Various aspects of the solar sail spacecraft such as solar sailing, solar sail design, navigation with solar sails, solar sail mission applications and future prospects for solar sailing are described. Several possible student projects are suggested. (KR)

An activity that shows how mathematics can be used to model events in the real world is described. A way to calculate the area of the sun covered by the moon during a partial eclipse is presented. A computer program that will determine the coverage percentage is also included. (KR)

Describes events that occur during an eclipse. Finds that the solar eclipse provides a tremendous opportunity for teaching about the earth and beyond in content. (Author/CCM)

Outlines the development and use of hands-on astronomy activities with street children in Mexico. Focuses on the high level of interest shown by homeless children in astronomy-related topics. (DDR)

Explores Montessori's concept of cosmic education and recommends expanding it in school curricula. Suggests integration of science about the universe and earth with intuitions about the meaning of life and humans' role in the universe. Discusses God versus chance as the source of life, and emphasizes developing cosmic values and responsibilities.…

Identifies the growing importance of electronic preprints in the published literature of physics and astronomy and address several areas of concern regarding the future role of electronic preprints in scientific communication. Topics include a history of preprints in astronomy and physics; inaccuracies in preprint citations; and archival issues.…

Presents the goals, philosophy, and methods of the SPLASH (Student-Parent Laboratories Achieving Science at Home) program. Describes an at-home, parental-involvement activity called Moon Watch in which students and their parents observe how the phases of the moon and the moon's position in the sky change over a two-week period. (WRM)

Presents activities that combine astronomy problems with algebra, geometry, trigonometry, data analysis, and physics. Provides experiences for students in making distance measurements themselves by using the method of parallax. (ASK)

This study explored the relationship between night-sky watching and self-reported cognitive variables: need for cognition and social problem-solving. University students (N = 140) completed the Noctcaelador Inventory, the Need for Cognition Scale, and the Social Problem Solving Inventory. The results indicated that an interest in the night-sky was…

This article focuses on the geology of a single area of the Moon, the Imbrium Basin, and shows how geologists have combined basic geologic principles with evidence collected by the Apollo missions to learn more about the history of the Moon as a whole. In this article, the author discusses lunar geology teaching tips and mapping the Imbrium Basin…

On any night, the stars seen in the sky can be as close to Earth as a few light-years or as distant as a few thousand light-years. Distances this large are hard to comprehend. The stars are so far away that the fastest spacecraft would take tens of thousands of years to reach even the nearest one. Yet, astronomers have been able to accurately…

In 2001, the "All Sky Camera Network" came to life as an outreach program to connect the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (DMNS) exhibit "Space Odyssey" with Colorado schools. The network is comprised of cameras placed strategically at schools throughout Colorado to capture fireballs--rare events that produce meteorites.…

It is natural to study astronomy outdoors, but it is not quite as natural to study astronomy during the daytime. This lesson uses the Earth's closest star as a subject of study within the schoolyard. The importance of the rising sun is combined with hands-on inquiry in which students explore the properties of shadows. Students (a) complete a…

The February 2005 issue of The Science Teacher (TST) reminded everyone that by learning how scientists study stars, students gain an understanding of how science measures things that can not be set up in lab, either because they are too big, too far away, or happened in a very distant past. The authors of "How Far are the Stars?" show how the…

This experiment investigated the effect of the presentation of a globe--the culturally accepted artifact representing the earth--on children's reasoning in elementary astronomy. Forty-four children from grades 1 and 3 were interviewed individually. First, the children were asked to make their own representations of the earth (i.e., drawings and…