In this activity, students will use a simulator of an orbiting X-ray observatory to observe a supernova remnant, the expanding gas from an exploded star. They will take X-ray spectral data, analyze them, and answer questions based on that data. This... (View More) resource consists of a manual and software for the Introductory Astronomy Lab Exercise, from CLEA (Contemporary Laboratory Experiments in Astronomy). The manual includes introductory activities for students, background information, an instructor's guide, a student handout, an answer key, a software user's guide, and a glossary. The student section of the activity starts on page 13. See Related & Supplemental Resources for a link to download the software. Note: the software is only available for Windows. (View Less)

This interactive, online activity introduces the idea that everything emits electromagnetic radiation, including students. Students discover how the light emitted from an object (a robot) changes as the object is heated. A graph shows the amount of... (View More) light the robot emits in each wavelength region as the robot reaches higher temperatures. Students are challenged to relate the peak of the emitted light from the robot to the color it appears, thus connecting the temperature of an object with the color of light it emits. Students apply this information by plotting the peak wavelengths of four stars of their choice, and then determine the temperature of each. Upon completion of this activity, students will have identified peak wavelengths from graphical data and applied this concept to determine the relationship between temperature and star color. Students may complete this activity independently or in small groups. 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 "Star Light, Star Bright" that focuses on the electromagnetic spectrum and that is available on the Amazing Space website. (View Less)

In this interactive, online activity, students practice estimation skills as they begin to explore the Hubble Deep Field image. Students first give a rough estimate of the number of objects in the image. They then use representative sampling... (View More) techniques to improve upon their original estimates. Finally, they use their estimates to calculate the number of galaxies in the universe. Students can work through the activity independently or in groups. 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)