This news story describes Comet Siding Spring's close encounter with the planet Mars and its visit to our part of the solar system, including information about encounters between comets and other solar-system planets, the anatomy of a comet, and the... (View More) origins of long- and short-period comets. Star Witness News is a series of articles, written for students, that are inspired by Hubble Space Telescope press releases. Supplemental education materials include background information, vocabulary, and discussion questions and answers. Common Core Standards for English Language Arts are also identified. (View Less)

This news story highlights the one-millionth science observation by the Hubble Space Telescope. It explains that in its more than 20 years in space, Hubble has taken more than one million science observations, which have expanded our knowledge of... (View More) the universe. Star Witness News is a series of articles, written for students, that are inspired by Hubble Space Telescope press releases. Supplemental education materials include background information, vocabulary, and discussion questions and answers. (View Less)

The lithograph features illustrations, statistics and science goals of the James Webb Space Telescope. The accompanying classroom activity prompts students to use the images and text to generate questions about the telescope. Students then research... (View More) those questions on the Internet and present their findings. (View Less)

This news story describes the search for planets orbiting stars other than our sun, particularly since the discovery of a planet around a sun-like star 20 years ago. Star Witness News is a series of articles, written for students, that are inspired... (View More) by Hubble Space Telescope press releases. Supplemental education materials include background information, vocabulary, and discussion questions and answers. Common Core Standards for English Language Arts are also identified. (View Less)

This news story describes the search for Pluto which began in the early 1900s and the subsequent discovery of its moon system. The text describes how the Hubble Space Telescope was used to discover Pluto's other moons. Star Witness News is a series... (View More) of articles, written for students, that are inspired by Hubble Space Telescope press releases. Supplemental education materials include background information, vocabulary, and discussion questions and answers. Common Core Standards for English Language Arts are also identified. (View Less)

Students participate in a series of activities to discover how astronomers use computers to create images and understand data. No programming experience is required; students will use pencilcode.net to complete such activities as creating a color,... (View More) exploring filters and color-shifting, and creating individual images of star-forming regions. These activities demonstrate a real world application of science, technology and art. (View Less)

This news story describes the innovations, operations, size, and capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope. The article also presents and discusses the questions and theories that the telescope will explore and test. Star Witness News is a... (View More) series of articles, written for students, that are inspired by NASA press releases. Supplemental education materials include background information, vocabulary, and discussion questions and answers. Common Core Standards for English Language Arts are also identified. (View Less)

This online Flash interactive simulates the process of discovering new exoplanets using the transit method. Learners explore a simulated star field, record data, make measurements and do calculations to discover new planets. Instructional videos and... (View More) guides are included. (View Less)

This collection of math problems is based on a weekly series of space and Earth science problems distributed to teachers during the 2013-2014 school year. The problems were intended for students looking for additional challenges in the math and... (View More) physical science curriculum and were created to be authentic glimpses of modern science and engineering issues, often involving actual research data. Includes information for teachers and answer key. (View Less)

This science news story highlights a Hubble Space Telescope observation of an unusual asteroid. Astronomers hypothesize that the spin rate of the asteroid increased to such an extent that materials were flung off its surface. Star Witness News is a... (View More) series of articles, written for students, that are inspired by Hubble Space Telescope press releases. Supplemental education materials include vocabulary, discussion questions and answers, and identifies relevant Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts. (View Less)