Space Sites

3D Solar and Lunar Eclipses
http://www.forgefx.com/casestudies/prenticehall/ph/eclipse/eclipses.htm
A great interactive activity for all ages to learn about both lunar and solar eclipses. It provides "views" from the perspecive of outer space, the Earth, the moon, and even the sun so that you can see what takes place in an eclipse from every angle.

50 Years of Space in Pictures
http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/50_years_of_space/
View pictures of the world's explorations into space divided into decades from the 50's through today.

Aircraft of the Smithsonian
http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/aero/aircraft/index.cfm
On this Web site, you can browse through the 365 pieces of aircraft in the collection at the National Air and Space Museum. There are two ways you can search. You can search for a specific aircraft with the search engine or you can search using the alphabetical index. Besides a photo, manufacturer name, and specs, there is a detailed history of what the plane was used for.

All Known Bodies in the Solar System Larger than 200 Miles in Diameter
http://kokogiak.com/solarsystembodieslargerthan200miles.html
Uranus, a "gas giant" is a much bigger planet than our Earth, which in turn is larger than the planet Mars, also "Terrestrial." By scrolling sideways the user gets a visual clue to the relative size of the 88 objects in our solar system larger than 200 miles in diameter. The site provides an excellent comparison and an interesting perspective.

Amazing Space
http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/
This site is just what it says, amazing. There are tons of things to do while exploring their Online Explorations: Planet Impact (discover the force of gravity and pelt Jupiter with a comet); Mission Mastermind (NASA needs your help planning the Hubble Servicing Mission); Galaxy Hunter (a cosmic photo shoot); Comets (Wwhip up a batch of comets); Comets, Myths and Facts (explore comet facts and myths); and The Truth About Black Holes (learn all about black holes).

Animated Guide: International Space Station
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4730000/newsid_4736200/4736285.stm
This animated look at the International Space Station lets you pick it apart and learn more about each section. Information on how it was built and what countries added various pieces is also included. Additional links are available for further information.

Are Humans Alone in the Universe?
http://jvsc.jst.go.jp/universe/et_e/index_e.htm
Is there someone else out there? This visually stunning site approaches the question of extraterrestrial life with an optimistic outlook. The interactive site discusses our solar system, unmanned spaces missions, and surrounding celestial bodies.

Ask an Astronomer for Kids!
http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_kids/AskKids/index.shtml
If you have a question about a topic in astronomy or about an object in space, you may find the answer under on the many categories listed on this site.

AstroMeeting
http://www.photomeeting.de/astromeeting/_index.htm
This is a great site for pictures of the skies and outer space. The pictures are divided into easily accessible categories and the photography is fantastic!

Astronomical Society of the Pacific: Education
http://www.astrosociety.org/education.html  
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific was founded in 1889 by a group of Northern California professional and amateur astronomers. Bypass the big ad for the Astro Shop, scroll down and see the content available on the site. Divided into several sections; Programs, Activities, Resources, Staff, and Forums. Activities include: Hands-On Astronomy, Surfing the Solar System puzzle, and links to other activities on the web. With the support of the National Science Foundation and NASA, the ASP sponsors a few programs including Project ASTRO, which pairs amateur and professional astronomers with teachers and classes (http://www.astrosociety.org/education/astro/project_astro).

Astronomy for Kids
http://www.frontiernet.net/~kidpower/astronomy.html
This is a great place for kids to learn all about space - the solar system, sun, stars, planets, moon, and much more!

At Your Command: Control Your R.O.V.
http://www.thetech.org/exhibits/online/robotics/atyourcommand/index.html
An interesting interactive activity that deals with remotely-operated vehicles on Earth and the moon. Travel to a destination while avoiding obstacles along the way. Perform experiments upon arriving at your destination.

Auroras: Paintings in the Sky
http://www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/auroras/index.html

Black Holes: Gravity's Relentless Pull
http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/black_holes/home.html
This interactive site introduces the properties of black holes. You can travel to and into a black hole and see what happens to certain objects when they are placed in a black hole. Many interactive exercises to help illustrate the text are provided.

Cassini Imaging: The Great Crossing
http://ciclops.org/view.php?id=2527&flash=1&js=1
As Cassini traveled around Saturn it took 34 pictures over the course of 12 hours. These images were merged to create a fascinating movie illustrating this trip and Saturn's surroundings. The site also provides a detailed description of what this movie shows.

