NASA
Nasa: Kepler and His Laws
This site from NASA provides biographical details about the lives of Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler. Discusses Kepler's successes at developing laws of planeatry motion. States the three laws and discusses each one individually....
Physics Classroom
The Physics Classroom: Circular and Satellite Motion: Gravitational Fields
Students discover the Law of Universal Gravitation by changing the masses of planets and moons and the distance that separates them.
Exploratorium
Exploratorium: Your Weight on Other Worlds
From the Exploratorium Museum. Includes an interactive feature in which a visitor enters their weight on earth and has their weight on other planets computed and displayed. Discusses the distinction between mass and weight and describes...
Other
Chicago Academy of Sciences: Notebaert Nature Museum
Online lesson plans are available on such subjects as constructing models that visualize the distance between planets and the sun. Teachers can also learn of workshops to enhance science instruction.
Other
Online Conversion
Conversion calculators galore! Convert just about anything from one measureable unit into another measureable unit here with over two dozen calculators. Each of the links is specific to a measureable quantity. Some examples include...
Discovery Education
Discovery Education: Classroom Planetarium
Create a classroom model of the solar system while teaching about relative size of all the planets, and each planet's distance from the sun.
NASA
Nasa: Mercury Planet Profile
This page from NASA provides a chart of statistical information on planet Mercury. Its mass, diameter, average temperature, and distance from the Sun are among the characteristics listed.
NASA
Nasa: Mars Planet Profile
This site has a data table of statistical information about Mars. Among the things listed are density, diameter, distance from the Sun, and much more.
Curated OER
Harvard University: The Solar System
These hands-on activities are are a great way for students to gain perspective on the relative sizes and distances of each planet, the relationship between the sun and Earth, and much more.
Curated OER
Harvard University: The Solar System
These hands-on activities are are a great way for students to gain perspective on the relative sizes and distances of each planet, the relationship between the sun and Earth, and much more.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Beyond the Milky Way
When we look at the night sky, we see stars and the nearby planets of our own solar system. Many of those stars are actually distant galaxies and glowing clouds of dust and gases called nebulae. The universe is an immense space with...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: Catching Stardust
How do astronomers collect stardust? They design and build satellites that are launched into space to collect particles on specially designed panels. Satellites can be sent to orbit around an object of interest: a planet, moon, or comet....
Enchanted Learning
Enchanted Learning: Uranus
This comprehensive site provides a wealth of information about the seventh planet from the sun. Topics include rotational axis, size, mass and gravity, length of day, distance from the sun, and more. The information is supplemented with...
Enchanted Learning
Enchanted Learning: Neptune
A wealth of facts await you on this complete site. Topics include size, mass and gravity, length of day, orbit, distance from the sun, and more. A coloring page, quiz, fill-in-the-blanks activity, and interactive puzzle will challenge...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Your Weight on Other Worlds
This interactive resource from the Exploratorium calculates your weight on other bodies in our solar system and offers an explanation of mass and weight and the relationship between gravity, mass, and distance.
Other
Space weather.com
Want to know what the current weather conditions are in space? Find everything here you may want to know about the latest solar flares, sunspots, asteroids and more. Site also includes essential web links to quench any user's thirst for...
Science and Mathematics Initiative for Learning Enhancement (SMILE)
Smile: Paper Mache Solar System
This site from the Illinois Institute of Technology provides a set of directions for the creation of a solar system model out of paper mache. Includes orbital distances and planet diameters for the nine planets. Great idea for a student...
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Serc: Build Your Own Solar System
This Java applet creates a model of a solar system with user-defined data. Users can create a solar system with up to four planets, choosing the star type at the center of the solar system, planet name, size, eccentricity of orbit and...
Curated OER
Bill Arnett's Ss Montage
These hands-on activities are are a great way for students to gain perspective on the relative sizes and distances of each planet, the relationship between the sun and Earth, and much more.
ClassFlow
Class Flow: Astronomy Parallax
[Free Registration/Login Required] This flipchart explains the significance of Delta Cephei in the constellation Cepheus and its historical significance in determining distances in space. It discusses parallax, standard candles, and the...
Science Buddies
Science Buddies: A Puzzling Parallax
Did you know that ancient astronomers could measure the distance to other stars? They could also distinguish between stars and planets. How could they do that without modern technology of telescopes? See if you can discover the link...
Curated OER
Saturn Photo
In this activity, "You will investigate the concepts of relative size and distance by creating a basic model of our solar system." Planet printouts are provided and this site contains related links.