Now showing results 1-13 of 13
This activity features real images of comets and challenges students to identify the different types of comet tails shown. It is an assessment activity that is based upon what students observed about comet tails in the activity Make A Comet.... (View More)
In this interactive, online activity, students explore the nature and composition of comets by selecting and mixing different elements and compounds found in a comet's nucleus. Students then observe the results of their mixtures upon the appearance... (View More)
This activity is an interactive word find game with words related to comets and NASA's Comet Nucleus Sample Return mission. Accompanying text and pictures describe what comets are and why we are interested in them.
This paper model shows the orbit of Comet ISON (late 2013) with respect to the innermost planets of the solar system. After reading background information about comets - how they form and where they come from - students cut out and tape together the... (View More)
In this interactive module, students can vary the comet's angle of approach to see the effect of gravity on its trajectory towards Jupiter. The speed and masses of the two bodies are held constant. The goal is for the students to understand the... (View More)
This interactive, online activity allows students to explore myths, legends, and facts connected to the appearance of comets throughout history. Upon completion of this activity students will have read about comet facts, history, and discoveries.... (View More)
In this activity, learners replicate the scientific processes of observing, forming an explanation, revising and communicating about a model of a comet. Learners construct a model of features of a comet using an assortment of common craft supplies.... (View More)
Materials Cost: $1 - $5 per group of students
This series of short articles details the discovery and subsequent impact of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 on Jupiter. The impending impact created quite a buzz among scientists since it marked the first of its kind. Student may work independently or in... (View More)
This is an activity about mission planning. Learners will use the roles of a navigation team, spacecraft, comet, Earth, and Sun to simulate how mission planners design a spacecraft/comet rendezvous. This activity requires at least four active... (View More)
Learners will explore the physical characteristics of comets by reaching into a series of boxes and feeling the materials and structures within. They will describe what they observe and speculate on comet characteristics being modeled in each box,... (View More)
Learners will shrink the scale of the solar system to the size of their neighborhood and compare the relative sizes of scale models of the planets, two dwarf planets, and a comet as represented by fruits and other foods. This activity requires... (View More)
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)
In this lesson, learners will use images to observe and compare the surfaces of two comet nuclei from close range. Separate teachers guides and students guides are provided. Supplementary resources needed for the lesson are provided and include... (View More)
