This guide describes a novel project structure for sky observations commonly assigned in introductory level astronomy students at either the high school or undergraduate level. The project is an outside class assignment optimized for a large course that meets during the day. The goal of this activity is for students to make independent observations at a fixed time of day to develop an understanding of: (1) how annual motion of the Earth relates to observed position of the Sun as it sets towards the West; and (2) changes in the Moon phase over the lunar month and how the phase of the Moon relates to its position in the sky relative to the Sun. Students synthesize their understanding by responding to summary questions at the conclusion of the project. The questions require students to use their collection of observations to make predictions about future sunset and Moon positions and Moon phases.

A critical component of this work is an associated scoring script, available through GitHub. The algorithm uses Sun and Moon position data and Moon phase data downloaded by the user from the United States Naval Observatory to score student input and provide feedback in an efficient manner. This allows instructors to assign and grade student observations even in a large university class.

In this episode of ISS Science you'll learn how you can spot the ISS.

Astronaut Randy Bresnik will have a unique view as he watches from space. In this episode of ISS Science, find out how the ISS crew will watch and learn how to build your own eclipse.

This lesson investigates the alignment of the Earth, the Moon, and the Sun during a solar eclipse and model that alignment with classroom materials.

Students will investigate the geometry of the International Space Station's (ISS) orbit and its motion relative to the Earth.

This unit begins by introducing students to the historical motivation for space exploration. They learn about the International Space Station, including current and futuristic ideas that engineers are designing to propel space research. Then they learn about the physical properties of the Moon, and think about what types of products engineers would need to design in order for humans to live on the Moon. Lastly, students learn some descriptive facts about asteroids, such as their sizes and how that relates to the potential danger of an asteroid colliding with the Earth.

See a line up of moons, planets, and stars to give a visual of how Earth compares in size to other bodies in the universe.

Students build a model of the Sun-Earth-Moon system, exploring how the Moon revolves around the Earth, and the Earth around the Sun. Students play a memory game and learn some characteristics about the three objects.

The solar system is made up of the Sun, the planets that orbit the Sun, their satellites, dwarf planets and many, many small objects, like asteroids and comets. All of these objects move and we can see these movements. We notice the Sun rises in the eastern sky in the morning and sets in the western sky in the evening. We observe different stars in the sky at different times of the year. When ancient people made these observations, they imagined that the sky was actually moving while the Earth stood still.The Moon is a natural satellite of the Earth, meaning that it orbits around the Earth.It is the only place outside of the Earth that humans have ever been! We can often see the Moon on a clear night, but it does appear to change shape during the 29 days it takes to orbit the Earth.

The solar system is made up of the Sun, the planets that orbit the Sun, their satellites, dwarf planets and many, many small objects, like asteroids and comets. All of these objects move and we can see these movements. We notice the Sun rises in the eastern sky in the morning and sets in the western sky in the evening. We observe different stars in the sky at different times of the year. When ancient people made these observations, they imagined that the sky was actually moving while the Earth stood still. The Moon is a natural satellite of the Earth, meaning that it orbits around the Earth.It is the only place outside of the Earth that humans have ever been! We can often see the Moon on a clear night, but it does appear to change shape during the 29 days it takes to orbit the Earth.

Students will create a panorama drawing of their own landscape.  They will include landmarks and cardinal directions in their drawings, and use their drawings to plot the movement of the sun in the sky over the course of a day. They may make their observations in one day, or over a period of days or weeks. Once students have created their own panoramas, they will look at panoramas taken in the North and South Poles and compare similarities and differences. They will then explore the “Sun Path Simulator” online. Before beginning these lessons, students should already know: 1) How to find the four, cardinal directions, and 2) That the Earth rotates on its axis, and revolves around the sun. 3) How to tell time.  This unit pairs nicely with the Mystery Science Unit, Spinning Sky. Where indicated, worksheets and videos for lessons can be found on their website. Links to all other worksheets for the entire unit are in the “Overview” Section of my slideshow. Each day’s lesson comes with a worksheet to focus the students and to show evidence of student learning.

During Apollo 15 astronauts James Irwin and Dave Scott found a rock on the Moon that became known as the Genesis Rock.

The Apollo 11 mission to the moon in 1969 introduced The Lunar Laser Ranging Interplanetary Experiment led by Hildreth (Hal) Walker Jr. This ongoing experiment measures Earth's distance from the Moon

Jeffrey Kluger, author of "Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon" and "Time" magazine editor talks about the significance of Apollo 8

In this animated video segment adapted from NASA, astronomer Doris Daou explains how the forces of speed and gravity keep the Moon in a constant orbit around Earth.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"When considering the hazards of space exploration, moon dust might not top your list But contact with lunar soil can wreak havoc on human health To better understand the toxicological properties of the dust researchers exposed neuronal and lung epithelial cell lines to samples of simulated lunar soil The samples caused widespread cell death and DNA damage in both cell lines Intriguingly, although the simulants generated free radicals their presence wasn’t correlated to the damaging impact on the cells leaving the precise mechanism of injury a mystery While the properties of actual lunar soil may differ from those of the simulants the work provides an important starting point towards understanding the biological effects brought about by visiting the moon... and maybe beyond Caston et al. (2018) Assessing Toxicity and Nuclear and Mitochondrial DNA Damage Caused by Exposure of Mammalian Cells to Lunar Regolith Simulants..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.