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)

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)

This science news story highlights Comet ISON's travels through our region of the solar system. Star Witness News is a series of articles, written for students, that are inspired by Hubble Space Telescope press releases. Supplemental education... (View More) materials include vocabulary, discussion questions and answers, and identifies relevant English language arts standards. (View Less)

This is a make-it-yourself planisphere designed to show where Kepler is pointing. Learners can use it to locate exoplanets around stars in the night sky. It comes with two wheels: one with coordinate grid for plotting additional exoplanet stars and... (View More) one without grid that is easier to read; and two holders for varying latitudes (one for 30°-50° and one for 50°-70°). The product is updated approximately annually to incorporate improvements and any newly discovered planets orbiting naked eye stars. (View Less)

This science news story explains how NASA crashed a spacecraft and its booster rocket into the Moon in search of water. The spacecraft, called the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), was launched in June 2009 along with the... (View More) Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). Together, LCROSS and LRO make up a mission to scout the moon for future landing sites and resources that may be used by future astronauts. The Hubble Space Telescope observed the impacts of LCROSS and its booster rocket. 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)

This online, interactive activity challenges students to use image and text-based clues to identify solar system objects. This activity has a game-like format during which students collect cards that depict solar system objects such as planets,... (View More) comets, asteroids, and the sun. Students have to correctly identify the object featured on each card in order to collect the card. 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 an online exploration that is available on the Amazing Space website. (View Less)

In this activity, the student will be able to assess their understanding of what makes up the universe, by filling in a concept map with the following terms: Planetary Systems, Galaxies, Planets, Sun, Venus, Moon, Stars, Sirius, Solar System, Comet,... (View More) Meteor, Open Clusters, Stellar Regions, Jupiter, Titan, Solar Neighborhood, M80, Upsilon Andromeda. This is activity eight in the "Hidden Lives of Galaxies" information and activity booklet that was designed for use with "The Hidden Lives of Galaxies" poster. The booklet includes student worksheets and background information for the teacher. (View Less)

This interactive, computer-based activity presents a series of inquiries that allow students to discover how the colors, masses, and luminosities of stars are related. Students also investigate how these characteristics influence the life cycle of... (View More) the stars. The concluding activity allows students to use the information learned in the previous activities to determine the eventual fate of our Sun. The activity is part of the Space Mysteries series. (View Less)