This activity is about the study of planetary samples. Learners will use samples of crustal material to sort, classify, and make observations about an unknown planet. From their observations, students will interpret the geologic history of their mystery planet and make inferences about past life or the potential for life on the "Mystery" planet. The lesson models scientific inquiry using the 5E instructional model and includes teacher notes and vocabulary.

This lesson introduces students to myths about the auroras in different cultures. The class will read a story relating to legends of the aurora and share their reactions to the story. The teacher must select and obtain one or more books from a list provided. For homework, students will create their own myth regarding the aurora. This is lesson two 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.

This is an activity about the solar cycle. Learners will use X-ray data from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) and record the total number of solar flares in their birth month over the course of eleven years and compute the percentage of high-energy X-ray flares which occur for each year. Learners will graph their findings to help them identify the long term pattern of flare activity on the Sun.

This poster highlights a variety of Earth science careers, featuring short biographies from 13 NASA Earth explorers, including scientists, engineers, educators and more. The poster also includes information about NASA's unique perspective on the Earth, one educator's story about how he uses NASA Earth science data and materials in his middle school classroom, and a collection of classroom activity suggestions.

The purpose of NASA's Earth Observatory is to provide a freely accessible publication on the Internet where the public can obtain new satellite imagery and scientific information about our home planet. The focus is on Earth's climate and environmental change. The site is divided into six main sections: Data and Images, Features, News, Reference, Missions, and Experiments. The Data and Images, Features, and Reference sections are each subdivided into sections for Atmosphere, Oceans, Land, Life on Earth, and Heat and Energy. The missions section explains all of the current NASA missions, and the Experiments section contains activities related to the topics covered in the other sections. Information provided in these pages includes text, photographs, animations, maps, and datasets. The site also includes a glossary, "ask a scientist" feature, and links to current news stories.

The purpose of NASA's Earth Observatory is to provide a freely-accessible publication on the Internet where the public can obtain new satellite imagery and scientific information about our home planet. The specific focus of this Earth Observatory website is natural hazards. Earth scientists around the world use NASA satellite imagery to better understand the causes and effects of natural hazards. The goal in sharing these images is to help people visualize where and when natural hazards occur, and to help mitigate their effects. Natural hazards that are emphasized include dust and smoke, wildfires, floods, severe storms, and volcanoes. In addition, each week the site highlights major natural hazard events occurring around the globe. Links to satellite imagery and informational text concerning the natural hazard and image interpretation are included. The site also offers a link to unique imagery, such as earthquakes, droughts, and landslides, and features the latest unique imagery events around the globe.

This collection of visualizations was made from Landsat imagery. Many of these visualizations are designed to show changes in our environment through time. Subjects include glacial retreat, urban growth, landforms and coastlines, floods, fires, deforestation, volcanism, and others.

A study of the geology of Mars should reveal answers to such questions as how Mars developed into the planet we see today and what accounts for the differences and similarities between Earth and Mars. Visitors to this site can learn about ancient magnetism recently discovered by the Mars Global Surveyor that suggests the planet was once more dynamic and Earth-like with a magnetic field shielding the surface from cosmic radiation. They can read about the importance of studying the age and composition of Martian rocks, particularly those rocks and minerals which might have been formed in the presence of water. This is part of NASA's presentation of four science goals for its Mars Exploration Program, a science-driven effort to discover whether Mars was, is, or can be, a habitable world.

This lesson is an introduction to the use of a magnetic compass. At a specific location, learners will locate an object using a compass, identify its bearing, and others will attempt to locate the object by only knowing the bearing reading and the corresponding location where the bearing was obtained. Next, learners will develop a method for determining if a magnetic storm is occurring, and they will test this method using online information and a compass. This activity requires compasses and access to the Internet. This is Activity 5 in the Exploring Magnetism on Earth teachers guide.

Produce light by bombarding atoms with electrons. See how the characteristic spectra of different elements are produced, and configure your own element's energy states to produce light of different colors.

This is a lesson about the solar wind, Earth's magnetosphere, and the Moon. Participants will work in groups of two or three to build a model of the Sun-Earth-Moon system. They will use the model to demonstrate that the Earth is protected from particles streaming out of the Sun, called the solar wind, by a magnetic shield called the magnetosphere, and that the Moon is periodically protected from these particles as it moves in its orbit around the Earth. Participants will also learn that the NASA ARTEMIS mission is a pair of satellites orbiting the Moon that measure the intensity of solar particles streaming from the Sun.