Center for Science Education
http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/
The Center for Science Education at Space Sciences Laboratory, UC Berkeley is committed to making space science information accessible to educators and the public. Get the latest space weather report, follow a comet around sun, or just pore through the latest planetary data. There a 3 portals into the site, each optimized for a specific kind of audience: Educators, Public, and Scientists.

Christa McAuliffe Center
http://www.christa.org/
The Christa McAuliffe Center was established on the campus of Framingham State College to continue the educational mission which was the life work of FSC's most notable graduate. The center's primary purpose is to support teachers in their work. They do this by offering exciting science and math programs designed for both students and teachers. On their Web site, there are links to Challenger Learning Center which tells about the center, Curriculum Materials, Content Articles, Space and Education Resources, and other information.

Constellations
http://www.dibonsmith.com/stars.htm
Winner of the Griffith Observatory's Star Award, this well-designed Web site explores the constellations. The description of each constellation is accompanied by a telescopic image overlaid with a diagram of its configuration. Suitable for 7-12.

Cool Cosmos (California Institute of Technology)
http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/index.html  
The Cool Cosmos portal involves students in science with multi-disciplinary educational materials. Communicating the world of infrared astronomy to the public is the main topic of the Cool Cosmos portal but certainly not its only goal. In the past few years the Cool Cosmos team has created a wide variety of educational products that explain the infrared as well as the multi-wavelength universe. These include: websites that explain Infrared Astronomy, its timeline, as well as the many benefits and uses of Infrared. There are award-winning web activities where students perform a version of the experiment in which infrared light was discovered. There are web tutorials about multi-wavelength astronomy and a multi-wavelength gallery that shows celestial objects observed in different wavelengths. The Ritter experiment is a simple classroom activity similar to the experiment Ritter first discovered the ultraviolet light. The Heat & Temperature website introduces the concepts of heat and temperature, heat transfer and detection. Use the Site Map to get a full list of what's on the site. Also in Spanish.

CosmicQuest
http://www.childrensmuseum.org/cosmicquest/index.html
This is another Children's Museum of Indianapolis site. Design a space station, learn about the planets and famous astronomers, find out what's in the sky tonight, and more!

Cosmic Zoom
http://sunshine.chpc.utah.edu/labs/cosmic_zoom/index.htm?ASPIRE_Session=253c29f493275206cbb5fb59daa9ed4b
Have you ever wondered where your particular school is in relation to its state, our nation, our planet, our solar system? What about our galaxy in relation to other galaxies? This flash animation helps put the size of the universe into perspective. Using the powers of 10, this animation, based on the book "The Powers of Ten," allows you to see how large our universe really is. The beginning frame also offers an excellent discussion of exponents.

Design a Satellite
http://www.eduweb.com/portfolio/designsatellite/  
This simulation game challenges children to design a satellite that will send TV signals to places far across the country. "Central to the design process is exploring the ways that high technologies are the products of human ingenuity."

Drive a Rover at the Mars Stations
http://www.planetary.org/programs/projects/drive_a_mars_rover/
Mars Stations are earth-bound replicas designed to give everyone the experience of exploring an unknown world through the eyes of a robotic rover. The Planetary Society and LEGO Company have teamed together to establish a network of Mars Stations around the world. Each station contains a LEGO® rover equipped with a Web camera that you can drive over the Internet! The page updates constantly to reflect the current condition of the Rover.

Earth from Space
http://www.earthfromspace.si.edu/default.asp
This quality Smithsonian Institution site does precisely what it promises — offering astounding images of our planet from an orbiting satellite. The Online Exhibit's photos are arranged in five sections: Living Planet, Water & Air, Structure of the Land, TheHuman Presence, and Satellite Technology. Each photo is 'zoomable,' allowing users to get a closer look at an Amazon forest or a desert in China. Besides the great photos the site offers a series of lesson plans.

Earth Guide
http://jvsc.jst.go.jp/earth/guide/english/index.html
Of what is the Earth made? What happens to the sunlight that strikes Earth? What are the different land areas on Earth? This interesting site answers these and many more questions in slide show fashion. It is very content-rich, but requires a strong reading level, so some teachers may want to use it as a resource for their own planning rather than as a class assignment.

