constellations Lists all the constellations we can see from our hemisphere. Click a name to find out more

Idea Use Roamerworld to draw constellations (see CTB > Space > Stars > Draw Constellations with Roamerworld)

People

The Sky - The Astronomers Facts and pictures about 12 astronomers who have advanced our knowledge about the universe

People in Astronomy Short biographies of many people involved in developing our understanding of space

The Space Race

The Sky - Space Exploration Timeline Grouped by decade from the 1950s to now. Short chunks of text for each date mentioned

Space Exploration Timeline Activity Sheet Printable sheet with list of space events to place in the correct order. (Information to complete this task could be found from the site above)

Channel 4 Rocket Science Timeline Timeline related to the use of rockets in space

CTB > Space > LTSTicket to Space > Week 1> Space History Timeline Printable Word document

Spacecraft Images of NASA spacecraft from Apollo onwards

Satellites and Robotic Spacecraft Overview page with many links to find out more about eg Mariner or Voyager

A History of Satellite and Robotic Spacecraft Missions Extremely comprehensive list of missions from 1957 to 2004

Inside the Space Station This page features an interactive space walk, but the rest of this excellent site is worth exploring too

Mir Space Station Life as astronauts

The Hubble Space Telescope

ESA Kids Exploration Up-to-date space exploration ideas from the European Space Agency

LO 7: Some of our units of time are based on astronomical events.

Engineering Interact - The Earth Excellent interactive 'module' explaining year, day/night and the seasons

Planets, Moons and their dark sides Click Main Session Part 4 to see an animation of the earth's spin causing day and night

BBC Science Clips - Earth, Sun and Moon Change the numbers of hours, days and months and watch the animation of the Earh, Moon and Sun

Earth and Space Use Interactive Whiteboard Activity 1 and 2 to find out about day/night, the seasons and the phases of the moon

Phases of the Moon Click the play button to make the moon orbit the Earth and see pictures of the phases.

The Changing Moon Printable sheet showing all the phases of the moon over 28 days

Galileo's "Phases of the Moon" Drawings by Galileo, the first scientist to use the telescope.

Solar System Birthdays (page 26)

Your Age on Other Worlds Fill in your birth date to find out your Martian or Venusian age

Idea Use RM Number magic to create a spreadsheet (using the Conversion Factor data on page 26 of the Space topic folder section) to calculate your age on different planets

Eclipses (page 27)

Engineering Interact - The Moon Interactive 'module' explaining lunar and solar eclipses

BBC Science Solar Eclipse Excellent animation showing a solar eclipse

Solar Eclipses Facts and links to images and movies

LO 7: Describe the Universe in terms of stars, galaxies and black holes

The Sky - Stars Excellent (but advanced) text explaining what stars are, how they are formed and different types of star

All Star line Up Click a star to see facts and image

ESA Stars and Galaxies Separate pages (links on the right) on star birth, star death, the Milky Way, dwarfs and supergiants

The Milky Way Galaxy Good explanation of our own galaxy

The Sky - Galaxies Explanations of galaxies and the 4 main types

The Galaxy Catalogue Images of 113 'nearby' galaxies

The Sky - Black Holes Explains what a black hole is and why astronomers think they exist

Black Holes Excellent description of what would happen to you if you went near a black hole!

European Space Agency Multimedia Gallery Find great images and animations of black holes, galaxies, etc, by typing in search keywords.