GCSE Astronomy

A brief history of astronomy from the ancient times to the twentieth century.

This includes the Earth’s dimensions, its elliptical orbit and distinguishing features, latitude and longitude, why the sky is blue, why we experience day and night, and the seasons.

Module 6.3– The Moon

This includes lunar features like craters, domes and mountains, and the phases of the moon.

Module 6.4– The Sun

This includes sunspots, the solar wind, the solar corona and the sun’s magnetic field, solar and lunar eclipses.

Module 6.5– The Solar System

This includes the planets and their main characteristics, some natural planetary satellites, the status of Pluto as a real planet, Saturn’s ring system, asteroids and how they are formed, the contribution of Copernicus, Kepler and Galileo to the heliocentric theory, Kepler’s Laws, meteors and comets.

Module 6.6– Stars & Galaxies

This includes constellations and how to recognise some of them e.g. Ursa Major & Orion, the interpretation of star-trail photographs, star maps and planishperes, apparent and absolute magnitude, stellar spectra, stellar evolutionary cycles, nebulae, quasars and galaxies, the Doppler principle and red-shift, the big-bang theory.

Module 6.7– Observing Techniques and Space Exploration

This includes types of telescope, magnification, photographic techniques, the electromagnetic spectrum, infra-red ultra-violet, X-Ray & radio astronomy, rockets & spacecraft, major space missions, the Hubble telescope, technical, financial & ethical issues arising out of space research