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EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES AND EVENTS

Educational Resources and Events Catalog

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  1. Lights, Coronagraph, Action! An Exoplanet Direct Imaging Demo

    Activities
    In this demonstration, participants will learn about the direct imaging method astronomers use to find exoplanets — planets outside our solar system. Using a trifold display board and a lamp, participants...
    Split image: At left, a bright dot with a glare. At right, a hand holds a dark circle to block the star's light.

  2. Exoplanet Detectives: A Transit Method Activity

    Activities
    In this activity, participants will learn about the transit method to find exoplanets — planets outside our solar system. Using a trifold display board, a lamp, and exoplanet shadow puppets, participants...
    Large tri-fold poster says Exoplanet Detectives at the top.

  3. Cosmic Canvas: Stellar Evolution Program Guide & Resources

    Activities | Resource Guide
    Stars are born, live incredible lives, and eventually die — sometimes in dramatic ways! This journey, known as stellar evolution, helps us understand how stars shape the universe. With these program...
    Artist's concept of the binary star system HM Sge on the black background of space sprinkled with various sizes of red and white points of light. At the top of the image, a blazing hot white disk surrounds a white dwarf star that is pulling a stream of material from its red giant companion, the glowing mottled ball at bottom right.

  4. Cosmic Canvas: Exoplanets Program Guide & Resources

    Activities | Resource Guide
    Astronomers have discovered thousands of exoplanets—planets beyond our solar system. Some exoplanets are hot and stormy, others icy and rocky, and some look wildly different than the planets within...
    Illustration depicting the seven planets of the TRAPPIST-1 system against a black background. The image does not show the planets' orbits to scale as they are placed in a diagonal manner from top left to bottom right. The exoplanets’ surfaces are illuminated, as if an offscreen light source is shining on the face-on portion of each exoplanet. The exoplanets vary in size, and each is unique in color and detail. From left to right: a large blue sphere, a light brown and gray sphere, a smaller dark blue sphere with a white marbled surface, a sphere with a brown, white, and blue surface, a slightly larger sphere with gray vein-like features, a similarly sized sphere with a light brown surface, and a small brown sphere.

  5. Cosmic Stories

    Activities
    This activity allows participants to practice making observations and conveying ideas while crafting a poem, short story, or song about astronomical images, illustrations, artworks, tactile plates, and/or...
    Composite image of MSH 15-52, a pulsar wind nebula, which strongly resembles a ghostly purple hand with sparkling fingertips. The hazy purple cloud is set against a black, starry backdrop. The bright white spot near the base of the palm is the pulsar. The three longest fingertips of the hand-shape point toward 1 o’clock. There, a small, mottled, orange and yellow cloud appears to sparkle or glow like embers. This orange cloud is part of the remains of the supernova explosion that created the pulsar.

  6. Paint a Star-forming Nebula

    Activities
    In this activity, participants explore real telescope images of star-forming nebulae and create watercolor paintings to visualize how stars, gas, and dust interact in these dynamic regions. A step-by-step...
    A person’s hand holds a paintbrush and is adding finishing touches to a watercolor painting of a star-forming nebula. The scene is viewed from above, with the paper placed on a wooden table. The nebula painting shows towering, reddish-brown pillar-like formations resembling those found in deep space images, surrounded by a soft, swirling purple and blue sky filled with stars. Bright yellow and orange star shapes, along with small scattered black and blue dots, depict stars scattered across the cosmic scene. On the left side of the image, a watercolor palette features over 30 vibrant colors, including shades of pink, orange, blue, green, and brown. A few colors show signs of recent use, with drops of paint on the palette and paper.

  7. Make Your Own Exoplanet Model

    Activities
    In this activity, participants design and create an exoplanet that could exist, complete with distinct features and characteristics, and then use art supplies to bring their vision to life. This activity...
    A colorful drawing of an imagined exoplanet orbiting two stars. Against a black background is a small yellow circle, a star, in the top left corner of the image. Just below, to its bottom right, is a larger circle that has a red surface with black splotches, another star. Toward the center right of the image is a larger circle, the exoplanet. The left half of the planet is mostly reddish-orange and has two blue patches to represent oceans. The right half of the planet is gray and black with curvy features depicting clouds. Handwritten text about the imagined exoplanet system appears in the top right corner.

