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EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES AND EVENTS

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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. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. Program Guide & Resources: Stars

    Resource Guide
    Stars are giant balls of gas held together by their own gravity. They have different colors and sizes, and like humans, they have a life cycle: Stars are born, grow old, and eventually die.  With...
    Rectangular graphic illustrating the Stars program theme. The right four-fifths of the graphic consists of an infrared image of the Pillars of Creation from the Webb Space Telescope. The pillars are a ghostly blue-gray color with craggy finger-like tips. Running vertically along the left side of the image is a wide pink 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 stylized stars with four-pointed diffraction patterns.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

  8. 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.

  9. Teachable Moments: Exploring the Mystery of Our Expanding Universe

    Article | Resource Guide
    Scientists may soon uncover new insights about some of the most mysterious phenomena in our universe with the help of the newly launched Euclid mission. Built and managed by the European Space Agency,...
    An illustration of the Euclid telescope in front of a star field. The telescope has a cylindrical body with an open top and a flat, square base as well as a flat panel along its back.

  10. Teachable Moments: Webb Telescope Sees the Universe Like We've Never Seen It Before

    Article | Resource Guide
    NASA’s newest space observatory, the James Webb Space Telescope, has returned its first set of images and spectra of five different targets – from exoplanets to galaxy clusters – revealing...
    Portions of four of Webb's first images are shown side by side: A field of galaxies, a blue-and-brown area of star formation, a dying star that's cast off its gas and dust, and four prominent, bright white galaxies.

  11. Teachable Moments: Telescopes Capture an Extraordinary View of the Milky Way's Black Hole

    Article | Resource Guide
    Find out how scientists captured the first image of Sagittarius A*, why it's important, and how to turn it into a learning opportunity for students. Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, has a supermassive...
    First image of the black hole at the Galactic Center looks like a bright orange donut with three whiter areas, and is set against a black background.

  12. Teachable Moments: Learn About the Universe with the James Webb Space Telescope

    Article | Resource Guide
    Learn about the science and engineering behind the largest and most powerful space telescope ever built while exploring ways to engage learners in the mission. TEACHABLE MOMENTS: JAMES WEBB SPACE...
    Webb Telescope in clean room (folded)

  13. Science Olympiad: Guide for Using JS9

    Competition Material | Resource Guide
    We invite you to explore these tools to learn more about the universe that all of us inhabit. The flexibility and user friendliness of JS9 allows you to easily access many astronomical databases to explore...

  14. Life and Death of Stars Resource Guide

    Resource Guide
    Do stars really move? How do stars form and die? What are nebulas and supernovas? This resource guide contains a range of resources and activities to help you guide audiences as they explore many facets...
    Combined telescope images of the Crab Nebula displayed in red, yellow, green, ultraviolet, and X-ray light

  15. Other Solar Systems, Other Earths Resource Guide

    Resource Guide
    Want to delight audiences with information about planets discovered outside our solar system? Share one or more of the many resources about exoplanets, including in-person activities, videos and online...
    Artist’s illustration of a blue-hued exoplanet with planetary rings with its host star in the background