There are hundreds of satellites in orbit around Earth. Readily available data about them can be a treasure trove for investigations by students at all levels. Orbital parameters and energy changes can be explored. Many of these satellites transmit signals that can be detected by an inexpensive radio receiver--a scanner--designed to receive FM…

The NASA public archives present a vast resource of authentic satellite data that research astronomers have tapped into for decades. Recently, the same data analysis tools used by professional astronomers have been adapted into a browser-based interface called JS9 for easy use by any interested student. Tutorials and classroom-ready activities…

Paul Hewitt's "Figuring Physics" in the Feb. 2016 issue asked whether it would take a larger velocity change to stop a satellite in a circular orbit or to cause it to escape. An extension of this problem asks: What "minimum" velocity change is required to crash a satellite into the planet, and how does that compare with the…

An introduction to satellite meteorology is presented to promote use of live weather satellite photographs in the classroom. Topics addressed include weather satellites, how they work, earth emissions, satellite photography, satellite image analysis, obtaining satellite pictures, and future considerations. Includes sources for materials to…

Presents a small sample of the lesson plans developed as a result of a summer workshop that allowed a high school physics teacher to explore the uses of satellite-derived sea surface temperature fields in the physical science classroom. (ZWH)

Discusses the velocity of an orbiting satellite. Knowledge of the kinematics of falling objects is the only prerequisite for understanding the concepts considered. (DH)

Develops a pair of equations for calculating the elevation and azimuth angles for the various satellites. Uses 3-dimensional vector difference calculations. Provides a practical example, figures, and table. (YP)

Describes how to use data from television broadcasts of shuttle launches along with data from National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) "Educational Briefs for the Classroom" to establish relevant connections of high school physics with the real world. Includes graphs of range/altitude, speed/time, and three tables with launch…

Explains how students can perform a refutation of the ether theory using information from the Global Positioning System (GPS). Discusses the functioning of the GPS, qualitatively describes how position determination would be affected by an ether wind, and illustrates the pertinent ideas with a simple quantitative model. (WRM)