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UK based Science teacher, mainly sharing resources for the Edexcel GCSE (combined science and biology), Exploring Science at KS3, OCR Biology A A Level Biology and one off Science lessons / projects.

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UK based Science teacher, mainly sharing resources for the Edexcel GCSE (combined science and biology), Exploring Science at KS3, OCR Biology A A Level Biology and one off Science lessons / projects.

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UK based Science teacher, mainly sharing resources for the Edexcel GCSE (combined science and biology), Exploring Science at KS3, OCR Biology A A Level Biology and one off Science lessons / projects. Report this resourceto let us know if it violates our terms and conditions.

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Gravity and Orbits

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How big, how far, how hot?

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Solar system interacive

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Online 3D simulation of the Solar System and night sky in real time - the Sun, planets, dwarf planets, comets, stars and constellations

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Classifying objects in our solar-system by similar properties

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Lots of resources to explore here

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All Resources | Resources - NASA Solar System Exploration

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NASA's real-time science encyclopedia of deep space exploration. Our scientists and hardworking robots are exploring the wild frontiers of our solar system.

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Printable trading cards from NASA

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Planet top trump cards

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What is a light year

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Human Orrery

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Comparing planets, dwarf planets and asteroids

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Galaxies

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How Many Galaxies Are in the Universe? | Video

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Asteroids. comets and meteors

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Less Than Five - What's the Difference Between Comets, Asteroids, Meteoroids, Meteors & Meteorites?

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The Solar System (4 mins)

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interactive asteroid game that includes learning about density.

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Graphic Design and Illustration

Chris Grahl, d'Vinci Interactive

Content Development

Jaclyn Ricords, d'Vinci Interactive, Education Consultant

Executive Producers

Christina Riska Simmons, National Geographic Society
Mason Scuderi, d'Vinci Interactive
Sara Zeglin, National Geographic Society

Game Design and Development

Editors

Joan Gossett, National Geographic
Andrea Silen, National Geographic

Educator Reviewer

Janis Watson, Implementation Manager & Curriculum Specialist, The Creativity Labs @ Indiana University

Expert Reviewer

Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company

Production Manager

Elaine Larson, National Geographic Society

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Graphic Design and Illustration Chris Grahl, d'Vinci Interactive Content Development Jaclyn Ricords, d'Vinci Interactive, Education Consultant Executive Producers Christina Riska Simmons, National Geographic Society Mason Scuderi, d'Vinci Interactive Sara Zeglin, National Geographic Society Game Design and Development Editors Joan Gossett, National Geographic Andrea Silen, National Geographic Educator Reviewer Janis Watson, Implementation Manager & Curriculum Specialist, The Creativity Labs @ Indiana University Expert Reviewer Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company Production Manager Elaine Larson, National Geographic Society

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Reading Asteroids

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Asteroid passes close to Earth (Image Credit: ESA/NEO)

NASA's Near Earth Object (NEO) Observations Program has discovered and cataloged over 15,000 Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs) since they began scouring the skies in 1998. However, every now and again, one manages to escape their powerful telescopes and keen eyes. This was certainly the case with asteroid 2017 BS32, which was discovered on January 30 just three days before its close encounter with Earth.

The asteroid, which was moving at 9.9 miles per second, came within 101,214 miles of our planet at about 3:23 PM (EST) on February 2. NASA researchers say though the flyby was a surprise, the space rock, estimated to be just 39 feet in diameter, would not have caused any damage even if it had hit Earth.

Photo Credit: Slooh Observatories (YouTube Screen capture)

What worries experts, however, is that 2017 BS32 is the latest in a series of previously unknown asteroids that have snuck up on us unexpectedly since the beginning of the year. On January 29, asteroid 2017 BH30 came within 32,200 miles of Earth. Measuring 19 feet wide, it was discovered just hours before the close encounter.

The largest surprise asteroid this year was 2017 AG13, which came within about half the distance between the moon and Earth. According to "Impact Earth," an asteroid impact simulator at Purdue University, if the estimated 111-foot long space rock had hit Earth's atmosphere, it would have exploded and released almost 700 kilotons worth of energy. While powerful, it would not result in much damage since the impact would occur 10 miles above the Earth's surface. NASA researchers say that the asteroid was roughly the same size as the one that landed in Chelyabinsk, Russia in 2013, which resulted in shattered windows and minor damage to a few buildings.

Trail of smoke left behind by asteroid as it makes landfall in

Paul Cox, the chief astronomical officer at Slooh Observatories, says, "It raises a few eyebrows when we see a number of close approaching NEAs (Near Earth Asteroids) over such a short period of time." Slooh's astronomers plan to investigate the reason for this recent barrage of space rocks, research if we have encountered anything similar in the past, and try to find the reason the asteroids were not noticed sooner.

Resources: inverse.com, businessinsider.com,space.com

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An Asteroid The Size Of A Bus Just Zipped Past Earth!

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NASA's Near Earth Object (NEO) Observations Program has discovered and cataloged over 15,000 Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs) since they began scouring the skies in 1998. However, every now and again, one manages to escape their powerful telescopes and keen eyes.

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Asteriod impact simulation

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Discovery Channel - Large Asteroid Impact Simulation

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Reading Comets

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On Wednesday, November 12th, an unmanned spacecraft made history by landing perfectly on its target - a speeding comet that lies at a distance of 310 million miles from earth. According to the European Space Agency (ESA), the brainchild behind this audacious project, the Rosetta space probe that housed the 220-pound washing machine-sized Philae lander, released its passenger to its destination perfectly - not an easy feat given that the Comet 67P was hurtling through Space at a speed of 41,000 mph.

