Despite the temporary setback in our country's crewed space exploration program, there will continue to be missions requiring crews to orbit Earth and beyond. Under the NASA Authorization Act of 2010, NASA should have its own heavy launch rocket and crew vehicle developed by 2016. Private companies will continue to explore space, as well. At the…

Solar system exploration in November includes flybys of Saturn's moons, a comet, and the next-to-last launch of a space shuttle before the shuttle program ends. In addition, on November 1 and 29 before sunrise, the waning crescent Moon will be close to asteroid 3 Juno. In fact, by observing the Moon and using some of the stars in the background…

This spring, as the school year starts to wind down, there will be many opportunities for students to observe bright planets and to wrap up the year with some great conjunctions and close occultation with the Moon, planets, bright stars, and star clusters). These observations can be coordinated with student observations of the Moon's phase cycle…

This brief article describes what can be expected of the skies in the summer of 2004 with quite a few celestial thrills to anticipate. In addition to the planet viewing opportunities, there is a very rare Venus transit of the Sun and the annual Perseid meteor shower. The 2004 summer also marks both an end and beginning for the Cassini/Huygens…

Throughout each month, the Moon appears in conjunction with planets and stars along the ecliptic. A conjunction occurs when, in this case, the Moon lies in the same direction as a star or planet. From our perspective, the object looks close. February is no exception, and there will be several opportunities on both sides of the Sun to locate…

This article briefly describes an activity for students to illustrate the relationship between orbital period and orbital motion. To do this, students should calculate the degrees per day that planets travel and then graph them as a function of orbital time. A brief list of resources is also included.

Presents information on the planet Mercury and points out how little is known about this planet which is much closer than Pluto. Features a list of visible planets and moon phases. (YDS)

Describes the constellations that can be seen during the month of October. Presents a story about the moon phases that comes from the Australian Aborigines. (JRH)

Discusses the five upcoming shuttle missions, two Russian missions to the International Space Station, a scheduled visit to the Hubble Space Telescope for maintenance, and other events in the solar system. Includes a list of monthly events. (YDS)

All the planets in the solar system revolve around the Sun in the same direction, clockwise when viewed from above the North Pole. This is referred to as direct motion. From the perspective on the Earth's surface, the planets travel east across the sky in relation to the background of stars. The Sun also moves eastward daily, but this is an…

Describes occultation events involving the moon, when the moon blocks the view of planets or stars. Describes other events such as a partial solar eclipse, a penumbral lunar eclipse, meteor showers, and moon phases. Provides a list of internet resources related to these events. (DLH)

Describes how to differentiate a planet from a star and presents an activity in which students investigate whether Pluto is a planet. (YDS)

Presents a science activity designed to introduce students to the geocentric and heliocentric models of the universe. Helps students discover why phase changes on Venus knocked Earth out of the center of the universe. (DKM)

Describes a celestial grid system that gives the coordinates for any object that delineates the sun's ecliptic path--the sun's apparent path through the year. Includes Internet resources. (KHR)

This is another great month for evening observing as four planets continue to remain easily visible. Venus, Mars, and Saturn can be viewed over the western horizon, and Jupiter is shining high over the southeastern horizon. Opportunities will also exist for using binoculars or low-power telescopes to observe conjunctions between the planets, the…