These guides showcase education and public outreach resources from across more than 20 NASA astrophysics missions and programs. The twelve guides - one for each month - contain a science topic, an interpretive story, a sky object to view with... (View More) finding charts, hands-on activities, and connections to NASA science. The guides are modular, so that educators can use the portions that are the most useful for their audiences/events. Following is the theme for each month: January - Betelgeuse, February - Orion Nebula, March - Pleiades, April - Pollux; May - Hubble Deep Field, June - Hercules Cluster, July - Ring Nebula & Veil Nebula, August - The Search for Habitable Worlds, September - Milky Way Galaxy, October - Upsilon Andromedae, November - Andromeda Galaxy, and December - Crab Nebula. (View Less)

In this activity, children make a mobile of galaxies; patterns and instructions are included. It introduces the different shapes of galaxies and their nomenclature. Note that young children will need assistance from an adult or older child to safely... (View More) complete this activity. (View Less)

In this lesson, students create a timeline of world events from 1905 until 2006. Students locate key dates from the Cosmic Times poster series and determine world events that fit into the three story strands of Cosmic Times, as well as, the... (View More) categories of Science, Culture, and World Events/Politics. The timeline allows students to see how the technology and data that scientists have used over the past 100 years have contributed to the cosmological knowledge and understanding that we have today. Students can also observe the historical significance of scientific discoveries over time, and place them within the context of world events. This activity is from the Cosmic Times teachers guide and uses all six Cosmic Times Posters. (View Less)

In this lesson, students consider observations and inferences to determine the support for each of two theories on the origin of the universe: Steady State and Big Bang. Working with partners, students draw from a set of Evidence cards (master... (View More) provided, which needs to be copied and cut into cards) and decide if the statement describes direct evidence as an observation/experiment or if it describes an inference or interpretation. They then look at two models describing the origin of the universe, and then assign Evidence cards to each theory (with blank cards provided for evidence they believe applies to both models). Students then review each others work and discuss. This lesson is part of the Cosmic Times teachers guide and is intended to be used in conjunction with the 1955 Cosmic Times Poster. (View Less)

In this lesson, students measure the size of several galaxies to reproduce a plot of Hubble's Law. The goal of this lesson is to give students the chance to simulate the process that led to the notion that the universe is expanding, provide insight... (View More) into how this idea was reached, and inform students about the nature of our universe. This lesson is part of the Cosmic Times teacher's guide and is intended to be used in conjunction with the 1929 Cosmic Times Poster. (View Less)

In this lesson, students explore the cosmic microwave background to understand why it permeates the universe and why it peaks as microwave radiation. Students should be able to explain that the origin of the background radiation is the uniform... (View More) thermal radiation of the big bang and that the radiation produced was evenly distributed around the small early universe, causing it to permeate today's universe. This activity is part of the Cosmic Times teachers guide and is intended to be used in conjunction with the 1965 Cosmic Times Poster. (View Less)