This animation highlighting the phases of the Moon was released by the Scientific Visualization Studio at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
This website provides instructions on how to find and download images directly from the WISE archive. Anyone with an internet connection now has free access to high-resolution infrared images from the WISE mission. These instructions explain how to get the images you want, without using complex terminology and options that may be difficult for the layperson to navigate.
The Active Galaxies pop-up book is a very large rectangular pop-up book with foldouts that was developed for use in classrooms for grades 5 and up and for special needs audiences. Active galaxies, a major scientific target for the GLAST mission, contain super-massive black holes at their cores, and sometimes emit jets of particles and light. When opened, a model of an active galaxy with jets pops up out of the center. One foldout contains explanatory information for the parts of the galaxy depicted in the central pop-up as well as a glossary, while the other contains a well-tested classroom activity: Tasty Active Galaxy. The back of the book features a cartoon story -How the Galaxy Got Its Jets.
In this activity, students construct adding slide rules, scaled with linear calibrations like ordinary rulers. Students learn to move these scales relative to each other in ways that add and subtract distances, thus calculating sums and differences. This is Activity A1 in the "Far Out Math" educator's guide. Lessons within the guide include activities in which students measure, compare quantities as orders of magnitude, use scientific notation, and develop an understanding of exponents and logarithms using examples from NASA's GLAST mission. These are skills needed to understand the very large and very small quantities characteristic of astronomical observations. Note: In 2008, the GLAST mission was renamed Fermi, for the physicist Enrico Fermi.
This is an activity about the motion of the Sun, Earth and Moon, specifically rotation and revolution. After identifying what they already know about the Sun, Earth and Moon, learners will observe and manipulate a styrofoam ball model of the Sun, Earth, and Moon system. This activity requires a location with an open space approximately ten feet by ten feet in area, and is Activity 9 of a larger resource entitled Eye on the Sky.
This is an activity about the rotation of the Earth and its revolution around the Sun, as well as the rotation of the Moon and its revolution around the Earth. Outside, in chalk, learners will draw the Sun and Earth system complete with Earth's orbit. Learners will then add to the chalk drawing the placement of the Moon and the path of its orbit around the Earth. Volunteers will then act out the rotation and revolution of a yearly cycle of the Moon, Earth and Sun. Learners will also complete a worksheet to reinforce visual understanding of this model. This activity requires an outdoor location with ample room and is Activity 8 of a larger resource entitled Eye on the Sky.
This astronomy program is designed for middle school children in out-of-school-time settings. The program explores basic astronomy concepts (like invisible light, telescopes) and focuses on the universe outside the solar system (stars, galaxies, black holes). The program is structured for use in a variety of settings, including astronomy days, summer camps, or year-long afterschool programs. Although session activities build concepts sequentially, each session activity is designed to be freestanding as not all participants may attend every session. A manual provides background information and descriptions of how to conduct each activity. A companion website provides additional information and resources for the program leader.
This resource provides an explanation of two number/magic puzzles that can be demystified and explained by using algebra. This resource is from PUMAS - Practical Uses of Math and Science - a collection of brief examples created by scientists and engineers showing how math and science topics taught in K-12 classes have real world applications.
Traditionally, spectral images are two dimensional, and related to text. This kinesthetic activity has groups of students position themselves along a printed spectrum to make spectral patterns and model various elements. Includes photos, teachers notes and instructions, related resources (e.g., color pdf of a visible light spectra image that can be projected onto a white board or wall to do the activity), and alternative suggestions.
This is an activity about graph interpretation. Learners will compare, interpret, and discuss four graphs of the speed, temperature, magnetic field strength, and density of a coronal mass ejection as it swept past Earth in 1997. This is the third activity in the Solar Storms and You: Exploring the Wind from the Sun educator guide.
This short video (~2 minutes) explains how a raindrop falls through the atmosphere and why a more accurate look at raindrops can improve estimates of global precipitation. This information is important to scientists working on the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission - understanding the micro world of raindrops provides insight to scientists about the macro world of storms.
