This historic image is the first ever taken from a spacecraft in orbit about <a href="/mercury/mercury.html">Mercury</a>, the innermost planet of the solar system. Taken on 3/29/2011 by <a href="/space_missions/robotic/messenger/messenger.html">MESSENGER</a>, it shows numerous craters across the <a href="/mercury/Interior_Surface/Surface/surface_overview.html">surface</a> of the planet. Temperatures there can reach over 800°F because Mercury is so close to the Sun and rotates so slowly. MESSENGER entered orbit around Mercury earlier in March 2011.<p><small><em>NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington</em></small></p>Scientists are concerned that melting Arctic sea ice will increase the amount of fresh water in the <a href="/earth/polar/arctic_currents.html">Beaufort Gyre</a>, which could spill out into the Atlantic and cause major climate shifts in North America and Western Europe. Watch the <a href="/earth/changing_planet/freshwater_arctic.html">Changing Planet: Fresh Water in the Arctic video</a>.<p><small><em> Courtesy of Jack Cook, WHOI (<a href="http://www.whoi.edu">Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute</a>)</em></small></p>An artist's rendering of the moment of impact of a massive <a href="/our_solar_system/meteors/meteors.html">meteorite</a> at the end of the Cretaceous (at the end of the <a href="/earth/geology/hist_mesozoic.html">Mesozoic Era</a>). Many scientists have concluded for decades that a meteorite four to six kilometers in diameter impacted the Earth at this time, resulting in a <a href="/earth/past/KTextinction.html">mass extinction of dinosaurs</a> and many other life forms.  Recent research suggests that perhaps <a href="/headline_universe/olpa/chicxulub.html">massive volcanic eruptions</a> may be been responsible for the extinction.<p><small><em>Courtesy of Don Davis, NASA</em></small></p>Stars don't last forever. Occasionally, a star bigger than our Sun will end its life in a huge explosion, called a <a href="/the_universe/supernova.html">supernova</a>. The center of the star collapses in less than a second, blowing away the outer layers of the star. There are many beautiful images of supernova remnants, the expanding shell of gas made up of the outer layers of the original star. This image is the Vela Supernova Remnant.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of the Anglo-Australian Observatory/Royal Observatory Edinburgh</em></small></p>According to a Greek legend, the sea god Poseidon placed the figure of <a href="/the_universe/Constellations/circumpolar/cassiopeia.html">Cassiopeia</a> among the stars. It is said that Cassiopeia has a ridiculous upside-down position to punish her for having been pretentious.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of 1995 Visual Language (c). All rights reserved.</em></small></p>As permafrost thaws, the land, atmosphere, water resources, ecosystems, and human communities are affected. Coastal areas and hillsides are vulnerable to erosion by thawing of permafrost. Thawing permafrost also causes a positive feedback to global warming, as carbon trapped within the once-frozen soils is released as <a href="/physical_science/chemistry/methane.html">methane</a>, a powerful <a href="/earth/climate/cli_greengas.html">greenhouse gas</a>. Watch the NBC Learn video - <a href="/earth/changing_planet/permafrost_methane_intro.html">Thawing Permafrost and Methane</a> to find out more.<p><small><em>Image courtesy of the USGS</em></small></p>

Welcome to Windows to the Universe - your portal to discovery! Explore the wealth of information available here to learn about the Earth and Space sciences and related topics in the humanities including mythology, art, poetry, and more.

Windows to the Universe is now offering on-site professional development workshops for teachers. Find out more about this opportunity here. Information about our upcoming workshops and events at the NSTA conference in Indianapolis is available under 2012 on our Teacher Resources/Workshops page.