Explore Mars Now
http://www.exploremarsnow.org/
This site aims at inspiring learning about the space sciences and technology through a web-based Mars simulator. You can explore the Mars Base Habitat and Rover to learn about the science and technology underlying the design of these artifacts as well as the hostile physical environment of the Red Planet itself. You can also enter the greenhouse and go on missions in the pressurized rover to actual locations on Mars.

Exploring Planets in the Classroom
http://www.spacegrant.hawaii.edu/class_acts/index.html
This site offers more than 25 hands-on science activities for exploring geology, earth and planetary sciences.

Extrasolar Planets
http://sciencebulletins.amnh.org/astro/v/esp.20040401/?src=h_nc
Poor Pluto! Not only has the ice-ball been demoted from planet-status, but, as of 1995, scientists have determined that there are other planets in other solar systems. They're known as "extrasolar planets" or "exoplanets." As one might guess, detecting them can often be difficult. Scientists must observe the effects they have on other objects in order to infer their existence. Learn more about this procedure in this short article and interactive site by the American Museum of Natural History. The site has a good Teacher Resource page.

Eyes on the Sky, Feet on the Ground
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/ECT/the_book/
These are hands on astronomy activites for kids. There are hundreds of fun explorations into astronomy as a classroom tool for learning how to theorize, experiment, and analyze data. The activities are fully illustrated and contain detailed, step-by-step instructions as well as suggested discussion topics.

Hands-On Universe
http://www.handsonuniverse.org/

Human Physiology in Space
http://nsbri.tamu.edu/HumanPhysSpace/
This informative site examines the stresses put on the human body during space travel. Includes lots of illustrations, videos, and review questions.

Interactive Solar System
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/tutor/solarsystem/1/
Elementary students can learn all about the solar system when they visit this online, interactive tutorial. They must correctly answer questions about the planets before advancing to the next page.

ISS EarthKAM
http://www.earthkam.ucsd.edu/
ISS EarthKAM (Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle school students) is a NASA education program that enables students, teachers and the public to learn about Earth from the unique perspective of space. Schools can request images based upon their classroom investigations. A library of digital images is available online for use dating back to 1996.Teachers also can use the lesson plans that address learning standards in different content areas.

Journey Into Space: Gravity, Orbits, and Collisions
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/explorations/space/
Science Explorations put authentic learning in students’ hands. The rich, interactive content, developed by Scholastic in partnership with the American Museum of Natural History, supports curriculum standards and teaches skills like observation, finding and predicting patterns, classification, and inference. The site includes articles from Science World and Super Science magazine, interactive online activities, and a space library. The teacher's guide includes lesson plans and handouts to enhance the learning experience.

Leap Year Rules
http://www.wwu.edu/depts/skywise/leapyear.html
A leap year is any year "whose number is perfectly divisible by four - except for years which are both divisible by 100 and not divisible by 400." Got that? By the time you are finished with this site, you will understand the whys and whens of Leap Year Day. Then, if you're game, you might want to click on links to any of the 40 other astronomy-related topics available on page-left.

Life on Mars
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/science/mars_interactives.htm
This site, from Scholastic, delves into past speculation that Mars could support life, beginning with the Italian astronomer Schiaparelli's talk about "canali" that he thought he could see on Mars and continuing up to modern science's examination of the meteorite from Mars discovered several years ago.

KidsAstronomy.com
http://www.kidsastronomy.com/
Learn about the Solar System, Deep Space, and Space Exploration. Check out How Big is the Universe? You will find an Astronomy Dictionary, a Teachers Corner and Free Online Classes for students divided into two levels: ages 7-11 and 12-18.

Malin Space Science Systems
http://www.msss.com/ 
MSSS (Malin Space Science Systems) designs, develops, and operates instruments that fly on robotic spacecraft. The Mars Images and MOC gallery present some great images. This gallery has wonderful and beautiful pictures from Mars, and from the Mars Orbiter Camera. You can view images of Mars all the way from as recent as this month to as earlier as July of 1997. The pictures range from black and white to full color images. And there are other image galleries from other Mars missions.

Mars Madness - The History of Human Views of Mars
http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/marsmadness/
This site traces ideas about Mars, the mysterious 'Red Planet,' from ancient Greece all the way to our current perceptions, and it does so through an interactive multimedia experience. "Your Mars exploration" includes audio and video information.

