This lithograph contains a Hubble Space Telescope image that shows the colorful Planetary Nebula NGC 2440 with one of the hottest known white dwarfs at its center. The text briefly explains the process of stellar death of sun-like stars and those with a mass greater than eight times the Sun. The accompanying classroom activity is a curriculum support tool designed for use as an introductory inquiry activity. It can be incorporated into a unit that has a scientific inquiry and/or stellar evolution theme. During the classroom activity, In Search of... Stellar Death, students use the lithograph images and text to generate questions about the planetary nebula NGC 2440 and how stars end their lives. Students conduct research to answer their questions then compare the endpoints of different mass stars, providing supporting evidence from their research.

This DVD combines the latest scientific and educational research to help teachers in grades 8-12 deepen their own and their students’ understanding of our universe and of the nature of science. Produced by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in association with NASA, Beyond the Solar System is filled with video, print, and online resources. It is designed for Earth and space science educators, physical science educators, professional development providers, and classroom use. The National Science Education Standards includes the topic of origin and evolution of the universe as part of the essential content of Earth and space science understanding. Yet providing concrete, inquiry-based experiences for students to learn these concepts can be a challenge for teachers. Beyond the Solar System contains more than two hours of video, organized into two modular strands of material -- science content, and teaching and learning resources. These are intended to promote greater understanding of the scientific concepts through discussion and reflection, activities, and application of the ideas to teaching. Also included are lesson plans, student guides, assessments, content background, summaries of relevant standards, and links to further resources. These instructional materials are provided in PDF format and can be printed from a computer.

This activity is designed to introduce students to geologic processes on Earth and how to identify geologic features in images. It also introduces students to how scientists use Earth to gain a better understanding of other planetary bodies in the solar system.

This film was taken by astronauts from five Space Shuttle missions with the IMAX camera, illustrating forces affecting Earth's ecological balance: volcanoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and, ultimately, humankind. Experiments discussed in the videotape focus on infrared detection of atmospheric remnants from volcanic eruptions, ozone concentration levels, and incoming solar ultraviolet radiation with respect to global warming, among others. Length: 42:00.

This curriculum includes ten missions and three exploration extensions that provide activities for up to a semester and focus largely on the space exploration theme. It is designed to engage students in hands-on inquiry based learning. It addresses science and technology standards, and specifically focuses on math content and process standards. Although other models will work, the curriculum is geared towards using a Texas Instruments (IT) 83 or 84 series graphing calculator with a Norland research calculator robot. The curriculum can be used in math, science, technology, or after school classes. Students create programs in TI-BASIC to run their robots. Missions are sequentially built on the knowledge of previous activities. Step-by-step programming instructions are provided in the first missions, gradually leading students to create their own programs in later missions. Students use and apply math and science concepts to direct their robots through a variety of challenges. In addition to the detailed activities, teachers are given opportunities to draw on their students’ hands-on experience to reach a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts. Several open-ended questions and extension activities are included to encourage potential scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and computer programmers to explore their fields.

This is the third in a series of four ChemMatters issues devoted to NASA’s Earth Observing System (EOS) Aura mission and it focuses on the chemistry of the mission. ChemMatters is designed and published for teachers to use as a supplement to their first year high school chemistry course, and as a resource for other high school science teachers. Article titles are: Whose Air Is It Anyway (global circulation of the atmosphere), Alien Atmospheres (atmospheres of other planets), Clouds (how clouds form, and cloud research), Life in a Greenhouse (how the greenhouse effect works and how people study it), Chemistry in the Sunlight (about formation of the ozone we breathe), Beefing Up Atmospheric Models (how modeling helps us understand the atmosphere), and Nobel Prize Winner: Sherwood Rowland (interview). The issue also includes a challenge asking students to determine which activities on a list would be possible on a planet with no atmosphere; and an activity, Cloud in a Bottle. A 62-page teacher's guide accompanies the issue and provides additional information on articles, follow-up hands-on activities, classroom demonstrations, and additional resources.

This EOS-Aura special edition of ChemMatters is the first of four special issues focusing on atmospheric chemistry and the Aura mission. It features articles on global climate change, asthma and air pollution, good and bad ozone, and spectroscopy. ChemMatters is a quarterly publication of the American Chemical Society (ACS) geared to a high school audience. The magazine is designed and written to demystify everyday chemistry.

: This ChemMAtters issue features the human side of NASA’s Aura mission with five articles that include interviews with Aura scientists and engineers. ChemMatters is a quarterly publication of the American Chemical Society (ACS) geared to a high school audience. The magazine is designed and written to demystify everyday chemistry. This special edition is the second of four special issues that focussed on atmospheric chemistry and the Aura mission. Each story features one member of the Aura team and their role in the mission as well as their interests outside of science and engineering. The pull-out poster in the center of the magazine includes stories from the countdown by technicians and engineers building the spacecraft and it's instruments. A teacher's guide is also available for this issue.