Windows to the Universe is happy to make available summary results from a survey of Earth and space science educators we conducted from April through August of 2011. Summary survey results are available in two sets:

  • 726 active K-12 US teachers, including responses to 25 questions about demographics, teaching experience, subjects taught, technology use, classroom resources, and more.
  • 329 Windows to the Universe teacher users (307 from the US, 22 International), with responses to more than 50 questions on the above topics, as well as questions regarding their use of Windows to the Universe and associated capabilities.
Windows to the Universe Educator Member Subscribers have free access to these summary results - just login to your account to get access to them. If you're not a member, but would like to get access to both reports, you can join today to get access. Non-members can purchase access to our Survey Summary of Active US K-12 Teachers 2011 through our online store. Summary Survey results from 306 members of the National Earth Science Teachers Association to the same survey (with responses to over 50 questions) are also available to NESTA members on the NESTA website.

NEW Subscription Opportunities for Educators and their Students! - Classroom, School, and District Subscription Options.

Become a Windows to the Universe Member for special services, opportunities, and discounts!

  • No advertising!
  • Members only access to information about valuable special opportunities for classroom grants, professional development with travel and/or stipends, research grants, and more!
  • Personalize your experience with your own My W2U control panel!
  • Full access to a regularly updated calendar of Earth and Space Science Current Events and Opportunities
  • Full access to a regularly updated calendar of major Earth and Space Science Historical Events
  • Access to the Windows to the Universe Journal Tool, which you can use to create your own journals on the site
  • A 10% discount in our online store with mineral and fossil specimens, publications, classroom activities, jewelry, and household items.

Educator Members have free access to our PDF formatted student worksheets, classroom activity descriptions, and supplementary materials in our Teacher Resources Activities section - a $230 value, in addition to other benefits and services for Earth and space science teachers.

Partnerships are now available for scientists, programs, and organizations seeking effective and efficient Education and Outreach or Broader Impacts for their research activities!

Find out more about the project here. The website is available at three levels (beginner, intermediate, and advanced) using the navigation tabs at the top of each page, as well as in English and Spanish. We really appreciate your comments and suggestions. Thank you for your support!

Windows to the Universe Community

News

Opportunities

Upcoming W2U Events
Join Today - Benefits,
No Ads!
Special Offers for Teachers
Member Benefits
Teacher Newsletter
Partnership Opportunities

Video About Ocean Dead Zones

Oceanographers are using robotic undersea "gliders" to study "dead zones" in the seas. View this video from the National Science Foundation ...Read more
Brought to you by NSF

Clouds in Art

Landscape painters have been representing clouds in their art for centuries. Different artists with different styles have painted clouds differently. Check out the Clouds in Art Interactive ...Read more
Brought to you by CMMAP

Modeling Space Weather

Computer models help scientists study all aspects of space weather. Models help us understand activity on the Sun, the flow of the solar wind in space, and planetary magnetospheres ...Read more
Brought to you by CISM

Marie Curie

Marie Curie was a physicist and chemist who lived between 1867-1934. She was a pioneer in the field of radioactivity and was the first woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize ...Read more

Neptune

Neptune is an ice giant planet; smaller than the gas giants Jupiter and Saturn but much larger than Earth. Neptune has more than a dozen moons and a faint ring system. It is the 8th planet from the Sun ...Read more

Upcoming Earth & Space Science Historical Events

Full Earth and Space Science    History Calendar (Members only)
Teacher Events Calendar (Educator    Members only)

Did you know?

Did you know that Giovanni Schiaparelli's observations of channels on the surface of Mars was mistranslated, causing people to think there was life on Mars?

Buried Treasure!

Neutron Stars

Neutron Stars are the end point of a massive star's life. When a really massive star runs out of nuclear...Read more

Shop Windows to the Universe

Ammonite pairs are available in our online store, along with other minerals and fossils, books, activities, jewelry, and household items.

Generous sponsorship of Windows to the Universe is provided by the Hewlett Foundation, the American Geological Institute, the American Geophysical Union, the National Science Foundation, NASA, NCAR, and the CISM and CMMAP projects. NASA CMMAP AGU CISM NCAR Hewlett AGI NSF