In this activity, students use a piano keyboard to model spectral lines as musical chords. It is designed to aid student understanding of spectral analysis, what the patterns mean, how elements are involved, and how this relates to stars. Traditionally, spectral images are two dimensional, and related to text. This auditory activity allows students to "hear" differences in patterns of various elements (e.g., nickel or helium). This activity is part of the "What is Your Cosmic Connection to the Elements" information and activity booklet. The booklet includes photos, teachers notes and instructions, and a link to a color image pdf of visible light spectra that can be printed and used to do the activity. This activity requires a piano keyboard, color printout or construction paper and/or toothpicks (to mark spectral lines of elements).

In this activity, students view a satellite image of Earth at night, and consider the environmental considerations and consequences associated with the pattern of light they see. The resource includes a map for student use. Summary background information, data and images supporting the activity are available on the Earth Update data site. To complete the activity, students will need to access the Space Update multimedia collection, which is available for download and purchase for use in the classroom.

In this activity students develop a simplified log table using information from their Log Tapes. Then they use it to solve arithmetic problems by looking up and combining logs, and finding the antilog. Because these problems are extremely simple, students appreciate the logic of logarithms without getting bogged down in the arithmetic detail and error.åÊThis is activity B3 in the "Far Out Math" educator's guide. Lessons in the guide include activities in which students measure,compare quantities as orders of magnitude, become familiar with 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, GLAST was renamed Fermi, for the physicist Enrico Fermi.

This is a set of two, one-page problems about the sizes of moons in the solar system. Learners will use fractions to compare the sizes and distances of Jupiter's moons. Options are presented so that students may learn about the Juno mission through a NASA press release or by viewing a NASA eClips video [6 min.] about the creation of graphic of the 88 largest objects in our solar system. This activity is part of the Space Math multi-media modules that integrate NASA press releases, NASA archival video, and mathematics problems targeted at specific math standards commonly encountered in middle school.

This is an activity about the requirements of life. Learners will explore what living things need to survive and thrive by creating and caring for a garden plot (outdoors where appropriate) or a container garden (indoors) at the program facility. The garden will be used to beautify the facility with plant life with many planting and landscaping options provided. Children will consider the requirements of living things, compare the surface conditions on Mars to those found on Earth, view images/video of a NASA Astrobiology Institute "garden" where astrobiologists are studying life under extreme conditions, and consider the similarities and differences in the type of life that would be possible on Mars as compared to their garden on Earth. It also includes specific tips for effectively engaging girls in STEM. This is activity 3 in Explore: Life on Mars? that was developed specifically for use in libraries.

This webpage, one of NASA's fact sheets, describes the role of the oceans, clouds, and aerosols in moderating climate, which has resulted in less-than-expected temperature increases as carbon dioxide levels have increased. It also describes the efforts of scientists to construct computer models to understand interactions between the atmosphere and ocean, and to perform space-based oceanography using the Earth Observing System (EOS). The site features text, pictures, and links to other relevant NASA sites.

Milutin Milankovitch formulated a comprehensive mathematical model that calculated latitudinal differences in solar radiation upon the Earth's surface and the corresponding surface temperatures for 600,000 years prior to the year 1800. Readers can learn how Milankovitch developed his theories and how they were confirmed years later by climatic data found in deep-sea sediment cores, which indicated that major variations in climate such as ice ages were closely associated with changes in the geometry of Earth's orbit. This is part of NASA's Earth Observatory series of publications entitled "On the Shoulders of Giants," which are about scientists who revolutionized our understanding of the atmosphere, oceans, climate, and environment.

This is a collection of outreach resources about the Sun that are meant to be used in informal education settings. This toolkit was originally designed for NASA Night Sky Network member clubs and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific's Astronomy from the Ground Up network of museum and science center educators. The toolkit includes background information about the Sun, magnetic fields of the Earth and Sun, and space weather, activity suggestions, and detailed activity scripts. The themes of this toolkit address both the constant nature of the Sun as a reliable source of energy and the dynamic nature of the Sun due to its changing magnetic fields. The activities and related materials in this collection include The Sun in a Different Light - Observing the Sun, Explore the Sun cards, Magnetic Connection, the Space Weather PowerPoint, Protection from Ultraviolet, and Where Does the Energy Come From cards. These activities can be done separately or as a group as part of an informal education event. Institutions that are not part of the Night Sky Network will need to acquire the various materials required for each activity.

This booklet is meant to engage young children in learning about the Sun, its relationship to the Earth, and to stars. Activities are included that are designed to assist teachers and students in active inquiry.