This Hubble Space Telescope image reveals a small region inside the massive globular cluster Omega Centauri, which boasts nearly 10 million stars. This colorful assortment of 100,000 stars residing in the crowded core of the cluster is one of the first images taken by the new Wide Field Camera 3. The accompanying classroom activity In Search of … Stellar Evolution is a curriculum support tool designed for use as an introductory inquiry activity. During the classroom activity, students use the images and text on this lithograph to generate questions about star formation. They will conduct research to answer their questions. Students will create a presentation to demonstrate their understanding of the material, providing supporting evidence from their research.

Leonard Nimoy narrates this animated 13-minute video of NASA's Dawn mission, launched in October 2007. The movie features a look into the planning, instrumentation and technological challenges of this mission into the heart of the asteroid belt.

This book of 19 essays, written by Earth scientists, provides insight into the dynamic processes that shape the Earth. The essays are supported by case studies describing a range of research projects (including Looking for Life in Antarctica-and Mars, Mapping Mt. Rainer, and Mapping Hot Springs on the Deep Ocean Floor) and profiles of historically significant Earth scientists (Including Inge Lehmann, Milutin Milankovitch, and Harold C. Urey). The essays, case studies, and profiles are organized along the same themes explored in the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) Gottesman Hall of Planet Earth, (How do we read the rocks?; How has the Earth evolved?; Why are there ocean basins, mountains and continents?; What causes climate and climate change?; Why is the Earth habitable?) a large, permanent exhibition that opened at the Museum in 1999.

This hands-on demonstration of the communications path between scientists and the NASA Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) Satellite shows how scientific data are downloaded from the satellite. The same demonstration can also be used to illustrate how the instruments on the satellite are commanded by scientists on Earth. It gives students a feel for the dynamics of satellite communications and orbital motion around the Earth. At the end of the activity, each student should be able to diagram the communications path between the EUVE satellite and scientists at the University of California Berkeley Center for Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Astrophysics.

This chapter of the GLOBE Teacher's Guide provides the measurement protocols for collecting research quality data on land cover and constructing land cover maps using Landsat scenes. K-12 students from all over the world are participating in the GLOBE program by taking environmental measurements at their schools and sharing their data via the Internet. NASA scientists use GLOBE data in their research and provide feedback to the students. The protocols are imbedded in an integrated approach that includes background information and learning activities and that offers teachers an example of an inquiry based research activity.

This collection of nine cards focuses on the three types of galaxies: spiral, elliptical, and irregular. Each card displays a color image of a galaxy on one side and describes the galaxy's type, its location within a constellation, and interesting facts on the other side. The Hubble Space Telescope card includes interesting facts, as well as suggestions for using the cards.

In this interactive laboratory, you'll investigate for yourself how fast several galaxies are moving. Galaxies are so large, and so far away, that you could never see them move just by looking -- even if you looked for a whole lifetime through the most powerful telescope! Fortunately, there is a way to detect the motion of a galaxy: By examining the spectrum of light from a galaxy, you can determine whether the galaxy is moving towards or away from Earth, and how fast.

This resource explains how Landsat works, how to make your own Landsat image and how to experiment with different combinations of light.

This brochure describes NASA's ICESat mission ((Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite), which was launched January 12, 2003. ICESat is the benchmark Earth Observing System mission for measuring ice sheet mass balance, cloud and aerosol heights, as well as land topography and vegetation characteristics.

This planetarium show teaches about meteors, meteorites, asteroids, and comets. It includes results from NASA missions and about the dangers they can pose to life on Earth. It is created for full-dome theaters but can also be shown in flat version for TVs and computer monitors. Shows the effects of the Chixulub and Tungusta events, plus the Pallasite impact that resulted in the Brenham meteorite fall. Describes ways that asteroid hunters seek new objects in the Solar System, and how ground-penetrating radar is used to find meteorites that have reached the Earth's surface and ancient craters under the desert. Narrated by astronaut Tom Jones, it also discusses ways that humans might try to deflect an asteroid or comet that is on a collision course with Earth. Created for informal science venues (digital planetariums), it is also useful as ancillary material for middle school science. Created under NASA Cooperative Agreement NCC5-316 to Rice University in conjunction with the Houston Museum of Natural Science as part of the "Immersive Earth" project, part of the REASoN program.

This lithograph contains a Hubble Space Telescope image of galaxies that appear to form the number 10. The text describes the image and provides a brief explanation of why astronomer Halton Arp compiled his catalogue of odd-looking galaxies in the 1960s. The accompanying classroom activity In Search of … Peculiar Galaxies is a curriculum support tool designed for use as an introductory inquiry activity. During the classroom activity, students use the images and text on this lithograph to generate questions about galaxy interactions. They will conduct research to answer their questions, and determine how Arp’s collection of peculiar galaxies compiled in the 1960’s contributed to today’s understanding of galaxy interactions. Students will create a presentation to demonstrate their understanding of the material, providing supporting evidence from their research.

This Hubble Space Telescope images shows a group of interacting galaxies called Arp 273. The accompanying classroom activity is a curriculum support tool designed for use as an introductory inquiry activity. During the classroom activity, students use the images and text on the lithograph to generate questions about galaxy interactions. They will conduct research to answer their questions, and create a presentation to demonstrate their understanding of the material, providing supporting evidence from their research.