Moon Olympics
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/explorations/space/level1/interactive.htm
Scholastic Space University offers the interactive "Moon Olympics," an amusing activity that can teach critical thinking skills by asking students to predict what it would be like to play sports like golf, diving, weightlifting, skateboarding, and sky diving on the moon. The other component is a list of links to facts about the planets in our solar system, including the recently demoted-from-planet-status Pluto.

Nine Planets
http://www.nineplanets.org/
This website is an overview of the history, mythology, and current scientific knowledge of the planets, moons and other objects in our solar system. Each page has text and NASA's images, some have sounds and movies, most provide references to additional related information.

Nine Planets Glossary
http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/billa/tnp/help.html
An extensive glossary of the Solar System.

Nova Science Now: 10th Planet
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/3302/01.html
Watch a 5-minute broadcast segment on the discovery of the 10th planet. Watch also clips on Planet Theory, an Found It! where Michael Brown explains how he knew it was a planet. There is also an Ask the Expert section where Brown answers viewer questions.

Planetary Society
http://www.planetary.org/home/
This site's claim is that they are the "largest nonprofit, nongovernmental space advocacy group on Earth." After you see how much information they have available to you on the planets and outer space, you'll probably agree with them. Along the top of the page you will see the menu bar with Society Information, Publications, Planetary News, Learning Center, and Links. The Learning Center is a great section, where you can learn all about the Universe that we live in. Also interesting are the sections titled Headlines and What's Happening Now. The site is also available in Spanish.

Planet Impact
http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/resources/explorations/impact/home.html
This online exploration makes otherwise dry physics come colorfully and dramatically alive. It investigates how gravitational forces of larger bodies can affect the path of a smaller body. In this interactive activity you can use changing speed, mass and angle to crash your own launched comet into an Asteroid, Jupiter, or planet Earth.

Retrograde Motion
http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/olcweb/cgi/pluginpop.cgi?it=swf::800::600::/sites/dl/free/0072482621/78780
/Retro_Nav.swf::Retrograde 
This excellent interactive provides a first hand look at retrograde motion. Features include the ability to manipulate the radius of 3 different planets, the planet you're "looking from" and the one you're "looking at". The Introduction, How To, Exercises and Solutions sections make this an effective tool for both teaching and learning.

Satellite Site
http://www.thetech.org/exhibits/online/satellite/home.html
The Satellite Site from the Tech Museum of Innovation is a wonderful resource for teaching satellites and also walks students through the process of building a satellite, part by part. Text is written simply and is easy to read. These explanations and descriptions of satellites are supplemented with very clear graphics. Students can use this site as a resource or as guidelines for a project building a satellite.

Science Interactives
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/science/index.htm
Scholastic.com and MSNBC have linked-up to offer a series of fascinating interactive science-orientated presentations. Among the topics are Asteroid Close Calls (could our Earth be struck by an asteroid?) and The Search for Extrasolar Planets (are there other planets circling other suns out there?). The site could spark student imaginations and result in some very creative cross-disciplinary projects.

Seeing in the Dark
http://www.pbs.org/seeinginthedark/
Although this site is about a film and a book by Timothy Ferris that you can buy, there is a wealth of information on the site about our skies. As you explore the Seeing in the Dark site, be sure to take a look at the how-to videos for stargazing, print out a custom star chart of the night sky where you live, read and watch special effects videos of fascinating astronomy topics, and consider requesting an image from the high-powered Internet telescope.

Sky
http://www.seasky.org/sky.html
This is the sister site to The Sea. Explore the sky through sections such as Sky Gallery, Sky News, The Cosmos, Space Exploration, Sky Lab, Sky Links, and Sky Games. (6-12)

Sky Map
http://www.sky-map.org/
This astronomical survey by the Sloan organization, when completed, will provide detailed images covering more than a quarter of the sky, and almost a million galaxies and quasars. Although the site is meant to be interactive, a mandatory first stop is the Getting Started segment to learn how to make best use of the site's features.

Solar System
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/solarsystem/
Take a journey through the Solar System with this interactive guide. Content includes planetary history, "travel information," "tourist highlights," and video clips. Games and quizzes include a Solar System jigsaw that prompts the student to build the Solar System. What could be more fun than to run the gauntlet of the asteroid belt and encounter comets? Teachers can use this site to add an exciting dimension when teaching the Solar System.

