A brief biography of Christopher Clavius (1537-1612).

This OLogy activity challenges kids to match up cosmic photos with their descriptions in an interactive quiz. The activity begins by introducing kids to the Hubble Space Telescope through an astronomer at the museum who works with photos from the telescope. They are then asked to match eight telescope photos with their text descriptions. A Help screen is included with tips for completing the activity. Once kids have made their guesses, they can click a button to check their answers. They are prompted to try again if not all their answers are correct. Success is rewarded with a congratulatory message from the Hubble.

The students will be able to identify questions and concepts that guide scientific investigations, recognize and analyze alternative explanations and models by the end of this activity.

This course focuses on three particularly interesting areas of astronomy that are advancing very rapidly: Extra-Solar Planets, Black Holes, and Dark Energy. Particular attention is paid to current projects that promise to improve our understanding significantly over the next few years. The course explores not just what is known, but what is currently not known, and how astronomers are going about trying to find out.

This video segment adapted from NOVA shows how Galileo, using his newly developed refracting telescope, observed four of Jupiter's moons, the first astronomical bodies to be discovered since ancient times.

The students will be able to identify questions and concepts in the ability to construct accurate graphs, recognize and analyze alternative explanations and models by the end of this activity.

This site consists of JPEG images of the planets, including photographs of Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, historic photographs, and artistic illustrations (montages). Links to other parts of the GRIN image library are provided.

Jupiter's immense gravity protects Earth from asteroids. In this video segment adapted from NOVA, scientists searching for signs of life in the universe identify solar systems with Jupiter-like planets that may be shielding smaller nearby Earth-like planets from comets and asteroids.

Jupiter has long been an object of wonder, with its dramatic Great Red Spot, its numerous and varied satellites and the stunning collision of the comet Shoemaker Levy 9 with the Jovian atmosphere in 1994. This unit will introduce you to our solar system's largest planet and its major satellites and the history of their exploration.

The Jupiter's Red Spot Jr. Lithograph traces the emergence and color change of an Earth-sized storm on Jupiter. The storm appears to be the same color as Jupiter's trademark Great Red Spot and has been dubbed Red Spot Jr. In the accompanying educational activity, In Search of...Monster Storms, students compare Jupiter's storms with those of Earth through a level 1 inquiry activity using the images and text from the lithograph and other resources. A level 1 inquiry activity can help prepare students to become independent thinkers.

Students explore Mars and Jupiter, the fourth and fifth planets from the Sun. They learn some of the unique characteristics of these planets. They also learn how engineers help us learn about these planets with the design and development of telescopes, deep space antennas, spacecraft and planetary rovers.

This fun Web article is part of OLogy, where kids can collect virtual trading cards and create projects with them. Here, they explore the "mind-boggling mysteries" of our solar system. The article opens with a quick review of what we know about our solar system and how we've gathered that information. Students then "explore the mystery" of each planet within our solar system, which is presented though fun facts, evidence, theories, and NASA missions. The article ends with a nine-question quiz that gives students a fun way to test what they've learned.

A brief history of the Satellites of Jupiter.

The students will be able to identify questions and concepts that guide scientific investigations, recognize and analyze alternative explanations and models by the end of this activity.

The breakup of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 due to its gravitational interaction with Jupiter in July, 1994 is simulated using a swarm model. In this simulation, the comet is modeled as an initially spherical distribution of 16,384 particles. The particles interact with the tidal field of Jupiter and with each other through inter-particle gravitation and collisions. All simulations were performed on the Maspar MP-2 at NASA-GSFC.

The breakup of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 due to its gravitational interaction with Jupiter in July, 1994 is simulated using a swarm model. In this simulation, the comet is modeled as an initially spherical distribution of 16,384 particles. The particles interact with the tidal field of Jupiter and with each other through inter-particle gravitation and collisions. All simulations were performed on the Maspar MP-2 at NASA-GSFC.

Students are introduced to the engineering challenges involved with interplanetary space travel. In particular, they learn about the gravity assist or "slingshot" maneuver often used by engineers to send spacecraft to the outer planets. Using magnets and ball bearings to simulate a planetary flyby, students investigate what factors influence the deflection angle of a gravity assist maneuver.