Flying more missions than any other shuttle, Discovery carried out every type of mission NASA had to offer, spending a total of 365 days in space, and checking off many firsts in spaceflight.
Over 30 years ago, Discovery ascended into space for the first time, after three thwarted launch attempts. Originally scheduled to lift off in June 1984, Discovery finally launched on August 30.
This OER explores Diurnal Motion by using a Celestial Globe. It contains both an activity as well as resources for further exploration. It is a product of the OU Academy of the Lynx, developed in conjunction with the Galileo's World Exhibition at the University of Oklahoma.
In this experiment, students explore the diffraction of light into different wavelengths (colors) by using a diffraction grating and shoe box to create and measure a visible spectrum. The concepts of diffraction, electromagnetic waves, wavelength, and the electromagnetic spectrum are introduced. The activity also includes a discussion of red shift, blue shift, and the Doppler effect. Information about solar radiation and the roles of stratospheric and tropospheric ozone is included.
Based only on what we see when we watch stars in the sky, it’s easy to believe that the stars revolve around a stationary Earth, a common misconception among children. Although many students have at least heard that the Earth spins, they may not have thought about how this affects how we see stars, planets and the Moon.
In this activity, students find evidence of the Earth’s spinning through observing the apparent movement of stars. They use outstretched arms to measure the distance between a star and an object at the horizon. Later, they return to the same spot, re-measure, and notice that the star is in a different position, and try to explain this movement. Finally, the instructor shares the accepted scientific explanation for the phenomenon.
Douglas College Custom Edition for Astronomy 1105. Based on Open Stax Astronomy.
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Douglas College Custom Edition for Astronomy 1105. Based on Open Stax Astronomy.
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When most people think of emergency fixes in space, the first incident that comes to mind is the famous Apollo 13 mission.
This course covers the fundamentals of Newtonian mechanics, including kinematics, motion relative to accelerated reference frames, work and energy, impulse and momentum, 2D and 3D rigid body dynamics. The course pays special attention to applications in aerospace engineering including introductory topics in orbital mechanics, flight dynamics, inertial navigation and attitude dynamics. By the end of the semester, students should be able to construct idealized (particle and rigid body) dynamical models and predict model response to applied forces using Newtonian mechanics.
In this activity, students play the roles of "time travel agents" creating an advertisement for a geologic time period which has been assigned to them. They will use the Earth Science Reference Tables (available on the internet) to learn some basic facts about their assigned period. A rubric for assessing student understanding is provided.
Photo of the Earth & Moon created from images from the the Galileo spacecraft.
This lesson discusses the interior structure of the earth as defined by research on the behavior of seismic waves as they move through the layers inside of the planet. The lesson details both compositional layers as well as mechanical layers.
This video segment adapted from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center shows how integral satellites are to everyday life and describes the different types, including orbital and geostationary.
Several power points, quiz, study guide, and worksheets about the Earth, Moon, Sun relationships. I developed these for 6th grade science class as support for other materials. Items are great for visual learners and include concepts of scale, seasons / earth tilt, and path of the sun.
This video segment adapted from NOVA tells the tragic story of two Japanese seismologists who disagreed about the threat of earthquakes in the early twentieth century. Today, seismologists in California offer residents a probability of risk that an earthquake might occur.
This lesson on earthquakes is based on naturalist John Muir's experiences with two significant earthquakes, the 1872 earthquake on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. Students will learn to explain that earthquakes are sudden motions along breaks in the crust called faults, and list the major geologic events including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and mountain building, which are the result of crustal plate motions. A downloadable, printable version (PDF) of the lesson plan is available.
In this video segment adapted from NOVA, animations are used to show how the hills around Los Angeles were formed by earthquakes at small thrust faults that extend outward from the larger San Andreas fault.
The history of earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay area is plotted on a digital map and analyzed in this video segment adapted from NOVA.
In this video segment adapted from NOVA, a geologist digs a trench along the San Andreas Fault to reveal three thousand years of earthquake history. Information from the layers of sediment may help geologists to predict earthquakes.
This video segment adapted from NOVA uses historical illustrations, photographs, and animations to explain how seismographs work, the difference between P and S waves, and the Richter scale.