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Astronomy and Space
3-D Starmaps - Hey! You in the Alpha sector! Any idea at all how I get to the Gamma Quadrant? Hopelessly lost in space? No problem. Get your space tourist maps right here. As this site says, "Science fiction fans and authors of SF novels have often wondered `where everything is.' Is Sirius closer to Procyon than Tau Ceti? Is 82 Eridani safely within the Terran Federation, or is it perilously close to the dreaded Blortch Empire? And just where exactly is Babylon 5?" A fascinating site!
Abrams Planetarium - Would you like to know what interesting events are happening in the night sky? Visit this site for a day-by-day list of what to look for and where to look for it. The list is updated each month and includes an archive of past diaries. Check out the archive near the end of the month to take a peek at next month's diary.
Arty the Part-Time Astronaut - Arty and Greg blast off in their little spaceship to study the solar system. You're the captain, and you can choose which planets to visit. You'll learn interesting facts like how long it would take to get to each planet in your family car. Engaging graphics and animation make this one a stellar package!
Asteroids: Deadly Impact @ Nationalgeographic.com - Can you solve the mystery in this adventure? Were the craters left by comets, meteors, or something els e? Log in and see what you can discover. Here's your mission: "TOP SECRET -- LEVEL 4 CLEARANCE REQUIRED -- CLASSIFIED DATA. Welcome back, Agent Your Name Here. Sorry to clutter your desk in your absence, but I need you on these mysterious cases. All involve extraterrestrial perpetrators. You know the drill: examine the evidence in the files and on your desk, and then finger the most probable culprits. Close every case correctly and you'll get to download a clip from National Geographic Television's classified videotape of `Asteroids: Deadly Impact.' I know you'll get to the bottom of these cases. Click here to destroy this message. --The Director."
Astronomy Online - Explore the Mysterious Universe - This site's stunningng sequence will leave you breathless! Once you recover, you'll be able to explore photos of many of the solar system's greatest hits. There's also a huge fact file per planet, plus a discussion board, and more links than we could count. This site was created by students for the ThinkQuest competition.
Astronomy Picture of the Day - Today we see an image of NGC 4261, a Hubble Space Telescope photo of a neighboring galaxy that has a giant black hole at its center. Tomorrow will be a picture called "24 hours from Jupiter." Guess we'll have to return tomorrow to see that one. The descriptive captions are peppered with links to other materials.
Auroras: Paintings in the Sky - The Exploratorium science museum in San Francisco is famous for its outstanding online exhibits, and this one is no exception. View spectacular photos of aurora from Earth and from space. Find out why no two aurora are alike and why they come in different colors. One of the neat features of this site is the audio explanations, so you don't have to read; you can just listen and enjoy the dazzling pictures.
Dome of the Sky - An online planetarium showing views of the stars and constellations at different latitudes and different dates through the year. The sky views are image maps. Click on a constellation or brighter star to learn its name. The latest version of the Dome also gives info on phases of the moon, eclipses of the moon and sun, the seasons, equinoxes, solstices, and the rising and setting times of the sun and the moon, currently or in selected years.
Earth and Moon Viewer - When it's 10 A.M. and bright and sunny in Florida, what's it like in Japan? Stop by this site and ask the server, which will show where it's light and dark anyplace in the world. You can choose the satellite location to view from, or you can tell it to look at Earth from the Sun's or Moon's perspective. You can even create a custom request and specify the desired longitude and latitude you want to see; the computer then picks the best viewpoint.
Hot Air Balloon Cyber-Ride - Up, up, and away! What happens when you take a balloon ride? This little adventure will let you experience it all on a virtual trip. Will you fly over the barn or make for that big mountain in the distance? The choice is up to you. Remember, although champagne is traditional at the end of a balloon journey, you'll have to stick to a nonalcoholic beverage!
HubbleSite - Since the Hubble space telescope has been deployed, we've been treated to amazing views of celestial objects unlike any we have seen before. A good place to track what's new is the official Hubble site. Not only will you find the latest pictures, but if you explore the "Gallery" you'll discover the Hubble's greatest hits. In the "Fun and Games" section, see where Hubble is orbiting right now. Hey, it looks like it's over your house!
Make Asteroid Potatoes - This activity explains where asteroids come from and gives a recipe to make edible asteroids, complete with realistic-looking craters. If you don't want to eat the result of this experiment, you can always keep your new asteroid as a pet. It won't eat much, we guarantee!
