offers 20 animations related to the search for earth-like worlds. Take an interactive tour of our galaxy, the Milky Way. Explore extrasolar planets. Find out how new planets are discovered. Learn about extreme organisms here on earth.
consists of web-based educational presentations for young children about space, which were developed at the Space Telescope Science Institute. Teachers teamed up with scientists and engineers from the institute and staff members from the Office of Public Outreach to develop interactive lessons. All lessons include spectacular photographs taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and many high quality graphics, videos, and animation designed to enhance student understanding and interest.
is a monthly stargazing guide providing information about constellations, deep sky objects, planets, and events.
Gain an historical perspective on the development of rockets and space flight, especially as it relates to spying. Explore what "resolution" means and how important it is to see details, and examine the dimensions of the International Space Station.
features lesson plans on electro-magnetism, energy, exploration, gravity, pioneers, landforms, life, light, math ratios, matter, measurement, modeling, origin, planet surfaces, rocks and minerals, the scientific method, and triangulation. Classroom and informal learning activities focus on meteorites, comets, the sun, planet change and constancy, the search for life in the solar system, and missions to outer planets.
explores questions that include: How do galaxies and stars form? What powered the Big Bang? What is dark energy and how is it pulling the universe apart? Is the universe expanding? What happens at the edge of a black hole? Is there life beyond earth?
This course focuses on three particularly interesting areas of astronomy that are advancing very rapidly: Extra-Solar Planets, Black Holes, and Dark Energy. Particular attention is paid to current projects that promise to improve our understanding significantly over the next few years. The course explores not just what is known, but what is currently not known, and how astronomers are going about trying to find out.
explores the Earth, planets of our solar system, and the universe. It includes images, animations, and data sets, and information about books, movies, scientists, and myths.
Before starting a unit on space, hook your students with the possibility of a huge asteroid in space colliding with the earth. Is it the stuff of science fiction, or do scientists actually consider this threat likely? Students learn what scientists know about asteroids — where they come from, how they move across space, and how very close they sometimes come to our own planet. What other possible dangers, if any, threaten us from outer space?
When studying the solar system and planets, enhance your curriculum with this interactive in which students evaluate the most recent findings from scientists in search for planets outside our own solar system. A virtual planetarium allows students to navigate across Earth's nighttime skies and compare the location of recently discovered extrasolar planets with the positions of familiar star constellations.
Capture your students' imagination with life on Mars. Ask them: what is the relation of science to popular myth? For hundreds of years, the question of the possibility of life on Mars is one that has produced answers from both sides. Students join this debate as they look though historic maps and illustrations to trace how advancements in space technology and exploration have dramatically shifted our perceptions of our nearest planetary neighbor.
When studying the sun and the moon, ask your students if they have ever seen a solar eclipse. How would the same eclipse look from two different regions of the globe? Students find answers to this question and others as they collect facts about the earth's orbit and its relation to the moon and the sun. Animated diagrams depict different types of lunar shadows and allow students to compare multiple perspectives of the same solar eclipse from varying points on the earth's surface.
This activity engages students in exploring parallax and then simulating the discovery of Pluto via an online interactive called the Blink Comparator.
