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EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES AND EVENTS

Educational Resources and Events Catalog

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  1. Program Guide & Resources: Finding Exoplanets

    Resource Guide
    Many exoplanets — worlds beyond our solar system — are very small and faint compared to their bright host stars, making it nearly impossible to spot them directly. Despite this, astronomers...
    Rectangular graphic illustrating the Exoplanets program theme. The right four-fifths of the graphic shows an illustration of three exoplanets orbiting a bright star. Running vertically along the left side of the image is a wide blue bar. In the lower half of the bar is a line drawing of a simple hand-held telescope on a tripod. The telescope points toward a circular field of view showing stars and planets.

  2. 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.

  3. Exploring the Cosmic Cliffs in 3D

    Videos
    This visualization presents a flight through the ethereal landscape of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s famous image nicknamed “Cosmic Cliffs.” These cliffs are a spectacular...
    The image is divided horizontally by an undulating line between a brown cloudscape forming a nebula along the bottom and a comparatively clear upper portion in blue. Speckled across both portions is a starfield, showing innumerable stars of many sizes. The upper blue portion has wispy translucent cloud-like streaks rising from the nebula below. The orange and brown cloudy formation in the bottom half varies in density and ranges from translucent to opaque. The nebula contains ridges, peaks, and valleys—an appearance similar to a mountain range. In the bottom left corner, a clearer area free of gas and dust appears black with speckled stars.

  4. Star Formation from the Carina Nebula to the Cosmic Cliffs

    Videos
    This scientific visualization traverses the vast star-forming region of the Carina Nebula Complex using multiwavelength data from NASA space telescopes. The narrated journey explores clusters of massive...
    Four images from the Carina Nebula Complex are spliced vertically at an angle. From left to right: Hubble’s view in brown, gray, and light blue tones with a brilliant white star cluster at center; a bright purple and pink observation by Chandra; a bright pink wash with tiny blue orbs imaged by Spitzer; and a Webb view showing bright blue at top with brown clouds at bottom, overlaid with stars.

  5. Flight to the Carina Nebula Complex

    Videos
    This visualization travels across interstellar space to the vast star-forming region of the Carina Nebula Complex. Starting with the 2D sky as seen from Earth, the sequence traces out the nearby constellations...
    At the center is a loose splotch of red, the Carina Nebula, set against the black background of space. Distant stars and galaxies are speckled across the scene. The very center of the Carina Nebula is brightest, almost white, with larger stars represented as dots. The gas and dust that make up the nebula take the loose form of flower petals, like an iris. The top “petal” appears in the rough shape of a lowercase V and becomes more diffuse and darker red the farther away the material is from the core. Off to its right is a small, loose red circle with several bright white stars within it. The lower petal of the nebula is also deep red, appearing more like a triangle with one peak centered at the bottom. That edge peters out into deeper red and becomes more translucent the lower it goes. Below that, a short horizontal line of deep semi-transparent red material appears. There is a prominent orange orb center-left at the top, and a blue one toward the bottom a little farther left.

  6. Program Guide & Resources: Data and Imaging Processing

    Resource Guide
    Scientists rely on computers not only to do calculations, but also to transform telescope data into images. Coding and programming are some of the many methods that astronomers use in order to study the...
    Rectangular graphic illustrating the Data and Image Processing program theme. The right four-fifths of the graphic shows a space telescope orbiting Earth, collecting data from a supernova remnant, and transmitting the data to a large satellite dish. Running vertically along the left side of the image is a wide purple bar. In the lower half of the bar is a line drawing of a simple hand-held telescope on a tripod. The telescope points toward a circular field of view showing rows of ones and zeros.

  7. Program Guide & Resources: Electromagnetic Spectrum

    Resource Guide
    Astronomers learn about space objects by gathering and analyzing the light coming from them. Since there is more than one type light, observations of multiple types of light from an object —multiwavelength...
    Rectangular graphic illustrating the Electromagnetic Spectrum program theme. The right four-fifths of the graphic is a colorful multiwavelength space telescope image of a planetary nebula. The nebula looks like a human eyeball, with a hot pink pupil surrounded by blue and orange iris-like rings. Running vertically along the left side of the image is a wide green bar. In the lower half of the bar is a line drawing of a simple hand-held telescope on a tripod. The telescope points toward a circular field of view showing an expanding wave pattern.

  8. 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.

  9. 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.

  10. 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 ...

  11. 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 ...

  12. Stephan's Quintet: A Multi-wavelength Exploration

    Sonification | Videos
    This visualization explores the galaxy group Stephan's Quintet by using observations in visible, infrared, and X-ray light. The sequence contrasts images from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer...
    Four galaxies appear close to each other in the sky: two in the middle, one toward the top, and one to the upper left. The galaxies appear to be touching. The galaxies are large relative to the hundreds of much smaller (more distant) galaxies in the background. All four galaxies have bright white cores and have streaks of blue and red. Some of the galaxies are peppered with white dust-like specks. Each galaxy is unique in size, shape, structure, and exact coloring. Scattered across the image, in front of the galaxies, are a number of foreground stars with diffraction spikes: bright white points, each with eight bright lines radiating out from the center.

  13. Discover Exoplanets Pre-Application Webinar

    December 20, 2022 Professional Learning Webinar

    The next tour of "Discover Exoplanets: The Search for Alien Worlds," a free NASA exhibit, will launch in June 2023, traveling to nine libraries across the country. All public and tribal libraries ...

  14. Training Webinars for Subject Matter Experts: Sharing the Wonder of JWST

    November 9, 2022 Professional Learning Webinar

    Are you a scientist or engineer who would like to reach informal education audiences? Join NASA's Universe of Learning for a one-hour practical skills webinar to learn about specific strategies and ...

  15. Sonifications of Webb's Images of the Southern Ring Nebula

    Audio | Sonification
    NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope uncovered two views of the Southern Ring Nebula – in near-infrared light (at left) and mid-infrared light (at right) – and each has been adapted to sound....
    Video still frame showing a glowing vertical line as it sweeps across near-infrared and mid-infrared images that have been sonified.