This experimental activity is designed to develop basic understanding of the relationship between the angle of light rays and the area over which the light rays are distributed, and the potential to affect changes in the temperature of materials. Resources needed to conduct this activity include a flashlight, cardboard, protractor and ruler. The resource includes background information, a pre-activity inquiry exploration for students, teaching tips and questions to guide student discussion. This is chapter 4 of Meteorology: An Educator's Resource for Inquiry-Based Learning for Grades 5-9. The guide includes a discussion of learning science, the use of inquiry in the classroom, instructions for making simple weather instruments, and more than 20 weather investigations ranging from teacher-centered to guided and open inquiry investigations.
This is an activity about determining the distance of a solar flare from the center of the Sun's disk. Learners will use transparency grids overlaid on images of the Sun in order to calculate the distance of a solar flare, similar to a signal detection method used by scientists. This is the second activity in the lesson titled, How Does HESSI Take a Picture?
This service answers users questions on a wide variety of topics in high-energy astronomy. Questions are answered by scientists within the Lab for High-Energy Astrophysics at NASA/GSFC. An archive of questions and answers are categorized by topic for users to browse. Suggestions for additional information resources are also provided.
The science of astrobiology is concerned with the question of whether or not life exists on other planets. These activities were adapted for use in afterschool programs with ages 5-12. Astrobiology consists of eight activities, each of which may be completed in about one hour. Astrobiology: Science Learning Activities for Afterschool was produced by the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) as a part of a 18 month study and demonstration project funded by NASA.
This resource includes over 88 paper plate activities, where scientists put their research into laymen’s terms and develop paper plate activities that illustrate their respective pursuits. Paper Plate Education asserts that anything worth teaching ought be reducible to a paper plate. This is also known as Paper Plate Reduction. There are lessons in space science, music theory, archeology, celestial navigation, African-American history, geometry, and art.
Atmosphere Applet: This program lets you study how the properties of the atmosphere change with altitude. You can study the atmosphere of either the Earth or Mars. The equations used in this program are taken from the ICAO standard day model for the Earth and from some curve fits of the Martian atmosphere gathered by the Global Surveyor spacecraft. Using the airplane graphic you can select an altitude, or you can type an altitude into the input box.
The program instantly outputs a selected property and displays the local temperature and pressure on gauges You can output the temperature, pressure, density, local speed of sound, Mach number for specified velocity, or the ratio of aircraft lift to the lift on Earth at sea level. Input and output can be given in either English or metric units.
This color brochure answers common questions about the aurora borealis, including its cause, as well as explanations of its colors, shapes, and location. It also lists resources for further study. The brochure may be downloaded in PDF format.
This is a lesson which gives students the opportunity to imagine they are scientists, provides them with a basic understanding of aurora and helps them to use creative methods in their observations. First, students will study the scientific aspect of the aurora. They will also look at images of the aurora (both pictures and illustrations) and describe what they think of when they see them. These descriptions can be stored in the student portfolios as they will be useful in future lessons. Includes teacher notes and instructions, student workshops and an online, animated story, and related teacher resources on aurora. This is lesson three of a collection of five activities that can be used individually or as a sequence; concludes with a KWL (Know/Want-to-know/Learned) assessment activity.
In this lesson, students will demonstrate their understanding of the aurora by writing their own poems. Teachers can decide which form(s) of poetry to use from their worksheets or allow students to create their own. Examples of styles include: Acrostic, List, Haiku, Like and As, and May and Could. To help students get inspired, the class will read a poem on the aurora, and they can also look through their portfolios to help form ideas. Includes teacher notes and instructions, student workshops and an online, animated story, and related teacher resources on aurora. This is lesson five of a collection of five activities that can be used individually or as a sequence; concludes with a KWL (Know/Want-to-know/Learned) assessment activity.