NASA scientist, Neil Gehrels, serves as your guide to this online lesson on gamma ray tools, which focuses on advances in detector technologies since the 1980s that have enabled us to capture and image high-energy phenomena. Dr. Gehrels explains... (View More) different methods for detecting and imaging high-energy particles, how they work, and the advantages and disadvantages of each, using examples and imagery from NASA missions. (View Less)

This interactive, online activity traces the history of the telescope from Galileo's first look at the stars to the work of modern observatories. Learners will read about the milestones in telescope development, witness the interplay between... (View More) technological and scientific advances, glimpse the humanity of the inventors and astronomers behind the telescopes, find out what the telescopes discovered, as well as learn the science of light and optics. Students can work through the activity independently or in groups. Teachers may also choose to have students study a portion of the activity and then share their learning with the class. The science of light and telescopes is presented in the section called "Get to the root of it" that can be used for review, learning the basics, or remediation. Detailed teacher pages, identified as Teaching Tips on the title page of the activity, provide science background information, lesson plan ideas, related resources, and alignment with national education standards. (View Less)

In this interactive, online activity, bias is explored when the students decide which of several sampling methods are biased. They see how bias affects the percentage of irregular galaxies determined to be in the sample from the Deep Field. After... (View More) completing this activity students will be able to analyze and identify sampling methods that reduce bias. Student may work independently or in small groups to complete each activity. This activity is apart of the online exploration, Galaxy Hunter. Detailed teacher pages, identified as Teaching Tips on the title pages of the activity, provide science background information, lesson plan ideas, related resources, and alignment with national education standards. (View Less)

This online module includes three activities: Spiral Shapes, Elliptical Slide, and Imagine Irregular. By completing these activities, students discover that galaxies come in different shapes and learn about the process used by astronomers to... (View More) classify them. Additional background information is provided in the Galaxy Gossip and Galaxy Gallery sections of this module. Students may complete this activity independently or in small groups. This activity should be completed before Galaxy Games. Detailed teacher pages, identified as Teaching Tips on the activity title page, provide science background information, lesson plan ideas, related resources, and alignment with national education standards. This activity is part of the online exploration "Galaxies Galore, Games and More" available on the Amazing Space website. (View Less)

This interactive, online activity allows students to examine the Hubble Deep Field image and simulate the process astronomers have gone through to classify the objects in it. Students classify select objects in the image based on observable... (View More) properties such as color and shape. Students then compare their classifications to those made by astronomers. Upon completion of this activity, students will have classified objects in the Hubble Deep Field, described their characteristics, and used a table to display their data. Students can work through the activity independently or in groups. Teachers also may choose to have students prepare oral reports based on what they learned after performing the activity. Detailed teacher pages, identified as Teaching Tips on the title page of the activity, provide science background information, lesson plan ideas, related resources, and alignment with national education standards. This activity is part of the online exploration "The Hubble Deep Field Academy" that is available on the Amazing Space website. (View Less)

This activity is one of several in which students are required to access and analyze actual data from NASA missions, including video "interviews" with real NASA scientists, to solve a mystery. In this mystery, students are challenged to determine if... (View More) a signal from space has a natural origin, or if it actually is a message from aliens. Alien Bandstand can be used as a supplemental learning tool to reinforce the scientific method, and as an example of how scientists analyze data in real-world situations. It is one of several activities within "Space Mysteries," a series of inquiry-driven, interactive Web explorations. Each Mystery in "Space Mysteries" is designed to teach at least one physical science concept (e.g. interactions of energy and matter, structures and properties of matter, energy, motion, or forces), and is accompanied by materials to be used by classroom teachers. (View Less)