Mars Academy - If it were up to you to design a space mission to Mars, how would you start? You'd have to make a lot of decisions. Where will you land? Who will be your crew and what kinds of skills will they have? What sort of propulsion system will your spacecraft use? When should you launch and what should your trajectory be? Follow along as kids make these decisions, guided by scientists. This site was created by students for the ThinkQuest competition.
Mars Atlas - Fasten your seat belts. The Mars shuttle will be leaving just as soon as you get the courage to start clicking! You'll soon be served with a map of Mars that you can click to zoom in on. Then move around by selecting directional arrows. Stay as long as you like on Mars. You can either pack a lunch or just go to the fridge if you get hungry. (Hint: The actual map link is farther down the page, in the To Use This section.)
Mission to Mars - This exemplary site won the 1998 ThinkQuest competition's Math and Science category, entirely built by kids. You can learn all sorts of information about Mars, the Red Planet, here at Mars Academy. But the real fun starts when you can outfit and fly your own mission! You have to know a lot to design your mission, so you'd better go back to the Academy and make sure you did all the assigned homework. This site takes a long time to explore, and your mission may take many visits to complete.
Mount Wilson Observatory - Located above Los Angeles, California, this observatory has been at the forefront of astronomy for many years. The lights in nearby L.A. are about as bright as a full moon, so observations are limited to bright objects such as nebulae or star clusters. Still, scientific competition to use the telescopes at this facility is fierce! On the virtual tour, you'll visit all the `scopes on the mountain. Plus, you'll get a tour of the Monastery, which is the building where scientists sleep when not performing their duties. The building is divided into two parts: the "day" side (for scientists who sleep at night and work during the day) and the "night" side (for scientists who sleep during the day and use the telescopes at night).
Mythology of the Constellations - Ancient Greek and Roman myths about the stars and constellations.
NASA Astronaut Biographies and How to Become an Astronaut - Being an astronaut must be a cool job. How do you get to be one? Getting a Ph.D. and being a flight pilot are two very important qualifications for becoming an astronaut. Good eyesight and excellent physical condition are also a must. Also, don't be shy--astronauts need to be able to speak to the public. This page tells you all about astronauts past, present, and future (maybe you!). Find out about living in space, how to contact an astronaut for an appearance at your school, and lots more.
NOAA Photo Collection - Need some great tornado photos for your report? This is the spot to find pictures of all kinds of weather and other natural images. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration offers "thousands of weather and space images, hundreds of images of our shores and coastal seas, and thousands of marine species images ranging from the great whales to the most minute plankton." Search for big hailstones, photos of the great blizzard of 1966, and some of the most spectacular lightning photos you'll ever see (search on Eiffel tower and check your spelling).
One Giant Leap...The 30th Anniversary of Apollo 11 - The history of the Apollo Space Program, with many articles and links to other sites. World Book editors have compiles a collection of articles that celebrate the Apollo program.
Our Universe - Dark matter. Wormholes, black holes, white holes. Superstrings. What about the theory of everything? This site provides nice concise explanations of these astronomy puzzlers and more. Plus, there's a "defend the earth" arcade game for fun. This site was created by students for the ThinkQuest competition.
Sky Watch - Discovery Channel School - Astronomy observing tips, discussions, folklore, links, printable star charts and classroom resources on monthly celestial events. All on Discovery Channel School.
Skyphoto.com - A showcase of astronomical and sky photographs by Jerry Schad.
Solar Learning Activities - You don't even need a sunny day to try some of these projects! Make your own color wheel out of paper plates and different colored cellophane and discover why scientists use color filters to examine space. Figure out how high a satellite's orbit is, examine the rotation of the Earth, and make a sundial you can wear around your neck.
Space Camp - Ah, Space Camp, the ultimate place for all kids to go to be trained for their future lives above (the aliens are coming, you know). Well, even if that last part isn't true---at least, not yet---Space Camp is an awsome place. I actually took the Space Academy course for five days with some of my classmates and my math teacher Mr. Herbert. The guides are very cool, and you learn (a little bit) about how astronauts live in space and a lot about how they are trained. However, I offer you a word of caution: before going in the Multi-Axis-Trainer, make sure you have nothing in your pockets ;-)
Space Day - Try the Night Watchman and see if you can click and drag the constellations to the correct place in the sky (if you've got sound, you'll even hear the crickets!). In The Phaser you'll learn all about the phases of the Moon (hope you know your waxing from your waning gibbous; if not, this site will teach you). And don't forget to send your friends some space postcards to show that you really get around.
