Astronomy Year
12 sky missions. Look up, track the Moon, find the stars, keep a log.
Free, start to finish. No card. Every week opens without signing in.
- Grade
- Kindergarten to Grade 5, ages 5 to 11
- Length
- 12 weeks
- Pace
- 6 short lessons a week, about 15 minutes each
- Price
- Free, every week
About this course
Astronomy Year is an observation course built around what families can see from their own backyard in the Northern Hemisphere. Each of the 12 missions has short indoor lessons and a guided Sky Night outside with a grown-up, with a cloudy-night backup. Kids keep a Moon log, find the North Star and eight star patterns, tell planets from stars, and plan their own night of sky watching. Do one mission a week, or one a month for a full year.
Kids will
- Find 8 constellations and star patterns visible from the Northern Hemisphere
- Track moon phases and predict the next full moon
- Spot the difference between planets and stars in the night sky
- Notice how the sky changes with the seasons
- Use the Big Dipper and a compass to find north
- Plan an observation night: what to look for, where, and what to do if it is cloudy
The 12 weeks
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Week 1
Safe Sky Watchers
Sky safety, day and night
NGSS 1-ESS1-1
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Week 2
The Moon Changes
Moon shapes and a moon log
NGSS 1-ESS1-1
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Week 3
Predict the Full Moon
The Moon's monthly pattern
NGSS 1-ESS1-1
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Week 4
Find North
The Big Dipper and the North Star
NGSS 5-ESS1-2
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Week 5
Planet or Star?
Wanderers and twinklers
NGSS 5-ESS1-1
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Week 6
Star Pictures
Constellations, the Little Dipper and Cassiopeia
NGSS 5-ESS1-2
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Week 7
Seasons in the Sky
New stars and new sunsets
NGSS 1-ESS1-2
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Week 8
Orion the Hunter
A winter giant and a summer triangle
NGSS 5-ESS1-2
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Week 9
Star Colors and Brightness
Hot stars, cool stars, near and far
NGSS 5-ESS1-1
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Week 10
Shooting Stars
Meteors and meteor showers
NGSS 5-ESS1-1
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Week 11
Dark Skies
The Milky Way and light pollution
NGSS 5-ESS1-1
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Week 12
Plan Your Own Sky Night
Eclipse safety and your year of sky watching
NGSS 5-ESS1-2
Standards practiced. NGSS: 1-ESS1-1, 1-ESS1-2, 5-ESS1-1, 5-ESS1-2. Each mission has short indoor lessons Monday to Friday and a Sky Night outside with a grown-up on Saturday.
Try Week 1 today.
Open the course, pick Day 1 and go. Make a free parent account when you want progress saved for each kid.