The picture perfect landing on the Space rock that measures a mere 4 kilometers or 2.5 miles in diameter, ended a 4 billion-mile journey that began ten years ago. Launched in 2004, Rosetta had to revolve around Earth three times and Mars once, before it could gain enough speed and momentum to chase down the comet. The robotic space probe has been flying alongside 67P since August 2014, waiting for the opportune moment to off-load its precious cargo.

The only glitch in this otherwise successful mission was that Philae's anchoring harpoons that had been designed to affix the spacecraft to a designated area on the comet's surface, failed to activate. Since 67P has very weak gravity, Philae bounced up and down a few times, before settling down on the comet. As a result, its final resting place ended up being in the shadow of a cliff.

This was a major setback given that Philae's battery was only equipped with enough power to last 64 hours - ample time for its solar panel to get exposure to the sun and help it recharge. In order to get it out of the shadow, ESA scientists operating from 310-miles away, moved the lander by about 4 centimeters and rotated it approximately 35 degrees. However, it was not enough and by early Saturday, the historical lander lost all contact with its human creators.

While scientists are resigned to the fact that Philae is 'dead' for now, its mother ship Rosetta, is well and alive and will continue sending information as it follows the comet's progress for another year. Meanwhile, scientists are hoping that as 67P gets closer to the sun, Philae will get enough exposure to recharge its battery and wake up from its deep slumber.

The good news is that during the approximately 64-hours that Philae was in contact, it was extremely effective. In addition to sending back amazing photographs and reams of data about its new home, the spacecraft also performed a series of scientific tests. The researchers are hoping that this information will give them the answers they are seeking. Of particular interest is the data from a complex experiment that involved drilling a 25-centimeter hole in the comet's surface and extracting a sample, for analysis.

If scientists can examine a piece of the comet's surface which has remained unchanged for 4.5 billion years, they may finally be able to solve the mystery that has confounded scientists for years and, is one of the main reasons behind this $1.6 billion USD mission - were comets responsible for bringing organic matter and water - the building blocks of life - to Earth?

This is not the last space rock chase we will encounter - In 2016, NASA plans to launch a spacecraft that will zip close to an asteroid in a speedy quick three years. However, instead of landing, it will simply extend out its robotic arm, pluck a piece of the rock, and bring it back to Earth for scientists to examine.

Resource: tweentribune.com, cnn.com, news.yahoo.com

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European Spacecraft Makes Historic Landing On Speedy Comet

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On Wednesday, November 12th, an unmanned spacecraft made history by landing perfectly on its target - a speeding comet that lies at a distance of 310 million miles from earth.

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Comets

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What are comets?

Like asteroids, comets are suspected to be remnants of planet formation in the Solar System about 4.6 billion years ago. But while asteroids are generally comprised of rock and metal, comets are more akin to dirty snowballs. They are composed of frozen gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and ammonia, as well as water ice, in which dust particles and rocky material are embedded. As a comet approaches the Sun, solar radiation "melts" the surface, vaporizing molecules of gas and dust and creating the brilliant tail comets are best known for. A comet's tail will always point away from the Sun, which means it doesn't always trail behind the comet on its journey, but rather can travel beside or in front of it.

Where do they come from?

Comets spend most of their lives far away from the Sun in the distant reaches of the solar system. They primarily originate from two regions: the Kuiper Belt, and the Oort Cloud. The Kuiper Belt is a disk composed mainly of icy bodies that stretches from about Neptune's orbit (around 30 AU from the Sun on average) out to about 50 AU from the Sun. The Oort Cloud is at the edges of the Sun's gravitational influence (about 50,000 to 200,000 AU) and divided into two regions: the inner, disc-like Hills cloud, and the outer spherical cloud, both composed of icy bodies. Short-period comets, which orbit the Sun in 200 years or less, are usually Kuiper Belt objects, while long-period comets that take hundreds or thousands of years to orbit the Sun generally come from the Oort Cloud.

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All About Comets: What is a comet? Where do comets come from?

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Like asteroids, comets are suspected to be remnants of planet formation in the Solar System about 4.6 billion years ago. But while asteroids are generally comprised of rock and metal, comets are more akin to dirty snowballs.

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Rosetta mission to a comet

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The amazing adventures of Rosetta and Philae

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Suitable for student research

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Image: The Vela supernova remnant, seen in visible light.

"In my own view, the important achievement of Apollo was a demonstration that humanity is not forever chained to this planet, and our visions go rather further than that, and our opportunities are unlimited." - Neil Armstrong, 1999
Until Voyager reached the outer solar system we knew very little about the planets that inhabited this region of space. What we have discovered over years of exploration has both excited and mystified us. Come explore the science of the outer planets. Learn what we have already discovered, and discover what we have yet to learn.

Looking for something specific? See the site map to find it quickly.

Highlights

The Orbit Simulator shows the motion of the planets and other objects around the Sun.

The Orbit Simulator
(click to launch)

Use the Solar Wind Tunnel to explore how the sun affects magnetic fields, comets, and other orbiting bodies.

The Solar Wind Tunnel
(click to launch)

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Image: The Vela supernova remnant, seen in visible light. "In my own view, the important achievement of Apollo was a demonstration that humanity is not forever chained to this planet, and our visions go rather further than that, and our opportunities are unlimited."

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Solar system to scale

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Booklet of activities

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Variety of different activities

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Booklet of various activities on solar system

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Comprehension questions

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Volumes and numeracy skills

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Life of stars

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Reading on galaxies and puzzles

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Exploring Galaxies