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 website offers NASA's Earth Observatory newest feature -- an educational module about global warming. Beginning with a recap of the tremendous heat wave that struck Europe in the summer of 2003, the website proceeds with an educational discussion about the interaction between water vapor and other greenhouse gases and the atmosphere. Users can learn about climatic modeling and some assumptions that are incorporated into these models. Students can find out how NASA scientists utilize satellite and other data to validate their climate models. The website also features a lengthy discussion about humidity and its affects on weather.

A hub of online games and other learning resources for kids.

Teachers K-12 click "For Educators" from the top menu and select your grade range to get started.

Welcome aboard STEM on Station—your connection to the International Space Station. Check out the website to find out how to bring space into your classroom with lesson plans, activities, opportunities, videos, still imagery and the latest station news.

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 is a hands-on lab activity about the composition of salt. Learners will explain the general relationship between an element's Periodic Table Group Number and its tendency to gain or lose electron(s), and explain the difference between molecular compounds and ionic compounds. They will then use household materials to build a model to demonstrate sodium chloride's cubic form and describe the nature of the electrostatic attraction that holds the structure of salt together. Background information, common preconceptions, a glossary and more is included. This activity is part of the Aquarius Hands-on Laboratory Activities.

Students research the structure of salt to understand the difference between molecular compounds and ionic compounds

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.

Navigational tools and methods of early voyagers provide the background and contrast to the satellite images and models used today. Students complete mapping activities based on historical data from Columbus and Blith. Students will also use a computer model of ocean currents to investigate the movement of objects drifting on the ocean surface. Note that this is lesson one of five on the Ocean Motion website. Each lesson investigates ocean surface circulation using satellite and model data and can be done independently. See Related URL's for links to the Ocean Motion Website which provide science background information, data resources, teacher material, student guides and a lesson matrix.

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.

In this experiential activity, students demonstrate to themselves the effect of the optic disc, or blind spot, inherent to the optic nerve entering the posterior of the eye (bulbus oculi). 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.

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.