  8. Drawing from the Data: Illustrating the TRAPPIST-1 Exoplanets

    Activities
    In this activity, participants explore a scale model and real data from the TRAPPIST-1 exoplanet system to see how scientists and artists use current information to depict these distant worlds. Through...
    Illustration of the TRAPPIST-1 planetary system, showing an imagined lineup of the star and its seven Earth-sized planets labeled b through h. From left to right, the image shows a bright, glowing orange star (TRAPPIST-1) taking up the left edge of the image. The seven planets appear in a horizontal row extending to the right, each increasingly distant from the star. The planets are labeled in lowercase letters beneath them from left to right as: b, c, d, e, f, g, and h. TRAPPIST-1b, closest to the star, is depicted with a red-orange, volcanic surface resembling Jupiter’s moon Io. TRAPPIST-1c appears rocky with a slightly darker surface. TRAPPIST-1d is shown with a thin band of water along its terminator—the boundary between the bright day side and dark night side. TRAPPIST-1e and f are both shown as water-covered planets, with increasing ice coverage on their night sides. TRAPPIST-1g appears larger, green-blue in tone, with a cloudy atmosphere resembling Neptune’s, though it remains a rocky planet. TRAPPIST-1h, the farthest out, is portrayed as a smaller, cold world.

  9. The Pillars of Creation and the Interplay of Stars and Dust

    Videos
    This scientific visualization explores the iconic Pillars of Creation in the Eagle Nebula and the various ways that stars and dust are intertwined in the process of star formation. In developing the contextual...
    Mosaic of the Pillars of Creation visualization model, composed of 4 rectangular strips oriented 45 degrees clockwise from vertical. Strips alternate between Hubble and Webb views of the visualization model, with each strip labeled: “Hubble” at lower right corners of first and third strips; “Webb” at upper left corners of the second and fourth strips. Webb strips have drop shadows that make it look like they are overlaid on top of larger Hubble image. Mosaic shows 3 vertical structures (pillars) of thick smoke-like material. Pillar edges are glowing, with thin wisps of material moving away into space. In Hubble strips, pillars are dark brown and opaque, on greenish blue background. In Webb strips, pillars are bright orange to brown with a distinct area of bright red at the top of middle pillar. A red star appears at the tip of a peak in the left pillar and the background is deep blue.

  10. Pillars of Creation 3D Model

    3D Object
    The Pillars of Creation are a formation of long thin dust clouds in the Eagle Nebula. They have been showcased in exquisite images from both the Hubble and Webb space telescopes. Their nickname derives...
    Photograph of a 3D printed model of the Pillars of Creation. The model is light gray with a silk-like texture, and the background is white. The three pillars rise up from a base that has a pancake-dome shape. The base is rotated about 60 degrees clockwise from the typical left-to-right orientation: The tallest pillar is at the back left at about 11 o’clock; the shortest is in the foreground right, at about 5 o’clock. The model is lit from several different angles to highlight the details. The pillars cast faint shadows toward the lower left. The pillars are craggy and stalagmite-like. The surfaces are smooth in some places, and pitted and grooved in others. Some edges are rounded and some appear sharp and jagged. The tall pillar at the back left and the middle pillar are solid all the way to the base. The small pillar at the front right is connected to the base by a web-like lattice made out of the same material as the rest of the model.

  11. 2024 NASA's Astrophoto Challenge (Summer)

    May 20 through August 5, 2024 Challenge

    Make your own image of the Cassiopeia A (Cas A) with NASA’s Astrophoto Challenge using James Webb Space Telescope data.  Join NASA's Universe of Learning for an exciting opportunity to ...

  12. Teachable Moments: The Science of Solar Eclipses and How to Watch with NASA

    Article | Resource Guide
    Get ready for the April 2024 total solar eclipse, by learning about the science behind solar eclipses, how to watch safely, and how to engage students in NASA science. Teachable Moment: The Science of...
    Three different types of eclipses. A partial eclipse with the Moon covering the top third of the Sun. An annular eclipse with the Moon covering most of the Sun. A total eclipse with the Sun completely covered by the Moon.

  13. 2024 NASA's Astrophoto Challenge (Winter)

    December 18, 2023 through February 29, 2024 Challenge

    Make your own image of the Crab Nebula with NASA’s Astrophoto Challenge using James Webb Space Telescope data.  Join NASA's Universe of Learning for an exciting opportunity to use real ...

  14. Teachable Moments: NASA Balloon Mission Designed to See the Space Between Stars

    Article | Resource Guide
    A NASA balloon mission designed to study the interstellar medium – the space between stars – will take to the skies above Antarctica in December 2023. Read on to learn how the GUSTO mission's...
    NASA's GUSTO mission preparing its white stratospheric balloon in snow-covered Antarctica against a sky with a bright blue hue.

  15. ETS Biweekly Meeting November 1, 2023

    Videos
    Guest speaker Allyson Bieryla of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian talked about the Lightsound Project, a solar eclipse sonification tool. Exoplanet Watch citizen scientist Avinash...
    Three images are combined. At left, the top and bottom half are split evenly and show students collaborating at a long table to build a telescope to track exoplanets. At right are metal tools touching two horizontal motherboards on a green backer.