This slide set focuses on the first discovery of an Earth-like planet orbiting a Sun-like star. It is one of a series of short, topical presentations on new developments from NASA astrophysics missions, relevant to introductory astronomy topics.... (View More) These resources are intended to help instructors include the latest discoveries (not yet in their textbooks) into their courses. The slide sets are constructed to be easily included as a lecture supplement including synopsis, references, and graphics. (View Less)

This slide set focuses on the discovery of a massive dust cloud in a supernova remnant. It is one of a series of short, topical presentations on new developments from NASA astrophysics missions, relevant to introductory astronomy topics. These... (View More) resources are intended to help instructors include the latest discoveries (not yet in their textbooks) into their courses. The slide sets are constructed to be easily included as a lecture supplement including synopsis, references, and graphics. (View Less)

Follow the 400 year background story leading to the creation of the first 3D model of a supernova (Cassiopeia A). This article explains how science, mathematics and technology led to the visual representation of data gathered by NASA's Chandra X-ray... (View More) Observatory. The model of Cassiopeia A is available free online- allowing you to make your own 3D model. (View Less)

This slide set focuses on new information learned about galaxy evolution thanks to multiwavelength observations of M101. It is one of a series of short, topical presentations on new developments from NASA astrophysics missions, relevant to... (View More) introductory astronomy topics. These resources are intended to help instructors include the latest discoveries (not yet in their textbooks) into their courses. The slide sets are constructed to be easily included as a lecture supplement including synopsis, references, and graphics. (View Less)

This slide set focuses on the Fermi Mission's discovery of bubbles emanating from the core of the Milky Way galaxy. It is one of a series of short, topical presentations on new developments from NASA astrophysics missions, relevant to introductory... (View More) astronomy topics. These resources are intended to help instructors include the latest discoveries (not yet in their textbooks) into their courses. The slide sets are constructed to be easily included as a lecture supplement including synopsis, references, and graphics. (View Less)

Students participate in a series of activities to discover how astronomers use computers to create images and understand data. No programming experience is required; students will use pencilcode.net to complete such activities as creating a color,... (View More) exploring filters and color-shifting, and creating individual images of star-forming regions. These activities demonstrate a real world application of science, technology and art. (View Less)

This slide set focuses on the discovery of debris belts around Vega. It is one of a series of short, topical presentations on new developments from NASA astrophysics missions, relevant to introductory astronomy topics. These resources are intended... (View More) to help instructors include the latest discoveries (not yet in their textbooks) into their courses. The slide sets are constructed to be easily included as a lecture supplement including synopsis, references, and graphics. (View Less)

This slide set focuses on the discovery of an intermediate mass black hole in M83. It is one of a series of short, topical presentations on new developments from NASA astrophysics missions, relevant to introductory astronomy topics. These resources... (View More) are intended to help instructors include the latest discoveries (not yet in their textbooks) into their courses. The slide sets are constructed to be easily included as a lecture supplement including synopsis, references, and graphics. (View Less)

This is a PDF guide on how to use ImageJ image processing software to understand and manipulate astronomical images. The guide begins with instructions on how to download ImageJ, plus some additional astronomy-related plugins, followed by directions... (View More) on how to install everything correctly. There are three lessons that will help the user get oriented with some of the most basic image processing skills needed for analyzing astronomical images. There are questions throughout the lesson to help guide thinking. After the lessons is an explanation for how to create a color picture using three different gray scale images. (View Less)

This guide provides instructions on how to make color pictures using images downloaded from the WISE archive. An overview of what digital images and FITS files are is followed by a discussion on the basic process of how gray scale images are... (View More) adjusted, assigned color, and added together to create a color picture. Five different image processing programs are provided to the users, along with the pros and cons of each program, and links for installing and using each one. There is also a review of the various image artifacts that may be found in WISE images. (View Less)