On this page you will find articles on topics with extended content from the Issues of The Classroom Astronomer.

  1. A Look at the Next Generation of Science Standards, in Astronomy.
    A five-part series of articles discussing what astronomy is in the NGSS, how it is arranged and can make the structure of a course, what is in it and what is missing, finding other parts of the NGSS to flesh it out more, and what needs to be done to improve the Standards. 18 page PDF.
  2. How the Measure the Moon’s Size and Distance During a Lunar Eclipse — 2022
    A two-article primer and example on using a small ball to get dimensions to Earth’s shadow, and then how to get the size of the cross section of the umbral shadow the Moon goes through during a lunar eclipse, hence the Moon’s distance and then its size. The second article in the set uses the observations of the May 15-16, 2022 total lunar eclipse (you can do this with a partial as well) to get the Moon’s size and distance to within 11%. PDF
  3. Busting Misconceptions Through Modeling — 2026A two-page AstroNote in the May 2026 “The Physics Teacher” from the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) issue. In this article, one learns a technique for using modeling and the scientific method of hypothesizing and testing multiple hypotheses for a scientific phenomenon using the same tools to test them all. The two examined here are the cause of the seasons using a globe, a light, a ruler, and an opaque paper with a square cutout, and the physical location of a rainbow and the constituents that create it (observer, sun, rain). This PDF contains the final submission revision (minus some minor word changes.