Content

Content

 

The qualification consists of 75% examination and 25% coursework.

As well as providing coursework guidance, this resource covers all examination topics from the specification, split into the five areas below.

Earth

Orbit, size, axis, latitude, longitude, pole, meridian, zenith, horizon perihelion, aphelion, astronomical unit, features, atmosphere, tides, scattering, pollution, radio astronomical observations, Van Allen belts, aurorae, time zones day and a year, solar day, sidereal day, ecliptic, equinox, solstice, seasons, shadow stick, daylight length, sundial sun, mean solar time, equation of time

 

 

 

 

 

Moon, Sun and Eclipses

Moon - diameter, distance, rotation, libration, shadow terminator, lunar features, including craters, domes, maria, mountains, mascons, rilles and Wrinkle ridges, mass, gravity.
Sun – dangers of observation, nearest star, nuclear reactions, size, distance, temperature, solar corona, photosphere, chromosphere., magnetic field, sunspots, prominences and solar flares, sunspot cycle, Fraunhofer spectrum, chemical composition, solar wind.
Eclipse – solar, total, annular, partial, lunar, durations, why eclipses occur, appearance

 

Solar System

Planets, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, discoveries, surface features, atmosphere, temperature, composition, life, satellites, Io, Titan, Miranda, Triton, Ring systems, orbits, planetary track, direct and retrograde motion, stationary points, elongation, conjunction, opposition, transit, occultation, asteroids, Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, Copernicus, Kepler's Laws, Galileo, heliocentric theory, inverse square law, Newton's Law of Gravitation, Meteors and comets, meteor showers, radiant point, meteoroids, meteorites and micrometeorites. comets, composition, tails, coma, orbits, Oort Cloud, Kuiper Belt

 

 

 

Stars, Galaxies and Constellations
Constellations, Ursa Major, Orion, Taurus, Cassiopeia, hemispheres, pointers, Polaris, Orion’s Belt, Sirius, visibility, optical double stars, binary star systems, circumpolar stars, star trails, right ascension, declination, star map, planisphere, heliocentric parallax, parsec, light curves, variability, eclipsing binaries, Cepheid variables, novae, supernovae, magnitude, apparent and absolute, Extra solar planets, Cepheid variables, stellar spectrum, emission, absorption lines, spectral type, spectroscopic binary, evolutionary cycle, Hertzsprung-Russell, black holes, accretion discs, orbiting binary companions, Galaxies, Universe, Milky Way, shape, size, nebula, emission, absorption, planetary, star clusters, groups, spiral, elliptical, irregular galaxies, Hubble classification, quasars, cosmic background radiation, expanding Universe, Doppler principle, wavelength, red shift, dark matter, cosmology, Big Bang

 

Observing Techniques & Space Exploration

Telescopes - refracting, reflecting, magnification, aperture, Newtonian, Cassegrain, visibility, observatories, refraction, photographic techniques, light, prism, visible light, radio waves, electromagnetic spectrum, radar, radio telescope, optical telescope, wavelength, resolution, infra-red, ultra-violet, X-ray astronomy, radio dish, appearances of Earth satellites, stars, meteors, aircraft, rocket, spacecraft, energy requirements, space missions, Apollo, Voyager, Giotto, Galileo, Magellan, Cassini/Huygens, Hubble space telescope, unmanned space-flight manned space flight, space travel, space research issues, historical knowledge

 

 

 

Coursework topics include:

Observations - Mapping the moon etc.

Graphical & computational work - plotting stars etc.

Constructional work - making a sundial, telescope etc.

There are a number of mathematical calculations throughout the specification that candidates may be tested on. This resource devotes special pages to these with examples of how to solve calculations.