SpaceDaily
http://www.spacedaily.com/
Your portal to space. This is a newspaper in which all articles pertain to things happening in space. There is a search feature and an option to subscribe to a daily e-mail called SpaceDaily Express.

Space Day
http://www.spaceday.com/
Log on and lift off for Space Day. Students in grades 3-6 will delight in these space games and pictures. They'll also enjoy exploring black holes, interviewing astronauts, and participating in a live, interactive Webcast on Space Day. Teachers will find an informative space exploration time line, directions for building a scale model of our solar system, and more.

SpaceKids
http://www.space.com/
SpaceKids has tons of activities and resources to make it fun to learn about our solar system. Space-related photos, movies, an ask the experts section, games, and news are just a few of the site's features.

Space Sounds
http://spacesounds.com/
Come listen to the sounds of space. There is a circle of silver balls around the words "Space Sounds Energy Streams." By scrolling your mouse over these balls you can choose to listen to different sounds from space. If you click on the tabs that read: Home, Look, Missions, and Beyond, you can explore more of the site. At the bottom of the Home page you will see that there are colored balls—these lead you to different sound pages like dinosaur sounds, storm sounds, and whale sounds.

Space Weather
http://www.spaceweather.com/
"Science news and information about the Sun-Earth environment," is the slogan of this site. From the great pictures of things like meteoroids and the aurora borealis to the current space weather conditions, this is a site you'll enjoy. There is a wide variety of information and weather related links.

Sputnik Escalates the Cold War
http://www.historyandtheheadlines.abc-clio.com/ColdWar  
With a series of small beeps from a spiky globe 50 years ago last month, the world shrank—and humanity’s view of Earth and the cosmos expanded. Sputnik, the first artificial satellite, was launched by the Soviets and circled the globe. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of this important historical milestone, several educational organizations have offered free online resources for teaching about its impact. For example, history teachers can give students an in-depth look at the impact that Sputnik’s launch had on the United States and the Soviet Union, and how it helped to escalate the Cold War arms race, with “History and the Headlines: Sputnik Escalates the Cold War,” the latest featured topic in ABC-CLIO’s series of free online history resources.

Star Stuff
http://www.starstuff.com/

Tonight's Sky
http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/tonights_sky/
These scientific videos provide a wonderful look at the constellations, planets, deep sky objects, and events that occur each month. Past shows are archived and the following month's segment is posted. This would be an excellent tool for any astronomy instructor.

Twenty-Five of Hubble's Greatest Hits
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/2007-11/hubble/hubble-interactive.html
National Geographic presents 25 of the Hubble telescope's "greatest hits". This Flash-based feature allows users to travel over the course of 18 years to view astounding photographs of galaxies, nebulae, and supernovas. Detailed explanations accompany each photo.

Understanding the Universe
http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/universe/
Do you know how big the universe is? How far away the stars and galaxies are? How long it took for life to form on earth? Visit this site for a tour of the universe, and learn the answers to these and many other questions!

Virtual Journey into the Universe
http://www.thinkquest.org/library/websitena.html?28327
You'll think you're really in the cockpit of a space ship as you explore space in this awesome site from the Thinkquest library. You can explore each planet, find out about its surface or interior, discover information about its satellites, or perform some interactive maneuvers.

Windows to the Universe
http://www.windows.ucar.edu/
This is an entertaining site to explore! The black background and colorful objects in outer space make this an inviting Website for students. Clicking on "Our Planet" will provide information on Earth -- everything from its "Interior and Surface" to its "Myth & Culture." Clicking on "Our Solar System" provides information on planets, asteroids, and comets. Students will enjoy coloring the planets in the new interactive Solar System Coloring Book. You will find additional, and great, information under "Astronomy & The Universe." Also, be sure to click on "Strange Stuff in Space"! There are lots of activities, such as playing games and creating a journal, available inTeacher Resources. Some parts of the site offer a Spanish version of the text.

World Space Week
http://www.spaceweek.org/
Begun by the United Nations in 2000, World Space Week is celebrated annually in October by 50 nations. This Web site probides background information as well as materials for teachers. Grades 6-12.

Your Weight on Other Worlds
http://www.exploratorium.edu/ronh/weight/
Ever wonder what you might weigh on Mars or The Moon? Here's your chance to find out. It also gives an explanation of why there is a difference on the different planets. There is also a link at the bottom to calculate your age on other worlds.