Space Place - Care for some El Nin'o pudding? Or perhaps some Asteroid potatoes? Want to make a meat tray nanorover? Or a super sound cone? This can only be the Space Place from the Jet Propulsion Lab. Lots of cool crafts, puzzles, and information that is really "out there." We loved it.
Spacekids.com - There's so much to do at this exciting resource it's hard to decide which to explore first! Visit the "Play and Do" area for some out of this world Shockwave games. In "Planet Pounds" you can check your weight on other worlds. (Hint: if you want to gain weight, try Jupiter!) It's the same deal with "Space Age." Key in your birthdate. You may be 12 here on Earth, but in Mercury years, you'd be in your fifties! Where could you go to be younger? Try it and see!
StarChild: A Learning Center for Young Astronomers - This is a wonderful beginner's guide to astronomy. It's written for younger children and presents itself in an easy-to-read text. This site includes sections on general astronomy, Earth, planets, stars, galaxies, the Sun, and more. Use these pages to introduce a child (or brother or sister) to the wonders of space. You may even learn some new stuff yourself.
StarDate Online - Non-technical information about astronomy and space exploration, including stargazing tips, FAQs, sky almanac, solar system guide, StarDate magazine articles, and K-12 teacher resources. StarDate Online is the web companion to the popular syndicated radio program.
Stardust - The Jet Propulsion Lab invited kids to send their name to a comet. STARDUST launched in February 1999 to visit Comet Wild-2 to collect particles and return them to Earth -- for analysis. The names were placed on two microchips, which will be carried back to Earth after the dance through the comet. This won't be until 2006. Until then, maybe you can find your name on the microchips--check it out! You can also find out where STARDUST is now on its three billion mile journey.
Sun - It's big, it's hot, and it's the brightest thing around. No, we're not talking about glow-in-the-dark slime. We're talking about our very own star: the Sun. The Sun makes plants grow and keeps us warm. It's over 4.6 billion years old and is big enough to hold 1.3 million Earths. Read all about what it's made of and how it works.
Terraserver.com - Welcome to TerraServer.com, your online source for satellite and aerial imagery. Search, browse, and buy images, prints, and more...or just let TerraServer.com take you around the world!
The Planetary Society - This nonprofit group was founded by astronomer Carl Sagan and others. Its mission is to encourage planetary exploration and the search for extraterrestrial life. Naturally, the Web site has links to the SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) pages, and now you can use your computer to help look for ET! You'll be doing some real science, and wouldn't it be cool if YOUR computer found the signal pattern that means off-Earth intelligence? But there's more. How about building your own Mars rover, which distant kids can control (don't worry, you can also drive their rovers).
U.S. Space Camp - It's light-years away from any other camp experience! You can visit Space Camp here on the Web and see pictures of some of the things kids (and adults) get to do there. How would you like to ride a space shuttle simulator or build your own satellite? Beam yourself up to this site--you'll definitely find intelligent life here. Son of Net-mom was able to take the Space Academy training. (He was on the Coke team. Here's their yell: "OHH-OHH COKE *clap* Whoosh!!!) He can't wait to go back.
Views of the Solar System - What do you think of when you hear the word "Mars"? Mars, ah yes, one of my favorite candy bars. How about "Pluto"? Hey, that's Mickey's pet dog! "Saturn"? My dad's got one of those in the garage! OK, now what do they all have in common? They're all planets, of course. Did you know Mars has volcanoes and the biggest one is 16 miles high (the biggest one on Earth is only 6 miles high)? Did you know that for 20 years out of its 249-year orbit Pluto is closer to the Sun than Neptune? (This won't happen again until 2226.) Scientists also think that Pluto's atmosphere freezes and falls to the ground when Pluto gets farther away from the Sun--imagine shoveling clouds off your front walk! Did you know that you can drive a Saturn, but you can't make it sink? At least not the pla Net--it floats! There's lots more here, including many images and animations of planets, comets, and asteroids.
Weight on Different Planets - Do you know how many kilograms you weigh on Earth? (Hint: To convert pounds to approximate kilograms, take the number of pounds and divide by 2.2.) What would your weight be on other planets? Use this Shockwave simulation to experience the unbearable lightness of being on Pluto; then experiment with the others.
World Builders - If you could create your own planet, starting with a handful of stellar dust, what would you build? Maybe a water planet, or a desert planet? What sorts of animal and plant life would develop? What elements would make up the atmosphere, and--here's the big question--what kind of fast-food restaurants would be there? OK, we were kidding about that last question. But some college kids took a course in world building, and this page documents their results. See what you think about these virtual worlds; then follow the instructions and see if you can create your own planet!
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