Space Weather Image Gallery
As part of my preparations for a recent workshop presentation, I added several
images and animations to our Space
Weather Multimedia and Image Gallery page. Check out this collection of
fantastic images of the Sun, Earth's magnetosphere, and the Aurora. Some highlights
include:
Archeoastronomy of Interest?
Did you know that the Windows to the Universe site has an Archeoastronomy
section? The new field of archeoastronomy started in the 1960s with discoveries at
Stonehenge, the world's most famous megalithic
structure. Archeoastronomy has been called the 'anthropology of astronomy'
to distinguish it from the history of astronomy. This means that archeoastronomy
pays attention to the astronomical practices, mythologies, and religions of
ancient cultures. It aims to discovery astronomy's role in ancient cultures.
Use this section as inspirational reading to jump start a love of astronomy for your students or to get inspired for some stargazing yourself. Enjoy!
Connecting Scientific Research with Classrooms
The Windows to the Universe Headline
Universe section contains a wealth of articles that describe scientific
research. Through these articles, students can explore an array of research
topics; reinforcing the fact that scientific discovery is an ongoing and dynamic
process. For example, the article Using
Leaves from the Past to Tell the Future describes how scientists are using
the fossilized leaves of ancient plants that lived during a period of rapid
climate change to provide insight and improve our understanding of how modern
climate change may affect life on Earth. Connect this article with content from
the Climate,
Life,
and Earth
History sections of Windows to the Universe and try a relevant classroom
activity such as Paleoclimates
and Pollen or Adaptation
Investigation with your students.
This type of activity brings science content, scientific process, and inquiry
skills together addressing components of several National Science Education
Standards including Unifying Concepts and Processes, Earth History and Evolution
of the Earth System (Content Standard D), Science in Personal and Social Perspectives
(Content Standard F), and the History and Nature of Science (Content Standard
G)
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The Endless Water Cycle
Run and get a glass of water, put on a table in front of you. Watch closely. Do
you know how old this water is? Planet Earth has a limited amount of water
that keeps going around and around from the ground to the skies and back to the
ground. This is known as the water cycle. This cycle is made up of several processes, evaporation,
transpiration,
and
precipitation, that move water from one place in the cycle to another. When
water comes back to the ground via precipitation, it is collected by lakes,
rivers
and oceans.
Water evaporates as the Sun heats the surface of lakes, rivers and oceans. When
water condenses in the atmosphere it forms different kinds of clouds,
which make it possible for us to have rain, thunderstorms,
rainbows or snow. This process has been happening for at least 3.8 billion
years. So that glass of water in front of you may have also been consumed by Apatosaurus,
kings and princesses, knights and squires, or your great grandparents! Make good
use of it as future generations will need to take a sip of it too! Now that you
have learned all about this cycle and its parts, have fun with our
Intermediate Weather Crossword !
Take a Sneak Peek at our New Planets Sudoku Puzzle!
Are your students crazy about sudoku puzzles? This month our registered educators
(that's you!) can preview our new Planets Sudoku.
Your students will learn the names and order of the planets in no time when
they play our colorful version of this popular puzzle.
The puzzle is still in development, but we need your input! Have fun for a few minutes or hours and please let us know about any bugs or problems that you may encounter. Other suggestions are welcome, too! We will let you know when the puzzle is on the site and ready for your students to play.
The First GLOBE at Night Event a Success!
Students, families and citizen-scientists from around the world
participated in this international campaign on March 22-31, 2006 to
observe and record the magnitude of visible stars as a means of
measuring light pollution in a given location. Over 18,000 people from
96 countries on all continents (except Antarctica) reported 4591
nighttime observations! Take a look at the full report and analysis of the data. Be sure to join us next year for the
second annual GLOBE at Night (March 8 – 21, 2007).
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